Aikido on the Internet
by John McNabb

I'd like to begin by saying that the Aikido Shugyo Dojo web page has moved to: http://www.shugyo.com. This also means that I have a new e-mail address. Further newsletter articles should be sent to John McNabb. The web page has a new look, and now includes articles from this newsletter, starting with the last issue, August - September. The World Wide Web continues to develop and mature, web pages are becoming more sophisticated, and an ever-increasing number of people are being reached with this medium. I've tried to add our web page to all the major Internet search engines, so that when people search for 'aikido' and 'toronto' or 'aikido' and 'shugyo', etc., they will be directed to our web page. The most important part of any web page is its content, and having newsletter articles on the web page will give it even more useful content, drawing the interest of more people, more often.

Below is an e-mail from the aikido mailing list that I found to be of interest:

Date: Fri, 13 Sep 1996 15:20:54 +0200 From: RR Subject: Tyson & Aikido Hi folks, One day ago, I was talking with a friend of mine about aikido, really I was explaining to him the basic elements of aikido and he made me notice that aikido seems to be unuseful against an attacker who doesn't unbalance himself; just an example: a good boxer is able to punch without losing his balance. What's your opinion? RR

Now I know that many seasoned aikidoists are tired of the same old question about how aikido can be used in self-defence; they say aikido is about peace and harmony. However, I really believe that we learn these lofty principals through determined practice of practical techniques. The techniques are practical, although it becomes tiresome trying to justify it. Still, I found meaning in the response:

Date: Fri, 13 Sep 1996 08:27:47 -0500 From: EW Subject: Re: Tyson & Aikido I asked the same question of one of my instructors a while ago, only I used the context of a knife-wielding attacker who won't commit to anything that you can safely respond to. He started out saying "You have to ignore the attacks that are of no use to your opponent, since they are only there to open you up for the real attack. Maintain your distance, and force them to move in on you. Eventually they will either give up, or lunge." Then he looked around to make sure Sensei wasn't around and said "Personally, I'd just kick him in the side of the knee and drop him." - EW

I think this is useful. To restate the answer a little differently, one could say, "Watch your ma-ai (space between you and your attacker), and don't respond to feints. If your attacker is motivated, he will risk his balance to get you. Atemi (striking techniques) can also be useful in getting the attacker's attention. Aikido does work.

Of course, to reach this level of skill requires determined practice. So back to practice it is. The more one comes to understand, the more important basic practice becomes.

Back

Back to List of Articles

Forward

Back to Main Page