Someone send me this clip a few days ago. I’ve watched it a handful of times now and there are quite a few things that concern me here. Have a look and let me know what you think.
Thanks for taking the time to read this blog, and I hope it makes you want to find out more about Aikido
www.aikido4beginners.co.uk
www.aikido4beginners.co.uk
It looks rough, but there must be controls because everyone gets up. This would not be an acceptable test in my organization, but who can one really judge the test format without knowing the training and how people are expected to prepare?
Looks pretty harsh. Why isnt Tori wearing a hakama? His knowledge seems pretty good.
For the 2nd part. I never really liked the ‘relaxed’ style of Steven Segal.
I more of a ‘Tissier’ fan 🙂
Hey Bas, I think they get ‘awarded” hakama at shodan, that is very common here in NZ also, although some organizations wear them from blue belt/2nd kyu.
Re your comment about ‘relaxed’ style.. I’m with you on this and often wonder if he’d be so relaxed if he wasn’t 6 foort 4 and 200 llbs…. I’d rather watch Tissier, Obata, Yamada, Foster, Lee etc….
Reminded of what Bruce Lee used to say about JKD : You have not digested the simple fact that truth exists outside all molds; pattern and awareness is never exclusive.
Seagel has probably done more for Aikido and attracting to people to Aiki than anybody bar Ueshiba.
A valid poit adn well made. See my lastest post in fact!
There are two points that I see from this video: Seagal’s personal style and the way his club trains.
In regards to the first: he is a big man and does big mans aikido. This is top notch in regards to kick ass movie making; explaining his reputation (as much outside the aikido community as in). As for it’s value for other aikdoka… perhaps not so useful as we are not all so large. So when we start training our asperations need to move from cinematic fight scenes to aikido more appropriate for ourselves.
As for the way the club trains:
It appears very martial/harsh. But not unordinarly compared to some karate, boxing or mma clubs. There is nothing wrong with exploring the ‘real’ applications of aikido as there is value that you wouldn’t get otherwise (remaining aiki in high pressure situations being an obvious example). However, it is not for everyone as it is very physical.
So I think each to their own, just find a style that you enjoy or mix and match to get the best of everything.
I think the video needs to be interpreted in the context of the Seagal documentary its been ripped from called ‘The Path beyond thought’ to understand it better. Seagal sensei says a few times ‘ show me what you got, when you got nothing left to give but its been a few years since i have seen it’. The doco IMHO is a bit over the top with lots of reverent talk from his students, but hey this is a hollywood persona after all