New Article

Well - I'm here so I'll kick off.

The theme of the article seems to be to ignore the overt differences in technique and accepts that there is more than one way to skin a cat...or deploy Aikido.

I like this and it certainly fits with my own viewpoint.

It starts with the view that the mechanical level is a good beginning point - despite naming convention differences I see this as endorsing what I'm used to referring to as kotai level practice.  Again this fits nicely with my own expectations and far more importantly those of my teachers.

Kamae as a starting point again is a good match.  We tend to promote work on Kamae, Maai (distance) and Shisei (posture) as the beginning of our Aikido journey, and in the spirit of the article I suspect that this may be covered by the authors use of 'Body form' although this may not be the case if I rigidly adhere to the glossary provided.

I'll choose not to and interpret more liberally.

I have to confess that I get lost with the transitional from mechanical to subliminal to conceptional.

I'm not familiar with these terms and am much happier with kotai, jutai, kitai & Ekitai as provided by Nobuyoshi Tamura Shihan.

However, it may just be the terminology that is throwing me.

Overall - a good read and nice to see the BAB opening up and creating an avenue for knowledge sharing.

Nice one!!

Daren

I have only just started aikido. My first club, which I will not name and shame out of respect for this article, I felt that the teacher tried to give himself credibility by using Japanese terminology. I felt he hid behind aikido and mystified it. My current sensei uses the same terms but goes to great lengths to demystify aikido. I think this article is fantastic, not that I undertand everything. I think the use of English terminology with definitions will give us a common language as well as common concepts to achieve unity, which I think is a point perhaps missed so far.   I can't wait for the next article on subliminal movements. I think it would be a great idea if this web sensei were to be at the next BAB National Course so that (s)he could explain this article more fully by incorporating a Question and Answer Time.

Whoops, Did I just confirm he's a man