Re: aikido!
2015-07-18
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — Off-topic room : themadviolinist via Audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido! Thank you. Some thoughts here.I dont think ki (or qi as it is often transliterated) is a Buddhist concept. At least, Ive seen more references to it in Chinese medicine and philosophy than in any religious concept. In that context, it is simply a universal energy that emanates from the Creator and is stepped down if you will into increasingly concrete manifestations. This is not dissimilar from notions of Jewish mystics concerning an energy coming from creation through manifestation. The application in Aikido is to harmonize oneself to this universal energy. I would offer that being open to the Holy Spirit would be a functional analog of this concept, so that, rather than opening oneself to an unknown spiritual force, one is opening the way to make a place for the Holy Spirit to come in, teaching harmony with our fellow beings.Ueshiba Murahei (the founder) was not a Buddhist. He followed a charismatic religious person in a faith called Omoto Kyo, the tenets of which I am not familiar, but his goal of harmonizing intention and neutralizing violence seems entirely in line with Christian principles.I mentioned bowing, because I have seen objections to bowing to the kamiza as a form of idol worship, rather than bowing to one another.On the subject of enlightenment, I will only state that there is a division of opinion among Christians as to the relationship between Grace and Works, or to put it in the terms of this conversation, whether there is any value in striving to become more like Jesus. To the extent that such striving has a value for you, Aikido seems to me a good path in that regard.I say none of this to persuade you specifically, but because there may be other people reading this who are unfamiliar with the differences among Christians and/or with Aikido itself. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=224636#p224636 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
Re: aikido! Gotta disagree with opening yourself to the holy spirit and chi being similar. The holy spirit comes to dwell in us when we accept the gift of Jesus and his sacrifice, and is a very personal being whereas Chi is not a personal being, merely an impersonal force. And chi is also a buddhist or at least taoist idea, because Buddhists do talk about positive energy and the like. The issue with this is that all of them have become so blended its hard to tell who borrowed from where, but Chi is definitely something that fits into buddhism.Lastly, as to enlightenment and personal salvation through works, the Bible is clear that salvation is by faith alone and not of works. Good works are the result of being saved, not in a desire to be saved. And some Christians, thugh not necessarily myself, might arge that Aikido doesnt necessarily teach us to be like Jesus... at least, not in one respect and that is to love God with all your heart, soul and strength as Jesus did as a h uman. Im not trying to persuade anyone either, this is just a good discussion to have. Ive seen good solid cases built against Aikido and other martial arts, and Ive seen good ones supporting them. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=224668#p224668 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
Re: aikido! Cae is right. The concept of ki as expressed in Buddhism is something most Christians, including myself, have reservations about, because the Bible does not mention any sort of life force or impersonal thing like this, and a lot of more... radical christians consider it to be of the spiritual forces, and not good ones at that. That, and the meditative aspect of aikido, the idea of opening yourself up to ki / the universe in the most traditional ways of teaching aikido and other Japanese arts. As a Christian who believes in spiritual forces, opening yourself up like that can be a good way to invite in something you might not want to be there. The biggest issue for me, however, is the concept of self-improvement in most oriental martial arts, Aikido included. The idea that we can reach higher states of mind, or as some sensei call it, enlightenment, and better ourselves and almost a form of self-salvation is of course contradictory to everything we believe in as Christians who trust in the power of Jesus sacrifice on the cross and the work of the holy spirit to change us from the inside out.Having said all that, these are merely concerns, otherwise I wouldnt be practicing Aikido. If I do find a solid piece of evidence that will conflict with my faith, then I will cross that bridge when I get there. But right now, I am doing my best to pray for Gods wisdom in this matter as in al others. CAE is right, there are certain ideas in Aikido that do coincide with Christianity.. but that is precisely why we have to be careful. And lastly, the bowing thing I see as a complete non issue unless you are a very radical believer... because if they were right, then Japanese people could never bow to one another as Christians or perform tradtional Japanese ceremonies, many of which involve bowing. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=224611#p224611 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
2015-07-16
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — Off-topic room : themadviolinist via Audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido! I have heard these cautions expressed by other Christian folk before and I have never been given a reason or example I understood, other than the traditional practice of bowing in to class that some have felt occupies a place reserved for worship. Id be interested to know what aspects of the spiritual parts of the discipline of Aikido would give you pause as a Christian. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=224336#p224336 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
Re: aikido! I can only assume that something about ki comes across as a different system of spirituality.Ki always struck me as a metaphysical sort of thing that has nothing to do with Christian spirituality, but Ive heard of people being afraid it counts as sorcery (even though biblical sorcery is specifically in reference to Necromancy. Even Simon Magus supposedly got his powers by stealing the soul of a dying child.)Ki does get associated with Buddhism and Daoism, though, which have a few issues of concern.The main one Ive heard about Buddhism is that it puts emphasis on works rather than faith. Im tempted to claim that there isnt a contradiction, but I havent delved into either scripture for this matter specifically.(The sorts of Buddhism that care about ki dont care about the mythologies of certain sects, but they certainly exist.)Daoism and Zen, when distilled to Be nice, dissolve the ego, go with the flow se em to work well with Christianity distilled to Be nice, be humble, follow the will of God, and do not forget that Jesus died to save us from sin.The trouble is that both Daoism and Buddhism are kinda wishy-washy in what is and isnt part of either. Theyre generally practiced more as philosophies, and thats all Ive ever seen come through in martial arts (except for that one kigong guy I really dont feel like linking for other reasons). But there are more religious trappings out there that a Christian would be concerned about--large branches of Buddhism with pantheons and Karmic magic and reincarnation, appeal to elemental forces and symbols (the hand signs associated with Ninja techniques are rather similar to magic words and runes in western magic, though they arent generally said to invoke spirits).I still dont feel like theres anything spiritually threatening to a Christian in ki, but it isnt far removed from things that Christians might be concerned about, naive interpretations of sorcery aside. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=224442#p224442 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
Re: aikido! Bringing this topic back after a while of no news... but I finally found the resource I was looking for! Morihiro saito, one of the most well known instructors and promoters of the art published a set of manuals entitled takemusou aikido, in five volumes alongside the founder of the Aikido Journal, one of the biggest resources about Aikido Ive found on the web. His books are loaded with hundreds of illustrations, as well as step by step instruction on technique and application! If anyone is curious to know what the art looks like, I can paste in a description of one of the techniques illustrated in the first volume of the book. For those who still train in Aikido or simply want reference to study from, the link is below.http://store.aikidojournal.com/category … le-ebooks/ URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=223632#p223632 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
Re: aikido! Thanks for the book assault freak, I will check it out. Yeah as a Christian I dont want to get into the daoist or zen elements of it, but the practicle side sounds fascinating. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=223648#p223648 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
Re: aikido! Agreed 100%. The bible warns us again and again to be careful when dealing with things like this that may spread into other territory. So far, my sensei hasnt even talked about anything remotely zen or mystical... which Im taking as a good sign, because her aikido is still as effective as anyone elses that Ive observed. But thats a whole other can of worms that would probably be better discussed through private message. Let me know what you think of the book if and when you read it. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=223650#p223650 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
2015-07-07
Thread
AudioGames . net Forum — Off-topic room : themadviolinist via Audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido! I will second Assault_Freaks recommendation of Aikido as a form suitable for blind or visually impaired students. The increase in self-awareness, and especially of body awareness is priceless to anyone who may have to react quickly to changing terrain without the warning of visual input. Ive studied off and on since 1985, and to this day the best applications Ive made of the combat tactics of Aikido are in dealing with icy side walks, carrying heavy objects and losing my balance on stairs and otherwise surviving situations that would have resulted in injury without that training.This is one aspect of Aikido training. Many of the benefits are psychological or spiritual. This might be especially true for a blind individual. In order to be able to move with your partner, you have to learn to be quiet in yourself, to put away attachment to a particular outcome as in doing xyz throw and moving into a mindset that the Japanese call m ushin, which roughly translates into no-mind, and refers to a state of being where you simply move into exactly the right place at the right time to achieve advantage without relying on force, or rather without relying on your own physical strength, and relying instead on superior position. The experience is almost mystical, its as though space curves to fit your needs so that you end up almost moving down hill into the perfect spacetime place. Thats imprecise language, but hopefully it conveys something. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=223115#p223115 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
Re: aikido! Mushin is something I can sort of believe in, but many of the more... spiritual aspects of aikido I have reservations about approaching, due to my faith as a Christian and a lot of teachings that seem incompatible relating to the whole concept of chi, personal fulfillment / enlightenment, etc. Im not absolutely opposed to these ideas, but I have reservations. But themadviolinist is absolutely right... aikido has helped me to do the same in dealing with situations like that. Not only in dangerous situations, but also just in daily life as I walk down a sidewalk, being careful about where I place my feet, it being easier to move around people, etc etc. Still looking for a resource that is accessible for study though. haha. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=223125#p223125 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
Re: aikido! I would suggest going with one of the two, or both if you can afford it as I am right now. If youre new to martial arts, I would say start with Aikido as it gets you used to the concepts of spacing, footwork, and typical body movements when fighting... Krav is also good, and Im enjoying it, but the conditioning is intense... and there is absolutely no sense of rules or fair play. Whatever you have to do to keep yourself alive works. So I would say start with the gentler of the two martial arts if you are interested. Aikido, at least speaking for myself, is highly recommended. Its fun, is perfect for visually impaired people because of its reactive response and emphasis on touching your opponent and feeling their movements, and is easy to start out in, but takes years to truly master like any art. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=222885#p222885 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: aikido!
Re: aikido! Aikido has always looked fascinating. I have long considered taking it up as well as krav maga, but dont want to play fast and loose with the limitted financial resources I have on hand these days. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=222861#p222861 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
