Here in the Netherlands there are no aikido clubs with a christian background like www.christianaikido.com. Do you still think that i can jion a club without a christian background, because i don't know if Aikido has some spiritual or eastern teaching influences which are not good for a christian ? Maybe someone on the board can explain me more about this ?
Question about Aikido (www.christianaikido.com)
- Thread starter Mayflower
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Me Died Blue
Puritan Board Post-Graduate
I took Aikido at school in my middle school years and through part of high-school, and our instructor taught us much about its background and philosophy as well. Aikido is founded upon Buddhist thoughts and ways, and its founder, Morihei Ueshiba, was a devout Buddhist who sought to apply his philosophy to martial arts to create a method that was defensive and non-harmful to others. He called Aikido "the art of peace," and the booklet he wrote by that title is filled with sayings on finding your inner-self-fulfillment, letting go of it all, and becoming one with the harmony of nature. So at the very least, I would advise being cautious about affiliating with any of it.
I am not familiar with this attempt to implement a supposed Christian mindset into Aikido, but the site does claim that its instructors "do not teach with any eastern religion or spiritual mysticism," which is at least a good sign. Even so, at the top of the front page it says, "In prayer we search for answers. Through prayer we learn the truth," and the second sentence would at list seem to suggest a somewhat mystical or underlying charismatic element in their Christian mindset, even if they do not identify it as such.
I am not familiar with this attempt to implement a supposed Christian mindset into Aikido, but the site does claim that its instructors "do not teach with any eastern religion or spiritual mysticism," which is at least a good sign. Even so, at the top of the front page it says, "In prayer we search for answers. Through prayer we learn the truth," and the second sentence would at list seem to suggest a somewhat mystical or underlying charismatic element in their Christian mindset, even if they do not identify it as such.
Thanks Chris for your experience and background information that is what i need. I hope that there some others on the board who can share there vieuws. To be honest the sports itself i really like, i practise Judo & jiu jitsu before i got converted and with jiu jitsu it has some aikido influence in the style and technic, and because i need some sports again i prefer aikido BUT i read the background information that Chris writes concerning finding your inner-self-fulfillment, letting go of it all, and becoming one with the harmony of nature and buddisme, than i want to be very carefull with it and even not be involved in it. So hope that others also can advise me !
twogunfighter
Puritan Board Freshman
I have been studying Judo and Jiu-Jitsu for about 5 years or so. I am a Brown belt in Judo hopefully I will be a black belt by next summer. So I am not really advanced but far enough along to have some opinion. I have some experience also because my Jiu-Jitsu instructor is also a Aikido instructor and periodically some Aikido leaks into our classes.
I don't think that the eastern hocus pocus really matters. The force is most with me when I have some fellow competitor about four feet off the ground and I am about to drive my shoulder through his chest. This whole thing is theologically kind of like eating meat sacrificed to idols, if your conscience troubles you then don't do it. For my part, I bow to my oponents because it seems to be respectful to do that prior to engaging in physical combat with him. My instructors are very lax in the whole buddhist thing though. They were both national level competitors in the US and are mostly concerned with what works versus the "kata" or the beauty of the form. Which brings me back to Aikido. It seems that you would continue with your Judo/Jiu-Jitsu rather than adding Aikido. That form with all of its hokey wrist manipulations etc. doesn't seem like it would work on a real street type of opponent (and no amount of Seagal movies will convince me otherwise). The movements are too fine and require too much exact practice for most of us non-budhist monks to execute on a sweaty tanked-up 250 pounder. Also how many Aikido bubbas do you see entering the UFC and PRIDE rings? All of those guys are boxing/Jiu-Jitsu/Judo/Muay Thai practitioners for the most part. I guess that what one chooses depends on whether you emphasize the martial or art portion of the term. The fact that there little in the way of aikido competitions would also concern me. One can only really get good at something going full steam at an opponent that is also going full steam. Especially when you have great Judo and Jiu-jitsu instruction and traditions in the netherlands.
I don't think that the eastern hocus pocus really matters. The force is most with me when I have some fellow competitor about four feet off the ground and I am about to drive my shoulder through his chest. This whole thing is theologically kind of like eating meat sacrificed to idols, if your conscience troubles you then don't do it. For my part, I bow to my oponents because it seems to be respectful to do that prior to engaging in physical combat with him. My instructors are very lax in the whole buddhist thing though. They were both national level competitors in the US and are mostly concerned with what works versus the "kata" or the beauty of the form. Which brings me back to Aikido. It seems that you would continue with your Judo/Jiu-Jitsu rather than adding Aikido. That form with all of its hokey wrist manipulations etc. doesn't seem like it would work on a real street type of opponent (and no amount of Seagal movies will convince me otherwise). The movements are too fine and require too much exact practice for most of us non-budhist monks to execute on a sweaty tanked-up 250 pounder. Also how many Aikido bubbas do you see entering the UFC and PRIDE rings? All of those guys are boxing/Jiu-Jitsu/Judo/Muay Thai practitioners for the most part. I guess that what one chooses depends on whether you emphasize the martial or art portion of the term. The fact that there little in the way of aikido competitions would also concern me. One can only really get good at something going full steam at an opponent that is also going full steam. Especially when you have great Judo and Jiu-jitsu instruction and traditions in the netherlands.
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