Day 167 of writing every day.
Today is the second and final day I’m in Tokyo for Aikido. Yesterday was mostly spent in the Nippon Budokan watching or waiting in line for my turn to step out to the stage area where everyone performed their demonstration. There wasn’t much excitement in regards to the demonstrations I saw. While many people seemed to be enjoying Aikido, their demonstrations looked too much like a performance and less a demonstration of their skills honed through dedicated practice, and some seemed in need of serious review of the integrity of their practice if they really considered themselves as training effectively and correctly.
The internet has no shortage of critics when it comes to calling Aikido ineffective. Many might be keyboard warriors and some may train seriously in another art or combat sport. There is some truth in the criticism when it comes to how so many people seem to be training. Even within Aikido, there are people who bemoan the passing of the “golden age” where there were talented star students of the founder who were colorful characters in their own right and many had powerful and/or sharp techniques that couldn’t be mimicked because they possessed a level of proficiency nobody seems to have today.
Nowadays there’s not as much excitement about watching Aikido demonstrations as in the past. It was new and exciting decades ago, but has lost some of the draw simply because it’s been around for a while. The declining focus on dedicated training and practicing with a focus on martial effectiveness and that was a result of opening Aikido up to the public might be weighing on the minds of those who were present to witness the demonstrations in-person or learn from great teachers.
I don’t think it’s a question of Aikido declining in terms of its value, but what people are focused on when they decide to start practicing it and what they choose to embrace. Aikido, like many other Japanese Budo, hold demonstrations to gain publicity and draw interest in modern society. Not many people consider learning any self-defense and it’s not something taught in most schools because there’s this sense of law and order where it’s the police who have a duty to protect your life and you no longer have the responsibility to learn to protect yourself except against fraud and deception aimed at stealing your money and private information.
I could talk about Aikido at length, but I’m not here to write a book about it. Each time I’ve come to Tokyo to take part in the demonstration and practice with others, I seem to return feeling wiser than before, even if I don’t think I’ll ever call myself as being wise.
Thanks for reading!
One Chance Works 