"Do you think it's important or confusing to train in other styles of aikido?"

I think it depends on where you are in your training and your relationship to the multiple environments. My dojo is, for lack of a better word, "ecumenical", so if I return from vacation having found a technique variation that works better for me, I've been training long enough (a few years) that that's expected and accepted, within broad limits. I think learning about what else is out there is important, and yes, it can be confusing.

"Have you been a part of an Aikido Friendship gathering? Would you like to be?"

Here in California we have aikido coming out our ears, so seminars tend to be open across organization boundaries. It's not usually equal participation from every organization or anything, but everyone's welcome to show up. Like everything else, it does tend to be self-selecting to some extent.

"If Aikido requires harmonization, why are there so many issues surrounding the politics of affiliation?"

That's a question that recurs in many contexts where it seems out of place, like other martial arts, and in spiritual organizations. The briefest answer seems to be that our teachers are human beings just like everyone else. =)

(A follow-up answer in aikido's case would be that many, if not most, of the organizations have been started out of disagreements--way back in the day, in the US there was only USAF--and those disagreements still bother some folks, and that spirit has been passed on to successive generations of students.)

"Everyone has been so quiet in this tribe of late... "

I noticed that too. I figured everybody was busy training :-) Aikidoka seem to be people of few words.


"Do you think it's important or confusing to train in other styles of aikido?"

Well I guess that depends on what your end goal is. If you're trying to study one specific style of Aikido to the exclusion of all others then sure, training in other styles will probably confuse you. But I think most people study Aikido for reasons that are enhanced by studying other styles.


"Have you been a part of an Aikido Friendship gathering? Would you like to be?"

Not yet. Sure, sounds like fun!


If Aikido requires harmonization, why are there so many issues surrounding the politics of affiliation?

People make decisions about what they think is best, and then train in that direction. If you believe strongly that a particular way of doing something is best, then it is natural for you to want to distance yourself from people who insist on doing it a different way. That doesn't mean we shouldn't come together occasionally to share ideas.
There is always something to be learned, the question is where can I learn the most important lessons the fastest.
Also, just because you respect some one's ideas doesn't mean you will adopt them. But one should be able to articulate the reason why they choose to adopt it or not.

One neat thing about my organization is that it collects people from all different backgrounds. Karate, Jujitsu, Tai Chi, Fencing, you name it, some one has put time into it, and noting their strong and weak points and the way they approach problems is something I find fascinating.

I don't eat ice cream anymore, but....

There are different styles of Aikido for the same reason that Baskin Robbins makes 31 flavors. Different people like different tastes. Some people never quite pick a favorite flavor. Some folks never eat anything other than mocha fudge ripple. It's all good, and it's all ice cream.

My dojo is run by a man who came up through three distinct syles of Aikido and Aikido instruction, our dojo is better for it. We also have people from different Aikido styles as members, as I am sure most dojos do. I have trained at dojos and in seminars with different styles and always take something useful back 'home'. I have also trained in dojos who were convinced at a deep level that there is only one true way to practice Aikido, and it was there way. It's all good, and it's all ice cream.

O'Sensei taught different ways, in different places, with different ephasises (is that the plural???) and different students of his took away different snap shots and teach in different ways. It's all good.

Do I feel that friendship gatherings are important? Definitely. In fact I believe they are critical. No one has the whole picture of what O'Sensei passed on to us. The best way for us to get a bigger sample of that is to get past individual ego and pride and try out funky stuff with a wide variety of Aikido friends.

Hi Nathan,

Thanks for encouraging us to keep this tribe alive.

About your questions:

Do you think it's important or confusing to train in other styles of aikido?

I do believe it´s important to have a broad perspective of Aikido. After all, O' Sensei himself highlighted different aspects of Aikido in different places, Iwama and Tokyo for instance, and wasn't necessarily against the different developments occurring during his time.

There are no many options here in the Milwaukee area when it comes down to styles or dojos, but I try to make it to one or another seminar with instructors of other styles, so I can see the bigger picture of Aikido.

Have you been a part of an Aikido Friendship gathering? Would you like to be?

No I haven't and I'd love to. As I said, there are not many options around my area that I know of.

If Aikido requires harmonization, why are there so many issues surrounding the politics of affiliation?

As one of my instructors put it, there are styles of Aikido as there are Aikidoist, so you have one Aikidoka who prefers a certain way or style of the art and another who prefers a different one. The more one thinks his/her style is the ONE, the "traditional", "original", "effective" or the best, the less likely that person will accept other ways of practicing Aikido.

I'm afraid that were there are two or more individuals there is politics involve and as time passes those politics will tend to grow or diminish as members and styles develop.

I have very little experiences of political tensions in my dojo, but nevertheless they're there.

Best luck!

Hi Nathan,

I've trained in different styles, including a year on the other side of Australia (as a nidan) in a very different style to my home dojo. Everywhere I train, I meet wonderful people. I think of them as my extended aikido family. It's worth cross-training for that alone. But I also think that my aikido has benefitted. After my year away, my aikido changed. Not what I did necessarily, but how I thought about it and therefore how I executed techniques. That year was hard for me - I had to open my mind to a new way of thinking and a new way of training. It took a long time to feel like I was grasping the basic techniques of this new style. But then it came together - new and old styles merging so that I could see (and feel) the benefits of each and bring them together. I also managed to bring my cross-continental families together, with my east-coast Sensei coming to the west coast as a guest instructor, and my west coast Sensei attending seminars on the east coast. It's all good.

* Do you think it's important or confusing to train in other styles of aikido? *
I lean towards "yes". Within the first few months of starting in Aikido, I was watching as many videotapes as I could, of as many different teachers as I could. In the dojo, I'd try out what I saw and see if I could make sense of it. Over the years I developed a rule that is now in force at our dojo, the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time you should be doing the technique the same way the teacher is doing it, 20% of the time you can play with variations that occur to you.
Different styles exist in large part because different teachers have different ideas about what's important. A teacher that feels that relaxed movement of primary importance will do something as simple as tai no henka differently than one who feels that strong extension is of primary importance, and both will look different than someone who thinks that both are of equal importance. Being exposed to different styles therefore gives you a chance to see the effects that these different emphases have, and gives you tools to use when making Aikido your own.

*Have you been a part of an Aikido Friendship gathering?*
Yes, both as a student and a teacher. I found the experiences immensely rewarding.

* If Aikido requires harmonization, why are there so many issues surrounding the politics of affiliation? *

Because different people have different ideas, and sometimes those ideas clash.

How odd to come across this post. I recently (with the aid of a few other yudansha) founded/formed an aikido fellowship here in Virginia. While there are a few aiki schools locally (Norfolk and Virginia Beach), either the childish politics/antics of the students or the pricing makes it an unwise choice.

With that in mind, we decided to form a Fellowship that can not only teach aiki, but also be a welcoming place for other styles to train (as well as share their versions).

So I agree fully that opening up to other styles is a wonderful idea. But, I admit, one must be careful not to confuse those who are new ot the art. Better to learn 1 way, before trying variations.

Anyone in the Norfolk, Virginia Beach, or Chesapeake area interested, please check out our site.
www.Aikidofellowship.com

"Do you think it's important or confusing to train in other styles of aikido?"

Yes I do. This and studying other arts lets you see your training from a different perspective. I took Iaido and dance lessons while studying aikido in California. It's amazing just where they arew the same, and where they are different.


"Have you been a part of an Aikido Friendship gathering? Would you like to be?"

I don't believe I have, but it might be fun to try.


"If Aikido requires harmonization, why are there so many issues surrounding the politics of affiliation?"

Because people are people. It's difficult escaping the need to be special somehow, to be part of the elite. You want to believe what you're doing is the right and proper way. It's hard learning that there really isn't one. O Sensei was teaching us how to think and move. Both are dynamic processes that can't really be pinned down to one style.


Sorry for the rant...