Wow

[ironphoenix]

The discussion of Christianity that flared up in responses to this metaquote is pretty freaking vigorous; some good reading in there.

Comments

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

These questions are why I took up aikido instead of continuing with jiujitsu and kung fu.

Rather than letting someone kill (or injure, or whatever) me or someone else, the preferable solution for all concerned is to prevent them from doing so without harm, and leading them to stop trying to inflict harm. Backing up this lofty ambition is the hard part, and that's where the years and decades of practice come in. It's the best answer I've found so far.

[ancalagon-tb.livejournal.com]

This works well on a hand to hand combat level, but we both know there are forms of conflicts where this is not a practical option... :(

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

Hey, it doesn't even work "well" on a hand-to-hand combat level! It's really very hard to stay true to that ideal and still have anything like a real-world-effective technique. That's a fact that many aikidoists like to forget, but whenever I practice with an absolute beginner, it resurfaces. People are all different and essentially unpredictable, so to really be effective, one has to be incredibly versatile.

But I do use aikido in other conflicts, or potential conflicts. It's just not as easy to see in an abstract realm.

Now, when it comes to wars etc., one has to ask who is in a position to "do aikido." Obviously not me, in any direct sense, any more than I can affect the outcome of a much smaller-scale thing like a mugging in Singapore: I'm simply not in the game. But if a national leader takes that approach, then yes, I do believe that it can be effective in that realm, but no more easily than in the small-scale one.