Aikido Master Ki Blasting People (UK)

**cod3r** · Posted On: 8/23/2005 11:14am

To clarify.

I participated in the British Aikido Fellowship's summer school this year in the last week of July.

During the event I, along with ~100 other students, witnesses Shihan Reynolds perform a technique, attributed to Ki, that resulted in the uke dropping. The uke was about 15 ft away. No aikido technique that I know of seemed to have been performed. The uke did not come into contact, or within range of the Shihan at all. Finally, no laws of physics, particle or astro-, or thermodynamics, as I understand it could have played a role.

This was repeated a second time. Also, a third time, although in that instance the uke was in very close range.

Clearly Shihan Reynolds is a highly accomplished Aikidoka. I always thought that (accomplished) people attribute Ki/Chi to breathing, balance etc, but in this instance Ki was portrayed as a force outside the current scientific understanding.

- cod3r

**Sigil222** · Posted On: 8/23/2005 11:15am

No such thing as ki blasts.

**xingyifa** · Posted On: 8/23/2005 11:41am

Originally Posted by cod3r

The bottom line is aikido is not, and will never be ring tested. That opens up the possibility of any number of people making claims they know they will not have to back up.

Unfortunately I can not see a line that can be drawn between the valid Aikidokas and the bullshit artists.
- cod3r

This is why the only reasons I do aikido are that it's dirt cheap and I can walk to it from my condo. Hell, the only evidence aikido (by itself) even works is anecdotal. Once you accept that, you might as well start believing in ki blasts.
Now, if someone would just come open a BJJ center down the street for under $40/month with 12 classes a week, I'd be in heaven.
:tongue8:

**Sigil222** · Posted On: 8/23/2005 11:44am

Perhaps your aikido doesnt work xing, mine does however.

**Grant** · Posted On: 8/23/2005 12:18pm

I'll go.

However, I would like confirmation that this is indeed the Shihan in question and that he will be willing to cooperate, perhaps a phone number would be useful.

**Sh0t** · Posted On: 8/23/2005 12:20pm

What would you guys do if you went to test one of these guys and they really did knock you out from 15 feet away with Negative Ki Attacks?

**Grant** · Posted On: 8/23/2005 12:24pm

That would be some good footage.

**xingyifa** · Posted On: 8/23/2005 12:30pm

Originally Posted by Sigil222

Perhaps your aikido doesnt work xing, mine does however.

Perhaps. However, I do spar occassionally with some local MMA guys and I have found the footwork and evasion principles to apply to limited situations where an opponent overcommits. This really isn't something that good fighters do very often and boxing allows you to throw power blows without a whole lot of committment...
How do you know that yours works? What type of sparring do you use it in and what aspects of aikido have you found apply to your overall game? Have you tried aikido against people who grapple and strike in full contact styles or just within the krotty format? Have you been able to apply it against people who like to clinch? What style of aikido are you studying?
I study iwama style and while the sensei might actually be a decent fighter (he used to work out with some of the same MMA people), the vast majority of the students couldn't fight their way out of a soaking wet paper bag... :eusa_doh:

**Peter H.** · Posted On: 8/23/2005 12:35pm

Originally Posted by cod3r

The bottom line is aikido is not, and will never be ring tested. That opens up the possibility of any number of people making claims they know they will not have to back up.

DCS linked to a thread in AikiWeb. There were some sensible posts there, so I took a few moments to register and peruse the rest of their forums.

For me it clarified a lot of what I have been thinking about Aikido. I have never seen so much concentrated dumbfuckery in one place. Every... post... made me... want... to.... cry...

I am not a quitter damnit, but the death knell to my Aikido practice is sounding in the distance.

Too bad because in many ways it is a valid art.

Unfortunately I can not see a line that can be drawn between the valid Aikidokas and the bullshit artists.

And I won't even go into the Ki blasting stuff.

- cod3r

Aikiweb, Aikido Journal, E-budo are all inhabited by the viscious Aikibunny. More concerned with style over substance and very little, if any concept, of what a real fight entails.

The problem isn't Aikido, the problem is the tree huggers who embraced the spiritual aspects without realizing that O-Sensei could do the whole peaceful/spiritual/inner light thing because he had the street skills to throwdown when necessary.

**xingyifa** · Posted On: 8/23/2005 12:39pm

Originally Posted by Peter H.

The problem isn't Aikido, the problem is the tree huggers who embraced the spiritual aspects without realizing that O-Sensei could do the whole peaceful/spiritual/inner light thing because he had the street skills to throwdown when necessary.

The thing that I keep wondering, is what if O-sensei honed and developed these skills in other systems but yet created a system which stressed the spiritual so much that people without strong fighting backgrounds would be unable to actually translate aikido into street effectivness. Im an aikido noob so I am keeping an open mind here, but from what I've seen, even dojos like ours where philosophy isn't discussed a whole lot aren't producing good fighters...