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Photo courtesy of OoohOooh I've talked in a couple of posts this past week about defining and measuring ma-ai very precisely so that yo... -
Someone asked me a while back to post what I consider to be pros and cons of aikido and judo – sort of what I like and dislike about aiki... -
Harai tsurikomi ashi has never been one of my tokuiwaza (favorite/best moves) but it was a favorite of one of my instructors! Mac McNeese h...
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Boy, I thought that Dave had found nearly the ultimate example a few months ago of a bunch of chi-tards and their hippie shenanigans, but th...
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Another thing that Chad asked for the other day in his comment to my post about teaching kids judo was some description of our favorite ...
Ok, at the first of this video it looked like Aikido and I was going to say I'm sure people "back in the day" and today think Aikido is stupid...then I hit 1:30 into the video and from that point on, I've got nothing. The stupid flips and jumping up and down again after contact is broken...I just don't see how people buy into this. It baffles me, it really does.
ReplyDeleteAnd all this time i thought my ukemi was horrible...
ReplyDeleteObviously we were just watching what happens when you're able to get the offbalance every time. And i mean EVERY TIME. Even when uke is stationary and grounded. I'm sure we could learn a thing or two from these guys... like collecting money at the gate and no refunds.
ReplyDeleteRecipient of the "World Tai Chi Internal Power Highest Gold Award" was the first hint that this was crap.
ReplyDeleteWorst example of Dojo mind control I've ever seen. Take some pride in your brain washing folks! Make it look plausible. At least!
wooow.
ReplyDeleteIt kills me that so many people were in the video buying what this guy was selling!
ReplyDeleteBoy, I bet they all felt stupid; they all wore the same dress!
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to be insensitive...but I think this has gotta be more than just the power of suggestion at work. If these people are truly buying this, I... don't think they have full mental capacity (I'm saying it as politely as I can).
ReplyDeleteIt would be a big relief to me if all those people were in on one heck of a practical joke on the sifu, or whatever he calls himself. That'd be great to see - 100 or so people convince some sap that he has some invincible chi power.
I'm really stupid for not starting a qi cult like this guy. It would have been so easy. :(
ReplyDeleteOh well, back to poverty.
Geez but that kinda thing makes my teeth hurt.
ReplyDeleteThis really appears to me to be an instance of religious hysterial fervor along the lines of this...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFCjKDKK6xY
there are probably several things in play here:
1) i dont think it would take but a handful of fakes and plants who are 'in on it' in order to control and manipulate this whole crowd of 60-100 folks.
2) after you pay 500 dollars or so to be part of this seminar, you _want_ to believe it is real or else you are both broke and stupid.
3) as someone (john?) mentioned, this started off looking something like real aikido, so there is probably _some_ physical subtlety going on here.
4) it's not hard for a skilled teacher to condition a handful of followers to jump around like this. All you have to do is show them that it is the acceptable social norm and punish them (via a severe throw or jointlock, etc...) when they don't conform to the norm.
and there's probably more...
The music killed me.
ReplyDeleteI know everyone wants to believe in the good of humanity, but if you dive into Tibetan history they are all about putting black magic hexes on each other.
People get sucked in because they seek power over others--they want to get a leg up...(even if it means wearing a skirt).
And some people don't believe in witchcraft!
> it's not hard for a skilled teacher to condition a handful of followers to jump around like this. All you have to do is show them that it is the acceptable social norm and punish them (via a severe throw or jointlock, etc...) when they don't conform to the norm.
ReplyDelete1. That must be a large part of it. I've seen the hopping, but not the crazy spins.
2. Also, these folks do not seem like they are interested in martial arts whatsoever, judging both from the video and the web site, which is much more about Buddhism. The clothing is Tibetan Buddhist clothing, not any stranger than aikido clothes).
3. Part of me does believe there is something subtle going on as you mention in #3.
4. I find the mention of the award strange, though.
Pat said
ReplyDeleteit's not hard for a skilled teacher to condition a handful of followers to jump around like this."
You've tipped your hand, my friend. Don't try that on me, I won't have it!
:)
I can remember the conversations on Usenet ten years ago: "If that stuff was real, someone would have captured it on video by now."
ReplyDeleteNow it is on video, free for anyone to watch--but it is obviously not real anyway. Cause, I dunno, we voted on it.
This is why people hate Aikido, they don't see a difference
ReplyDeleteKasey,
ReplyDeleteThere is no difference between stupid aikido and stupid taichi - they are both stupid.
But it really doesn't take much effort to find a lot of difference between real aikido and real stupid (like in this video).
I agree, though, hippy aikido has given real aikido a black eye that it is hard to get past