Judo for the whole world

Jesse Allen2 said:Hey now, don't go making generalizations!

Fine then. Go ahead. Define "spirituality" in a single word so the whole mind universe actually understands you. 😳 😲 😘

Paul Campbell3 said:Fine then. Go ahead. Define "spirituality" in a single word so the whole mind universe actually understands you. 😳 😲 😘

I think I'm the only one who can truly put it into words consistently. 👍

Jesse Allen2 said:I think I'm the only one who can truly put it into words consistently. 👍

If you can only say it for yourself and not for the rest of us, then what's even the point? Where's the logic in that? 😁 😳 😉

SU!

😘

Paul Campbell3 said:If you can only say it for yourself and not for the rest of us, then what's even the point? Where's the logic in that? 😁 😳 😉

SU!

😘

That's exactly the point. I can't love, eat, dance, or hit the gym for you. Sorry, but it's time to roll up your sleeves and get to work! 😉

Jesse Allen2 said:I disagree. To me, it is a guarantee. If something is going to reach its absolute peak, you usually see the potential for that right from the start.

That scenario doesn't exist. That’s exactly where the difference lies.

Hold up, what are you actually getting at? Are you saying that unless someone (me, or anyone else) dives in emotionally, they can never truly experience sex? Or did I totally miss the mark? Since we’re already talking about sex 😁 we might as well loop back to the original topic...

Maybe the example just sucks? 🤷

quietpilot87 said:Hold up, what are you actually getting at? Are you saying that unless someone (me, or anyone else) dives in emotionally, they can never truly experience sex? Or did I totally miss the mark? Since we’re already talking about sex 😁 we might as well loop back to the original topic...

Maybe the example just sucks? 🤷

An example is just an example. It isn't inherently good or bad; it's just meant to illustrate a point. 😉
Look at it this way: if you charge into a boxing match without having any clue what you're even fighting for, you aren't going to get very far. 🤷

Jesse Allen2 said:An example is just an example. It isn't inherently good or bad; it's just meant to illustrate a point. 😉
Look at it this way: if you charge into a boxing match without having any clue what you're even fighting for, you aren't going to get very far. 🤷

I just went with my gut, and I know I made the right call. 😍
I didn't exactly have a roadmap of what I was looking for at first, but things are finally starting to click. 🙂 Since everything is playing out exactly how—for lack of a better word—it "should," 🙂

quietpilot87 said:I just went with my gut, and I know I made the right call. 😍
I didn't exactly have a roadmap of what I was looking for at first, but things are finally starting to click. 🙂 Since everything is playing out exactly how—for lack of a better word—it "should," 🙂

Well, you knew all along—that's why it's all coming into focus now 👍

Sure, intuition counts as a form of knowledge.
But try asking someone who made a gut decision to actually explain their reasoning. It’s never gonna 😁

On the flip side, I agree you’ve gotta find some kind of middle ground. Sometimes if you get too bogged down in all the data and "deep insights," you just end up paralyzed—too busy thinking to actually 😁 start doing anything about it.

Plus, look—both dragon and I are total UFO enthusiasts. You really think we spend our time overanalyzing where we're headed? 😂

quietpilot87 said:Sure, intuition counts as a form of knowledge.
But try asking someone who made a gut decision to actually explain their reasoning. It’s never gonna 😁

On the flip side, I agree you’ve gotta find some kind of middle ground. Sometimes if you get too bogged down in all the data and "deep insights," you just end up paralyzed—too busy thinking to actually 😁 start doing anything about it.

Plus, look—both dragon and I are total UFO enthusiasts. You really think we spend our time overanalyzing where we're headed? 😂

I don't feel the need to explain my intuitive choices to anyone else. What matters is being able to explain them to yourself; that's how you eventually learn to recognize and understand those gut feelings.

I don't know dragon or Paul Campbell3 well enough to weigh in on your individual journeys. 🤷 😢

Mark Torres14 said:I started training Aikido over thirty years ago. Somewhere between 1972 and 1974, if I remember correctly. I think I was testing for belts back then—green or brown, I can't be sure anymore. In our small town, a Canadian instructor showed up and opened an Aikido and Kendo course, so we all signed up. Later, Krešo came back from the USA, and my whole generation ended up pivoting to basketball instead, which became my main sport for the next twenty years.
What drew me to Aikido was the elegance of the movements, though Kendo was definitely more exciting. I remember we were all obsessed with those blind swordmasters you see in Japanese movies who could master a blade perfectly.
Nowadays, a journalist friend of mine runs an Aikido club in San Diego.
I still think about getting back into it, even if the fact that I'm just too big and heavy now (110 kg) holds me back. But honestly, in Aikido, age and weight don't even matter.

Doesn't matter to you, maybe, but it sure as hell matters to your opponent.😛

Robin Rodriguez5 said:Dragonfly, when Ueshiba passed away without clearly outlining the succession plan—who would represent the art, who would evolve it, or who would lead the charge—it left a massive power vacuum. It’s a classic scenario; you see this kind of messy transition in royal bloodlines all the time, so it shouldn't be any surprise in a martial art. Following strict tradition, the mantle fell to his son. The problem? He wasn't the top student, nor was he the most skilled, nor was he the right-hand man. That role belonged to Tohei for years. Honestly, if we're talking about who actually preserved the legacy, it's debatable whether the son kept the flame alive at all. At that stage, his grasp of the art was shallow compared to Tohei, who was miles ahead in terms of raw knowledge, experience, and pure mastery.

Minoru Tohei
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE5jN0rqMtM

looks like he turned into a bit of a snake at the end there, haha 😁😍

There’s this old Judo film that’s actually worth checking out—it features both Morihei Ueshiba and Minoru Tohei. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuuhW9t11e0

Kudos to whoever started this thread. I only picked up Judo about two months ago, so I’m definitely not an expert or anything by any means. You guys have already dropped a ton of knowledge here, including some stuff I hadn't even stumbled upon on my own...
steeleagle13... that movie was incredible. If anyone else knows of good films or maybe some decent books on this subject, please drop some links in here. It would be great.

All I can say is that the skill itself is just phenomenal. I did some Karate before this—and yeah, there's technique involved there too—but this is easily the most impressive thing I've ever seen. It’s all about being relaxed, staying spontaneous, letting that creativity flow...
I think I might have finally found my style. I really hope I get the chance to keep practicing this for a long time...

Cheers, everyone!
topic is 👍

steeleagle13 said:Are you doing the classic stuff where it's just pure fighting? Or that Minoru Tohei style focusing on breathing exercises and all that?

I don't think there's much "fighting" involved, really. And it’s not just sitting around learning how to breathe, either. It’s a bit of everything...
The instructor shows us all these little tricks tucked between the actual techniques we're working on. He keeps stressing this idea of just letting go, letting the movements happen naturally within the flow of the follow-through... but honestly, it's hard to actually apply that right now since we're just grinding through technique after technique. You can't really combine moves or maintain momentum yet... we do some weird drills (kind of like those things you see in YouTube videos)... and then you have the older guys who come up with their own custom combinations and whatever else... I haven't made it to a seminar yet, but I bet things get pretty wild there...

The master once told us this analogy about Judo. He said it's like the way people speak; you have a limited number of words, but you can say them in an infinite number of ways. That's how he views Judo... you can mix and match almost anything in thousands of different ways.
It immediately makes me think of those old martial arts movies—you know, like *Black Belt* or something... 🙂 where they talk about how there are endless possibilities for movement and no two sequences are ever truly the same...

Personally, I dig the combinations that blend combat with technical skill, breathing, and that feeling when you find your stance and become totally immovable... like nothing can shake you. I guess that’s what the Ki style is supposed to be about.
I even picked up a collapsible broomstick to practice with 😂... but using a staff isn't coming easy to me. Though, strangely enough, I'm doing better with the beginners than I am with the stick...😁

I have a buddy who trains Hapkido. Now, that style is basically just straight-up fighting. But even they have similar concepts to Judo. Just... much more brutal. Break a back, snap a neck, yeah, that kind of thing. 😁

I’m honestly not even sure if I’m reading a thread about a martial art here. Morihei Ueshiba called it the "peaceful art" because you can actually defend yourself without causing massive, unnecessary damage—unlike those old-school styles where the whole goal was basically just to kill someone with a single strike if you got lucky. It wasn't meant to be some mystical way to meditate all day, conjure up transcendental energy, or shoot energy balls out of your palms to knock people out.

But man, everyone in here seems so full of themselves and their "ki." It’s like everyone’s already achieved total enlightenment and tapped into the universal cosmic flow just by sitting around meditating 24/7, while Morihei Ueshiba himself was humble enough to say things like, "I've only realized a small part of it."

At the end of the day, if you don't actually carry that spirit of peace within you, practicing Judo isn't going to magically develop it for you.

To discuss Eastern martial arts while completely disregarding the spiritual element is quite similar to attempting to play tennis without a ball.

graniteharbor502 said:To discuss Eastern martial arts while completely disregarding the spiritual element is quite similar to attempting to play tennis without a ball.

There's a kernel of truth there, I suppose. But honestly? Treating martial arts—or any combat sport, really—as if you can just sideline the grueling physical conditioning is equally absurd.

crimsonbison10 said:There's a kernel of truth there, I suppose. But honestly? Treating martial arts—or any combat sport, really—as if you can just sideline the grueling physical conditioning is equally absurd.

So now we're suffering because training is hard? Apparently, physical exertion is a taboo subject and a total trigger for everyone's spiritual neuroses. 😬

Charles, crimsonbison10. 🙂 😲 🙂

😂