It is narrated by the blessed Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) that continuity in the minor is superior to singularity in the major. In other words, we are taught that performing a good deed, action, or whatever term you might choose to ascribe to the “positive,” the small continued act is more worthwhile to a person (in both this life and the next, of course) than that of a single great act, which is not continued–superior does not qualify the inferior as negative, insignificant, or worthless. So, I’m not completely saying what I do is wrong, just slighting myself enough to set an example for us all. My blog has been an experiment, so I apologize if there are readers who eagerly await a new post, something I highly doubt.
In any case, I am duly surprised that someone requested my video(s). Well, posting my videos is a big step, since it requires divulging a little more about “the man who is unknown,” but I have a feeling I’d remain as such even if i were to post one (or some) of them. A little pretexting is required, though. The first video is a response to a book (listed in its credits) and the second is an area of research I’ll probably be focusing on in more depth in the not-so-distant future. All copyrights are reserved, especially for the second video, where many things I used are not free license.
Here’s the first video:
Here’s the second video:
Well, I hope this doesn’t cause a ruckus among people. When one is a graduate student, different things are required of the student. Besides learning a few languages, one of the things that my immediate graduate school career has taught me is how to make movies. So, while they’re academic or thought-provoking in nature–or at least are supposed to be–they’re still movies.
[note]: The next post is on hold while I finish up translation from “the Zhuangzi.”
mujman,
very interesting videos..especially the second on ki in aikido..
can you explain though what it is about Morihei’s practice/influence in aikido that incorporates ki.
I’m familiar with the hadouken, but are there other ways to use one’s ki?
Somebody else recently called me mujman, it was kind of strange–blast from the past type of thing.
Anyhow, as for ki, I am learning (about) more ways of manipulating and using it. Ki cultivation (or Qi, in chinese, and Gi, in korean) is a type of vital force or energy that everyone has. I recently met a scholar who has been practicing it for over 20 years–mainly Chinese styles–and he explained various things about ki and its cultivation in Chinese martial arts.
In terms of Aikido, Morihei basically develops a martial art of ki. That is, earlier ki cultivating arts existed: taijiquan (taikyokuken in Japanese), qigong (kikou in Japanese) (has negative political/social associations in China these days). The basis of his martial art is using the ki of the attacker to stop him/her. While I’m not very well acquainted with all styles of modern Aikido, it’s fundamental practice is using ki and the flow of ki rather than physical force to disable and/or stop the approaching person’s attack.
Many martial arts practitioners have utilized ki in their styles and even teach it to their students. But, Morihei is the one who explicitly develops a new martial arts style fundamentally revolving around this idea. Today we have a myriad of styles and disciplines, but Morihei operated in a very different world.
The hadouken was made famous by street fighter 2 and is not really a “real” move as in something passed down through generations (street fighter shows gouken teaching ryu and ken the external and internal forms of shotokan karate, of which the hadouken is a secret art).
Ki projection is something still doubted by many people. There are have been numerous demonstrations of this, for example a person flying back after ki is projected into him/her. However, a better way of conceptualizing it is in the use of ki to heal, which is also ki projection, except that one projects ki to help and assist in a patient’s/person’s recovery or condition. If one understands the basics of ki, ki projection would not be too far off in imagination. On the other hand, an actual visible manifestation of ki is questionable–but that’s something to look into, especially with the idea of “auras” prevalent in different social contexts.