The following quote is from http://www.e-budo.com/vbulletin/show...threadid=21369
I wanted to move a portion of this topic here for discussion as it appears to be more fitting for the sword forum and I think this attitude is quite common and should be examined.
To add a little context Meik was talking about training in MJER, MSR, and Iai in general and whether or not there was any benefit to jodo training. The entire post was kinda long, so I clipped it, but encourage you to read the entire post at the link above to avoid context issues.
NOTE: In all fairness it is possible that Meik meant his comments specifically to reference ZNKR Iai, but that isn't clear from the post.
Wow. That seems patently offensive to me for some reason. An awful lot of foisting your own ideals onto another system in order to judge it. Particularly the bit that implies that those who do solo waza are "playing with themselves".Originally posted by Meik Skoss
But for to spend a majority of one's time with an imaginary aite is, errrr... uhhhh... I will try to be polite... not so helpful. Partners are necessary for a reasonable practice. Check the curricula of most koryu to verify this fact -- they don't spend a lot of time playing with themselves.
Hope this helps.
Tell me Meik, or anyone for that matter who tends to discount Iai based solely on it's emphasis on solo waza. How do you propose to learn an art which focuses primarily on cutting with the draw if you do not use shinken or at least iaito? If you propose using shinken or iaito for paired practice, how do you propose making it safe? I would posit that there simply is no other good way to transmit the techniques without a heavy emphasis on solo waza.
Why do you feel justified in ridiculing another koryu based on it's training methods? Would you be upset if I did the same?
For instance, is it ok for me to discount kenjutsu training because the majority of time is spent training without live blades?
Is it ok for me to ridicule the Jo guys for inefectual training methods? After all the Jo man is never in any real danger. Your opponent isn't using live steel and isn't trying to actually kill you. He's also locked into a set pattern of movement.
Is it ok for me to say that the tameshigiri crowd is wasting there time cutting? In tameshigiri, the opponent never moves and the practitioner is never in any danger of being cut?
My purpose here is not to start a flame war. I don't believe any of that bunk above. I don't make claims about the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the training methods of other systems. It was included purely for examples sake. Playing devils advocate if you will.
I don't mean to single out Meik in particular but this post rubbed me particularly wrong. I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Skoss as a matter of fact, but the attitude expressed above pops up over and over again online.
Bringing this up here is probably a mistake(Rocking the boat. Impudent whelp. How dare you question one of the budo gods... and all that. What was it Tony called me... ah yes Silly Little Man) I'll acknowledge that in advance, but I think this is the kind of thing that Mr. Lowry was talking about in his recent article here on E-budo, and I think it is a valid topic for discussion.
So without further ado. Discuss