Category Archives: Quotes

There is an elephant in the room that is so large it isn’t simply a case of nobody talking about it. It’s so big that somehow most people don’t even notice it. At this point, the elephant is the room. It relates to a simple concept that you hear about aikido all the time. Namely, there is no attack in aikido. This has become a fundamental part of the art. There is even a quote from O Sensei about this in the Art of Peace as translated by John Stevens:…

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This time our quote that needs to die is, “There are no rules in aikido”. While there are many incorrect quotes about aikido, some are worse than others. This particular quote is a prime example of why you should never trust what someone says without checking it for yourself.* At the very least, you should give some thought to what they are telling you, and consider a slightly wider picture of things. Origins It’s not the easiest to determine where this quote began it’s life. It’s heard in dojo all…

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The idea that “aikido is 90% atemi” is a persistent one. There’s even a post on this site suggesting that this is the most misunderstood quote in aikido. In this post, we’re going to revisit it, and consider a new point of view. One that may make it the most accurate aikido quote in existence. The previous blog entry argued that this quote wasn’t referring to atemi as striking. Rather, it was referring to a ‘hitting body’. That’s the ability to hit the opponent with any part of your body…

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The next in our series of Quotes That Need to Die is an interesting one for several reasons. It would seem that no particularly famous person has said this. It’s not a quote in that sense. It is something that comes up time and again though, it’s something that everybody seems to know, or at least say. You’ll quite often encounter this whenever the subject of grading or skill level has come up. This is less of a quote and more of a phrase in common use; however, it really…

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Our quote that needs to die this time is that old chestnut that appears all over social media. It usually takes the from of an ‘inspirational’ meme. I can see why it would work that way for some people but really, this one is just dumb. Ready for it? Here we go: “A black belt is just a white belt that never gave up.” Are they though? I mean it’s a lovely sentiment, but that’s all it is. Importantly though it really doesn’t hold true. If you aren’t a black…

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This post is the second in the series of Quotes That Need To Die. This one focuses on a specific aikido quote. It appears everywhere and, in my opinion, is unhelpful to both training and a general discourse on aikido. “Aikido is 90% atemi!” – O Sensei. I’m going to assume that you’ve heard this one before. It’s almost impossible to have a conversation with an aikidoka without encountering this quote. I’m pretty sure that this quote needs to die. It’s not helpful to aikidoka and even a moments thought…

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There are a lot of quotes in aikido and in martial arts in general. They get tossed around like candy and often there is little consideration of them. I think that some of these quotes need to die. There are various reasons for this. Some are mistranslations, some are just silly, and some wildly misunderstood. Regardless they keep cropping up. This one concerns the lot of a gardener in war. This post’s quote that needs to die is: ‘It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a…

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