Strange to come across this video though because I just got back from a weekend Aikido seminar out of town.

I'm not a big believer in Ki. To me it's all about body mechanics rather than some undefinable energy. I've been to a few Maruyama Sensei seminars (Kokikai) and he's all about Ki but it just came across to me like a marketing trick designed to appeal to Americans. I even uked for Maruyama Sensei through an entire seminar and truthfully, I played along with all his Ki power demonstrations (hell, he's 8th Dan) but I fealt like I could have pushed him over at any time.

Anyway, although Seagal Sensei obviously develops a lot of power from his center, I can't help but feel that his sheer mass plays a big part in his Aikido. That and his "Sensei Power", that intangible mystical force that made me pretend I couldn't push over an 80 year old man in front of his own students.

Oh that's possible. I don't know when my sensei trained with Steven, but know for sure he trained under Ueshiba (my sensei, not Steven).

Honestly, I think Steven's contributions to martial arts has more to do with his outsized ego than his ability. Many of the practitioners in my dojo are probably just as skilled, if not more so, than Steven, but they simply don't have his charisma.

I don't think his size is really at cause for his power, however. In aikido, size can serve as a detriment if it is not embodied within the hara -- the center -- and moves with the hips, as in any athletic endeavor.

And as someone who has experienced the kind of qi he references here, the energy is in no way mystical. It is a real phenomenon with actual effects on the mat.

>> ^TheFreak:

>> ^Trancecoach:
My Aikido sensei, an 8th Dan, trained under the founder of Aikido with Steven. when you learn to embody the principles, the art is quite beautiful
His demo starts around 1:15 in this video.

Morehei Ueshiba died in 1969. Steven Seagal went to Japan in 1974. So Seagal never learned Aikido from the founder.
His accomplishments in Aikido are still impressive though. Undoubtedly the biggest influence in popularizing the martial art in the US.
And to elevate one of Westy's points, I suspect he gets more power from being 6'4" than he gets from any form of mystical, universal energy.

>> ^Trancecoach:
My Aikido sensei, an 8th Dan, trained under the founder of Aikido with Steven. when you learn to embody the principles, the art is quite beautiful
His demo starts around 1:15 in this video.


Morehei Ueshiba died in 1969. Steven Seagal went to Japan in 1974. So Seagal never learned Aikido from the founder.

His accomplishments in Aikido are still impressive though. Undoubtedly the biggest influence in popularizing the martial art in the US.

And to elevate one of Westy's points, I suspect he gets more power from being 6'4" than he gets from any form of mystical, universal energy.

*SPOILER WARNING*
Actually, the plot is EXACTLY like Twilight. The first season, anyway (I stopped watching after that). Let's see... Human girl meets vampire, they fall in love, which is completely uncommon for a vampire to do. One of them has the power to read thoughts (FOR NO REASON AT ALL), but for some reason can't read their love interest's thoughts (FOR NO REASON AT ALL). He then spends the entire time protecting her from other more violent vampires. Hmmm... That all sounds very familiar. Then! Vampire has to go away for a while, asks a rival mystical being to protect her, the girl is heartbroken, and the other guy is there to comfort her and she starts to see him as a love interest as well. Hmmm... That also sounds painfully familiar! Both stories even share exact same lines of dialogue.
I understand that this is a very very broad overview, but I could honestly go on and on about the blatant similarities between the two popular vampire stories. One has a TON of filler side-stories about politics and other character development. But then again, True Blood also runs at almost 13 hours of airtime a season, so it has a lot more time to kill.

I'm sure as the True Blood series goes on, it probably gets more original, but the main plots of both stories are pretty much the exact same (again, speaking only for the first season of True Blood). I don't know which book was written first, but somebody ripped somebody off.

EDIT: Reading a comment above, the True Blood books came first. Okay, so Meyers stole from True Blood, then.

Heh, this showed up on the Sift just the next day after I started giving serious consideration to joining the O.T.O.

As it happens, it's the only serious initiatory order with a presence within three hundred miles, so far as I can find. And, having bought a copy of Crowley's Thoth Tarot years ago, I've finally begun seriously studying it. Beautiful artwork, profound symbolism.>> ^gwiz665:

Ultimately Crowley was as hypocritical as the religions he disliked though, creating his own based on Magick and weirdness. As usual the small cults are based on hedonism and sex, and while everyone likes that, it doesn't make for intellectual honesty. Magick isn't real.


Crowley repeatedly cautioned against ascribing objective reality to the phenomena experienced in the practice of magic. Which is why he phrased the first goal of magic in such a ridiculous fashion as "the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel." It is absurd, precisely in order to remind seekers that ascribing objective reality to such theories is always absurd. He did all sorts of things like this. He asked followers, for instance, to align their rituals so that "East" in the books always faced his home--indirectly indicating that it was entirely arbitrary what direction one faces.

People who assiduously practice magick really do have visions; experience communication with demons, angels, and gods; experience mystic transport; and realize the integration of the self. The reality of the experience trumps, for Crowley, any "objective" claims.

>> ^enoch:

"do what thou whilt may it harm none" was a traditional pagan saying

Eh, not really. Most pagans prior to the rise of Christianity would have shuddered at the statement, aside from a handful of obscure philosophers. Certainly not Plato, Pythagoras, or any of the other pagan writers so often accorded great spiritual insight.

Though such formulations do begin to make an appearance whenever Paganism arises in post-Christian contexts.

What I was calling out was the specific scientific stuff such as the thing retards keep doing where they use string thery and missunderstanding of quantum physics to justify mystic mumbojumbo.


I will quite hapily listen to sumone just make philasophical claims or generaly just talk about something , so long as its logically sound.

its just meditating when people dont get basic science correct and then put there incorect interpritation of it into a vidoe.


>> ^enoch:

>> ^westy:
>> ^enoch:
interesting comment westy.
your main point addresses a small fraction of the videos content,contesting a point the video was only indirectly talking about and then turn around and basically agree with what this video is saying..semantics aside.
maybe you are bi-polar my friend.

my issue is that sum one is not going to have much creditability in philosophical arguments if they haven't understood fairly obvious things in science.
anny thing that he says in the video that is true is pretty obvious but presented in an overly complicated way.
the video in gneral is convoluted.

i would not call philosophy a science but rather a system of pushing and pressing boundaries by way of questioning and examination and attempting to understand the confines of this reality and how we..as humanity..fit in that context.
i would tend to agree with you that this mans presentation may be a tad verbose but when you understand that he is also infusing a lot of eastern philosophy in conflation with west.since most here are familiar..even if they dont realize it..with western philosophy..what he proposes may appear to be total gibberish.
i may not agree with everything this man puts forth but i admire his efforts to explain the battle between the ego and the soul.something which western philosophy utterly fails to do but eastern philosophy addresses often and is actually a prime tenant.
the thing that bothers me about western psychology is the prevalence of administering psychotropic drugs after only an hour long session to diagnose.this video and others like it offer a different path for those who may suffer or experience bi-polar/mania/depression by way of self exploration and awareness of oneself.
ones true self.
now i am of the belief we are spirit,you may not but this video can still be helpful to those who do not believe in spirit by simply understanding and addressing their ego.because once you understand and have identified what the ego is is you can now begin the process of dealing with it.
not all healing can be found in medication.

"It shouldnt be dictated by men - but Women shouldn't be judged for feeling being a mother is more important than having a career."

I agree, granted it's their choice. Though sometimes even when they do, they really don't if you get my meaning, due to the pervasiveness of patriarchal tradition which has infected almost every aspect of our culture. The whole point is in many societies and situations, they don't have any say in the matter at all. Does one really have choice if they're ineptly equipped or educated to properly compare and contrast them?

Where they do have a choice, that's fine and dandy (even then though again, the pressures to conform to the typical patriarchal mindset, where men are the authority and women play along under some threat of ostracism and don't have nearly any autonomy, combined with poverty/poor education, leaves them with little choice but to continue on with the only thing they know which is to perpetuate/pass on their patriarchal memes to their own children and so on). These mindsets are usually almost always accompanied by some other outdated, intrinsically misogynous doctrines such as religious/mystical belief where authority is pretty much god-given.

Of course, it's much more complicated than my own ramblings but you get the general idea, yeah? Humanity can only benefit by throwing off these obsolete and oppressive machinations which in effect hold everyone, male and female alike, back.

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>> ^bigbikeman:
I'll agree with you on most points Lawdeedaw, except for putting all belief/faith on the same level. Unfortunately our language doesn't have two (or more) different words for the difference of belief between believing the tooth fairy is real, and that our spouse will not cheat on us.
We may be wrong (or right) about both the above beliefs, but obviously one is demonstrably more sane than the other (ie there certainly exist people in this world who don't cheat, and one can "believe" there is a high probability that their spouse is one of them, based on what they know about them, how they act etc).


Oh, I have no doubt that there are diffent levels of faith and agree that some are insane and some are not. It all depends on perspective, though, and that is a sticky, tricky mess.

The problem with the toothfairy is this---we find out that it is mom or dad (My mother was over religious and never taught anything that was "mystical.") Faith, to be true faith, must always have a itty, bitty, tiny curb of possibility---no matter how small it may be. It cannot be disproven nor proven. Religion took hold of a concept provable only in death, and; therefore, is illogical yet, umm... faithable?

Thank you for allowing me to expand upon this idea and for being respectful too.

^so if we never get more knowledge, tens of thousands of people will die, again and again, forever. But at least you'll have the warm glow of untouched, mystical, unknowable nature. Good for you.

"I'm angry mystical Batman."

How about - Evidence, real, physical, in your face factual evidence. Evidence doesn't care what your beliefs are. It doesn't care how you feel about a subject. Evidence is evidence and evolution is a factual reality. So is geological time and speciation. You can spout on all day long about how you "believe" the sun rotates around the earth, or that there's a mystical teapot flying around Jupiter that grants wishes. You can believe anything you want. Reality doesn't care. Reality dictates Reality. Not yours or anyone's personal attempt to do so on their own.

Ok so assuming there's some historical basis here, and removing the mysticism, and trying to relate to Moses as a leader.

Here's a guy who, religious mythos aside, during an economic crisis, led an rebel movement to a successful uprising of slaves.

So they all escape into the wilderness and he realizes he now has Anarchy. Thousands of hardened, bitter, uneducated people without food, water or shelter all looking to him. All shit's gonna break loose if we don't get some order in place.

So like the founding fathers, sits down and tries to a constitution/basic laws for the newly freed people. When he comes back, Aarons taken over, made a new god - cooler and more laid back. Now he's gonna just look like the asshole with all the strict rules. "Aarons god would let us, his one is better!"

So he smashes the constitution and kills a shitload of people so they don't think Aaron's god is that cool after all. Typical response from any dictator. Failed Coup - Punish everyone.

Then goes back and rewrites a simpler constitution - and starts with a law that stops all that "Aaron's golden bull god is cool" bullshit. "1) thou shall have NO other gods. God is a jealous god".

In context, thousands are mourning. Everyone's family has watched a loved one be butchered.
"Hands up who still likes the Golden bull" Noone? good, now you know who's boss around here."

Classic nation building - citizens must fear the government to obey the laws.

nice post.
look up the true story of st patrick and the pagan women of ireland.
thomas aquinas was a FUCK.
st augustine wrote beautifully and poetically but was ultimately a hypocrite.he liked little boys and girls and whores..lots and lots of whores.
teihard de chardin is one of my favorites but he got in to a boat load of trouble with the church and near the end of his life started to back pedal.cant be having woman be as equal spiritually as men now can we?thats a big no-no in the church,original sin and all that jazz.
conclusion:men are pansies in the face of a strong woman.
it is like boobies have a mystical power.

well this is the thing , i like marshel arts and all the other sports as a form of dance and way of getting fit , allso they are like a living musum of culture. but allot of the people that practise them ohnistly think of them as a practical wepon , when in modern socity its very rare that you would actualy need to know annything to be in the best servival outcom . nearly always if in a confruntatoinal situatoin your better running away , allso due to the nature of street fighting chances are annyone who actualy has intent to hurt you will have a kniffe or a gun , in which case your fucked.

there is allso a huge difference to knowing basics of self defence and keeping fit and limber , over sumone that trains as if they are going to be a gladeator.

the latter seems like a very unproductive usage of time ( in the sence of doing it for self protectoin) I have nothing against people doing it for enjoyment.

I allso find sport scence quite intresting , and thats what this guys kick techneek realy comes down to , utilising the muscles in the most efficent way to deliver force at a given piont of contact. but its so retardedly simplistic compared to other scencies or other thigns of intrest , yet the guys presenting it teach it as if its some sort of mystical oober magick , exsploiting peoples retarded respect for martail arts that has developed over the yers.

infact one of the things that the japanise ninja sucsesfully did was convince people that they had magic powers and that was a sort of mental wepon that would give them the upper hand in a battel. its amusing that morons are still going allong with it.

In modern life u just need to know how to handle a knife use and look after a gun , and identify potentail situatoins from a distance so you can avoid them or run away. skills such as how to make money , or cook grow capture varouse foods , or be educated are going to be far grator factors in avoiding phisical fights and having good servival in modern life.

>> ^xxovercastxx:

>> ^westy:
so i got this thing that fires metal faster than the speed of sound.

I can almost understand why people repeat this stupid comment in light of self-defense videos, but this is a sport. Nobody talks about how they own a bulldozer when watching football.