Tuesday, April 10, 2012

An update to Aikido on the subway

I'm an Aikido practitioner. Of course, I don't have nearly as much time to train as I like but I guess nobody really does. One of the great Aikido chestnuts is a story from Terry Dobson about a trip on the Tokyo subway. In short, a belligerent drunk guy gets on the train and begins to threaten people. Terry was getting ready to uncork some whoop-ass (he had been training eight hours a day for months) when an old man intervenes with compassion. The drunk weeps and the student is humbled.

It seems that the lesson has been updated. A man broke up a fight on a NYC subway with... a bag of chips. It's hard to be threatening when your snacking on crisps. And who would actually strike someone holding a cellophane bag with a mouth full of potato products?

Is this 21st century Aikido?


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