Don't know if Mr. Seagal is liked here on the forum or not, but here's a news report of a seemingly recent event where he was teaching Aikidō in Russia: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psb29yl7IKY"]Action star Seagal shares aikido expertise with Russians [HD] - YouTube[/ame] Here's a longer clip from the actual seminar: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxDKVPj11jQ"]Steven Seagal in Russia - YouTube[/ame] And here's one where he's hanging with President Putin: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bUvdAQY9xo"]Путин Ð’.Ð’. СобÑнин Steven Seagal in Moscow - YouTube[/ame]
Ahem... nice translator in that last clip! Anyway, I've seen older footage of him teaching aikido where he moved a lot better. His economy was good in the second clip, but he looks a lot more stilted and unbalanced than he used to.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH6HtkySiCQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]Steven Seagal - Master Of The Aikido - YouTube[/ame] Regardless of how silly anyone may think the training is, it's obvious he had pretty good form and a clue about intent.
What's the opinion on video 2 from people who know Aikido? To my completely untrained eye, he looked like he knew what he was doing, but he was given a lot of opportunity by the uke to apply his holds and they did lots of leaping breakfalls to make it look good.
From the later part of the video I got the impression the topic of that hour was hand/wrist controls. That's mostly what he was demoing at the beginning, and it would make sense, then, to go slow. He was even turning around sometimes to let the other side of the room see him, when doing so was utterly unnecessary for the move; again, that makes sense if he was instructing them on something particular. Plus, based on my experiences on the mat with different high-level black belts, I have every reason to believe that his nikyo comes on near-instantaneously and with much pain. The uke had incentive to go along nicely.
I disagree. I respect the fact that he has obtained the title Master, but he is a person like anyone else and earns his respect like anyone else.
+1. Eh, Seagal once obtained the rank of 7th dan and fairplay to him. But I think it kinda stands for itself that the majority of videos where he actually gets involved properly with demonstrations and training and moves effectively are much older videos. The newer footage I've seen of him - on the show where he was an honorary deputy in America, youtube, working with MMA stars (etc), his movement always feel significantly stiffer and slower compared to when he was younger. To a degree that would make sense, most people just aren't that agile when they're older - but he's not that old and I've trained under guys in their sixties and seventies who could train much harder and move much better. Plus his way of moving and defending himself in the earlier videos always felt really off, too. Give me a video of Shihan Tissier anyday. I suppose I should pay a lot more respect for him, but I just can't. The guy really grinds my gears.
I disagree. It's not uncommon in martial arts for grades to be handed out for reasons other than technical ability. In addition, Steven Seagal has something of a reputation for being quite arrogant to say the least. The practice of bowing down to people just because they lay claim to a higher grade, which is just a number btw, is how McDojo's flourish. Claims to greatness should be questioned and tested. Other than a basic degree of courtesy to one's training partners. Respect should be earned.
Found this article about his mob connections, it also goes into some examples of his pathological fibbing. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/scams/steven_seagal/index.html For those that just want to read about him being choked-out by a judoka, skip to page 3
I'm inclined to agree with this. Not so long ago, if someone had told me they'd got their 7th Dan, I would have just paid them the respect I felt they deserved (beyond basic courtesy). But a long time back, I got burned by doing this with a former instructor. Let's just say he didn't turn out to be as much as he made himself out to be and I've moved on to learn from a different dojo with a much better instructor. :bang: That said, I still wouldn't agree with physically expecting a much older practitioner to prove themselves in the same way, but I'm sure there are other ways of testing their knowledge of the art. The hard part is how to do this without sounding like you're being a bit of a muppet.
Everybody from my original Ki Aikido club who is still training and held a dan grade when I started as a white belt is now at least a 5th dan. Several are 6th dans and I think at least one is a 7th dan. A high dan ranking in Aikido and Ki Aikido all too often just doesn't hold the same degree of prestige it used to.
I was taught to respect a master. I'm not saying you should get down on your hands and knees and kiss his feet, but anyone who has earned that title has earned respect.
