Word-Dancing Together Towards Noble Outcomes

 Aikido is a martial art that Ueshiba derived from several traditional martial arts dating back to medieval samurai times. In contrast to the traditional martial arts, aikido is considered a modern art. However, in contrast to contemporary, newly developed, anti-traditional martial arts, aikido is a traditionalist martial art that believes that the wisdom of its art is encoded within traditional forms and training exercises. “More precisely, in traditionalist martial arts, one may experiment, but only in terms of applying principles. Transgression of the principles is transgression of the wisdom encoded in the martial art” (Bowman, 2014, p. 17). Even though aikido claims a link with tradition, it does not have a straightforward origin story. In order to better understand the inception and the present manifestation of aikido, it is significant to know the evolution of martial arts from pre-medieval Japan to the 20th century. This history shows how and why aikido, as a modern martial...

There is no single accepted definition of conflict. The many definitions, whether they refer to international, political, religious, cultural, generational, organisational, interpersonal, or intrapersonal conflicts, focus on the incompatibility of concerns (Thomas & Kilmann, 2012, p. 2) , adversarial values (Dorjee et al., 2013, p. 115) , and the collision of cultures (Lewis, 2018) with the connotation that conflict is a negative, destructive, or inhibitive force. In reality, conflict can be healthy. It can bring to light previously unseen pressures or discontents, promote problems to be addressed, and improve understanding of goals and motives (Mohammed et al., 2009, p. 4) . Upon moving away from the negative connotations, conflict becomes more of an intriguing challenge and its resolution can be found in communication. Approaching conflict with a positive outlook, coupled with effective communication, can turn conflicts into opportunities. | Excerpt from the author’s  doctor...

The idea of national identity remains prevalent in this day and age, shaping how individuals and societies perceive themselves and interact with others. This perceived identity consists of behaviours and values that are reinforced through everyday experiences. Robert Dilts’ logical levels is a model that explains the relationship between behaviour and values, helping us understand how national identity may influence intercultural communication. Additionally, Michael Billig’s concept of banal nationalism provides insights into the subtle ways ideas of national identity are continuously reinforced in daily life. By integrating the model and the concept of banal nationalism, we can explore how national identity operates at different cognitive and behavioural levels, shaping both cultural self-perception and intercultural interactions. Dilts' model, however, does not apply solely to national identity; it was originally developed to explain the different levels of an individual's pe...

Intercultural communication typically refers to challenges and corresponding opportunities in communication that occur when people from different cultures meet. In many people’s minds, a static notion of culture prevails based on approaches that explain challenges in intercultural communication through cultural differences linked to national norms described by scholars of comparative intercultural studies (like Hall, Hofstede, Lewis, and Trompenaars). The identification of cultural differences with norms and values that are supposedly characteristic of the corresponding nationalities from which the leading management of a given multinational company stems generates conclusions whose simplicity is worrying. The resulting classification of cultures according to their degree of individualism versus collectivism or of masculinity versus femininity is so stereotyped and ethnocentric that it can hardly contribute to the study of intracultural and intercultural dynamics. (Dietz, 2018, p. 12) ...