There are no few people (they tend to be people I avoid :-) who believe, whether explicitly or not, that in order to achieve what O-Sensei achieved, you have to follow the same path he did, otherwise you won't be able to understand the sublime art he was doing in his 70s and 80s. Accordingly, these folks try to practice the way Morihei did when he was young: rather forcefully and violently, in a couple words. I could go on about this, but suffice it to say that I disagree heartily with this viewpoint.

I think those people, because they simply aren't O-Sensei -- i.e. they don't have his gift -- get stuck in a pattern of violent practice from which they will never escape. I believe that O-Sensei had a special gift which allowed him to rise above and beyond "ordinary" martial arts, and develop something incredible. I think we can and should strive directly to achieve what he was doing in his latter years. He showed us what was possible, and now we can shoot straight for that -- for a higher plane -- that the vast majority of us giftless ones could never reach if we tried to relive Morihei's life, which is a ridiculous notion in any case. Knowing what is possible has a big effect on what one can actually achieve. Just look at the history of sports records for proof of that. The recent McGuire/Sosa home run thing is a perfect example.