Two Hundred and Thirty-eight

So I was looking at one of my paintings today and noticed that the closer I got to it the more it became less and less cohesive as a picture. As my field of view narrowed, small details of how the painting was constructed began to emerge and become distinct. Backing away from the painting, I noticed the details become increasingly less evident as the picture emerged from the brush and knife work.

Watching a technique demonstrated is like viewing the painting from a distance. The technique is there in full view, like the finished painting. What's missing are the little nuances of the technique's construction and the feeling of connection between the partners that become obvious only after I get on the mat and practice it for awhile.

When I'm practicing I can feel every point of contact with my partner, feel his energy and level of commitment, notice the paths of our motions, the points of intersections and tangents. It's like looking at the painting from close up and noticing the details of the various types of brush strokes and the places where the pallet knife was used.

As my point of reference contracts, my awareness expands and details previously hidden begin to emerge. The price paid is the blurring out of the big picture that is noticeable from the outside. Conversely, as my point of reference expands and my awareness contracts the overall form of the technique emerges though the details are once again lost to view.

Two Hundred and Thirty-seven

Correct feeling isn't akin to feelings as in emotional or sensory feelings. Correct feeling is a state of being. When in the state I refer to as correct feeling, that is when mind and body are tightly coordinated and Ki is decidedly manifest, I am aware that it's not the same as my walking around town state of being. So what are some of the characteristics of the correct feeling state of being?

Correct feeling is characterized by:

1. A contracted frame of reference and a corresponding expansion of awareness.
2. The absence of conscious thought.
3. Emotional neutrality.
4. A heightened state of physical and mental relaxation.
5. The ability to project presence.
6. An increase in perceived mass (as felt by my partner when we come into contact).
7. The ability to effect my partners balance and disturb his structure at the moment of contact.
8. A way of moving that involves the entire body acting in concert that isn't what I would term consciously directed.
9. A profound connection with my partner.

There's more, but I just wanted to provide a brief outline some of the characteristics of correct feeling in order to convey the fact that it's about feeling as being, not feeling as part of a stimulus/response loop. With mind and body tightly coordinated the perceive-process-order-do sequence occurs faster than my ability to be consciously aware of it happening.

The important realization to take away from this is that correct feeling is attainable via Aikido training. Ki exercises/testing, technique practice and weapons work all contribute to the process whereby correct feeling is first experienced then, with repetition and increased loading, strengthened. 

Two Hundred and Thirty-six

The eye of a hurricane is a zone of calm. The body of a hurricane is a whirlwind of power. Without either the hurricane would not be a hurricane. Separating the eye and body of a hurricane is the boundary layer that also serves to unite them. Without the boundary layer to separate them, eye and body would coalesce and lose their distinctiveness. Without the boundary layer to unite them, eye and body could not function as a unified whole. The boundary layer is defined by both eye and body, being wholly neither.

Using the hurricane as a metaphor, I visualize my mind as the eye of the hurricane, my body as the body of the hurricane and my spirit as the boundary layer that separates and unites both. Spirit is a synergy of mind and body. It facilitates mind/body coordination enabling me to experience correct feeling, my most dependable and powerful state of being.

Two Hundred and Thirty-five

In conflict, energy in the form of combatants is at a higher level than in the absence of conflict. Aikido is a martial art that endeavors to facilitate the transition of high level energy in the form of the combatants to the lowest energy state possible in conformance with the Minimum Energy Principle.

O Sensei (taken from The Art Of Peace, John Stevens) -

"... we put ourselves in tune with the universe..."

"A warrior's mind and body must be permeated with enlightened wisdom and deep calm."

"If your opponent strikes with fire counter with water,... it swallows up any attack harmlessly."

"...once you envelop them you will be able to guide them along a path indicated to you by heaven and earth."

"Let attackers come any way they like... blend with them...Redirect each attack and get firmly behind it."

"Enter, turn and blend with your opponent..."

"Draw him outside of that sphere and into your own, and his strength will dissipate."

"...keeping yourself in a safe and unassailable position... no one will suffer any losses..."