Being, Essence & Motion

Two Hundred and Ten

2012-02-01T05:52:00.000-08:00

With both of us in natural stance, my partner grabs my lapels and holds tightly. His aim is to prevent me from turning my body either left or right via the application of force against my upper torso. I want to turn my body without having to rely on moving my feet from natural stance. My first inclination is to just bull my way through the turn; possible, but difficult even against a partner I can clearly overpower. Turning in that manner involves lots of shoulders and upper body muscle strength. Not much in the way of correct feeling there.

Next I might try to forego the shoulder push and sneak up on the turn by subtly withdrawing one shoulder and then forcefully coming forward with the other one as my partner uses strength to counter my retreat. With a partner who lets his awareness waver this method can be successful. It is, however, just the flip side of the power through maneuver, though it relies more on speed and surprise than raw strength. *Sigh*. Not correct feeling either.

No, confronting his power directly is not what I am looking for in order to perform the exercise with correct feeling. I will need to coordinate mind and body in order to take up slack and move into the turn with my whole body integrated and connected.

When I demonstrate the idea of taking up slack in this exercise I use a physical metaphor as follows: Let's say I decide to turn to my left. My right shoulder will approach my partner while my left shoulder will move away from him as a result of the turn. To demonstrate taking up slack before I move into the turn I extend my right shoulder very slightly to my right and extend my left shoulder very slightly to my left using small circular motions on the direction of my turn before beginning to turn into my partner. This has the effect of neutralizing his hold on my lapels. The result is that I am able to turn freely (provided I am able to move my body as a unit, more on that in a bit).

Of course if I were to try this for real my partner would make adjustments to his holds and stop me from moving. But it is only a metaphor for what's occurring inside. In actual practice I will use his handholds as points of connection and perform the taking up slack maneuver without moving. When I am on the grabbing side of the exercise and my partner does this correctly he seems to go away and I feel like I'm holding an empty jacket.

Having taken up the slack, I must now move my body as a connected unified structure in order to effect the turn. I notice that I don't lead the turn from my hips, waist or shoulders. Rather, they all move as a single unit. I also make note of the fact that my one of my legs will turn slightly outward, the other inward as my body turns.

As with all partnered Ki exercises, my partner will apply just enough resistance to take me just to the point of failure to give me the opportunity to move through it. If I am unable to he will back off slightly until I can perform the exercise correctly.

Enjoy.

Two Hundred and Nine

2011-12-16T20:58:00.001-08:00

Like the popper on a
bullwhip,
my hands arrive
last
and leave,
last.

Two Hundred and Eight

2011-11-29T21:13:00.000-08:00

I've had students who, when I would speak about the necessity of blending and harmonizing with uke in order to create Aikido, would assume that blending and harmonizing necessarily preclude violence; as though they're somehow mutually exclusive. They're not.

Blending and harmonizing refer to how I will interact with uke primarily with regard to our mutual motion. In blending with uke's motion I seek to avoid points of non-tangential intersection along our mutual paths. Successful blending gives rise to a harmonious relationship between uke and myself as it relates to our motion and connection. The result of this interplay of forces is that uke is taken off balance and guided to the mat where I will either disengage from him or seek to immobilize him via a pin or joint lock. The meeting of uke and the mat can be thought of as violent due to its ofttimes sudden materialization leading to the abrupt cessation of his motion. It is violent, and no less blendy and harmonious for being so.

Pins and joint locks involve pain due mostly to torquing and can also be thought of as violent. However, the violence is controlled in that I can bring uke to the point where further movement on his part will cause pain, and stop. If he ceases moving he will feel nothing while continued resistance on his part will induce a painful sensation at the point of application of the pin or lock. In essence he will be inflicting violence upon himself. His choice and a natural consequence of his aggression.

In Aikido blending and harmonizing are procedural ideas while violence can be seen as a consequence arising not out of nage's intention but as a result of uke's aggressive behavior.

Two Hundred and Seven

2011-11-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

I'm always finding new Aikido avenues to explore. Lately I've been experimenting with the idea that Ki extension must be accompanied by a relaxed body in order to be effective. The first time I had an inkling that this may not be quite the case was during a demonstration of weight underside. The exercise has 2 ukes, one on each side of nage, grasp nage's forearms and, together, try to lift nage off the floor. I usually demonstrate this exercise two ways. First with my arms held stiffly at my sides with elbows locked. My partners are able to lift me in that position. The second iteration I relax my body, especially my arms and shoulders, and as they lift I let their force circle around, without stopping at my shoulders, and feed it back to them in the form of downward pressure. My feet stay firmly planted on the mat.

As I have continued to practice this exercise I am noticing that it's getting more difficult for them to lift me even while I remain in the stiff armed position. After checking and confirming that I hadn't added 20 or 30 pounds of stealth weight I surmised that something else must be afoot.

I then began to practice the exercise totally stiff and found that I could indeed remain rooted to the mat with ease. To make things more difficult for myself I had my partners drop their centers below mine so they could lift from underneath my center of gravity using their legs and not their back muscles. Same result. In fact the downward force I feel is more evident and active from the stiff armed position. When they try to lift me my partners are literally driven to the mat by the force of their own energy.

I'm now experimenting with katate tori. I have my partner grab my wrist and push into my shoulder. I'm noticing that I can remain immovable regardless of my physical state, be it relaxed or stiff armed. I'll continue to explore this aspect of Ki development and application and most likely will have more to post about it in the future.

Two Hundred and Six

2011-11-11T20:50:00.000-08:00

My partner places her hands on my shoulders while facing me. The heels of her hands lie just below my collar bones, her fingers rest lightly on the tops of my shoulders. We begin by having her lightly push allowing me to stabilize my center and become acquainted with the general intensity and direction of her applied force. For her part, in addition to providing the force of her push, she will be learning to recognize when I have centered; it's easily felt. When she can feel my center she will apply more force to her push.

At this point the exercise diverges from the simple static Ki exercise from which it was derived. What I want to do is divide the force of her push in such a way as to make one side of her work against the other. I do this by creating a "positive" point for her to push against on one side and a "negative" point for her to fall into on the other. As a result, her arm pushing against my positive point will cause her shoulder to pop up while her opposite side arm will extend into what feels like a void even though she remains in contact with me continuously. As she corrects her compromised structure I will reverse the direction of my positive and negative points causing further disruption of her posture and balance. As I practice this exercise I can see how the shortening of her arm that pushes against my positive point causes her other arm to lengthen. This makes it difficult for her to apply any kind of effective force at my shoulders. (Note for uke, it's important to apply pressure continuously during this exercise.) With continued practice I will develop the ability to capture her push on contact and compromise her posture and balance from the outset.

I can vary the exercise by allowing myself to be pushed backwards. While moving I can experiment with creating positive and negative points in order to change direction on my terms or simply stop in order to allow myself to be statically tested. I can also have uke push my shoulders from behind or push at my hips from front or back.

Two Hundred and Five

2011-11-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

Uke is like an electron. Not the electron of Classical Physics, a hard little ball of indivisible stuff following a predictable path; rather the electron of Quantum Mechanics, until observed neither here or there but both, following a path(?) seemingly of its own choosing.

When I interact with uke I can assume nothing, expect nothing, predict nothing. Assuming, expecting, predicting all distance me from now. Uke can be neither right or wrong. He can't move too early or late. He can't be ahead of the technique or behind the technique. He can only be where he is, doing what he's doing, from moment to moment. Being in the now requires that I simply accept what uke offers me at any given moment. In so doing we provide the fertile environment from which technique may grow.

The moment we connect there is no uke, no nage, no we. Connection is the key. Though our roles are opposite they are at the same time complimentary, each necessary for the entity we become to be fully realized. A coin has two sides. Imagine a coin with no depth. Where is the line dividing one side from the other? Where is the distinction that differentiates me from uke once we have begun to interact?

Two Hundred and Four

2011-10-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

Spirit is the boundary between mind and body. Mind provides intent, body provides mechanics. Spirit provides the interface whereby mind and body may work in harmonious synergy, blending their efforts, subsuming their individuality and realizing the state of mind/body. Spirit endows the mind/body unit with cohesiveness and structure. Spiritual power, in this case, is not measured in terms of the ability to perform work. Rather spiritual power is expressed by the strength of the mind/body unit.

Mind and body having achieved the state of mind/body are said to be coordinated. Correct feeling arises when I become aware of this state. When my spirit is healthy, strong and highly positive I am acutely aware of correct feeling. Conversely, when my spirit is ailing, weak and highly negative I have almost no awareness of correct feeling.

Aikido training first introduced me to these ideas. Prior to starting my training I had no inkling of the complex relationships of my three aspects. Continued training allowed me to slowly engender my awareness of correct feeling and begin to explore it within the context of interactions with partners on the mat. As my study deepens I can really delve into how my spirit regulates the interaction of my mind and body; how by strengthening my spirit I am able to forge an ever more integrated mind/body, thereby amplifying my awareness of correct feeling.

The realms, processes, realizations and relationships of mind, spirit and body may be distilled down to the single word - Ki.

Two Hundred and Three

2011-09-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

"Like the balance embodied in the equinox, a balanced life and a balanced culture are both possible and necessary. In an act of cosmic irony tied closely to the celestial imperatives of the equinox, grand ideas coming out of science and cosmology are setting the stage for such a change." - The Tyranny of Modern Time by Adam Frank, posted 9/23/11 on 13.7 Cosmos and Culture.

I'm continually reminded of the close connection between Aikido and cosmology. Aikido presents me with a way of being in the world, a mechanism by which I can relate myself to the rest of creation on a variety of scales, both time and distance.

Aikido brings balance to my life which in turn helps bring balance to the culture, albeit at a "quantum" scale. I am one person in a roiling sea of humanity. One person who has achieved balance and lives in relative harmony amid the chaotic maelstrom of modern life. By providing a space for others to explore their Aikido and hopefully bring their own lives into balance, Mary and I contribute a little bit towards the further balancing of our culture. For if it's going to happen, if we're ever to rise above the pettiness that has crept into life in the Modern Age, change will have to come one person at a time.

The true nature of O Sensei's gift of Aikido is the ability to affect just such a change of attitude in the folks who undertake their study seriously. So while science and cosmology set the stage for the change on a cosmic scale, Aikido works on a much smaller scale engendering a new attitude at the level of the individual. I undoubtedly won't live long enough to see the emergence of a new cultural balance on anything like a grand scale but it's with some satisfaction that I can look back and say that I've contributed to its growth.

Two Hundred and Two

2011-09-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

It has been said that continued practice of something done incorrectly will not lead to any improvement. Interesting. The underlying assumption is that the incorrect practice is repeated over and over in exactly the same manner. That's not really practice though, is it? It's nothing more than mindless repetition. Practice entails iterations of performance, analysis, correction and refinement.

Aikido practice is a process of self discovery whereby I continually engender changes within myself via analysis of my performance so that I may make corrections to refine the totality of the interaction with my partner in order to improve my performance. Aikido is a wonderfully self correcting activity.

When I began my study I was able to rely on muscle power in order to effect the execution of technique. As I moved along the path and ukes became less willing to just roll over for me I had to find another way to perform that relied less on muscle and more on the principles of Aikido that were presented to me by Maruyama Sensei. In short, I had to find correct feeling, and once felt, strengthen and polish it. The process is like watching hair grow. The road from baldness to shoulder length hair is crystal clear in hindsight while altogether invisible day to day. Growth in Aikido and my attainment of correct feeling is the same; no "Ah ha, I've got it!!!" moment; just a gradual continual improvement due to daily practice.

To continue to grow I must practice mindfully in order to be able to analyze, correct and refine my performance.

Two Hundred and One

2011-08-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

We practice in a cooperative training environment. When I train with a partner we enter into an agreement to abide by the structure of the exercise in order that we may both derive the benefits afforded us by the practice. The agreement is simple.

If we are practicing say, shomen uchi kokyu nage, I as uke agree to attack with a shomen strike and not a yokomen strike or katate tori. I agree to attack and, when nage moves, follow in order to continue attacking. As uke I agree to attack without foresight, that is, to attack where nage is and not where I know he's going to be. When practicing static grabs I agree to regulate the power of my attack and operate within nage's ability to receive and deal with that power, regardless of nage's rank.

If I'm not thrown I don't fall. If my balance isn't compromised I keep it. If nage leaves openings I do not ignore them.

As nage I agree to regulate the power of my technique and operate within uke's ability to take ukemi, regardless of uke's rank. I agree to execute the technique we are practicing. I agree to move without foresight, to present a tangible target for uke's strike or grab. I agree to respect the energy uke is putting into the attack and treat the attack with the same seriousness as I would if there was real ill intent behind it.

If I don't follow through on my throw I expect uke not to fall. If I don't disturb uke's balance I expect him to keep it. If I leave openings I expect them to be exploited.

I and my partner work together to better ourselves and for the betterment of each other. Cooperation in training does NOT imply capitulation on the part of either participant.

Two Hundred

2011-08-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

I stand in natural stance and my partner, standing in front of me pushes on my shoulder. Usual Ki development practice would have me remain immobile, letting the force of the push flow through me while I remain relaxed and centered. This exercise is structured differently. As my partner pushes I allow my upper body to rotate about my vertical center line even as I remain relaxed and centered.

I don't lead the push, I want to feel the force being continually applied as I move; feel how it is altered, how my partner changes her angle of attack as my motion bleeds her force off, how she recovers in order to maintain her pressure on my shoulder. And then I stop, staying relaxed and centered. I stand immobile for a time, absorbing my partners push, and then rotate back to my original position while still being pushed, remaining relaxed and centered. With repeated iterations of this exercise I will stop at different points along my arc of rotation, stand for a moment and then rotate back to the starting position.

What I find instructive about this exercise is that I'm not being moved by the push, I'm moving of my own accord, channeling the force of the push as though I am still immobile. Aikido is, after all, about motion; about keeping correct feeling while immersed in the whirlwind of conflict. Practicing these dynamic Ki exercises provides me with opportunities to experiment with forces without having to concern myself with the execution of technique. As I learn to manipulate forces while performing simple motions I can apply what I learn during waza practice to make my technique rely more on correct feeling and less on the application of forces applied to my partner in order to get her to do what I want.

One Hundred and Ninety-nine

2011-07-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

When I was still in high school I spent a summer playing handball on Saturday mornings with my cousin. We would go down to a local park, slip on our gloves and bat that little black ball around for a couple of hours. Got so's we thought we were getting pretty good at the game; lots of sweat, huffin', puffin' and whatnot.

One Saturday as we were getting set to play a little old man shambled onto our court and asked if he could join us. Now it may be that I was seeing him through the eyes of youth, but I swear, that guy looked to be at least a hundred and seventy. We asked him to join us and inquired as to who he'd like to play first. As he was taking his gloves, which, if possible, looked older than he did, out of his pocket he looked up from under bushy eyebrows and matter-of-factly informed us that he would play us both at the same time. Amused, sure that we'd be back to playing each other momentarily, I tossed him the ball and bade him serve it up.

Two hours later we were dripping wet, sucking wind and thoroughly beaten. The old dude had barely broken a sweat when we finally threw in the towel. He chuckled, put his gloves back in his pocket, thanked us for the game and, back in his shambling gait, left.

Looking back I can see now that he played with mind/body coordination any Aikidoka would be proud of. He moved with economic grace and always arrived where the ball showed up using the least amount of movement. His shots were never more than an inch or two off the ground and almost impossible to return. Definitely minimum effort for maximum effect. As time wore on he grew, if anything, more relaxed and played with a joy that was not dependent on how he was performing.

In short, he embodied the four principles: Keep One Point, Progressive Relaxation, Correct Posture and Positive Mind. Aikido in daily life? It's all around me, all I have to do is open my eyes and look. And my Aikido doesn't have to end when class is over. I take what I have learned and practice each day to move through life with the same coordination of mind and body that I display on the mat. Life's just another opportunity to train.

One Hundred and Ninety-eight

2011-07-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

The bokken and jo staff are excellent tools for training correct feeling. When doing solo work with the bokken or jo my aim is to connect with the weapon so that instead of "moving it" I move me and let the weapon trace a path through space that arises naturally from my motion. Strikes, blocks, slices, thrusts and the transitions in-between are executed with a minimum of hand and arm movements. My movements are continuous and I look to avoid retracing arcs with the weapon.

The weapons work I do is employed strictly for Ki development and physical conditioning. I decided many years ago that the probability of my getting into an altercation involving bokkens or jo staffs was reasonably minuscule and that perhaps alternative forms of weapons training would better suit me. Consequently I derived my method of practice and have abandoned conflict based scenario training. In addition, all the forms I employ are "off the cuff" in that none of them are worked out before hand. I never cared for fixed katas that had to be memorized like multiplication tables. I want my Aikido to be spontaneous and feel that long sequences of prearranged movements stifle spontaneity.

Below are a couple of short clips of some free form movement.

Bokken free movement

Jo staff free movement

One Hundred and Ninety-seven

2011-07-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Solo Ki exercises are a core element of my practice. They aid me in developing focus and mastering the basic movements from which technique grows.

Ki testing enables me to gauge my progress in the strengthening of correct feeling. A Ki test involves my interacting with a partner. These tests require that my partner push, pull, lift or compress various places on my body while I either remain stationary or move with intent, in either case ignoring the pressure being applied. When I am the tester I am careful to apply force in such a way as to aid my partner rather than demonstrating to my partner how strong I am. Ki testing is a cooperative endeavor. My goal as tester is to help my partner grow stronger.

Ki tests also provide me with a set of exercises that I use to strengthen correct feeling. As my correct feeling grows stronger my partner will provide more and more force for me to deal with. This has the same effect as lifting weights does for my muscles; gradually increasing the amount of weight lifted will, over time, strengthen muscle tissue. Gradually increasing the amount of force I have to deal with in Ki testing will, over time, strengthen correct feeling. I have posted about this before, but the idea is so central to my development in Aikido that I feel it warrants repeating.

One Hundred and Ninety-six

2011-07-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

Synergy is the phenomenon in which the combined action of a coordinated mind and body is greater than the sum of their effects individually.

So, how do I develop correct feeling?

First I need to know what correct feeling is. Correct feeling arises when I have coordination of mind and body. Super, but what does it mean to have coordination of mind and body? Coordination of mind and body is the synergistic relationship of both that represents my strongest, most dependable state. When my mind and body are coordinated I am able to perform at my peak efficiency; I am said to have correct feeling.

It's important to note that correct feeling isn't an on/off state of being. I always possess mind/body coordination to some degree. Generally speaking, the closer my mind is to "now" the greater the degree of my correct feeling. Since my body is always in the present moment, the closer my mind approaches the moment, the greater are my mind and body coordinated. Carrying this further it can be seen that the degree of correct feeling approaches a limit defined by "now" since my mind must always lag behind the moment by some amount of time. If correct feeling is, therefore, the natural state of my being it would seem that there is no need for me to develop it. What is needed, and afforded by my Aikido training, is the ability to strengthen and enhance correct feeling.

When I first began studying Aikido there came a month in which classes were suspended. I decided to practice Ki exercises every day on my own until classes resumed. This decision, I believe, had a profound effect on my internalizing the idea of coordinated mind and body. Years later I went through a period of time when I neglected Ki exercises in favor of waza. It was during, what was dubbed by one of my students at the time, my "One Throw One Kill" period which, thankfully, I managed to outgrow. With my interest in Ki development renewed I have since made doing Ki exercises a twice daily routine. As a result, to borrow from and paraphrase a line from Bob Dylan: Ah, but I was so much younger then, older I'm stronger than then now.

For me the secret of strengthening and enhancing correct feeling was locked away in the relatively simple movements of the solo Ki exercises. These exercises allow me to focus my mind ever closer to the moment as my body performs the physical movements. Continued daily practice of these exercises enhances my Aikido experience and I strongly recommend to my students that they adopt this regimen for themselves.

One Hundred and Ninety-five

2011-06-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Mary had us do an interesting Ki exercise last night. It goes as follows:

My partner and I face each other and he puts both hands on my shoulders. He then begins to push me backward. I accept his push and walk backward as he continues to push. At some point I stop and from natural stance, with him still pushing, begin to walk forward. When pushing I should maintain an even, continuous push throughout. It's not a contest, my aim is to use the appropriate amount of force to maximize the benefit of my partner.

Points for me to work on while practicing this exercise:

Connect with his center before contact is made and maintain that connection throughout the duration of the exercise (Keep One Point),
Keep my body erect, don't lean in from the shoulders (Correct Posture),
Slow down to a stop; this enables me to absorb the force of his push gradually instead of having to take it all on at once (Progressive Relaxation),
When starting to move forward be aware of the primary direction of the force of his push and connect with it at an angle as I begin to move forward. Not directly engaging his power allows me to move forward with relative ease (Positive Mind).

With continued practice I will be able to:

Strengthen my connection with his center,
Improve my posture,
Shorten the time it takes to slow to a stop,
Improve my ability to ascertain the primary direction of the force of his push.

One Hundred and Ninety-four

2011-05-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

My mind/body coordination in the context of Aikido is revealing itself to be both increasingly complex and subtle as I delve deeper into my study. I was taught that my mind leads my body. Seems simple enough on the surface, my mind says "go there" and my body goes there. No problem, my mind leads my body.

There is a problem though. As soon as I enter into an interaction with my partner my mind ceases to issue orders. There is no "go there" or "do this" or "watch out for that" or "ah ha, yokomen, how about executing a shihonage?" or anything else. My conscious mind simply goes silent. The everyday mind/body duality vanishes and my coordinated mind/body meets and interacts with my partner according to the dictates of the situation. When my mind and body are coordinated there's no need for conscious thought before action; it's as though my consciousness becomes distributed throughout my body at a cellular level, like the group mind of the Borg from Star Trek only limited to just me. My body simultaneously initiates movement as it reacts to the movement of my partner without any conscious guidance or directives. The short version of this state is called correct feeling.

How I go about coordinating mind and body has to do with the differing natures of both. My physical body is always in the moment, at now. My awareness of the state and location of my body is always slightly behind the actuality of both due to the time required for the processing of sensory input. My mind therefore must always slightly lag my body when it comes to their relationships to now. To coordinate mind and body it is necessary for my consciousness to approach now as closely as possible and shrink the lag between sensory input and action. Training, therefore, is a process of honing my skill at approaching now. Coordinating mind and body when seen this way isn't an either you have it or you don't proposition. It becomes obvious that there are degrees of mind/body coordination and that the degree of coordination is dependent upon the speed which I am able to process sensory input. That speed is, in turn, a function of how close to now my consciousness is able to get. The closer my consciousness approaches now, the more I contract my conscious frame of reference and consequently the greater my awareness grows. As my frame of reference contracts I am subjected to less information requiring processing; and since my awareness has been magnified, this information is processed more quickly. Aikido study provides me with a complete syllabus for the development of correct feeling within the context of a martial art. Ki exercises, technique and their corresponding intellectual underpinnings are all designed to integrate mind and body and focus my intent on the goal of correct feeling.

Correct feeling is a state of being. To attain correct feeling and strengthen it has become the core of my practice.

One Hundred and Ninety-three

2011-05-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

We had our annual Spring Fling seminar Sunday. The early morning grey cloud ceiling gave way to bright sunshine illuminating a cobalt sky, completely free of clouds, just as we began class. The temperature seemed to jump 10 or 15 degrees in a matter of minutes so we raised the overhead doors and windows to let in the light and warmth.

Mary and I chose "always practice the Art of Peace in a vibrant and joyful manner" (Ueshiba Morihei) as our theme. It seemed appropriate in light of the hard dark winter season that has finally given up it's ghost to the promise of renewal heralded by the arrival of spring. As I watched people practice throughout the three hours I saw smiles freely given and accepted. Warmth and good cheer suffused the room and was radiated out through the open doors and windows. The flowers on the lone forsythia bordering our woody back yard seemed just a little yellower and brighter; a trick of the light I'm sure.

Looking around at the people practicing together, laughing, smiling, supporting one another through the rough spots of this or that drill, finding their own Aikido in the midst of the group Aikido they're helping to create; I wonder if this isn't what O Sensei intended for Aikido to be. Did he envision Aikido as a way for people all over the world to come together in relatively small groups and practice his art in the spirit of friendship and cooperation? I hope so. It is, has been for 34 years and will continue to be the focus of my practice.

One Hundred and Ninety-two

2011-04-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

We sat in her Fire Room in the hour before dawn looking out over Deep Cut Gorge that made its way past her house eastward to the Great Ocean. The Long River Winding, wide though it was, appeared from here as a thin black line bisecting the snow covered valley floor in a series of S curves that gave it the appearance of a long snake meandering along on some errand known only to itself. The rising sun coming up over the edge of the Wide World would soon transform the snake into a ribbon of golden fire and paint the undulating snow covered sides of the gorge in that same hue for the few short moments when the angles of the its rays were just so.

Though the room was warm, heated as it was by a large fire in a pit centered in the room, she sat on the soft intricately patterned carpet swathed in a blanket of Weaver's finest wool. I sat by her side and while she stared at the slowly rising sun I looked at her. The Master of Anywhere returned my gaze not, she simply sat there, age wizened and composed, taking in the Dawning of Another Day.

"I am of the Morning, Student. The day delivers me from the draining darkness of the Night, the hollow blackness of which robs me of color and warmth. So here I sit each Morning to greet the sun to be replenished. I am old, Student. I have seen many, many Risings, each unique from all others, each an offering of another day of limitless possibility."

The sun crested the horizon and a line of fire seemed to run westward along the river. I said nothing. Slowly the faint ghost of a smile touched the corners of her mouth, brought forth, it seemed to me, as the memory of some long ago event in her life stubbornly wormed its way into her consciousness. I said nothing. Waited.

"I did not bid you hither Student and yet you are here. I shall take that as a sign that your arrival is not without purpose." Though her voice was barely above that of the hiss of gently falling snow she spoke still with the power of Command which relies on volume not a whit.

"I call you Student yet you are no student of mine, nor, I sense, of any other Master. You have chosen, like me, to trod your own path and hence are a Student not of any teacher, but of your Art." She sighed, a small sound deep in her throat. "It is a Solitary Road, is it not, Student?"

Without waiting for an answer she continued.

"I have many things to tell you Student. And, I fear, less time than I should like in which to speak my tale. You may well wonder why it is not one of my students sitting across from me instead of you. The answer is simple really, I have sent them all on their respective ways. Each carries a portion of my story, sees me as I was during their time with me. It is powerful imagery and I wish not to disturb it with counter and sometimes conflicting views of myself. But to you I will reveal the full story of my life, if, that is, you will be kind enough to sit and listen, for it is long in the telling."

I don't, to this day, know how long I spent with her listening to her autobiography. Time moves differently in Anywhere and the Master of Anywhere seemed in no particular hurry to complete her task. That I thought slightly out of sync with her statement that she had less time than she would like to spend in the telling. I let the thought drift away fascinated, as I was, with her narration.

As I walked with her down the corridors of her life I began to see the unfolding of her Art. A reflection it was of her being, its essence expressed in motion. So skillfully did she relate her history that I was able to delineate the different stages of the development of her Art. I saw how her Art was so very intertwined with who she was and how, as she grew and changed, so too did the Art she was simultaneously creating and living. At times I wondered whether I was hearing the story of a single person; so distinct were the personalities she rendered in the tale at the different stages of her life. No small wonder it was that her Students, let loose upon the Wide World, would eventually each present an Art representative of hers, while none would ever capture the full flavor, for that belonged to her alone and would pass out of the Wide World with her departure. So it must be with all Artists, I thought. An Art, after all, is not something the Artist does, it is something the Artist is; and that is-ness demands to be shared. And so it was with the Master of Anywhere; for beauty aches to be revealed and she must display it lest her Art fully consume her with its intensity.

I was vaguely aware of the passing of the seasons; the unfolding of hours, days and weeks being too continuously connected to be noticed. Winter passed and Spring arrived with melting snows and aromas of renewal. A day would come when no chill could be noticed on the breeze; the herald of Summer, all growth and bloom. The first blushes of yellow, orange and red appeared in the trees as Autumn announced its arrival, only too shortly, to give way once more to the barren beauty of Winter. And so it went, for how long I know not.

Each morning I would rise before dawn and seek her out in the Fire Room. Each morning I would find her seated, wrapped in her blanket, waiting. I took to varying my time of arrival and never once got there before her. When at last I was seated beside her she would pick up her story from where she had left it the previous day; so seamlessly, that I wondered if she was even aware of the interval of time that had elapsed between our Sittings. And then came a day I arrived in the Fire Room only to find it empty. In the place where she customarily sat wrapped in her blanket was an envelope; one word inked into its surface - Student...

One Hundred and Ninety-one

2011-04-04T04:21:00.000-07:00

I am as poised
upon the head of a pin.

Oblivion stretches in all directions
away from me, vast, uncharted
unknowable in its totality.

At One Point
bits and pieces of
that expanse come together
to form me.

At One Point

is now,

perfect in its stillness

a point of transformation.

At One Point
I turn and expand outward
a perfect sphere of me-ness, Ki-ness.

As I breathe in
of the Universe am I born
as I breathe out
of me the Universe
receives its form.

We are distinct yet one
in constant synchronicity and
I am as poised
upon the head of a pin.

One Hundred and Ninety

2011-03-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer

This post concerns the 'connection' that occurs between uke and nage in Aikido. It is in no way a commentary on the topic of internal strength or internal power, choose the term you prefer, which I consider to be a totally separate issue.

Introduction

Connection is essential if Aikido waza is to be executed with aiki as opposed to the application of brute force alone. As such, it's important to examine ways in which connection between uke and nage can first be established and then strengthened so as to facilitate the application of technique.

This past weekend George Ledyard sensei conducted a seminar in Bedford Hills, NY that dealt with this topic. I was fortunate to be able to attend the Friday night class and examine the ideas and methodology behind George's exploration of connection in light of my own experience as an Aikido practitioner. To that end I decided that my best course of action was to leave my body of knowledge 'at the door', practice the exercises as closely to how they were demonstrated as possible and not fall back on what I would normally do when I got uncomfortable with material presented in new and unfamiliar ways.

Convergence and Divergence

Connection is the goal. How to learn to establish connection and execute waza with aiki (the spirit of connection) forms the foundation of a methodology of teaching that will eventually take the student to the goal. Until Friday night's class I had been exposed to a single teaching paradigm for learning to connect with uke's center in order to effectively execute technique. George's presentation brought to light another way of achieving the same goal. Afterwards, when comparing his take with my own experience I noticed that there were areas where our two paradigms converged and areas where they diverged. In the following paragraphs I'll attempt to delineate where these convergences and divergences occur.

The Paradigms

I'll refer to the operational methodologies of teaching and practicing connection as body-centric and feeling-centric.

Note - My opinions expressed herein about George's presentation are based on two short hours of instruction and the reader should be aware that I'm giving my recollection of what I heard and was shown. Please allow room for error.)

The body-centric approach, as presented by George, was illustrated by practicing exercises that required us to perform specific physical movements with 'intent' (unified body and mind) in order to connect with uke's center, and when successfully connected, go on and perform, say, a tenkan movement or ikkyo against a katate kosa tori grab. Implicit in the teaching was the idea that both uke and nage should reach for each others' center in a way that goes beyond the physical connection. The body-centric approach teaches both uke and nage effective mechanical means which, when coupled with intent, allows them to merge and unify their centers. The exercises George had us practice had the form of some of the paired Ki exercises that we have in our Ki syllabus but with the emphasis put on body mechanics and intent to achieve the desired outcome. I noticed that I had trouble when I had to execute moves in a specific sequence of steps as opposed to my normal way of moving which, for lack of a better descriptor, is all at once. A two hour class is too short a time for me to gather enough information to comment on this method of teaching/learning in any more than a cursory fashion.

The feeling-centric approach, as we practice it, requires the student enter into a process of self discovery via repetitious practice of paired Ki exercises in order to connect with his/her partner's center. Mechanical instruction is kept to a minimum beyond setting up the parameters of the exercise being performed. Like the body-centric approach, proper intent is required in order to unify body and mind in order to obtain this 'correct feeling'. Both uke and nage are encouraged to perform the exercise with the same goal in mind. The feeling-centric approach teaches uke and nage to merge and unify their centers by experimenting until correct feeling is achieved and the exercise can be repeated successfully over a number of iterations. Very little guidance is provided in the way of body mechanics. The student is encouraged to rely on what feels right for the given exercise. Subsequent repetitions of the exercise reinforce correct feeling and strengthen it. Learning this way requires that uke provide appropriate resistance based on the level of nage's ability. Uke will stress nage to the point of failure and then after holding there slowly push just slightly beyond.

For both paradigms, once connection is established it can be strengthened by increased force applied in the form of push, pull, lift, press tests or by gradually increasing resistance applied by uke in the direction nage is looking to move.

Convergence/Divergence

The systems 'converge' at points in the list below.

Unification of mind and body
Importance of moving with intent
Establishment of center to center connection
Non-reliance on muscle power

The systems diverge at points in the list below (in body-centric - feeling-centric format).

Body mechanics - correct feeling
Applying technique - letting technique emerge
Application of control over uke - giving uke freedom of movement (within the context of staying safe)

With the exception of number 4, the systems converge at what I call soft points. Soft points are those aspects of Aikido that can be considered somewhat intangible due to the lack of physical representation. The systems diverge at what I call hard points. Hard points are those aspects of Aikido that possess real world existence. Hard points are the way of getting there, soft points become evident when I've arrived.

Summary

Note - Don't take the physics metaphors that follow too literally, in fact, don't take them at all literally.

The body-centric approach is a lot like classical physics in that given a set of initial conditions, with the proper application of mechanics within the structure of the idea framework, the desired result can be made to happen.

The feeling-centric approach is more like quantum mechanics in that due to the fluid nature of an encounter initial conditions do not necessarily indicate the exact direction of the eventual outcome. The nature of the uke/nage relationship is 'fuzzy' and the result is allowed to emerge as a consequence of the evolution of the action.

Thanks again George for a very stimulating two hours.

One Hundred and Eighty-nine

2011-03-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

"To me the problem of a notion of a theory of everything is that it implies we will eventually know everything there is to know," said Marcelo Gleiser, a physicist at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. "For me physics is a work in progress."

As our knowledge of physics grows like an island, he said, so too will the "shores of ignorance increase." Thus there will always be more to know, bigger questions, greater areas of uncertainty.

From - Is there anything to the 'Theory of Everything'? - By Clara Moskowitz, posted on msnbc 3/9/2011.

Aikido is like physics in that it's still a work in progress. As Aikido ages and evolves, like the island of physics, so too will the shores of Aikido's applicability continue to expand, offering new realms of exploration to the practitioner.

As I continue to practice and learn, I question my execution of technique, question my ability to form connections with my partners, question the nature of Ki and how it manages to manifest when my mind and body are coordinated, question..., question..., question... As my knowledge becomes deeper Aikido presents me with ever more complex questions and thus, while I continue to seek it, I feel mastery will for ever elude my grasp. To fully master Aikido I should have to directly experience 'now' fully coordinated in mind, body and spirit. This, however, is impossible by definition. And this is as it should be. How dreadfully dull would continued practice be were I to attain full mastery of this art.

So it's with great joy that I know I have a full lifetime ahead of me in which to uncover the treasures that Aikido training has in store for me. And that each treasure I unlock will invariably provide not just an answer but another question as well. My quest continues...

One Hundred and Eighty-eight

2011-03-06T12:48:00.000-08:00

Mastering simultaneous leading and following uke is important if I wish to practice Aikido techniques with a minimum amount of invasive intrusion into uke's space and little or no control of uke's movement. On the surface it appears that minimally invading uke's space and not controlling uke's motion run counter to the idea that the object of executing Aikido technique is to absolutely control every aspect of the encounter with uke.

For me to willingly forgo the notion of control I have to accept the fact that, once entered into, an interaction with my partner will assume any of a wide variety of forms. Even within structured technique practice with the same partner each iteration will differ from all the rest in some respect. Motion vectors, speed, intensity, intent, connection; are some of the variables that will have different values with each round of execution. If I'm not going to control uke how then can I successfully execute technique?

Simultaneous leading and following enables me to achieve what I refer to as congruent motion with my partner. When we have congruent motion our movement is in perfect harmony where there are no opposing forces to block, deflect or otherwise deal with. Since I'm not doing anything to uke in order to get him to do what I want, he has nothing to resist against. Our trajectories coincide and the "our" disappears, subsumed by connection. With the disappearance of "our" so too does the need for control vanish. The technique and its logical conclusion grow out of the motion naturally. Techniques that grow out of congruent motion feel effortless; touch is kept to a minimum yet uke is taken to the mat as inexorably as if a mountain had fallen on him. For me, this is the essence of "soft" Aikido.

One Hundred and Eighty-seven

2011-02-24T21:01:00.000-08:00

This is not the post I had planned to write. When I began Being, Essence & Motion my intent was to share my experience of Aikido with whoever stumbled across my blog and found the recollections my journey interesting enough to spend some time reading them. The choice to keep this narrative in the first person is deliberate. This structure seems the most logical given that I simply want to relate how the study of Aikido has affected and continues to affect me. It also affords me the most ample opportunity to avoid the words "you" and "should" which seem all to prevalent in most of what I read about Aikido.

As anyone who has spent some time with me here probably knows, I consider myself a teacher of Aikido in only the loosest sense of the word. I am, first and foremost, a story teller. And the story I tell is of my time upon this path called Aikido. I share my learning experience with the kind folks who come to our dojo to find their own Aikido. Mary has been studying with me for twenty-three years, Dora, Charley, Jocelyn, Linda (the oldest living member of our group at 66) and Alice are all approaching the twenty year mark. All of my students, no matter their level of experience, have something to teach me and I am so grateful that they are willing to allow me to learn from them.

As I began to write what I originally intended to write an image of someone, from whom I have learned much though we have never met except in the pixilated world of the internet, popped into my head. His name is Francis Takahashi. From what I have read of his writings on AikiWeb I find him to be a man of strong opinions gently presented who manages to always enter a thread, no matter how heatedly being discussed, with a voice both reasonable and compassionate. His method of presentation is truly inspiring, bringing to life the true spirit of Aiki. This post is the result of that momentary diversion from the ill thoughts I had been harboring and planning to write about. Thank you Francis.

One Hundred and Eighty-six

2011-02-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

Me, a blank canvas, a few brushes, a pallet and some tubes of oil paint. That's it. There are times when I'll go in with an idea that I want to render; other times I'll just start with a sky and follow where the painting leads me. Even when I have an idea to begin with the end result always looks substantially different. I have found that the needs of the work cannot be ignored. The painting always grows out of my interaction with my materials; but at the same time calls me to move in a certain direction. A painting is always more than the sum of its parts.

Me, a partner and a mat surface. That's it. There are times when we practice a prearranged routine employing a specific technique; other times we'll start with an attack and see what unfolds. Even when we our practice is prearranged the end result is always a unique rendering of our motion in time and space. I have found that the logic of our combined movement cannot be ignored. The technique grows out of our movement; but at the same time calls to us to move in such a way as to assure its appearance. Aikido is always more than the sum of its parts.

One Hundred and Eighty-five

2011-02-21T20:39:00.000-08:00

We move before the motion begins,
silent signals sent and received
trigger acknowledgement of impending aggression,
our paths though predetermined
nevertheless are always different.

At the the tipping point of our interaction
when we've come together our movements coincident,
in frictionless agreement
we rush headlong to the logical conclusion of our encounter.

With correct feeling there's no need to control
congruence is coalescing,
our motions in sync conflict converted to cooperation.

One Hundred and Eighty-four

2011-02-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

For as long as I viewed the person across from me on the mat as an attacker I had something to win or lose as a result of our encounter. After all, attackers attack do they not? And attacks are launched with the intention of gain; be it control of the opponent's behavior, the infliction of injury, the imposition of one's will on another, intimidation, the inducement of fear... As the defender I had a very specific duty to not give up anything to this person who wanted to wrest whatever it was from me by force. A very simple calculus; the attacker wants and so attacks, I seek to deny the wants of the attacker and so defend. A binary outcome then, I prevail and win or the attacker prevails and I lose. I could not see it any other way. There was, however, a small problem.

I was learning a martial art the philosophy of which, as was slowly presented to me, was totally at odds with my ideas regarding how to deal with a conflict situation. I mean really, harmonizing, blending, least possible harm, being one with the attacker and all that? Please, someone attacks you blow his ass away and be done with it... no? Concepts like keep one point, progressive relaxation, positive mind, correct posture (that one, at least, made sense right off), not relying on muscle power to overcome an opponent... seemed more like guidelines for meditation than a way to fight. Aikido is a martial art, right? And martial arts are all about fighting and overcoming, right?

What drew me to Aikido in the first place was the promise of Power. Power that wasn't generated by muscles, something I already had plenty of thanks to years of dedicated lifting. No this Power was a product of something called Ki and could be learned and applied by anyone. Small people could defend themselves against much larger folks by using the energy of the attack against the attacker, taking the attackers balance and with a calm unified mind and body throw them with ease. Well, so the pitch went in all the books about Aikido I had read. Trouble was, however, this Power wasn't something that could be discovered solely by repetitious practice of technique. I had to dig deeper than the physical practice, had to open myself up to new ideas about what it meant to be powerful.

So here I was having to, of all things, look inside myself; forced to wade into the morass and face all the angels and demons running around in there. Gradually, as I sorted through the mess, something coherent and solid emerged from the maelstrom; my center and the first inklings of what it felt like to have mind and body coordinated. As I became adept at conjuring up this "correct feeling", for in the early stages of my training it sure felt like conjuring, I could feel the changes being wrought in me. I experienced the very different strength that comes from having mind and body coordinated.

The most amazing change of all, at least on a personal level, was that I no longer saw the person opposite me as an attacker. After all how could I view the gift of that energy and trust my partner was giving me as an attack? With the dissolution of the partner as attacker image so too did I no longer see myself as a defender; having, I realized, nothing to defend. With no one attacking and nothing to defend I could see that there was no reason to fight. Protecting myself and fighting were no longer synonymous.

Since the first day I stepped on the mat my Aikido practice has continued to sculpt me. Along the way, in my role as an instructor I have come into contact with many people who have taken time out of their lives to share my study of Aikido. Most have moved on, some remain, some have gone on to become instructors themselves. Each person like a falling raindrop into a still pool of water, adds his or her own ripples to the pool and so Aikido spreads, one person at a time. Thus is the future of Aikido assured.

One Hundred and Eighty-three

2011-02-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

Correct feeling can be viewed as an end state of sorts; an amalgamation of principles and practice. I like to think of correct feeling engendered by coordination of body/mind as correct feeling of primary degree. There are higher degrees of correct feeling. Correct feeling of secondary degree is coordinated body/mind/spirit. Correct feeling of tertiary degree is coordination of body/mind/spirit/universe.

Each degree of correct feeling is marked by an awakening. For me the awakening to coordination of body/mind didn't happen suddenly. It was a process, painfully slow at times, or so it seems now in retrospect, that unfolded over years of practice. At some point I was able to notice a marked difference in my Aikido, a sharply delineated change in how I felt on the mat and how my partners felt when practicing with me.

Currently I am in the process of awakening to coordination of body/mind/spirit. Having pretty much stumbled through the first level of correct feeling I was able to become aware of it only in hindsight. Now, thanks to that experience, I am aware of changes in myself much closer to real-time. And while the road ahead always seems to be leading me around a blind curve, I at least know I'm moving towards something; as David Bowman tells Dr. Haywood Floyd in 2010: Odyssey Two, "something wonderful".

So much to learn, and a whole life ahead of me to discover it.

One Hundred and Eighty-two

2011-02-08T14:32:00.000-08:00

Correct feeling (a concept originated by, to the best of my knowledge, Maruyama Shuji Sensei, founder of Kokikai Aikido) is a quality I possess that is directly related to coordination of mind and body. So what is coordination of mind and body? Well, to begin with, coordination of mind and body isn't an either you have it or you don't proposition. There are varying degrees of coordination I may have depending on the circumstances. Generally, I am more coordinated when my mind is closer to "now" than when it isn't. My strongest possible state, at which I can perform closest to my realizable potential, is when correct feeling is maximized.

By way of review, my body is always perfectly in the moment (at now). While my mind is perfectly free to roam moments past and contemplate possible moments future it is permanently locked out of the current moment for two reasons. First, now has no extension in either space or time. So the question "how long is a moment?" is as meaningless as asking "how wide is a number on the real number line?". Second, my mind cannot directly experience reality, it must rely on sensory input to form an approximation of reality. This takes time which means moments have to pass before my mind catches up with the reality that was. The reality that is exists just slightly ahead of my perception of it.

Perfect coordination of mind and body would have both mind and body in the moment (at now) simultaneously. But, as can be seen in the preceding paragraph, this is for all practical purposes impossible. What is possible is for my mind to approach now virtually without limit, hence the varying degrees of mind/body coordination.

The degree of coordination of mind and body is the difference between now and my perception of it. Correct feeling then is seen to be a variable quality that is based on my degree of mind/body coordination at any given time. Correct feeling can be thought of as "strong" when the degree of mind/body coordination is high and "weak" when low.

Practicing Ki exercises allows me to: get in touch with how I feel when mind and body are coordinated to varying degrees, strengthen correct feeling by increasing the degree of mind/body coordination via repetitive iterations under increased force loads and learn to manipulate my degree of mind/body coordination by purposely shifting my awareness to and away from my center. Daily Ki development training has enhanced my Aikido and allowed me to experience Aikido on a deeper level that I would otherwise experience it without this practice.

One Hundred and Eighty-one

2011-02-05T20:44:00.000-08:00

That I can directly experience correct feeling when I engage in Ki training via Ki exercises precludes a need for understanding how it works. Internalizing correct feeling enables me to not only replicate the results but, with continued training, strengthen my ability to do so under applications of increased force.

Correct feeling is a synergy of mind and body.

With correct feeling I am able to deal with forces applied to my body that would cause me to lose balance were I using muscle alone. With correct feeling I am able to realize my maximum potential and attain my strongest possible state. With correct feeling my structure becomes more dependable than my physical structure alone. With correct feeling I am able to maintain a calm mind and relaxed body when presented with a potentially stressful situation. With correct feeling Aikido happens in and of its own accord; I do not have to make it happen. With correct feeling I am able to move in concert with my partner without the need to control the encounter.

One Hundred and Eighty

2011-02-01T14:20:00.000-08:00

Below I've listed all of the Ki development exercises that we practice at our dojo (it is possible that there are a couple that I have neglected to include; the list keeps growing as Mary and I look for ways to challenge ourselves and our students). We use these exercises as teaching tools to help students grow in the following areas: how to establish and enhance correct feeling associated with coordination of mind and body, development and strengthening of correct feeling while stationary or in motion, body core strengthening, introduction to technique basic movements, increased awareness of moving from the center, a way of moving such that the extremities arrive and leave last, establish and maintain a connection with a partner while stationary or in motion, having body parts move independently while simultaneously maintaining a unified structure, there's more but you get the idea. The exercises all are designed to have the student look inside and realize that strength is generated from the coordination of mind/body.

When I began my training I thought these exercises were to be used for warming up and pretty much missed the point. I'd go through the motions always looking to get to technique which I thought of as the real stuff. Looking back I laugh, realizing now that the very purpose of the exercises was the mind/body coordination that I was defeating in my zeal to get to technique practice. When that all changed I began to get "heavy"...

Ki Development Exercises

Solo –
1. Rowing motion
2. Ikkyo one direction
3. Ikkyo two directions
4. Ikkyo four directions
5. Ikkyo eight directions
6. Sayu undo
7. Sayu undo with side step
8. Swing arms side to side
9. Forward extension
10. Roll backward come back to sitting
11. Roll backward and stand
12. Wrist curl
13. Low wrist break
14. High wrist break
15. Wrist stretches
16. Tenkan
17. Irimi
18. Ude furi undo
19. Forward & back rolls (large & small)
20. Empty hand free movement

Partnered Stationary –
1. Unbendable arm
2. Immovable arm from outside
3. Immovable arm from inside
4. Weight underside
5. Vertical arm lift/pull
6. Collarbone push
7. Lower back push
8. Upper back push
9. Upper chest push
10. Kata tori push left & right stances
11. Kata tori push natural stance
12. Kata tori push one foot
13. Katate tori push left & right stances
14. Katate tori push natural stance
15. Katate tori push one foot
16. Ryote tori push left & right stances
17. Ryote tori push natural stance
18. Ryote tori push one foot
19. Upper arm grab bring along
20. Chin lift
21. Seiza front push
22. Seiza rear push
23. Seiza knee lift
24. Seiza hand lift
25. Seiza head push
26. Ukemi front push
27. Resist roll back and stand
28. Palm to palm stiff arm push left & right stances
29. Palm to palm stiff arm push natural stance
30. Palm to palm stiff arm push one foot
31. Palms to palms unbendable arm push left & right stances
32. Palms to palms unbendable arm push natural stance
33. Palms to palms unbendable arm push one foot
34. Suspend nage between 2 chairs (sitting on nage optional)
35. Random continuous pushing to different parts of nage's body

Partnered Motion –
1. Katate tori move uke backward
2. Katate tori draw uke in
3. Katate tori enter to uke’s side
4. Ryote tori move uke backward
5. Ryote tori draw uke in
6. Ryote tori enter to uke’s side
7. Two uke katate ryote tori weight underside sink to the mat
8. Ikkyo exercise through partner’s arm (up and down)
9. Lift partner’s arm after ikkyo exercise
10. Kata tori tenkan, partner tests after the turn
11. Tenkan ….partner says stop somewhere in the action and then tests immediately for one point
12. Nage does any throw and uke gets up and tests for one point
13. Bring uke along without forcing
14. Weight underside 2 uke nage moving and stopping
15. Random continuous pushing to different parts of nage's body while nage moving

Solo Weapons –
1. Multi step random forms with jo staff
2. Multi step random forms with bokken
3. Multi step random forms with two bokken
4. Free movement with jo staff/bokken/2 bokken
5. 1000 strikes
6. Day long bokken/jo staff carry

Partnered Weapons –
1. Lead uke w/ jo staff
2. Partnered jo staff leading
3. Push/pull bokken
4. Lift jo staff
5. Push down on jo staff
6. Push jo staff into nage
7. Pull jo staff away from nage

One Hundred and Seventy-nine

2011-01-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

So the other night I had two of our students help me with the unliftable body exercise. I have been using this exercise to increase my ability to project weight underside for years. I always practiced it with my wrists a little in front of my hips and slightly curled. I decided this time to change the exercise slightly in order to make it harder for me to remain grounded as my partners lifted. What I did was have my arms hang straight down along my sides, in line with my hips, wrists held at their natural angle. I then invited my partners to grab my arms with both hands (katate ryote tori) and lower themselves until they were below my center of gravity so they could really use their legs to lift me. As they tried to lift me I could feel them actually rebound away from the force they were exerting. This was a new feeling for me. When practicing this exercise the old way I always felt them sort of just go away.

My next task will be to dynamically change the configuration of my arms so I can experiment with the applied forces in order to better understand how my physical posture relates to correct feeling. I am also going to incorporate continuously alternating from unliftable to liftable and back again in varying degrees, something I can do now, to see how the position of my arms affects that ability.

One Hundred and Seventy-eight

2011-01-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

In a universe without a preferred frame of reference
I am always at its center.

There is
as much of the universe to my right as to my left;
as much above me as below me;
as much before me as behind me;
and, if Roger Penrose is correct,
as much in my past as in my future.

At the center of it all
is my one point.

From my one point,
which is always at now
and therefore without extension in space and time,
springs all of creation.

One Hundred and Seventy-seven

2011-01-11T14:16:00.000-08:00

Why do I bother with Ki development? The movements of the various solo exercises are, after all, kind of trivial. Done correctly they don't tax my body physically or provide an especially aerobic workout. The paired exercises, commonly seen as mere tests or tricks, don't seem to accomplish much when viewed from the outside. Where's the benefit? Will I not develop Ki simply by practicing waza over and over? Perhaps Ki exercises are just a way of warming up before engaging in "real practice"; you know, throwing and taking ukemi.

Ki exercises are not simple warm-ups. Ki exercises, solo and paired, are a means of unifying body/mind/spirit so that I may physically experience Ki. What does it mean to physically experience Ki? Well... a heightened sense of awareness, a feeling of well being, a barely but absolutely discernible thrumming in my body, a deep and abiding connection with my surroundings, have uke grab me and be immediately unbalanced, stand on one foot and have uke push my outstretched wrist to no avail, have four ukes grab me in any way they choose and then slowly remove them one by one despite their resistance, to know that my uke feels as though a very soft mountain has fallen on him when I execute a timing throw, help me to develop a synergetic strength that I would otherwise lack.

Ki exercises train me to integrate the trinity that is my being. I bother with Ki development because, for me at least, Ki development is the very heart of Aikido.

One Hundred and Seventy-six

2011-01-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

No Ki, no Aikido. I first heard this phrase when I began my study of Aikido. Being eager to learn and having no idea as to the nature of Ki I accepted the statement at face value. As the years have marched inexorably onward I have come across many ideas, definitions and opinions as to what Ki is/is not. Some practitioners go so far as to deny the existence of Ki altogether, preferring instead to focus on the purely physical manifestation of Aikido as the core of their practice. As my Aikido study has matured I have come to view Ki as an emergent quality resulting from the unification of mind/body/spirit; independent of the metaphors one chooses to explain the achievable results of the so called Ki tests (unbendable arm, weight underside, push tests of many varieties etc.)

The theme of this post is how I use Ki exercises as training tools to help my students grow stronger and more centered; how repeated iterations of the exercises under continually increasing stress enable the student to experience the "correct feeling" that comes from having a unified mind/body/spirit. I dislike the reference of Ki development exercises as Ki testing. Viewed solely as tests minimizes or does away with altogether the benefits of the exercises themselves as a unifying practice. The implication is that the exercises are merely measuring tools that can be used to gauge the student's progress resulting from the practice of waza.

The exercises are designed to build the "unification musculature" of the student in much the same way that pumping iron builds the muscles of the bodybuilder. Increased pressure on the student is like adding weight to the bar. The increased force that the student is exposed to during the exercises pushes the student always right up to the point of failure. The student experiences correct feeling in a variety of situations under varying levels of force application. Then when I speak of "extending Ki" the student has a frame reference (correct feeling, unified mind/body/spirit) which relates concretely to the metaphor.

In addition to paired Ki exercises I also practice solo Ki exercises that many people view as simple warm-ups. The solo exercises enable me to find my center and keep it in my awareness as I move. I encourage students to perform the solo Ki exercises daily, maintaining correct feeling as they move. These exercises remove applied force from the equation replacing it with the disorientating distraction of motion.

Taken together, paired and solo Ki exercises provide me with fundamental building blocks from which I can construct techniques that are performed with correct feeling. Having a correct feeling allows me to connect with my partner without the need to control or force the outcome. I am able to "sport freely" (O Sensei) and let the outcome of our encounter arise naturally.

One Hundred and Seventy-five

2010-12-30T12:04:00.000-08:00

My Aikido is an external manifestation of the internal process of the unification of mind/body/spirit. This process exhibits itself externally in other ways as well; primarily my painting and writing this blog. I wonder, do I choose the forms of expression or does the process guide me to them as I move along the path?

One Hundred and Seventy-four

2010-12-28T20:35:00.000-08:00

And so it came to pass that there returned to Anywhere a Student of the Master of Anywhere. The Student had spent a long time wandering in the Wide World on a Journey, searching and finding (though sometimes not) at the behest of his Master. She it was who had instructed him to seek out Senior Students of the Master of That Other Place, then recently passed, and ascertain how each was transmitting the inheritance as passed on by the Master.

On a day of warm sunshine and clear blue sky, rare for this time of year, they sat in her training hall speaking of the things he had found out while on his Journey. As he spoke she noticed small details of the world around her, in and of themselves worthy of little note, but when taken together ran counter to the normal rhythms of Anywhere. The smell of a flower that should no longer be in bloom, the caress of a breeze a touch cooler than it ought to be, the sound of Smith's hammer upon anvil slightly out of tune, the rays morning light coming in through the windows at angles that were slightly too acute, and, just at the limit of her hearing, a faint tune being played upon an instrument that she was unfamiliar with. All together these slight deviations of her normal environment weighed upon her as she tried to pay attention to her pupil's tale.

"... finally I came upon his Hall. It is set high in the mountains, far west of That Other Place, among tall green firs where the snows melt not and the land lies under its white carpet all the year long. I was welcomed into his Hall and sat with him. He had food and warm drink served while we talked. The food and drink did much to put me at ease and assuage the hurts visited upon me by the long cold trek into the mountains. He asked me of my reasons for undertaking the Journey and I freely told him of my assignment from you.

"He smiled, seeming at some old fond memory, and after a long while said, 'Well that you have arrived here first, for I am the eldest Student of the Master of That Other Place. I was his first and was with him at the last. Of his teachings none know more.'

"He went on to tell me the story of his time with his Master; a long and intricately crafted tale it is.

'I first began my studies with my Master when he was yet somewhat young and new to teaching. His Training Hall was located down by the docks and each morning we had to rid the place of the rats that nightly rested there before we could begin our Training. The Master, in those days, was full of his youth and suffused with energy that seemingly knew no bounds. He had strength to spare and was not shy about accenting his technique with it. I was his only Student for a long while and so felt first hand the vitality of his execution. As we practiced he would talk, sometimes of himself, sometimes to himself, or so it seemed to me. But always his talk was of a nature that reflected the fear he had experienced as a child and his need to protect himself and those he held close to his heart. He had perfected his Art, he said on more than one occation, in order that he may be disadvantaged by no one ever again. No thought was given over to the Higher Ideals of Training (although later in his life they would emerge as he escaped from the darkness of his fear), only to effectiveness and martial viability of technique. It was five or so years after I began my Training that another Student knocked at his door and asked to be admitted...'"

There it was again, wafting in on that too cool whisper of a breeze; a high pitched sorrowful lament of a tune, barely audible over the sound of his voice. The tune wound itself about his voice so that she heard both as one. In her mind's eye she felt, rather than saw, the history of the Master of That Other Place as it unfolded in her Student's tale. She learned of the Gatherings and Leavings as Students came and went from the Master's school. And with each Leaving another Student went out into the world to teach what he had learned, but which was only a piece of the tapestry being woven by the Master of That Other Place. Yet each Student being well trained in the Art of Learning wove into his piece of the tapestry the tale of his own progress. And what started as a single piece of cloth woven by one person began to grow into a many layered work of dazzling complexity. Reflected therein, forming the common thread that held the entire work together were the many stages of the Master's growth upon his path. Such was the diversified nature of his Students that in later years, as the Master's Art continued to grow and evolve, conflicts would arise as Students generations down the line lost sight of the commonality that bound them altogether and began to claim ownership of the True Art of the Master of That Other Place.

Her Student stayed with the eldest Student of the Master of That Other Place for many days learning much. She felt the Master's joy as each new Student found the way to the Master's door; and his sorrow as one by one they all left to find their own Ways out in the Wide World. Each armed with the knowledge learned from the Master went abroad to share it with others. And so they came and went until upon a day at last the circle was complete and only the Master, now very old and close to moving beyond this life into whatever awaits, and the eldest of his Students remained.

She sat mesmerized as the musically verbal tale wormed its way into her. Its power was palpable and she saw at last the nature of the message.

"...then on a morning when the spring blooms of the snow stars poked up through the cold white powder the eldest Student of the Master of That Other Place came to me as I sat in meditation. 'Time for you to leave', he said. 'The Master of Anywhere has sent you on this Journey that you may discover how the Master of That Other Place's students have disseminated his teachings. I will set you upon the path that will lead you to each in the order of their appearance here so that you may experience his change throughout the years.' I gathered my things, and after sharing one more meal with him, once again took to the road..."

There followed the tale of his travels to each of the Master of That Other Place's Senior Students' training halls. The tale is long and full of many adventures, worthy in and of itself of a full recounting. However she stopped him after a while and bid him leave her with these words, "You have done well Student. It is time for you to move on and become a Teacher in your own right. You have been taught and learned how to learn. You must now find others to whom you can teach the Art of Learning. You are not doing my Art, Student. Go out and share your Art with others."

Her Hall, situated at the edge of Anywhere, was perched upon a jut of land that stuck out from the plateau like the prow of a great ship. West it faced and as she gazed into the waning light of the setting sun the story of her own life and the development of her Art unfolded in her mind's eye. She recounted the arrival and departure of each of her Students and saw herself as they must have seen her. She realized, for not the last time, that the continuity of her Art would die with her; as would the continuity of the Master of That Other Place's Art die with his eldest Student. The thought saddened her momentarily; until the last ray of light from the sun caught the blossoms of the weeping cherry tree in her yard. Though each branch of the tree was independent, all were tied to the trunk that was their common source. She and her Students, trunk and branches. Though fractured, her legacy would live on and grow as her Students followed their own paths and continued to learn and teach. Each Student's Art represented an incomplete piece of her Art, a rendering of her Art as it was manifest over a given period of time, preserved first and then extended, a living thing that would go on evolving...

The Musician, and with him his tune, fades from Anywhere as fog melts from the air in the heat of a sunny day. The consequences of his having spent time there await the unfolding of the years to make themselves known.

One Hundred and Seventy-three

2010-12-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

Get in tune
with the rhythms of life.

Know the
ebb and flow
of life's cycles.

Be in sync
with the trend.

Ride life's ups and downs
with equanimity.

Enter when pulled
turn when pushed.

See both sides
not in opposition
but as one.

One Hundred and Seventy-two

2010-10-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

The tin whistle plays and upon the warm breeze floats the cool melody, once blown never to be recalled; released upon the world in the hour before the hour before dawn when night holds sway and day is a remembrance of time gone by and yet to arrive. Long years of learning wash behind the Musician carrying with them all the baggage of his life. Before him lie the notes he has produced, traveling from him in ever widening spheres, each a product of what as gone before in his days upon the earth. To hear his song is to experience his life in his music; music that can only be created by one such as him. For he is long of age and wizened of years gone by, with light yet but still a hope at the end of his tunnel. It is music that weaves the tapestry of his long life and listeners can glean only a fragment of the whole of it yet at once feel the impact of its totality and weight.

His music is carried on the wind, to places well known and to some lost in the dust of history, moving into the small cracks and holes of fractured reality to fill the voids of forgetfulness that litter the landscapes of the world. So the history of those places is forever altered, amended, colored by the softness of the song. Beauty is wrought where the emptiness of memories no longer remembered have left nothingness in their absence. In other places the draught of corruption is amplified by the music. For all that is soft be not always sweet. Flowers grow through cracks in pavement in the hearts of concrete, steel and glass cities while children in other more idyllic places are taken before their time. The music plays no favorites, it deals in life and death with all the dispassionate reserve of an oncologist informing a patient that treatment has failed and perhaps going home now to pass on is the only recourse. As it passes and touches the lives of people, they are changed, and not knowing why or how they become other than once they were; and so go on becoming while friends, lovers, spouses and children can only watch and wonder, for not having heard the music they are left behind.

Moving on, the Musician and his music go forward to work their magic in a world where magic has no place and all magicians are merely the creators of slick illusions… or is that the illusion? Ask the Musician if ever you see him. Perhaps he will answer, perhaps not, but in his music you will hear something of meaning meant just for you, else never the opportunity to ask would have occurred and he would have passed you by without a glance or a note for you from his tin whistle.

The Musician walks bustling highways and lonely back roads all across the world and ever his music is heard in the land by those it is destined to touch and work its magic upon. His boots are worn and scuffed, dusty with the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life. Upon his head sits a hat of faded leather. Softened by years of exposure to the elements the hat hides his face, or most of it anyway, so that the casual passerby will see only the thin line of his mouth above a square strong chin and the sharp point of his nose protruding out of shadow. Clad in grey that mimics twilight shadows and fades to black as night creeps into the remnants of a day once sunny and bright, he moves down a dusty street of some out of the way place long forgotten by even the other out of the way places of the world…

…and so comes to Anywhere.

One Hundred and Seventy-one

2010-10-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us. - Hermann Hesse

The inward looking direction of my training forces me to see myself as I am, stripping away the garb of ego that I use to present an image of myself to the world instead of who I really am. The process of finding myself has been long, difficult and on-going. I suppose, since I am continually changing, finding new and inventive ways to hide myself, the journey will never end. I can approach myself without limit, but due to the unflagging efforts of my ego, never quite reach me. There'll always be another layer of self protection (or should I say delusion?) to peel away.

When I encounter someone I don't like I ask myself what is it about me that I see reflected in him? Then, as I continue to train, I can meditate on the answer and so, hopefully, eventually arrive at an understanding as to what it is about me that I don't like and change it.

I can take Hesse's quote and turn it around to read:

If you like a person, you like something in him that is part of yourself. We like that part of ourselves that doesn't disturb us.

Finding the parts of myself that I like, by seeing them reflected in the people I train with and interact with in the world, and letting them flourish is also an important part of my training. In this way, purging the negative while nurturing the positive, I continue to grow.

Interlude

2010-09-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

They meet at last
upon other shores,
where pain and hurt are but shadows of a prior life,
dwindling, fading,
drowned in the light of a new day.

She passed in quiet solitude,
yesterday,
in the light of a waning summer’s afternoon,
giving up at last,
the body she knew
as herself for ninety years.

There upon the other side he awaited her arrival,
having made the journey fifteen years earlier.
And who is to say
what lies before them?

Goodbye Mom and Dad,
may you sail to lands
where the grass is always green,
the air fresh with the seasons’ aromas,
where your love for each other
will be eternally renewed.

I love you both and wish you well.

One Hundred and Seventy

2010-09-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

The weather is still hot and seen from North Mountain Road the distant Catskills are softended and blurred by the haze that rises from the valleys. In the fertile fields corn stands tall ready for harvest. White cylindrical bales of newly mown hay lay about the fields awaiting storage.

The deep greens of high summer are fading to paler, duller shades that herald the onset of autumn. Already the maple leaves are turning and beginning to show their fall colors, orange to red in so many different shades; so easy to spot against the still predominantly green background. The late summer sun casts long soft rays of golden light through the leaf canopy of the part of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail that Mary and I call the Cathedral. Tall trees soar above the trail, leaning together high above to form a living roof.

As we slowly (we are invetrate cruisers) pedal our way down the trail, a red tailed hawk swoops out of the trees above us moving from our left to our right, perches on a branch a little ahead of us, and seems to wait for us. As we close on it, the hawk launches once more flying to the oppsite side of the trail where it alights and again awaits our approach. This goes on for a ways, the bird moving from one side of the trail to the other, patiently waiting for us to catch up before moving again, until finally it flies off on an errand known only to itself.

Aikido in daily life; the awareness of the interconnectedness of all things. There is no separation, only self imposed isolation; no boundries, only the tyranny of ego. Each moment I can choose to close myself off from the wonders of the world around me or permit myself to enjoy their splendor. The practice of Aikido is a way of integration for me; a way of mitigating the societal induced differentiation I have experienced since birth. Via Aikido I have learned to re-connect with the world; to hold myself forth and let the world re-connect with me.

One Hundred and Sixty-nine

2010-08-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

Below is a brief interchange I had with Dan and some further comments from me.

I said...

I'd rather have uke
push the air
where I have been
than push me.

Dan said...

While that is excellent and sounds rather nice, by the way.

In a more poetic refrain:
He pushes the air
Where I have been

There is another way, Ron. he can push on you, and you use his enery to take it from him while simultaniously feeding back. He feels like he is pushing into a hole while you are cpatruing his being and leading him.

In my way of moving:
He pushes
I take from him what he offers
I give it back to him equally
We meet..in peace.

Peace
Dan

I said...

Hi Dan -

And so, together, we complete the circle.

All the best,
Ron

Dan said...
Well I like my version of
"He pushes the air
Were I have been.."

I love your version that fits my own

"Together we complete the circle..."

I'm stealing that (with credit).
Short and to the point.

Thanks
Dan

What I see is that Dan and I are talking about the same process albiet from diametrically opposed viewpoints. I am taking what uke has to offer while in a state of motion. My movement suggests a trajectory that uke may move in without encountering any resistance from me. Dan seems to be accepting uke's gift of energy statically and then leading uke in some way without much motion at all (I may have totally misinterpreted Dan's remarks here so please forgive).

Dan's statement: "he can push on you, and you use his enery to take it from him while simultaniously feeding back. He feels like he is pushing into a hole while you are cpatruing his being and leading him." is what I refer to as simultaneous leading and following or moving in concert, not conflict. When I yield my position to uke I do it in such a way as to afford him the opportunity to fall into the momentary vacuum I leave behind. The energy he has expended must go somewhere so I accept it with thanks, and give it back to him when we meet up later. His balance I keep; it will be restored when he meets the mat. I refer to this as the cycle of conflict engagement, neutralization and resolution.

It's rather like a surfer who rides the wave front, remaining calm and upright while the sea froths and churns around him. He accepts the force the ocean gives him, following where it leads, while leading it, as it in turn carries him along.

One Hundred and Sixty-eight

2010-08-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

It's not about the throw or control or imposing my will upon another. It's about discovering who I am and how I fit into the world. I see myself in the patterns my partner and I form as we work together to achieve a union of sorts that, sometimes, is profound in a way that transcends our individual natures and becomes... something else; if only briefly and not often enough. It's at those moments of intersection that I am totally aware of the Art that is Aikido; an Art that, from conflict, gives rise to deep and abiding beauty.

One Hundred and Sixty-seven

2010-08-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'd rather have uke
push the air
where I have been
than push me.

One Hundred and Sixty-six

2010-07-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Ahh, definately not the uke I once was. My attacks have slowed with age though there has been no ebbing of intent; and while I still take ukemi for my students every class I notice that I don't bounce up the way I used to. It's more of a rolling "ease yourself up from the mat son" type of motion now.

I feel that it's important to keep taking ukemi for as long as I am able. How else am I going to feel the progress of my students? So much of what we do is internalized that just looking only tells me part of the story. By feeling their technique in response to my attacks I am able adjust my instruction for each student individually.

Experiencing connection as uke enables me to push students to their limits, and then just a little bit further so as to help them grow into their power. I love it when I go to stop a student's technique and am treated as just another uke, taken off balance and sent to the mat.

When I turned forty I somehow convinced myself that I was getting too old to fall. Thankfully, Mary banged me on my head a few times and with a few choice words quickly dispelled me of that notion. Twenty-three years later I'm still grateful for that.

One Hundred and Sixty-five

2010-06-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Along my path I...

Learn the waza,
practice the waza,
train the waza,
live the waza,
breathe the waza,
be the waza;

forget the waza,

do Aikido.

One Hundred and Sixty-four

2010-06-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

My hands on uke
do not become points of control
they define points of departure.

And from what do I depart?

Ego, rigid space, isolation, separation, immobility, conflict...

My touch is light
a hint of suggestion,
encouragement
as uke follows my lead
I move into his wake
completing the cycle of leading/following,
though they occur simultaneously.

I don't lead then follow
then lead then follow again
for uke moves with me,
our leading/following
entwined in braided motion.

It's about connection
not control.
Control is the antithesis of
Aikido, which is
the embodiment of freedom;
formless interaction,
the control of which
immediately severs
the bond.

Each touch
a point of departure,
a point of beginning,
of communion, communication, unification.

Without the responsibility of control
I am able to sport freely,
lose myself in the moment
and truly experience correct feeling.

One Hundred and Sixty-three

2010-05-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

A character in "The Sword of the Lady" by S. M. Stirling remarks that relaxing the body helps to relax the mind. It got me to thinking about my Aikido training. I was always told to calm my mind in order to relax my body. I never heard the converse, and I assumed that in order to relax my body I first had to calm my mind. Considering Stirling's quote in light of my view regarding posture I now see that both points of view, far from being contradictory, are actually complimentary.

Over the years I have come to realize that correct posture is composed of both external and internal factors; each of which complements and reinforces the other. External posture is my physical appearance, the face I put on for the world to see. Internal posture is reserved only for me to observe. It's my self image, how I view myself in my mind's eye. Correct posture as it relates to Aikido requires both internal and external postures be viewed and presented, respectively, in a positive manner; another tool for the effective integration of body and mind and the attainment of correct feeling. When practiced, positive internal and external postures reinforce each other in a feedback loop.

Thus it is with the relaxation of my body and mind. As I practice Aikido I learn to relax my body which, in turn, calms my mind. As I grow a quiet mind my body further relaxes... Once the loop has been established, ongoing practice reinforces the results. Body and mind, relaxed and calm, become increasingly integrated and, hence, my whole being moves closer to now as I continue to progress.

One Hundred and Sixty-two

2010-05-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

In Post 52 I described an exercise related to having both weight underside and no weight on my feet. The other night Mary had us practice another similar exercise that employed the well known two people lifting one person Ki exercise.

Standing in natural stance I have one person grab each of my arms with two hands and proceed to lift. My hands, wrists slightly curled, hang at my sides with elbows only very slightly bent. As long as I remain relaxed and centered I can remain on the ground despite my partners' best efforts to lift me. The minute I allow tension to seep into my elbows or shoulders my partners will be able to lift me. If I lose unbendable arm one or both of my shoulders will rise, destroying my structure and unbalancing me.

Once I am satisfied the my partners cannot lift me I begin to move about the mat as they continue lifting. I am able to move freely, as though sliding over an iced pond. From my partners' perspectives I am heavy, from my own I feel light as a feather, my feet firmly but barely touching the floor as I move about.

This is the feeling of no weight on your feet. Continued practice of this exercise is a terrific aid in developing the feeling of weight underside while moving.

One Hundred and Sixty-one

2010-05-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

I insist that I am right;
and so have been defeated from the outset.
I have been immobilized,
encased in the straight jacket of my knowledge
I cease to grow and change.

My study of Aikido has taught me
knowledge is fluid;
evolving with time and circumstance.

Knowledge is approximate;
requiring recall
removes me from the moment.

O Sensei wrote
"Learn and forget."

One Hundred and Sixty

2010-04-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

There is no adequate substitute for feeling Aikido. Metaphorical descriptions be they conferred by word, picture or video; cast in the language of science, philosophy or arcane concepts out of the depths of time are rendered unsatisfactory when what is happening is actually felt by my partner and me.

I learn Aikido via the interaction of my partner and myself as we move about the mat practicing technique, Ki exercises, randori or whatever. As training time progresses I become familiar with how I feel when things go smoothly and naturally. I learn to feel when I have connected with my partner and we move in concert rather than conflict. Feeling provides me with all the feedback I need to determine the effectiveness of my performance. When I feel bumping, pulling, pushing, tugging, towing, undue exertion... I immediately know that something is wrong, we're no longer connected, and I then seek to reestablish my link with my partner. Aikido practice is self-correcting. If I just pay attention to how I feel then, with time, I will be able to refine my practice in such a way as to continually approach correct feeling which is my most natural and strongest possible state.

Along the way, I endeavor to dispense with metaphor as a substitute for feeling. Metaphor is a seductive but limiting tool for trying to encapsulate a dynamic process in static imagery. Metaphor is an order of magnitude removed from experience. If I rely on metaphor to bolster my understanding and perpetuate my growth in Aikido I will surely stray from the path which is laid out before me but must be felt to be really experienced and understood.

One Hundred and Fifty-nine

2010-04-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Mary and I were back team teaching over the weekend. My first classes since the operation. The doc was true to his word, I was limited in what I could do only by the pain doing it caused. And, in fact, since I decided to take things slow and ease myself back into full bore practice there was very little discomfort.

What I found most interesting; and I guess I had to be totally away from practice for 2 weeks to appreciate it, was that I found I could draw on the energy of the other people in class. Each partner I practiced with had something to offer, a healing something, and I felt myself grow appreciably stronger as class went on. By the end of Sunday class I could almost forget that only two weeks earlier I was sliced, diced, pumped full of gas and patched up in an OR at Bay State.

I've been studying Aikido for thirty-three years and it never ceases to amaze me that I manage to take something new away from each and every class. Mary and I feel truly blessed and honored to be able to teach and practice with the folks that come to our house to study with us four times a week, week in and week out.

One Hundred and Fifty-eight

2010-04-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Finally had my operation on March 29th. Two hours under, three hernias repaired; one pretty awful week and one not so awful week of recovery. Made it back on the mat today (April 10th).

It occurred to me today during class that for the past 4 months while I was waiting to be operated on that my focus in class has been pretty much exclusively on my centers. The hernias were clustered around my physical center in a nice equilateral triangle and seriously hampered my ability to be overly physical with my partners. Consequently, when practicing, I had to rely on really focusing on my, for lack of a better way of phrasing it, Ki center. The experience brought home to me the paramount importance of all of the principles I talk about in class (connection, congruent motion, timing, patience, letting the throw happen of its own accord, correct distance etc).

I have learned that via correct application of those principles that even though my physical center has been damaged and is still healing, thus not very reliable, that I can trust my Ki center. My injury has forced me to step up and perform at a higher level in order to continue performing at all. A most enlightening experience.

One Hundred and Fifty-seven

2010-04-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

And so on a day much clearer
air not muddied by time and trial,
the tide in its rhythm,
when seasons come and seasons go,
children grow without fear,
tears are only those of joy,
then, perhaps,
the world will no longer
need Aikido,
for its mission
will have come to fruition.

But the days of many are not clear
air grows stale in many ports,
the tide laps not gently
upon all shores,
and seasons,
while coming and going
as always they do,
do so in ways
seeming sometimes capriciously malicious;
children do grow in fear
real fear born
of troubles they neither understand
or should have to care about,
and tears are
more often than not
tears of pain and grief.

The vision of the Master
has yet to come to pass,
though but a drop
of rain in a vast hollow,
enough drops falling will
fill the hollow and create a sea.

The promise of Aikido
may yet see the light
of a day
breaking upon a world
unfettered of strife
and conflict born of fear.

One Hundred and Fifty-six

2010-04-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

What I am finding is that my Aikido growth is right in step with my advancing age. That is, I am more centered, stronger, softer, and calmer than I was 30, 20, 10 or even 5 years ago.

More Centered - One way that 'centeredness' manifests itself is weight underside. When I was a 4th kyu student we were visited by a student from New York who studied under Yamada sensei. Michael was a 2nd dan at the time; a rank which, I remember, seemed a lifetime away from my vantage point. I had the occasion to uke for him in a three uke freestyle. What impressed me most about him was the fact that when I attacked him he seemed to weigh 3 or 4 hundred pounds more than his actual weight and embodied all those hundreds of pounds in his solidity. I promised myself that one day I too would achieve what I felt when practicing with him. Now, these many years later, I realize that even though my real weight isn't a whole lot more than it was then, my weight as perceived by my partners is decidedly heavier than would be recorded on a scale.

Stronger - Ahh... strength, power... the ability to control, to exert one's will over another (especially a resistant other)... the seductive feeling that lesser mortals must give way in the face of my awesomely strong self... At best a destructive illusion, at worst a lie I may tell myself in order to justify some action of mine that otherwise would be better left undone. I have come to the realization that real strength comes not from what I can do to successfully throw my partner, but what I don't have to do to in order to execute the throw. The kind of strength I'm referring to is sometimes call Ki power or internal strength or the strength of connection or [insert your favorite metaphor]. It's something I have much more of now than I possessed in the past. I know now that Ki exercises aren't just demonstrations to wow onlookers and beginning students. They are an essential part of training myself to grow stronger; to grow the kind of strength that doesn't dissipate with the years.

Softer - When I began training I was at the height of my physical power and endurance. I loved to be thrown hard and to reciprocate in kind. That was real Aikido. And for a long while it remained my truth. Age and Aikido changed me though. Gradually as I grew older I began to experience the benefits of the 'softer' way. I saw that applying a soft touch at the right moment will lead to a throw in the same way that a mighty grasp without regard to the subtleties of timing and connection. I learned to establish a connection with my partner before the attack and maintain it throughout the whole movement and follow through. This approach has allowed me to continue taking ukemi into my sixties and, hopefully, long beyond. I have been able to take better care of my partners thus allowing them to continue their training as they age.

Calmer - At 29 many long years of joyful practice lay before me and I couldn't wait to get 'there' although as to exactly where 'there' was remained a mystery. I was so thirsty in those days, I wanted to know it all and know it fast. Aikido was a rainbow and even though it meant missing out on the beauty of the arch, what I wanted was the pot of gold at its end. Consequently much of my early and middle years studying were spent in a state of inner tension. As what previously lay before me now stretches out far behind I see that the journey is the real reward. This has resulted in an inner calmness that tempers my still strong ache for deeper knowledge of my Way.

One Hundred and Fifty-five

2010-03-11T20:42:00.000-08:00

When working with the bokken I treat it as I would any uke. That is I seek to establish a connection with it so that we may move in concert our respective motions congruent. I don't practice choreographed kata any longer, having given it up 5 years ago. I practiced the traditional bokken katas for many years and took from them what they had to offer.

Maruyama Sensei showed me there was another way to wield the bokken, a way that he showed openly but no one seemed to be able to see. It wasn't what he did; for he demonstrated the traditional movements, it was how he did it. While his students concentrated on stringing together the correct sequence of movements, he flowed like water moving through a winding, curving pipe. The strikes were there but so seamlessly were they woven into the pattern that the weapon just moved through the point of contact and continued on its way. The bokken seemed to move of its own accord as he led/followed it around.

It is from those observations that I developed my method of working with both the bokken and jo staff. The short clip below shows Simon performing some free form work with the bokken.

One Hundred and Fifty-four

2010-03-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

The Master of Anywhere squatted beside the stream. For a long while she did nothing, lost in the symphony of the stream as it wound its way among the rocks. Her vision, global at first, slowly narrowed as the stream wove it's music for her until her focus was concentrated on three maple leaves resting upon two rocks that lay in the water at her feet.

The leaves clothed in the varying shades of warm reds and yellows of mid autumn lay where they had fallen two upon one rock one upon the other. The central point of each leaf pointed in such a way as to lead her eye from leaf to leaf, describing a triangle. The leaf triangle emphasized the triangular nature of the relationship between the two rocks. The rocks in turn led her to notice how the pattern of the flowing water also described a triangle. Leaves of the air, rocks of earth, currents of water, arranged by chance, observed by chance... at once the splendor of it all hit her as she imagined that all the years of her life had led her to this point, at this time, in order that she may observe this simple arrangement of leaf, rock and water.

Energy surged within her; building from her center it boiled and roiled until she felt that she should explode if it was not given free reign to escape and be released into the world. With a mighty cry of exultation she rose from her position, arms outstretched, face turned to the heavens and poured forth her energy in one explosion of release.

It is said that her cry was heard for many miles in all directions and the people marveled at the joy contained therein. And all who heard it were filled with hope and a feeling of healing as though some spirit of redemption had been loosed upon the world. Far, far away the Master of Anywhere lay at the foot of the maple tree and slept the dreamless sleep that is known by only the very, very young and very, very old among us.

One Hundred and Fifty-three

2010-03-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

There can be
no resistance
in the absence
of control.

Control,
even of myself,
an illusion;
takes me out of
the flow of life's rhythm,
moves me away from now...
robs me of my center.

O Sensei -
'To truly implement the Art of Peace,
you must be able to sport freely in the
manifest, hidden and devine realms',

Control is the absence of freedom.

One Hundred and Fifty-two

2010-02-26T05:37:00.000-08:00

Techniques are the words of Aikido.

My training consists, largely, of practicing techniques over and over. Techniques are structured movements, patterned responses to predetermined attacks. They have identifiable forms that, while differing in small details, are essentially the same across Aikido styles. In and of themselves, techniques are mechanical vehicles for learning and internalizing the concepts that underly Aikido. I learn connection, congruent motion, correct distance, timing, extension of Ki while moving etc.

Randori is the literature of Aikido.

During randori the motions of uke and nage are removed from the structured dance of technique practice and enter into the realm of spontaneity. My uke is free to move unfettered by the constraints that govern technique practice and, likewise, my movement is equally unrestrained.

Early in my training, randori consisted of repeated attack/throw sequences, not far removed from the practice of individual technique; the obvious difference being that the attacks and defensive moves were not predetermined. Of late the formal waza has begun to disappear from my randori; it's being replaced by something else that I can't yet define or adequately describe. My partners still fall, but it's as though the throws are hidden in the motion. The whole exercise becomes an unbroken string of movement punctuated by an occasional slap of a hand on the mat as uke falls.

The following video clip of a 'grabs only' randori illustrates the point.

One Hundred and Fifty-one

2010-02-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

The touch of a single snowflake is but a whisper of force. Bring enough snowflakes to bear, however, and trees are felled by them; valleys are cut by them; mountains crumble beneath them. And still, the touch of a single snowflake is but a whisper of force.

The touch of my Ki upon uke during kokyu nage is like a single snowflake; until, that is, it isn't. At the moment our congruent motions reach the limit of his balance and my maximized extension, when he is at his lightest and I am at my heaviest, that single snowflake-like touch of Ki becomes an avalanche.

At moments like that I am fully aware of our connections; to each other, to the group around us, to the wider universe. The deeper reality of Aikido training becomes manifest, and while transient, leaves a little of itself behind each time. And so I continue to grow.

One Hundred and Fifty

2010-02-12T20:22:00.001-08:00

As I practice I realize that my movement shapes the space around me. Without physically controlling uke I nevertheless control where she may move in order to continue with her attack. And while she may still have many paths to take in order to reengage with me, her likelihood of success along any one of them is remote.

It’s not really that simple, of course. For uke moves as well and about her center, just as about mine, space is shaped, distorted, defined. And I can find myself caught in currents that threaten to whisk me from my path and move me from confluence to intersection with uke on her terms thereby increasing the probability of a successful attack.

Therefore I seek to occupy the center that is common to our centers, the point at which conflict becomes cooperation; where forces coincide and neutralize one another… where Ki flows freely and I become its conduit.

One Hundred and Forty-nine

2010-01-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

All covered in snow,
lots of bare brown branches,
evergreen needles tinged with silver
the light reflects
flecks of gold
emitted by the stubborn leaf
still clinging to its branch.

I let go of my knowledge
so as to make room for learning,
and who can say
where my Aikido path will take me,
for it is created anew
beneath my feet
and lost to the past
once trod upon.

One Hundred and Forty-eight

2009-12-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

Well, three hernias need repairing. I've had them for a long time and chose to leave them alone as long as they didn't bother me. Alas they seem to have reneged on our agreement of late so in January it's off to Bay State for me to be patched up like an old inner tube.

When the discomfort hit my first reaction was to stay off the mat as visions of strangulated hernias and emergency surgery filled my waking moments. As I began to adapt and determine what I could and could not do I found that I could continue attending class wearing my instructor hat. Ukemi is out for the time being.

As a result of having to take it easy I'm exploring the subtleties hidden in technique. My technique, pretty soft to begin with, has gotten softer, much softer; to the delight I'm told, of my ukes. I've really had to look hard at correct timing and distance as tools to help me overcome my inability to move with as much freedom as I previously enjoyed.

Gonna be a long few weeks until the operation but this too shall pass. The surgeon, a hernia specialist, is going in laparoscopicly and, according to him at least, how soon I get back to normal activities is strictly up to me, no restrictions.

One Hundred and Forty-Seven

2009-11-14T04:52:00.001-08:00

One question I’ll never ask regarding Aikido: “Is that all there is?” The Aikido onion is very large and the time required to explore each layer in depth precludes ever getting to the point where no layers are left to scrutinize.

Aikido is about growth and if I let myself become stuck at one point along the path my growth will cease and I’ll end up simply just “doing” Aikido. Having experienced the richness of the Aikido experience, becoming stranded along the way would be the death knell of my practice.

One Hundred and Forty-six

2009-11-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

To train when the sun shines
To train when it doesn’t.

When it’s bitterly cold
and the mat feels like stone
or
hot and sticky,
the air almost too thick to breathe;
then too.

When I hurt
or
feel eighteen again;
simply get on the mat and train.

When others question
my method,
I train with a smile,
knowing as I do
that training is showing up,
suiting up
and moving.

Training
I progress slowly,
it’s cumulative
each little bit I learn adds to
what I know,
increasing the volume
of what I don’t
thereby,
affording me more opportunities to learn.

To train…
simple.

One Hundred and Forty-five

2009-10-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

O Sensei, as quoted by John Stevens in The Art of Peace:

“The techniques of the Art of Peace are neither fast nor slow, nor are the inside or outside. They transcend space and time.”

Despite the fact that it’s practiced in a group setting, that there’s a strong sense of community associated with a healthy successful dojo, that everyone seems to be more or less on the same road; the journey of Aikido is, at its core, a solitary undertaking. Aikido is a process that has awakened something inside of me and the more I practice and learn the stronger this thing becomes.

The thing, I believe, is an intimate awareness of my connection with the universe. Not a ‘string tied to the wrist’ type of connection; more like a visceral awareness that the connection renders the boundary between me and the rest of It transparent. There is nowhere that I end and the rest of existence takes over. My practice extinguishes dualities and strengthens my union with the Ki of the universe (Aiki) by enabling me to experience the power of the singularity of existence first hand, up close and personal.

One Hundred and Forty-four

2009-10-21T12:11:00.001-07:00

My Aikido is most effective when I do the least. The reader is well advised not to misinterpret my use of the word effective. I’m not referring to so called “street effectiveness”; rather I’m pointing to effectiveness of technique within the Aikido paradigm, that is, mat training. My strength on the mat largely comes from my partner who has been so kind as to supply me with the gift of his energy in the form of his motion and intent. Without that gift I should have to impose my will on him in such a way as to get him to do what I want him to do; possible, I’ll admit, as long as I can dominate him physically.

Aikido training, however, has shown me that there is another way. If I welcome my partner and add his energy to my own so that we move in concert rather than conflict, I am able to execute technique seemingly effortlessly. Looks fake, I know, but you have to be on the receiving end in order to appreciate how un-fake it really is.

Students have a rough time with this idea; especially students in their physical prime for whom the future is something distant. For them if uke can’t feel the throw, it can’t have been effective and uke must be taking a dive. Having been there myself I fully understand. It wasn’t until I reached my late forty’s that I began to fully appreciate the raw power of non-confrontation. That realization though slow in dawning marked a lasting turning point in my road.

One Hundred and Forty-three

2009-10-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

Fear causes a loss of connection. Loss of connection is the root cause of conflict. Combat happens when conflict cannot be resolved by nonviolent methods. Combat restores connection, albeit in a very harsh and destructive manner.

The Aikido of Ueshiba is a martial way that mitigates the harshness and destructiveness of combat by providing me the opportunity to select the appropriate level of violence to apply in a given situation. No violence at all to absolute lethality and everything in between; as an Aikido practitioner the full spectrum is at my disposal.

How to re-establish connection, to neutralize the fear that separates me from the other, using the least amount of violence, is a core component of my Aikido training. I do this, not by rehearsing ever more varied scenarios, but by allowing my training to have its way in effecting change within me. My training strengthens my body, calms my mind, purifies my spirit and integrates all three allowing me to attain my strongest possible state of being.

One Hundred and Forty-two

2009-10-20T19:13:00.001-07:00

Patches of red, maples, to be sure, first to go over; yellow, orange and rust begin to dot the canopy of green that has, since May, blanketed the Berkshire Hills here in western Mass. Autumn is coming and with just a hint of chill in the air my practice begins to subtly change with the season.

Back in the day seasonal changes affected barely more than my wardrobe. I existed not in tune with the seasons, more like beyond their influence altogether; summer, winter, fall, spring; other than differences in temperature and the form of precipitation I moved thru them as though within a Gardol Shield (for those of you old enough to remember the old Colgate Dental Cream commercial from 1956). As I have aged I have become more aware of the seasons; their differences and similarities have been imprinted in my body to such an extent that I have never felt more acutely alive. The quality of light as it changes throughout the day, the transmission of everyday sounds, the seasonally specific aromas of the world, the touch of a breeze… seem to permeate my being in ways that bring me to an intimate knowledge of just how real the oneness of all things really is.

Fall is the twilight season, a season of softness and blurred edges; early high color giving way to the browns and grays of winter. Fall practice for me begins to evidence itself with the emergence of techniques that emphasize soft blending movements; Ki practice, less evident in the heat of the summer months, reappears with greater regularity. My practice reflects the fact that my body is reacting to the overall sleepiness that is sweeping through the environment; an environment that I am finding myself increasingly integrated with. One of the benefits of my Aikido training has been an increase of my awareness of how I fit into the larger pattern of existence. Exactly how this happens; how the mechanics of throwing, taking ukemi and the practice of Ki development have all combined over the years to effect this transformation remains something to be answered sometime in my future. Then again, maybe not. Perhaps the answer lies in remaining in the question.

One Hundred and Forty-one

2009-10-20T19:12:00.003-07:00

She's back...

A Parable (continued)

As the Ruler passed into the mist that arose about his bridge the Master of Anywhere turned, and looking at the Road that lay before her with newly awakened understanding, began the long journey back to Anywhere. And so it came to pass, after many days of travel, that she decided to stop for a time in Someplaceelse, a town very much larger than Anywhere nestled in a wide valley between the Northern and Southern Ranges.

One day, while exploring the manufacturing district of Somewhereelse, she happened upon the shop of Wood Worker. Having used many implements of wood in her daily life and taken them pretty much for granted, she decided to see how it was that they came to be manufactured and learn what manner of person would devote his life to learning and mastering the craft of working with wood. Upon entering she was immediately assailed by the odor of freshly cut wood that permeated the shops interior. The smell was rich, wholesome in a way that spoke of living things, an earthy aroma. Work stations were individually lit with warm yellow glow globes rendering the larger space in varying degrees of blended light and shadow.

The Master of Anywhere stood in the doorway letting her eyes adjust to the relative dimness of the shop when Wood Worker ambled over to her, greeting her with warm words and a kind smile, "Good day Madame, how may I be of service?"

"Good day to you Wood Worker. I am the Master of Anywhere and I am traveling the Road towards home having come from answering a Summons to Appear from the Ruler. I have stopped in your fine town and wish to spend some time with you in your shop learning a bit about the Way of Working Wood."

"Your fame precedes you Master of Anywhere." he said, "Not long ago a traveler passed through here, a Martial Artist of no minor repute, who told of a Master of Anywhere, his teacher for many years it seems, who could perform the most amazing feats of martial skill. He related her mastery of internal strength and martial prowess with stories that bordered on the unbelievable. Yet he spoke with such conviction and open honesty that none who heard him could accept them as any less than the absolute truth. And now here in my humble wood shop stands the esteemed master of whom he spoke wanting to learn about the Way of Working Wood. I am honored Master of Anywhere and say thusly that you may come to my shop whenever and for as long as you wish. Perhaps, with time, you will find what you seek. I will be glad to help in any way."

That is how the Master of Anywhere began her stay in Someplaceelse.

Now Wood Worker had in his employ several apprentices of varying degrees of expertise and experience. They each worked on tasks assigned to them by Wood Worker and as time passed and she carefully watched, the Master of Anywhere began to perceive the form of the Way of Working Wood. She saw that the cutting, shaping, fitting and finishing of wood required techniques; and the techniques, once taught, had to be practiced over and over in order to be mastered. Once mastered, the same techniques could be applied to any number of different projects, the finished works of which scarcely resembling each other. Each apprentice, when first learning a technique would endeavor to ape Wood Worker's movements in an effort to duplicate his result. As they became more accustomed to the technique, the Master of Anywhere noticed that they began to vary their movements in ways that were more attuned their individual selves. And so the form each technique, while yielding results seemingly very similar, varied in ways both subtle and beautiful to behold. In this way each apprentice explored the Way of Working Wood on an individual path, different from all the rest, while all were guided by Wood Worker. The Master of Anywhere began to realize that indeed, just as the Ruler had shown her, there were Ways of Training applicable to almost any activity. And practitioners of any Art or Craft will necessarily perform at different levels of acquired skill.

It might surprise some that the Master of Anywhere was so long in coming to this realization. Understand though that in Anywhere there is but one Baker, one Potter, one Smith; indeed, in the little town of Anywhere each House specializes in something that contributes to the well being of all. But in Someplaceelse there were many Bakers, Potters and Smiths. Other Wood Workers there were too and as she visited their shops she saw that there were many paths traveled by the people exploring the Way of Working Wood. Each Master would tailor his or her Way based on a myriad of factors such that the Art of Wood Working contained within it many individual styles of comparative worth. An Apprentice would gravitate to a Master whose style best suited the goals of the Apprentice.

The Master of Anywhere saw that the Training undertaken by one in the Way of Working Wood was, in reality, no different from her own Training in the Way of Martial Arts. And although none whom she met could match her internal strength or martial abilities, she was equally overmatched within their own specializations.

Finally the day arrived for the Master of Anywhere to depart Someplaceelse to continue her journey home. She sat one last time with Wood Worker and said, "Wood Worker, I have learned much at your side. Where once I looked at my Way of Martial Arts as the one and only Way, I now deem that this is not so; there are many Ways in the Wide World. Where once I saw just a Baker or Potter or Smith I now see a skilled artisan the worth of whom cannot be measured in power. Indeed, every Way is accompanied by methods of Training that lead practitioners along different paths and so the Way is thereby enriched by the diversity. When next I meet another Martial Artist I will look upon him with new eyes; eyes attuned to the form of his Way that I may see the worth of it. For this I have you to thank."

A small smile played across the lips of Wood Worker. "Safe home Master of Anywhere." And with that he turned his back upon the Master of Anywhere and slowly ambled away into the dusky gloom of his shop.

One Hundred and Forty

2009-10-20T19:12:00.001-07:00

Once again I practice the previous exercise, two partners continuously pulling, pushing, lifting, compressing at various points on my body.

This time, however, instead of remaining in natural stance, I allow myself to move. I find that I am able to move at will in directions of my choosing, regardless of how and where I am being tested by my partners. I move slowly, deliberately opting for directions that sometimes take me directly into the path of the oncoming force; other times moving away; still others moving into stillness.

This form of the exercise really brings the manipulation of forces to life for me. My partners, looking always to help me, provide enough force to bring me right to the point of structural failure and then slightly beyond. This way I am able to slowly increase my ability to absorb and manipulate ever greater amounts of applied force.

It isn't a contest; it's a cooperative effort.

One Hundred and Thirty-nine

2009-10-20T19:11:00.002-07:00

Standing in natural stance I feel the hand begin to push on my shoulder. Lightly, at first, then with increasing pressure. As I adapt to the pressure I feel another hand begin to press into my lower back; again lightly at first, the pressure steadily increasing. For a few moments I have hands simultaneously pressing at my shoulder and lower back and then the hand at my shoulder is gone and I feel two hands begin to pull down and back on my shoulders from behind. After a short while of pressure on my shoulders and lower back the hand at my lower back is gone and moves to the side of my head and begins to push…

So it goes, push/leave, pull/leave, lift/leave, compress/leave in succession so that I experience a constantly changing variety of forces applied to various places, sometimes alone, sometimes in tandem, while I maintain natural stance. With practice I'm finding that I can bear quite a bit of pressure without moving.

This and other Ki exercises we regularly practice are designed to find and enhance what we refer to as correct feeling. Correct feeling is central to developing a strong stable center.

One Hundred and Thirty-eight

2009-10-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

It was fun to write anyway...

A Parable

Once upon a time there lived an esteemed martial artist in the little town of Anywhere. She was an acknowledged Master, locally famous for her supple strength and structure. In fact, she could handle any amount of pushing or pulling on various parts of her body with amazing, uncanny even, ease. She was able to manifest her intent with the slightest of gestures, sending large strong men flying off balance at a whim. When attacked she would just seem to melt into the attacker, absorbing the energy of the attack until it dissipated or was sent back amplified by her intent, the intensity being such that the attacker was totally overwhelmed. All of this while displaying the softness of a young willow in the breeze.

In addition to being able to perform with accomplished skill, she also possessed the ability to pass her knowledge on to others and, as it turned out, she proved to be as consummate a teacher as she was a performer. Other martial artists of high repute would continually find their ways to Anywhere in order to test her skills. All who met with her and got to experience her skills first hand would come away suitably impressed; proclaiming that here indeed was one in a million, a martial artist whose internal skills were without parallel. Many requested that she take them on as students so that they too could learn to control themselves with the same degree of expertise as she did herself. Reluctantly, after much pleading and cajoling she agreed to teach them her Way.

As the years passed some of her students chose to leave Anywhere in order that they might share their knowledge with others. And so it came to pass that the Ruler heard of the Master of Anywhere and her amazing feats of martial ability. Intrigued, the Ruler caused a Summons to Appear to be drawn up and a messenger was sent to Anywhere in order to deliver it. Alas, the Master was not happy when the messenger delivered the Ruler's Summons to Appear for she had lived nowhere but Anywhere and did not wish to leave her home to undertake the long journey to the land of the Ruler. But Rulers being what they are, rulers that is, are wont to get their way and the Master's Ruler was no exception. And so on a day in spring, bright with the promise of summer just over the horizon, the Master set out to answer the Ruler's Summons to Appear.

Now the Ruler lived in the midst of a plateau surrounded by a chasm both deep and wide. Across the chasm spanned but a single bridge, a toll bridge as it turned out, the booth of which was manned by an Old Codger whose job it was to collect the fare from each person looking to cross. Eventually, the Master arrived at the bridge, many days and many adventures from Anywhere, none too happy, mighty weary and wanting to get the whole Appearance over with. So, as you might imagine, she was slightly put out when the Old Codger informed her that in order for her to cross she must ante up the toll.

"Old Codger", she intoned somewhat prideful, if I'm to be totally honest in this Tell, "stay your request for the toll for I am the Master of Anywhere and I have with me a Summons to Appear signed by the Ruler himself. That should be enough for you to let me pass."

"Ah", said the Old Codger looking her up and down in a most disconcerting and uncouth manner. "A Summons to Appear from the Ruler is indeed a most important document. But see, I also have a document, a document also signed by the Ruler, An Order of Collection it is, which obligates me to collect the toll from those wishing to cross the Ruler's bridge."

The Master, after a moment of thoughtful silence, said, "What then is your fee Old Codger; for I see no sign on your bridge or on the side of your hut yonder indicating the amount or nature of the toll?"

"Master of Anywhere", he replied, "the toll to be paid must be determined by the traveler. I simply collect it. It is different for all."

The Master of Anywhere had collected odd bits of gold, silver and precious gems on her journey, varying amounts of which she offered to the Old Codger in exchange for passage across the bridge. All her offers were summarily refused.

A hint of exasperation crept into her voice as she said, "Old Codger, what is this game you play? I have offered up to all that I have and you continually refuse to let me pass. Do you delay me on purpose? Are you not aware that, should I choose to, I could just walk through you and cross the bridge without paying you anything? I am the Master of Anywhere. I have Trained many years and possess power that dwarfs even the mightiest warrior in the land; yet still you stand before me and refuse to let me pass. Why should I not just brush you aside and be on my way? That, I deem, would be ample recompense for your impudence." Her voice, at the end of her speech, carried a hint of the power she possessed and should have been enough in and of itself to cow all but the stoutest of hearts seeking to oppose her will.

"Good Lady", the Old Codger replied, his tone flat with patience, as though he was dealing with a petulant child, "upon me is laid a Chore, yea, given to me by the Ruler himself, that I must collect his toll before I consent to the passage of anyone across his bridge. ‘Old Codger', he said to me ‘it is upon you that I bestow this Chore for in you I see one whose devotion to duty is steadfast as the Mountain Tall far away in the south of the land. I know that you will not fail.' So yes, Master of Anywhere, you may indeed brush me aside with the ease of the wind blowing through a grove of leafless trees. But know this: after my fall, half way across the bridge you will meet me again and you will think your eyes deceive you for there will be two of me to contend with. Perhaps your internal power, the selfsame power you are so justly proud of will prevail a second time but I say this, when you have gone yet half way again four of me will be there to greet you. And when next you have covered half the distance eight of me will be waiting. It is a very long bridge Master of Anywhere."

"Old Codger, you have no power and I am well neigh irresistible. It would prove to be a conflict worthy of Song; Irresistible Force meets Immovable Object." she said and sighed. "But I am no fool. I have Trained lo these many years to develop my internal power and become a great storehouse of its ways and applicability. Yet now I see that you too have Trained. And while you may not possess internal power as I have come to know it, you do indeed have a strength that transcends time and distance; something, I must admit, I had not heretofore considered. I see now that Training comes in many forms and that all have their worth. Now that I think on it, I can see the Potter, the Baker, the Smith; all people, in fact, who Train, in a new light. You have opened my eyes Old Codger and for that you have my thanks." And with that she bowed low, though no less powerful for it.

The Old Codger bowed in return, "Well met Master of Anywhere. You have paid the toll and satisfied the Summons to Appear. There is no need for you to cross the bridge now for you have taught me well; and for that you have my thanks. May your journey to Anywhere be a safe one and see you arrive happy and content."

With that the Ruler turned his back on the Master of Anywhere and began to slowly cross the bridge.

One Hundred and Thirty-seven

2009-10-20T19:10:00.001-07:00

I used to think that my study of Aikido was all about seeking. I have come to understand that it isn't about that at all; my study of Aikido is all about finding. O Sensei, IMO, never intended Aikido to be a ‘one size fits all' art. Consequently, I don't want to emulate him. I can't, not being him, recreate his Aikido in myself. His Aikido was an amalgamation of his life experience; quite unique and surely far different from my own. In a sense, he didn't create Aikido, it grew out of him and all that he was and did.

What I learned from Maruyama Sensei primarily was how to learn about Aikido through discovering myself. I got from him the notion that waza is but one tool, not the finished work. Ki exercises and testing are likewise just tools of discovery. Forms, exercises, practice… my toolkit for delving into my self and my relationship to the rest of creation from which my Aikido grows and is enriched as I grow and learn.

One Hundred and Thirty-six

2009-10-20T19:09:00.003-07:00

The canvas accepts the paint
yet the paint itself leaves no mark.
Brush strokes
are rendered and disappear
as soon as they are completed.
The painting can be finished,
and still,
leave no shadow of itself
on the canvas
which is always blank.

On the mat
my mind,
like the canvas,
is undisturbed;
accepting the attack,
which leaves no memory
to note its having happened.

One Hundred and Thirty-five

2009-10-20T19:09:00.001-07:00

Mary and I are on opposite ends of the worry spectrum. She tends to smack herself around over things that happened in her past while I save most of my fretting for events that have yet come to pass. Each of us sees that the other worries needlessly. From my point of view she is unnecessarily reliving events long ago consigned to history's round file; so why bother? From her vantage point I am living events in the future that may or may not actually happen; so again, why bother? What we have in common is that each of our proclivities separates us from Now, backward for her forward for me.

Aikido training has helped me immeasureably in honing my ability to remain focused on the present, getting ever closer to experiencing Now directly. While I know that direct experience of Now is impossible since Now has no extension beyond the moment I can approach it without limit. The ability to shrink the extension of my point of reference broadens my awareness of living life in the present.

One Hundred and Thirty-four

2009-10-20T19:08:00.002-07:00

The outside roils and churns,
the inside calm and still;
the boundary between
where both are neither
and become one in the same
is Aikido.

One Hundred and Thirty-three

2009-10-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

I just realized that 2009 marks the point at which I have been studying Aikido for over half of my life. It doesn't seem all that long ago that I showed up for my first class a week early but 32 years have elapsed since that day.

I was going to write that I can't begin to write what Aikido has meant to me, but then, that's what this blog is all about, duh.

Mary and I have an agreement that we are going to celebrate our 50th anniversary together, which means I have to live into my early 90's, another 32 years. So barring any fatal diseases, natural disasters, other calamities or being stupid enough to run headlong into Dan Harden at full speed , I may be lucky enough to put in another 30+ years on the mat.

Going to be a helluva journey, but I won't say I can't wait. I'm in no hurry to get there 'cause I'm really enjoying the ride.

One Hundred and Thirty-two

2009-10-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd post our Ki Syllabus here for those who are looking for ways to develop their internal strength and correct feeling that go beyond solely practicing waza.

Ki Syllabus -- the purpose of which is to provide the instructor with teaching tools to educate students in how to establish and enhance correct feeling associated with coordination of mind and body.

Benefits of -- which include: development and strengthening of correct feeling while stationary or in motion, body core strengthening, introduction to technique basic movements, increased awareness of moving from the center…

Ki Development Exercises

Solo --
1. Rowing motion
2. Ikkyo one direction
3. Ikkyo two directions
4. Ikkyo four directions
5. Ikkyo eight directions
6. Sai Undo
7. Sai Undo with side step
8. Flap arms side to side
9. Monkey dips
10. Roll backward
11. Roll backward and stand
12. Wrist curls
13. Wrist breaks
14. Tenkan
15. Irimi

Partnered Stationary --
1. Unbendable arm
2. Immovable arm from outside
3. Immovable arm from inside
4. Weight underside
5. Vertical arm lift/pull
6. Collarbone push
7. Lower back push
8. Upper back push
9. Upper chest push
10. Kata tori push hammi
11. Kata tori push natural stance
12. Kata tori push one foot
13. Katate tori push hammi
14. Katate tori push natural stance
15. Katate tori push one foot
16. Ryote tori push hammi
17. Ryote tori push natural stance
18. Ryote tori push one foot
19. Upper arm grab bring along
20. Chin lift
21. Seiza front push
22. Seiza rear push
23. Seiza knee lift
24. Seiza hand lift
25. Seiza head push
26. Ukemi front push
27. Resist roll back and stand
28. Palm to palm stiff arm push hammi
29. Palm to palm stiff arm push natural stance
30. Palm to palm stiff arm push one foot
31. Palms to palms unbendable arm push hammi
32. Palms to palms unbendable arm push natural stance
33. Palms to palms unbendable arm push one foot
34. Suspend nage between 2 chairs (sitting on optional)

Partnered Motion --
1. Katate tori move uke backward
2. Katate tori draw uke in
3. Katate tori enter to uke's side
4. Ryote tori move uke backward
5. Ryote tori draw uke in
6. Ryote tori enter to uke's side
7. Two uke katate ryote tori weight underside sink to the mat
8. Ikkyo exercise through partner's arm (up and down)
9. Lift partner's arm after ikkyo exercise
10. Kata tori tenkan, partner tests after the turn
11. Tenkan ….partner says stop somewhere in the action and then tests immediately for one point
12. Nage does any throw and uke gets up and tests for one point
13. Bring uke along without forcing
14. Weight underside 2 uke nage moving and stopping

Solo Weapons --
1. Multi step random forms with jo staff
2. Multi step random forms with bokken
3. Multi step random forms with two bokken
4. Free movement with jo staff/bokken/2 bokken
5. 1000 strikes
6. Day long bokken/jo staff carry

Partnered Weapons --
1. Lead uke w/ jo staff
2. Partnered jo staff leading
3. Push/pull bokken
4. Lift jo staff
5. Push down on jo staff
6. Push jo staff into nage
7. Pull jo staff away from nage

One Hundred and Thirty-one

2009-10-20T19:05:00.002-07:00

Joe McParland sent me an email a while back, part of which appears below:

"In my progression as a nage, I'm hoping to reach mushin, operating effortlessly and spontaneously within the situation. I have no expectation of who will attack, what the attack may be, or how I will respond to a particular attack---it will just happen. The wake-up call is wondering if I can reach no-mindedness by practicing no-mindedness just half of the time, holding intention the other half of the time."

This got me to thinking about the nature of the relationship of attacker and defender. I am so accustomed to recognizing the dualities that permeate Aikido that I have always assumed that uke and nage are two sides of the same coin. But I am seeing that this may not actually be true; that there may be a fundamental difference between the two that necessarily arises because of the need for uke to initiate the attack as a result of his intent. Now his intent may be to hurt or, in the case of mat training, help his opponent, in either case the nature of his intent is irrelevant. What's important is the fact that intent precludes an empty head, so to speak.

The other thing that I began to ponder is the whole concept of trying to reach mushin. For instance, while playing a game of Risk with a couple of buddies, one of the players rolled the die too hard and it careened off the table. Without any volition on my part my hand shot out and plucked the die out of the air and returned it to him, much like Master Po's annoying little habit of plucking flies out of the air in the old Kung Fu series. Afterwards, what struck me was the clarity of that short sequence as it occurred. I have had other incidents like that both on and off the mat. It seems to me that this state of mind, or rather lack of same, arises naturally when the situation calls for it and that my Aikido training endows me with tools that can be spontaneously employed when needed.

One Hundred and Thirty

2009-10-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally arriving in the Berkshires. With the warmer weather we are able to open the windows and overhead doors of the dojo during class, letting the world in; kept out as it was throughout the long winter. The dafs and primroses are up and flowering while the rest of the garden plants are in various stages of testing the air; hesitant as though not quite trusting that winter has finally succumbed to the seasonal rite of spring.

The rising temperatures are also reawakening my body. Ukemi is becoming a little easier to take, sweat flows more freely and my oldish joints complain less than they did a month or two ago. Ahh, bring on the heat!

One Hundred and Twenty-nine

2009-10-20T19:04:00.001-07:00

The gentle way,
often misinterpreted as lacking strength,
is, in reality,
steel whipcord wrapped in velvet
that must be felt to be appreciated.

One Hundred and Twenty-eight

2009-10-20T19:03:00.003-07:00

"Scientific cosmology is offering us a new picture of an awesome universe, but science provides no way of personally connecting to it. New scientific ideas as intellectual entertainment are not going to change our point of view. The scientific picture of the universe and the actual experience of it as reality - like mind and heart - each come fully alive in the connection with the other. Cosmic ideas need to be integrated harmoniously into all we know, and that can open us up to the universe. But how in practice is that done? How can we bring our stunted consciousness into harmony with scientific reality? This is the great challenge of our time…" Joel R. Primack and Nancy Ellen Abrams, The View from the Center of the Universe.

How does the study of Aikido, a martial art, relate to my understanding of the universe and my experience of being of the universe? Aikido, in the larger context, larger that is than merely a collection of techniques used to deal with conflict, has provided me with a vehicle for experiencing the connection referred to in the first sentence in the above quote. I can read the science, observe my surroundings with my senses and measuring instruments, devise theories and provide explanations for natural phenomena, in other words feed my mind. Through study and book learning I can intellectually connect to the universe. But this intellectual connection is inadequate to enhance my experience of being of the universe and thus my connection remains incomplete on a personal level. To experience a personal connection with the universe requires more than an intellectual interaction with the world; it also requires physical interaction between me and my surroundings. Aikido enables me to experience this physical interaction.

Motion is at the heart of Aikido. The dynamics of bodies in motion give rise to all Aikido techniques. Motion is at the heart of the universe. The dynamics of bodies in motion give rise to all events that compose the universe.

On a large scale, the same physical laws governing the motions of planets, stars, galaxies and galactic clusters govern our motion relative to one another when we practice Aikido. What Aikido provides me is a way to internalize those laws and experience them personally. Continuity is the watch word at this scale. Technique mimics the motion of planets and their home star orbiting about a common center. Smooth, effortless and flowing, we move along paths indicated and defined by the continuum which is, in turn, shaped by our presence. And thus my connection with the larger universe is enhanced and brought to life in an intimate way.

Moving in the other direction, away from the large toward the very small, random motion becomes the predominant player in my Aikido. Random motion, especially during randori, causes every encounter with my partner(s) to be slightly different. Randori happens, technique occurs without volition, we move together and techniques grow out of our motion. I can practice the same technique with the same partner ten thousand times and each encounter will be unique and unpredictable. The randomness and uncertainty of each encounter allows me to internalize and personally experience the physical laws governing events on the quantum level of the universe. And thus my connection to the smaller universe is enhanced and brought to life in an intimate way.

Studying Aikido allows me to contract my point of reference thereby increasing my awareness. With expanded awareness I am able to bring my consciousness into harmony with the scientific reality that my mind has absorbed as my book knowledge has grown. The two, the knowledge of learning and the knowledge of experience, complement each other creating a synergy of understanding that echoes deep within me. My continually changing Aikido therefore, is one tool that I employ to integrate my consciousness with ever changing scientific reality.

One Hundred and Twenty-seven

2009-10-20T19:03:00.001-07:00

The theme of our spring seminar will be the exploration of correct feeling within the context of Aikido. Correct feeling is the state I experience when my mind and body are coordinated. Correct feeling arises naturally when my mind and body approach unity; when I let go of what was, what may yet be and live in the moment. When I have correct feeling I am in my strongest possible state.

At the seminar we will use a combination of Ki exercises and Aikido techniques to help each other experience and explore correct feeling in our own unique individual ways.

One Hundred and Twenty-six

2009-10-20T19:02:00.003-07:00

Body Manifest Physical Waza
Mind Hidden Ki Feeling
Spirit Divine Connection Universe

One Hundred and Twenty-five

2009-10-20T19:02:00.001-07:00

I arrive,
and in the arriving
I realize
that having done so is not the end,
but just another beginning.

One Hundred and Twenty-four

2009-10-20T19:01:00.002-07:00

Keep one point.
Keep weight underside.
Maintain correct posture.
Coordinate mind and body.
Have positive mind.

I use these, and other, phrases a lot while in class, never however, in a vacuum. The phrases themselves while appearing instructive in nature do not actually transmit any useful information. What is one point and how I keep it? Keep weight underside of what? How do I feel when my posture is correct? What does it mean to coordinate mind and body? Positive mind, does that mean I have to be happy all the time?

The phrases are introduced in conjunction with Ki development exercises and are used to provide hooks upon which to hang feelings engendered when the exercises are performed correctly. The phrase provides me with a point of reference for recalling a set of feelings associated with the performance of a particular exercise. As I grow and get stronger the need for the words to trigger a physical response in me lessens until I can dispense with the association altogether and simply rely on having correct feeling.

Perform, associate, reinforce and do it again… and again… and again… It's the process that matters, not the individual outcome of any particular iteration.

One Hundred and Twenty-three

2009-10-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

Quote:

Peter Goldsbury, from Transmission, Inheritance, Emulation 12 wrote:

One might ask how Descartes' problems with skepticism and Neo's problems in the Matrix are relevant to aikido. The answer is that they are not, but the underlying assumptions are. One of the crucial issues with aikido is the degree to which one gives credence to various ‘internal' experiences that are not part and parcel of waza. The issue is compounded by lack of a common language that is immediately understood. This is evidenced by the following instructions, quoted earlier (numbered here for ease of reference):

1. Extend ki to your partner into his back at your right hand into his wrist at your left hand. 2. Do nothing. 3. Wait. 4. Focus your intent on having your partner accompany you. 5. Do nothing. 6. Wait. 7. Imagine both of you beginning to move in the direction his extended left hand is pointing. 8. Wait. 9. When you feel your partner begin to move, use only your ki to encourage him to continue. 10. Follow his lead as you lead him in the direction he wants to go.

This could cause a major problem if the partner does not do what nage intends. In addition, if the partner does indeed do what nage intends/imagines, there is still no demonstrable causal relationship between the intention/imagination and the subsequent action. We will see from the discussion on Wittgenstein that one of the issues with aikido, especially after Koichi Tohei split with the Aikikai, is that of the legitimacy of focusing on certain internal experiences that cannot be verified, except in terms of the experience in question. I believe that the real crux of Kisshomaru Ueshiba's issue with Koichi Tohei is that the latter gave undue importance to certain concepts, like KI, and divorced them from the context of aikido training. For Kisshomaru, KI could not be separated from aiki and had to be developed in the kind of training which he himself believed that his father did.

As the originator of the 10 instructions paraphrased by Peter above (the original post is number 51 in my blog) I thought I'd add my thoughts to his observations.

Whether or not one gives credence to internal experiences in Aikido has largely to do with the method of training one has experienced. Those of us who were ‘brought up on' the teachings of K. Tohei via Ki Society and later by S. Maruyama via Kokikai Aikido learned early on to identify internal states with metaphors evidenced in the principles and ideas both teachers espoused.

Regarding the instructions numbered 1-10 by Peter, I should note that the exercise when introduced in class by Mary was not presented as a list of instructions. The exercise was demonstrated in silence and only after going thru it with partners did we sit down and discuss our reactions. We then changed partners and went thru the exercise again with new insight gleaned from the discussion. I made a laundry list of instructions in my blog for the purpose of illustrating how the exercise is to be performed for readers.

The exercise is practiced with what we refer to as ‘intent without expectation'. As such, there is no conflict or problem regardless how uke responds. The first line of the blog post 51 states that: "I don't want uke to obey me; I want him to be me." The last line reads: "This exercise requires patience. Leave your expectations ‘at the door' and just let it happen."

That there is ‘no demonstrable causal relationship between the intention/imagination and the subsequent action' is precisely the point. The exercise deals with feeling and the perception of feeling as experienced by two people working in concert without agendas. Following and leading are inseparable; they are the same process and must be performed simultaneously. Only then will the energies of the participants be blended in such a way as to permit the execution of technique without resorting to the notion of overt control of another person. Wittgenstein can, in effect, be ignored since verification of the internal experience independent of the experience itself is neither required nor sought.

Tohei's innovative approach to teaching Ki development as a subject independent of, although in conjunction with waza, seems to me at least to have been a bold step to take. While Kisshomaru may have seen such instruction as divorced from Aikido training, I see Tohei as someone who expanded the idea of what Aikido training is; opening it up to include Ki development as an integral part of training.

One Hundred and Twenty-two

2009-10-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

"To truly implement the Art of Peace, you must be able to sport freely in the manifest, hidden and divine realms." - Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace, Translated by John Stevens.

Manifest - The realm of the physical, province of waza, training the body.

Hidden - The realm of Ki, province of feeling, training the mind.

Divine - The realm of connection, province of the Universe, training the spirit.

Aikido training is a process I employ to integrate the three realms in order to realize my full potential as a human being.

One Hundred and Twenty-one

2009-10-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Quote:

Joe McParland wrote:

If I say, "apple," is the one you see the same as the one I see, or are they different?

Apple is too complex, let's reduce it to "red". If I say, "red," is the red you see the same as the red I see, or are they different? Now you may argue that "red" is defined by a particular wave length of light and that we can agree that wavelength = x is red. That's all very nice, but it doesn't tell us anything about how we perceive red. I can be shown light of wavelength x + dx where dx represents a change in x and call it red. You meanwhile could be shown light of wavelength x - dx and come to the same conclusion that it is red. Whose red is red?

Clearly, since we agreed at a prior point in time that wavelength x is red neither of us can be right. The wavelength of the light we were shown varied from x by some amount dx. We are forced to admit that our definition of red is, perhaps, to constrained to be of any use when dealing with human perception of color. To enable us to talk about red, as it is perceived by humans, in any meaningful manner we must expand our definition of what is red to include a spectrum of wavelengths.

Aikido is like red. We could attempt to define Aikido simply as the form of "what Ueshiba did" and leave it at that. Therefore if I am doing what Ueshiba did then I am doing Aikido. Simple really. The problem with that is that Ueshiba did what he did over a long period of time and what he did and how he did it varied with respect to when in time he was doing it. So like red, that when discussed perceptively, cannot be pinned down to a single wavelength, Aikido, it seems, cannot be pinned down to a single form.

So today we have many different forms of Aikido. Yet I can walk into an Aikido dojo anywhere in the world and discern that what I am seeing is Aikido without having to resort to anything but my perception of what is being performed on the mat.

The question I ask myself is - Did Ueshiba intend for Aikido to become so varied in form, and if so, why?

One Hundred and Twenty

2009-10-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

I can smell the aroma of spring drifting in air still bearing winter's chill; a chill though now without the bite of only a couple of weeks ago. Berkshire winters give up the ghost reluctantly and often there's still snow on the ground when the crocuses and daffodils begin to appear. Not for a while yet, I'm afraid, but still, something has changed, as if winter has finally accepted that it's time to head south for the summer.

Last night in class I felt the familiar awakening of renewed flexibility that I have come to identify as a harbinger of the promise of spring. The gumminess of my joints, jelled by winter's icy grip, is thinning and by May, or June at the latest, my ukemi will, at last, once again not reflect my advancing years.

One Hundred and Nineteen

2009-10-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

From the Aikido Is a Practical Martial Arts Thread:

Kevin Leavitt wrote:

If so, is the process really designed to teach folks morals or ethics....

I wrote:

I don't see the process of Aikido study as a delivery vehicle for any moral or ethical lessons. Rather the physical practice of Aikido provides me with a way of looking inward to discover who I am and how I interact with the world around me. This process of discovery has enabled me to witness the emergence and maturation of a moral and ethical base of personal behavior that is substantially different from when I started my study.

My study of Aikido has been decidely inwardly directed, resulting in outward behavior that has been moving toward a more ethical and moral form than would othwerwise have been had I never taken up Aikido.

One Hundred and Eighteen

2009-10-20T12:00:00.001-07:00

Much of my training is concerned with attaining what I refer to as "proper fit" with uke. Proper fit occurs when uke and I move in concert, our energies complementing rather than conflicting. To have proper fit with uke I must abandon my agenda, notions of winning and losing, my ego. I must allow myself to be absorbed into the moment. Thought moves me further away from the moment and, as a consequence, hinders my ability to achieve a proper fit with my partner.

Training, therefore, is my process of discovering, experiencing and developing no-mind, a necessary prerequisite for achieving proper fit. Techniques are the tools of training not the finished work, just as brushes are the tools of painting and not the finished canvas.

One Hundred and Seventeen

2009-10-20T11:59:00.002-07:00

Body Thing
Mind Process
Spirit Quality

One Hundred and Sixteen

2009-10-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

When I began Aikido, I knew nothing and didn't know it. I began to learn and in learning I knew that I knew nothing. As my knowledge grew I found that I had less and less capacity to learn. There came a point at which I chose to forget all that I thought I knew and so began again.

One Hundred and Fifteen

2009-10-20T11:58:00.001-07:00

Gently falling snow renders the world with its own unique brushstroke. The falling snowflakes the emphasize the stillness of everything else. The edges of things are blurred by the intervening motes of snowflake, distance becomes less clearly delineated. Sounds are muffled; the ensuing quiet seems to remove much of the hustle and bustle from everyday existence.

The snow seems to say "slow down, calm down; be at peace, at least for a little while…"

Aikido is, for me, like the falling snow. The motion of Aikido practice counterpoints the stillness of the dojo; walls, ceiling and floor stand, hover and support according to their nature while we whirl around, our motion defining the limits of their realm while they define the space in which we move. Aikido, an agent of integration, blurs the distinction of self, the ultimate differentiator, and fosters unity from multiplicity. The quiet single-mindedness of practice brings me closer to the moment and, for a time, the noise of my life is reduced in scope and volume.

Aikido says to me "slow down, calm down; be at peace, at least for a little while…"

One Hundred and Fourteen

2009-10-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

Working through
or
working toward.

Via the former,
I experience the latter
and so,
focus on neither
while being immersed,
in both.

One Hundred and Thirteen

2009-10-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

A Metaphorical Parable

Hello. I am a being of immense power. I stand outside creation and possess the ability to observe without interfering. Heisenberg and his nasty Uncertainty Principle are confined to creation; I am free of his curse. I am granting you the ability to step out of creation for a while so that we may look upon another of my works together.

Envision a universe consisting of a single switch. The switch has two possible end-states; end-state zero, called off and end-state one, called on. The switch is considered in an end-state when there is no ambiguity regarding whether the switch is on or off.

For the switch either end-state coincides with the moment. In the moment the switch has no motion, no mass, no energy; it simply is. In the moment, the universe that is the switch is static. Between moments the switch will swap end-states. Between moments the switch is not on and the switch is not off. It is between moments that the universe that is the switch is dynamic. The process that the switch undergoes when it oscillates from one end-state to another is called Ki.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…

One Hundred and Twelve

2009-10-20T11:55:00.000-07:00

Where I've been,
my past.
Where I am,
my now.
Where I'm going,
my future.

My conscious self
is never where I am.
Real-time is an illusion
for at now there is no time.

At now
all things are
one thing.

Everything happens between now
and now
and now
and...