One Hundred and Seventy

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

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

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

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

One Hundred and Sixty-six

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

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

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

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

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

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."