Two Hundred and Thirty-nine

As my Aikido grows more powerful, I am struck by the fact that so too does the lessening of my reliance on power grow apace. Rough touch backed by insistence that my partner conform to my will has, over the years, given way to gentle contact that guides and follows simultaneously. The need to dictate the flow of events has been transformed into acceptance of the moment.

Growth of power emerges naturally from my practice; as does the realization that manifest power and applied power are two different things that can be individually employed to arrive at a single destination.

Two Hundred and Thirty-eight

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

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

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

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

Two Hundred and Thirty-seven

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

Correct feeling is characterized by:

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

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

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

Two Hundred and Thirty-six

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

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

Two Hundred and Thirty-five

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two Hundred and Thirty-four

Harmony - Agreement, accord, concord, synchronization, congruence, coordination, coherence.

Mind-like - Agreement, accord, concord.

Body-like - Synchronization, congruence, coordination, coherence.

Agreement (settlement of conflict), accord (concurrence of views), concord (peace).

Synchronization (organization of movements), congruence (correspondence of form), coordination (bringing together mind and body), coherence (unity of action).

Harmony as a functional precept of Aikido.

Two Hundred and Thirty-three

Positioning myself properly
I can utilize the energy
of our movement

as does a dolphin

make use of the energy
contained in the bow wave
of a moving boat.

Two Hundred and Thirty-two

Presence, as in: an impressive appearance or bearing, is often established via the application of atemi during the execution of a technique. Atemi delivered in an indifferent manner or with the intention of missing the intended target will embolden my uke and serve to diminish my presence in his eyes. Part of my training is getting my partners to believe in the reality of my atemi, even while they know that I'm not going to apply the strike with force enough to do any damage.

Atemi delivered with correct feeling will result in uke feeling the energy of my intent long before the blow arrives. This, in turn, will adversely affect his positioning and balance thereby increasing my presence as perceived by him. When I deliver atemi during practice I make it known to my partner that, 'if you don't move I'm going to hit you', via the projection of my intent and by applying the blow accurately, on target.

Two Hundred and Thirty-one

Minimum Energy Principle -
Energy in any form seeks stability at the lowest energy state possible, and will not transition to a new state unless acted on by another energy source. - Louis A. Del Monty, Unraveling the Universe's Mysteries

Notes to self:

Tightly coordinated mind/body - high energy state, sharply focused, suppression of conscious thought preceding action, expansion of awareness/contraction of reference.

Loosely coordinated mind/body - low energy state, diffused focus, conscious thought preceding action, contraction of awareness/expansion of reference.

Degree of coordination of mind/body (Ki) transitions to a higher degree in a conflict situation due to the influence of another energy source (uke).

Aikido is a vehicle for implementing the MEP.

Ki development work facilitates the transition to higher energy states brought on by influence of uke's energy input. Waza provides a mechanism for transitioning to lower energy states via the neutralization of uke's energy.

When engaged in solo training I become the energy source normally supplied by uke in paired training. Solo training takes me from a low energy state to a high energy state and back again. With time and experience I come to see uke as a physical projection of the same energy that I am capable of generating on my own. With an uke my inner solo training is externalized and brought to life.

Two Hundred and Thirty

In the very early universe, Planck-time moments after the Big Bang, all the known forces were unified. As the universe cooled and expanded this super-symmetry began to unravel and the four forces of nature that we currently recognize emerged. I liken the cooling and expansion of the early universe to the growth of conscious self awareness in the developing human being which breaks the symmetry of mind and body.

I suppose that there isn't an individual moment in the past when I first became aware of "me" or an exact time when I first thought of "my body" as somehow separate from my "me-ish" essence. Consciousness of self, I think, happened gradually; that it kind of crept into my awareness when I wasn't looking. Prior to the emergence of self my mind and body were tightly coordinated and very close to the moment. Self awareness opened the doors to past and future which broke the symmetry and gave my mind the ability to wander from the moment.