Two Hundred and Four

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

"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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.