April, 2003
Good Question
Previous Issues
Recently, a freelance writer who had come across our
dojo’s web site asked me if I would be part of an e-mail
interview on Aikido. I told him I’d be happy to do it.
But I was even happier when I saw the questions, because
they were good ones. And I knew they would make me think.
Here are the fifteen questions I was asked. With a few of them, I’ve included my answer.
But with all of them, I hope you will think about what
your answer might be. And if you send those answers to me (jlahue@frontiernet.net),
perhaps we can put a few of them into next month’s newsletter.
Q: Could you tell us what Aikido means and what it
is?
A: Every week, someone asks me what Aikido is. And each
time it happens, I still stumble around for a suitable answer.
Here’s the reason I think it’s such a difficult
question to answer: Until you have the shared experience of practicing
Aikido, you really can’t talk about it in understandable terms. It’s
like trying to describe the smell of an apple pie to someone who has never
smelled one. You can talk and talk about it. But when that person actually
smells one, she says, "So that’s what you were trying
to describe!"
Aikido is not the movements you see, although those are
certainly part of it. Aikido is the underlying feeling that makes the
movements possible.
Aikido is a martial art. It has "techniques".
But it’s that feeling that differentiates it from almost any
other kind of practice. When done correctly, Aikido has the satisfying
feel of a home run, a swish, a long drive in golf, a perfect moment with
your family, a good meal.
Annie Dillard wrote, "I had been my whole life a
bell, and never knew it until at that moment I was lifted and struck."
That’s what Aikido feels like—you’re a bell, and you have
finally been lifted and struck.
Q: What is the philosophy on which it is based?
Q: I have heard Aikido combines elements from samurai
– what makes Aikido unique; what is its distinguishing factor?
A: Here’s what I think makes Aikido unique:
- It feels different. It feels calming and relaxing,
easy and pleasant. It doesn’t feel macho. It doesn’t even seem
martial. (Although a person being thrown by Aikido might disagree.)
- It enables a small person to throw a big person as
easily as a big person throws a small person.
- It is not based on strength or size or youth or athleticism.
The people who practice correctly for the longest time are the
best. Watch out for the 80-year-old Aikidoist!
- It gives you principles that you can apply to absolutely
every aspect of your life.
- It makes you happy.
Q: I read that Aikido is a form of martial art that
facilitates the attainment of ‘inner peace’. Most of us don’t
really know how to define ‘inner peace’ because we have either
not experienced it at all or at least not for long enough to be able to
describe it. How does Aikido view and define ‘inner peace’ -
and what elements does it employ and how do they interlace to make such
tranquility possible?
Q: How did you get drawn to this martial art? How
long have you been practicing it and how has your perspective and understanding
of it evolved since the time you were a novice to the present time?
Q: One would assume that establishing an inner equilibrium
through Aikido you get in touch with yourself. Does that mean that this
heightened awareness brings changes in basic personality – increasing
the propensity for self correction in life situations? Could you, with
an example tell us how this process happened for you?
A: I don’t think Aikido changes your personality.
Rather, I think Aikido reveals it. By making you more relaxed and
calm, we’re able to do that thing we’ve been told to do since
we were little: "Be yourself!" Freed from worry, doubts, concerns,
anxieties, we just are who we are. Being yourself becomes the most natural
thing, as it should be.
Personally, I felt this in a big way in my life. I was always very self-conscious around other people. So I never felt like many people knew me—because I didn’t act like myself. Being more calm and relaxed, thanks to Aikido, I feel like I’m so much more myself now. And in ten years, and twenty, I should be even more so!
Q: What kind of effects does practicing Aikido have in one’s life – I mean, in relationships, parenting, career, inner growth issues for instance – where did you find the most positive change occur in your life as a result of your studying this technique?
Q: Many people don’t understand the concept of ‘ki’ or life-force or haven’t felt it yet. Can you describe one simple technique or exercise that will allow a person to tangibly feel this energy flow?
Q: I often find, and so do most people I would suppose,
that I am able to practice centering and relaxation until I hit the very
situation where I should be applying it – in a heated argument, with
an irritable child- which is exactly where I lose it. Can you suggest
an Aikido based quick technique or mental rule by doing which, in that
moment, one is able to maintain a calm center –so one is prompted
to act rather than react?
A: No, there’s no quick technique for that! But
those things that give us the biggest challenge also give us the biggest
opportunity for learning to be calm.
Consider this: What situation does Aikido simulate to
help us learn about calmness? A self-defense situation, one in which we
could be injured or killed. This is ideal. If we can find a sense of peace
when we are confronted with danger to life or limb, dealing with an upset
child is easier. (Though I’m not always great at that, either!)
The reason there is no quick technique is because we
have reflexes, like fight or flight, that we have to learn to set aside.
Aikido gives you a new option—calm down, find your best state, relax,
find a state of true power. By using this state again and again, we learn
that it works better. Eventually, you accept it as a new reflex.
So when you are confronted with a difficult situation, you maintain calmness
because you simply know—at a very deep level—that it works better.
Q: Could you give us examples of four or five simple
exercises that anyone can do (on his or her own without the need for expert
guidance) on a daily basis to increase self awareness?
Q: People are so rushed and busy these days; so what is the best way for them to weave Aikido into one’s life? When you began Aikido practice how did you choose to incorporate it into your daily routine? Was it a ‘whenever you had the time’ approach or did you dedicate a particular time slot for it and why?
Q: Where should someone who wants to learn this start?
Are there different schools of Aikido? How can they pick what is right
for them? Do you have any guidelines to keep in mind to help identify
the best instructor for oneself?
Q: Are you aware of any health conditions under which an individual should desist from pursuing Aikido?
Q: How soon, that is, at what age, can children be
introduced to such training? What mental, emotional or spiritual effects
have you discerned in children as a result of their exposure to Aikido?
Q: Are there any other aspects of lifestyle that you
are required to modify, e.g, diet, sleep, activity levels etc. or do these
changes occur automatically or not at all when you pursue Aikido –
and are they really a way to gauge the impact of Aikido on your life –(i.e.,
whether or not these transformations happen)?
A: There is nothing else you need to modify. All you
really have to do is keep coming. That, we tell our students, is the real
secret of Aikido.
Other changes do happen. Because Aikido seeps into all
corners of your life. You will find aspects of your life that just don’t
jibe with the new feeling you have discovered, the new philosophy that
you feel. Old attitudes and ways of dealing with things will gradually
get discarded. Your life will change. But it will happen the way your
children grow: You hardly notice it. But when a relative from across the
country sees your kids, they say, "Wow, they’ve grown so
much!"
The best gauge of your progress of Aikido is the feeling you have inside. One day, you’ll be walking down the street and think to yourself, "When did it get so pleasant just to walk, just to be here, just to breathe the air?" That’s when you know Aikido has gotten into your bones.
Upcoming Events
Open Mat, Friday, April 4 at 5:45.
Ran Tori Class, Wednesday April 16 at 7 PM.
Weapons Class, Wednesday April 16 at 8 PM.
Special Teen Class, Wednesday, April 23 at 7 PM.
Video Night, Thursday, April 24 after 8 PM class.
Open Mat, Friday April 25 at 5:45.
Jonathan Bannister visit, tentative date: June 21 & 22.
Summer Camp with Maruyama Sensei, July 25-28.
Recent
Testing
We had plenty of testing at Winter Camp. In all, twelve Rochester students tested for advanced belts. Richard Bachner, Lisa Fuller, Brian Lachance, Harold Leve, Ryan Liddell, and Scott Stoner all tested for 2nd kyu. Jason Beck, Rob Greene, Candy Martens, and Janet Ying tested for 1st kyu. Mark Grey tested for Shodan (black belt). And Jim Austin tested for Nidan (3rd degree black belt). Congratulations to all!
Clever people seem not to feel the natural pleasure of bewilderment,
and are always answering questions
when the chief relish of a life is
to go on asking them.
- Frank Moore Colby