Saotome Sensei speaks of the martial arts as having evolved out of warrior practices who’s original intent was to overcome our primal fears to pursue higher ideals. He goes on to explore Aikido’s uniqueness in the constant focus on de-ai or “the moment of encounter” to “secure vitality in the face of death… in favor of action based on compassion and affinity for all things.” .
Aikido is different in a lot of ways but one of the most confusing is that there is no competitions. The reason is it changes the focus of training. You have to have rules, weight classes, trophies, and of course losers. Specifically you are fighting for for a prize not an ideal and the cost you are willing to go to with some person you aren’t actually in conflict with is rather surprising.
In “A Light on Transmission,” Saotome Sensei shares his insight into what we are missing about Aikido. His explanation of why Aikido is mostly preformatted partner practice challenges us to see the opportunity to be hit in the head in a new way.
If we know our partner is willing to hit us in the head (because we asked them to) then there is a real threat and we are wired to have a primal response. Paul Linden does an exercise where someone throws a tissue at your face and even though a professional pitcher couldn’t hurt with a tissue you still tense up.
Saotome says Aikido is a practice of “de-ai” or “the moment of encounter;” an opportunity to face our fears, stand above our ego, and move form “within a world of darkness, securing rebirth into a world of light.”
It seems to me that Aikido practice prepares us for “the moment of encounter”, moving us through the darkness of our ego toward recognition of the light that comes from within and from the intersubjective connectivity with the other. In my life I learned that my ego is afraid of peace, because in the peaceful center my ego-self is no longer necessary or relevant; indeed, ego becomes a barrier to a life energized through authentic encounters with others. “Losing one’s life to gain life” as Jesus taught.
O’sensei would say true victory is victory over the self
I really enjoyed this post This post reminds me of the challenges I face when I am in Aikido class. I feel like in our society, we are really afraid to touch each other. When I am in Aikido, I feel that fear. I feel a very primal fear when faced with someone touching me and controlling my body.
My father was a boxer for a long time and he loved sparing. As a child it was really frightening seeing him box because of how violent it was. It is scary to think this person hitting my father would prefer to win the fight over many things. I appreciate Aikido because people are not competing which makes the fighting aggressive and confrontational by nature.
It can be really transformative to work with someone in your own “defeat” of sorts by letting someone hit you. There is a power in choosing to be attacked, so that when one is actually attacked, or even just faced with a challenge, there will be a familiarity and one’s body will be more comfortable. ‘
This ideology can be applied to all kinds of challenges. When faced with life’s challenges, one can integrate those challenges into their life in a positive way that leads to great strength and self-discovery.
I liked this class because of the challenged that I faced. I was learning new stuff every week. the training something helpful in my life. what I must do if I have a problems.
I felt that the “’ENTERING INTO HARM’S WAY;’ CONFRONTING OUR PRIMAL SELF” article was very interesting. Due to the fact that it talked about overcoming our primal self. “Paul Linden does an exercise where someone throws a tissue at your face and even though a professional pitcher couldn’t hurt with a tissue you still tense up,” (Jeff). I think that is intriguing because it shows the natural reflexes that many people have. Just earlier today when I took my final I messed up due to my natural instinct. When I was demonstrating munetsuki kotegaeshi I laid my ukemi on the ground and unintentionally stepped one leg over him. As I stood above him I had a revelation as to why we walk around the head and was very upset at myself for my mistake. I realized that walking around the head made it so that the aggressor wouldn’t perceive you as a “threat” so to speak. When I stepped over my partner and stood above him for that short moment I felt an unnecessary feeling of dominance, or that I was in control of the situation. That did not feel well at all to me because we are taught codominance and to coexist peacefully with our environment. Reading this article really made me reflect on the minor mistake that I made during my exam but further enlightened my understanding of the aikido way. Due to the feeling of wrongdoing that was swirling inside my mind for hours afterward. Not because of the mistake but because of how I misused aikido and put my partner in a position that was uncomfortable for him and myself.