The Ideogram for “Ukemi” is a picture of accepting the gift of a boatload of rice but in Aikdio it is explained as “the art of falling.” If you have the chance to be thrown by a high-ranking aikidoist you will have a chance to make sense of this as you fly through the air. Continue reading Receiving the Gift; That’s the Meaning of Ukemi
You may of seen this video before but I have just started realizing why it caught my eye 6 months ago. This is one of the few lessons Saito Sensei or any other instructor focuses on “What if uke freaks out?” Sure, we look at what to do if a uke resists or counters but what about the uke that is just caught off guard and reacts erratically? In this instance the aikido should be all about uke because once they get it back together they are still coming for you. Continue reading Hey, we forgot Uke…
Autopilot has preprogrammed destination and assumes that there are clear skies ahead. Oddly, breathing is set to a specific outcome which is instead conflict so it is necessary to reset and let breathing be used for relaxation instead of primal survival. Continue reading Attention Passengers We Will Be Experiencing …
Looking across the river the young monk asks the master, “How do I get to the other side.” The master replied “little monk, you are on the other side.” My favorite story is different story about two monks but as I remember it involved a drowning maiden. Continue reading Growing up on Zen…and the silken maiden.
Appearance has been the driving force of how we interpret what it means to “be strong”… but the things we do to look and feel strong do little to improve our stability or capacity to withstand force. Continue reading You are stronger than you “look”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lqUVoLorWk]
Saito sensei breaks down O’sensei’s movements into a concrete starting point to understand the abstract and generative potential of aikido. The step-by-step approach also illuminates how a martial art can be peaceful and be an effective response to violence. Aikido’s roots are in the samurai and it is important to look at how something so lethal became the “Art of Peace;” riai is the place to start… Continue reading Riai… How Aikido Moves from Death to Resolution.
The Kanji for “ai” in aikido is usually translated as harmony or blending but the ideogram combines a mouth and the gathering of sticks to build a house… this represents a different purpose.
Continue reading Into One House…The “Harmony” of Ai
Aikido practice coordinates physical and cognitive resources toward a common goal. Research shows that exercise improves executive function which is crucial to complex reasoning, memory, and skill mastery. Aikido practice provides the additional resource of meaning, the source of motivation required to sustain action. Continue reading Promoting Executive Function; Teaching What Aikido Teaches #1
How you use your body can facilitate or inhibit your goals. Blending in aikido or in personal interaction starts at the connection. If you look down and have a fist or a claw, you are holding onto opposition which certainly doesn’t support positive interaction or resolution. The following three elements are central to every aikido technique and are also movements that can profoundly change day to day experience. Continue reading Dropping your opposition
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmTgiKHQ_4E]
Aikido movements have meaning… or they should. Mary Heiny Sensei is the foremost example of teaching aikido through a broader metaphor of relationships and resolution. If you practice in this way aikido can be the place where you figure out what needs to change in your life to change the impact of stress, anxiety, and conflict. Continue reading What is the meaning of practice today