I just wanted to transcribe some thoughts from Kisshomaru Ueshiba, the founder of aikido's son, from his book "The Spirit of Aikido". I feel these selections are very important to understand and practice. We should contemplate on these every day in everything that we do:
"Some women (as well as men) may feel resistance to the repetitious practice of basic postures, but this is a necessary preliminary to learning technique Learning proper distance (ma-ai) in facing an opponent may prove unexpectedly difficult, as may performing footwork movements in a smooth, sliding manner as found in Noh dance.* The cultivation of ki, originating in the centrum and extending through the arms and hands, may initially pose a problems for others. The mastery of ukemi, taking falls, while always maintaining one's center and balance may have to be practiced over and over again. The difficulties encountered by beginners, including confusion, perspiration, and occasional bruises, do not seem to deter them. According to them, the difficulties are a challenge rather than a discouragement and actually strengthen the motivation to master aikido."
And another selection from the same book:
"A common stereotype of the martial [artist] is of the rugged, macho type, with the swaggering gait. But a display of bravado is a display of ignorance concerning real budo and is, in fact, a childish attempt to conceal a lack of confidence. Those having a true knowledge of budo are relaxed in bearing; they give the impression of being soft and gentle. Those with confidence in budo never swagger or brag, and their demeanor is always pleasant and joyful. Outwardly they manifest gentleness; inwardly there is great strength. In daily life, they are unpretentious and modest, and their actions are natural, never forced. They show themselves as they are, living life naturally and spontaneously. This is the picture of the true student of the martial arts."
*Noh (能, Nō?), or Nōgaku (能�S?) is a major form of classic Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century]spontaneously. This is the picture of the true student of martial arts."
These quotes capture the true essence of budo and I highly encourage all to practice in this way.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Levels
There are two levels to a martial artist's practice. The first level is practical, physical, and readily demonstrated and observed. This is usually what draws someone to learn an art in the beginning. Whether it is the flash of fancy technique or the need for practical self-defense, people usually come to an art because of technique. The second level is deep, difficult, and not readily grasped. This is the spiritual level of which all developed and mature martial artist speak and to which some others are drawn to practice an art. It is not easily understood through words and must first be experienced to be fully understood.
There is no dishonor in practicing just for technique. Just ensure that as proficiencies in technique are achieved, an ethical foundation is built to ensure their proper use. This is simple to say, but many will feel tempted to show off their newly found skill. This temptation is very dangerous. If one is practicing just to gain proficiency in technique, they must be constantly aware of this dangerous, ego-driven potentiality to use their skills in a manner that is at best inappropriate and at worst very dangerous.
For those who wish to seek the deeper levels of understanding which the arts offer, then rigorous, daily practice and refinement of technique is needed to build a solid foundation in the art. Dedicated and hard work is required. Gaining technical proficiency will take time and challenge the patience of most students. Some will quit, disillusioned with what they thought would be a rather easy path to some sort of mystical knowledge or understanding. But great and deep understanding requires dedication and hard work. There is no short cut even in this day and age of "fast" everything.
As one progresses in their physical training, they will begin to understand that an equal amount of dedication and hard work needs to be put into mental training. Daily meditation and contemplation is needed to complement and to continue to develop a person's physical skills. Meditation should be practiced to learn how to capture and still our easily distracted minds. Once the mind is stilled, contemplation into one's self is then practiced to identify weaknesses and flaws of
character so they can be rooted out and eliminated. To become aware of one's flaws is the first step to their elimination. The second is to become aware of the behavior those flaws initiate and to then begin to change that behavior over time. Patience and diligence is needed as behavior will not change overnight and old habits we desire to eliminate will creep back into our daily behavior if we are not diligent in watching for their emergence.
How to conduct and be patient with this process of iterative personal refinement we learn through the process of iterative technique refinement while we are on the mat. The frustrations you face with yourself on the mat while trying to master a technique are the same frustrations you will face in your daily life. Through rigorous daily practice, we develop the strategies we need to eliminate these frustrations and to eventually become "frustration-less" by blending with every situation that faces us and resolving it easily to the benefit of all involved. This is the ultimate goal of our practice. Not only will you gain a deeper insight into yourself, you will gain a great and deep appreciation and understanding of the interconnectedness of yourself to others and the world as a whole. This is a very powerful and penetrating personal insight and leads to a feeling of immense
personal responsibility for your actions and their consequences. This level of understanding of the world is immensely
gratifying to finally see.
I challenge every student to strive for this deeper level of understanding. Its worth cannot be overestimated.
There is no dishonor in practicing just for technique. Just ensure that as proficiencies in technique are achieved, an ethical foundation is built to ensure their proper use. This is simple to say, but many will feel tempted to show off their newly found skill. This temptation is very dangerous. If one is practicing just to gain proficiency in technique, they must be constantly aware of this dangerous, ego-driven potentiality to use their skills in a manner that is at best inappropriate and at worst very dangerous.
For those who wish to seek the deeper levels of understanding which the arts offer, then rigorous, daily practice and refinement of technique is needed to build a solid foundation in the art. Dedicated and hard work is required. Gaining technical proficiency will take time and challenge the patience of most students. Some will quit, disillusioned with what they thought would be a rather easy path to some sort of mystical knowledge or understanding. But great and deep understanding requires dedication and hard work. There is no short cut even in this day and age of "fast" everything.
As one progresses in their physical training, they will begin to understand that an equal amount of dedication and hard work needs to be put into mental training. Daily meditation and contemplation is needed to complement and to continue to develop a person's physical skills. Meditation should be practiced to learn how to capture and still our easily distracted minds. Once the mind is stilled, contemplation into one's self is then practiced to identify weaknesses and flaws of
character so they can be rooted out and eliminated. To become aware of one's flaws is the first step to their elimination. The second is to become aware of the behavior those flaws initiate and to then begin to change that behavior over time. Patience and diligence is needed as behavior will not change overnight and old habits we desire to eliminate will creep back into our daily behavior if we are not diligent in watching for their emergence.
How to conduct and be patient with this process of iterative personal refinement we learn through the process of iterative technique refinement while we are on the mat. The frustrations you face with yourself on the mat while trying to master a technique are the same frustrations you will face in your daily life. Through rigorous daily practice, we develop the strategies we need to eliminate these frustrations and to eventually become "frustration-less" by blending with every situation that faces us and resolving it easily to the benefit of all involved. This is the ultimate goal of our practice. Not only will you gain a deeper insight into yourself, you will gain a great and deep appreciation and understanding of the interconnectedness of yourself to others and the world as a whole. This is a very powerful and penetrating personal insight and leads to a feeling of immense
personal responsibility for your actions and their consequences. This level of understanding of the world is immensely
gratifying to finally see.
I challenge every student to strive for this deeper level of understanding. Its worth cannot be overestimated.
Mental Training
Mental training is just as important as physical training, if not more. Training the mind is not something that we usually consider, but proper mental training is vital to our physical training and helps us, in some cases significantly, progress along the path of budo. All professional athletes use mental techniques to train the mind and body and there is no reason why we should not do the same.
True budo involves facing and overcoming interpersonal violence and all of the emotional states that come with it. Many people have never been in a fight, seen combat, or had a gun pointed to their head. But we all know that these situations are dangerous and could lead to physical injury, pain, or even death. This causes us to avoid these situations at all cost or, in many cases, when faced with them, freeze due to emotional paralyses from fear.
To become a true practitioner of budo, we must train ourselves to overcome these mental states of avoidance and paralyses caused by fear of violence (or anything else for that matter). This does not mean we go out into the world and seek violence. What it does mean is that we do the best we can to simulate this violence in the safe environment of the dojo, one step at a time, so that if we are faced with it outside of the dojo, we can overcome it. Fear is a very powerful emotion. Fear can cause us to do things that we would not normally do. Most of us are not used to situations that invoke true fear as we choose in our daily life to avoid these situations. Our training should be designed and conducted to develop us mentally to overcome this fear so that when faced with it, we know what to expect, and can work our way through it.
There is an interesting way to test your body's reaction to a situation like this. Sit down in sieza or any position that is comfortable but will not make you feel as if you want to go to sleep. Still your mind by focusing on your breath for a few minutes. Once you are calm and comfortable, imagine that you are walking alone down a city street at night. You turn a corner and are immediately faced with a large man in a black ski mask and a knife. You can feel the presence of a person behind you. You look and see that two more men have surrounded you blocking any escape route you might have had. The other two men have knives out also. The man to your front asks for your money. As you reach to get your wallet from your pocket or your purse, someone grabs you from behind in a choke hold and says, "We don't care about your money. We just want your life," or something similar. At this point, come back into your body and pay attention to your heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, facial expressions, etc. Are you still relaxed? Or is your body tense?
The primary weapon a martial artists has against violence is their mind. Within our mind lies the ability to think our way through situations provided we remain calm and collected. If we have been training for awhile, confidence in our abilities as a martial artist is also a mental weapon we can use. The ability to project confidence in situations where most people would be meek, scared, and accommodating cannot be faked. (Bravado has absolutely no place in the practice of budo.) This projection of confidence is a superb weapon in itself and will usually throw the average mugger, robber, bully, etc. off balance because they do not expect it. In many cases this is enough to resolve the situation without any further physical escalation.
Do not neglect mental training. Whether it be in the form of active visualization or focused meditation, all of it is beneficial. On the mat during practice, mental training should always be a consideration and a priority. Everyone loves the flash of technique. But your technique will be much more confident and effective if you add mental training to your regular training schedule.
True budo involves facing and overcoming interpersonal violence and all of the emotional states that come with it. Many people have never been in a fight, seen combat, or had a gun pointed to their head. But we all know that these situations are dangerous and could lead to physical injury, pain, or even death. This causes us to avoid these situations at all cost or, in many cases, when faced with them, freeze due to emotional paralyses from fear.
To become a true practitioner of budo, we must train ourselves to overcome these mental states of avoidance and paralyses caused by fear of violence (or anything else for that matter). This does not mean we go out into the world and seek violence. What it does mean is that we do the best we can to simulate this violence in the safe environment of the dojo, one step at a time, so that if we are faced with it outside of the dojo, we can overcome it. Fear is a very powerful emotion. Fear can cause us to do things that we would not normally do. Most of us are not used to situations that invoke true fear as we choose in our daily life to avoid these situations. Our training should be designed and conducted to develop us mentally to overcome this fear so that when faced with it, we know what to expect, and can work our way through it.
There is an interesting way to test your body's reaction to a situation like this. Sit down in sieza or any position that is comfortable but will not make you feel as if you want to go to sleep. Still your mind by focusing on your breath for a few minutes. Once you are calm and comfortable, imagine that you are walking alone down a city street at night. You turn a corner and are immediately faced with a large man in a black ski mask and a knife. You can feel the presence of a person behind you. You look and see that two more men have surrounded you blocking any escape route you might have had. The other two men have knives out also. The man to your front asks for your money. As you reach to get your wallet from your pocket or your purse, someone grabs you from behind in a choke hold and says, "We don't care about your money. We just want your life," or something similar. At this point, come back into your body and pay attention to your heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, facial expressions, etc. Are you still relaxed? Or is your body tense?
The primary weapon a martial artists has against violence is their mind. Within our mind lies the ability to think our way through situations provided we remain calm and collected. If we have been training for awhile, confidence in our abilities as a martial artist is also a mental weapon we can use. The ability to project confidence in situations where most people would be meek, scared, and accommodating cannot be faked. (Bravado has absolutely no place in the practice of budo.) This projection of confidence is a superb weapon in itself and will usually throw the average mugger, robber, bully, etc. off balance because they do not expect it. In many cases this is enough to resolve the situation without any further physical escalation.
Do not neglect mental training. Whether it be in the form of active visualization or focused meditation, all of it is beneficial. On the mat during practice, mental training should always be a consideration and a priority. Everyone loves the flash of technique. But your technique will be much more confident and effective if you add mental training to your regular training schedule.
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