Aikido Philosophy...Stillness.

Stillness. What is it? Where does it fit in Aikido and life? So much significance is given to this and so much is emphasized about this in the fields of meditations etc. that I feel it needs to be put into perspective.

It's something you can, and do to whatever degree, experience in your daily lives. It is a realm. Yes, spiritually it is a realm and that's why it gets so much significance put on it but as with all spiritual things it is also natural and regularly experienced.

There is no opponent in Aikido. That is a statement originating from the founder of Aikido and understood by some but misunderstood by many. This is also related to stillness.

One pointedness or keeping one point is also connected to this condition of stillness.

One of the five 'minds' of Budo is also connected to stillness and that is the 'immovable mind'. Fudoshin.

So it would be important to understand what stillness is so I shall start here with one point and focus.

When you focus on one thing you are 'keeping' one point. That's the first thing to recognise and is the one and only factor which leads you to experience stillness.

So now look at your life. When you are in conversation with another you are giving them your undivided attention. When you are doing something for example if you are an artist and you are painting a picture then you are focusing on that one activity. What happens at those times? Everything becomes still. There you are DOING yet everythingthing else around that action is still. Mind is at that point immovable. All else 'dissappears' just like the so called 'opponent' in Aikido.

So there you are, no opponent does not mean the other has physically vanished or that you are dismissing him or not taking him into account but actually that you are focussed, at one with, acting in stillness.

Notice now the difference between 'thinking' and 'contemplating. Generally when a person is thinking they are following all kinds of thoughts and counter thoughts and going over this and that so it's good to recognise that when it's puzzling or negative or uncomfortable or even annoying then it's time for stillness. It's time to find a nice place where you can be undisturbed and choose one part of what concerns you and focus only on that one thing. This is contemplating, you are now looking at this one thing from stillness. Then you can move comfortably to the next thing and so on. No panic, no worry, no internal argument just contemplation.

Thus in good contemplation 'there are no 'internal enemies' but in 'thinking' there is.

Then we can look at training. You give a person one thing to concentrate on. Let's do a technique but the point of focus is on keeping elbows in. The student practices and focuses while practicing on this one point. All else dissappears and he thus notices when he keeps the elbow in, when he doesn't and recognises through carrying on practicing with that same focus how to correct it and even what was causing it in the firat place. He is now operating from stillness. From stillness much can be learned therefor. Not operating from stillness means the enemy is you.

Peace.G.

Aikido Philosophy: Be With.

One of the major principles of my Aikido is the principle of Be With. Obviously as there is no against in Aikido then Be With is a natural way.

Tohei Sensei had a similar principle in Ki Aikido and his principle was 'take your partners place'. You will notice it does not say oppose or fight or counter etc. but merely take his place.

So physically how is this demonstrated in Aikido? Well, the clearest way is in the motion of Taisabaki. Turning, not to avoid but in order to be with.

A full Taisabaki is not practiced by many and I think it is because they don't know what it is or it;s true purpose. To understand this you must look from the view of a person with centre and surrounded by a circle, thus they are the centre of their circle.

So when you Taisabake you are turning into, entering, their circle, their space. Not only that but you are turning and moving into the centre of their space/circle. Thus you are taking their place. This is a complete Taisabaki. This is a magic action for what is happening when you do this completely?

Well, at the beginning of the move the other person was the centre of that cicle and now after the move you are now the centre of that circle and you entered whilst turning thus you become the centre around which anything else orbits. This is why the other flies off around you.

So you enter to be with and as they then go outwards you stay connected physically sauy by holding their wrist so you have applied be with and now you are applying the principle of staying with as they orbit you. Now, reverse the orbit, turn back and you have natural Kotegaishe.

O.k. So that's physical. That is a physical demonstration of a spiritual principle.

Be with is a spiritual principle and is a principle of love, a discipline of love.

So how far can we take this discipline? How far can we take this discipline in life? What is it's potential?

Well you have the innate capacity and ability to be with anyone anytime anywhere but are beset by a thing called the mind with ideas and false reasons as to why you shouldn't. That's why it's a discipline and the only enemy is your own mind.

When talking with another and enjoying a conversation you are being with and staying with. When arguing you are no longer being with and have turned against. So I sday once again how far can you take this principle? Well I'll tell you how far, you can Be the other person.

Aikido is about Harmony. When listening to another you are listening to a viewpoint. It is your responsibility to see things from that viewpoint in order to understand from that viewpoint for only then can you be in harmony. Thus be with to the extent even of Being. Only then can you share your understanding. Without this and thus without love their is no sharing but merely a competition of mind versus mind,a verbal fight, and what intellectuals may call a debate or argument. Polititions love this madness alas and yet they rule. Such is the state of the world.

To be with? or not to be with?, that is the question. To be with understanding? or not to be with understanding? Thus to be centred? or not to be centred? For when you understand you are cetred and without that discipline of love you cannot truly understand.

Peace.G.

Aikido...The Power .

Even in Aikido I would say 90% of people search to improve their power and to learn the secrets of power.

You have sections who look for the answer by studying the old principles of internal power and internal strength. You have women who believe men are more 'powerful', stronger. Across the board you have everyone agreeing that you have to develop power and strength and backing it up with arguments about it being a martial practice.

Alas, such is the way of ego for only ego searches for such things and views things this way. Only ego believes you have to be so powerful that you can then afford to be beneficient, harmonious, kind. This way of thinking fits ego, fits the 'mind' and thus leads people off on the usual false path. Even the stellar figure of Musashi, considered the greatest swordsman in the history of Japan followed this false belief and insisted he wanted to be the strongest warrior ever only to realize the fallacy of such thinking in the end. Most people who read up on him are taken by the fights and wins and boast how he was never defeated and so in this way defend such thinking yet he was defeated many times and most tend to miss that very pertinent point. A harmless zen monk defeated him on more than one occasion and that is the one lesson of the whole story.

So let's return to this search. The search for power. Let's ask what power is. Let's also see through the illusion and look at what it is that most people are looking for.

To see through this delusion we must look from the view of cause and effect. Those who shout for power are in fact saying they want to be more cause. In fact in their mind, thus ego, they want to be almost invincible cause. So we have the call for ways to be more cause, more causitive and it all seems very logical and right for if you were supreme cause you would be very powerful would you not? Well let me also point out that this is the way of ego and arrogance and is actually the way of domination and control. So you have people studying the art of harmony practicing the way of domination and control. You couldn't get further from the way if you tried. Such is the way of deluded human intelligence circa last 2000 years.

Notice one factor seems to have dissappeared from the reasoning process....Effect.

It's all about cause and others being the effect. How about you being the effect?

Aha...now we get nearer the way of Aikido. The practice of being undisturbed effect. Think about this.

If you were able to be effect and remain as pure calmness, undisturbed, untroubled, then and only then would you begin to understand what is true power. Now of course ego, only able to look at things physically would then go into building yourself up like a tank, surrounding yourself in some inpenetrable casing. Alas the fallacy of the mind.

Now you may begin to see the importance of the principle of non-resistance, the principle of neutral. For non-resistance cannot be affected. There is no going against in non-resistance and there is no being unwanted effect in non-resistance. Non-resistance can receive anything from any cause and flow unabated. Such is the way of Ki. Such is the way Aikido. So you must practice being willing to be the willing effect in order to understand the true principles of Aikido, of power, of harmony.

When you are willing and able to receive any negative thing, undisturbed, only then are you free and only then does the negative and unwanted effect dissipate for it is only there, staying there, due to your own resistance. Small steps, long journey.

May we learn to be 100% non-resitive effect, 100% good cause and 100% harmonious beings. A devine path indeed offered by a devine martial art.

And when all is aligned then you will realize the power of power....BALANCE.

Aikido-Kokyu and Koshi

Two facets intrinsic to Aikido, Kokyu and Koshi. The heaven and the earth of Aikido.

Kokyu is generally referred to as 'breath' and when using kokyu it is as if you yourself are a breath rather than some physical way of breathing. For once again the reality is a spiritual aspect gained through discipline. Technically you could equate it with infinite space.

Kokyu, the joining of two universal truths. The truth of love and the truth of goodness. These are the two fundamentals of yin and yang for there are no opposites in harmony but only compliments.

Love is all embracing, all sharing, all comforting and all supportive. Goodness is all welcoming, all receptive, all acceptive, all balancing. Together this is Kokyu.

This is the Fan of Aikido.

Koshi, the door at the base of the spine, the back of the hips, the entrance to earth. The entrance to the infinite 'space' below.

As you reach out into infinite space through kokyu you may find infinite volume but as you reach out into the infinite koshi you will find infinite capacity.

All negatives and physicality may enter this void and dissipate and all then will settle. Peace. This is the Bowl of Aikido. This is the bowl of faith, the well of innocence, the joining with mother nature.

Koshi holds on to nothing yet contains all.

As Kokyu contains the sun and the moon, Koshi contains the water and the tune.

Happy New Year. G.

Budo is Love .....Why?

Why did O'Sensei say Budo is Love? Why do I say so with such certainty? How is it so?

Basically because it is the ultimate discipline and thus the ultimate Budo. So you could also say that Budo is Hate. You could say that Budo is Fear. These too would be types of Budo but they are not ultimate and thus of course they take less discipline.
If they take less discipline then they are more lazy, is that not true?

So it is that in my Aikido emphasis is given to the principles of such things and getting yourself to stick with such principles is the discipline until it becomes more and more natural to do so.

Being with, embracing, being at one with, sharing, being open, these are all principles of love. But what is love and what does it do?

It's an emotion. It's a very special emotion. It's a divine emotion. Why is it divine? Because it is the only true emotion. It is the true spiritual emotion and thus is the heart of life.

Now, below this emotion are many other emotions and all the other negative emotions too but they are not the true you, they are thus mind. They are not spirit they are mind. Being led by your own mind you adopt them and say then you are this feeling, this negative feeling and then you even justify your acts and behaviour and actions by saying it's you and you did it because you were angry or fed up or bored or such like. Thus we have mind leading self and to that degree lost self.

So back to emotion and what does it do? It is a vibration on the scale of motion and thus is moves you. It moves you in a direction. The direction can be even to inaction and then you would merely be in yet another emotion like hopelessness or some such. In Aikido we say say that love is like the welcoming sea that contains and sustains all life. This is you. This is me. This is the highest form of Budo.

So much emphasis is placed on intention lately in the Aikido world as if it is some very special secret principle that you need to develope. It's a start. But that's all. In the scheme of things it's nothing special really. It is merely the start for someone to start actually looking at what they are doing, actually looking at themselves and their intention. But what may I ask is intention? What is it? It is merely a type of thought. That's all. There are many thoughts and many types of thoughts so it would be better to first understand this and to understand that when you are dealing with intention you are dealing with a thought and putting your attention on thought. So you should know what thought does first of all, that would be a wise thing to do when taking up such a venture.

Thought takes you off in a direction. That's what it does. Thought leads you.

Thought is a one point. Thus it is a point of focus and leads your Ki and attention. Each thought is a one point. Now you have many thoughts don't you? Thus you are led all over the place hundreds of times a day. So now from this perspective you may begin to see how the discipline side comes into play for if your energy is being led all over the place you cannot be very stable and while thinking of last night you walk straight into the lamp post, thump. This is where the idea of mind leads Ki leads body comes from in translations of various chinese martial arts or internal arts. But the funny thing is it's seen as natural and wanted. Oh, dear, they are heading for a thump.

No, there is more to understand first in order to understand Aikido. The first thing to understand is that each thought being a one point also has a vibration, a carrier wave if you will, and that carrier wave is emotion. With every thoght you ever have there is with it emotion and that is what moves YOU. FUNNY THING IS IT IS LOVE THAT MOVES YOU TO HERE AND NOW. All else is just people dramatizing some past, stuck in some negatve emotion, unaware they are not being here and now.

Different levels of emotions, different vibrations, different ways of viewing and acting. Unfortunately therefor different ways of self destructing and calling it normal. Different ways also therefor of doing an activity based on budo is love and harmony and yet viewing it and doing it from the perspective of some other emotion.

Masakatsu and Agatsu......true victory is the victory over oneself. Your true heart is love, your true devine motion is love and thus an all embracing attitude and fun. Why let your own mind convince you otherwise? Why let others and their minds convince you otherwise? Why be led by anything else? This is budo is love. You cannot in truth have a broken heart but you can be so convinced and play out the role. Masakatsu and agatsu.

What of joy? Love is the ultimate emotion and it's fun so what is joy? Well, it is not an emotion. It is the ultimate something else. It is not a thought. So what is it? Once again it is the ultimate of something that also has different levels. Once again it has consequences for when you are naturally joyful in yourself and thus towards all things others being stuck in and viewing from some 'miserable' emotion may try to make you not so. Come to spoil your day ha, ha.

So I will leave you with this: THE ULTIMATE EMOTION IS LOVE AND THE ULTIMATE NEUTRALITY IS JOY.

Peace.

Budo,Love,Space and Time

I shall make this a brief explanation to give a perspective on the relationships between Budo, Love Space and Time which applies to Aikido and indeed life itself.

The main focus will be on Space, a major part of understanding Aikido yet unfortunately not a well practiced or understood part on the whole.

So first Bu! (don't jump) Bu from the term Budo can be translated as power basically and thus you can see how it fits the mentality of most to do with martial and martial arts. Well, it is to me also power but not as most would define power. To most power incites and fits with the feeling of oomph,the feeling of superior strength, the feeling of being an 'invincible' cause. The strong cause of an effect on another. Ego wise this is very tempting and logical wise it is very logical yet as usual when it comes to Aikido this is not the correct concept of power as described by Bu or as described by Budo is love.

The power it describes is that of a nature of causing betterment in and for the opponent. A healing power, a comforting power, an Aiki power.

Love and Ki working together. Space and energy working as one without which there is no kokyu and no Aikido.

SPACE: Working with space in Aikido is yet another discipline and is needed to grasp eventually the reality of the circle, a fundamental principle, and of many other aspects of Aikido and harmony and motions involved. When people mention in Aikido the great feeling of love being like the sea and like an ocean wave as they took and threw an opponent then they are indeed feeling something very true and powerful and even beautiful. But technically what actually happened at that point and with that action?

Love equates with space. Their own personal space had joined with and welcomed the others personal space and thus the Ki also became as one. Space and energy. Love and kindness. Ai and Ki.

So let's look at your own personal space. It's actually a spiritual thing yet it's as real as anything else in the universe. So as you become more aware of it and indeed respectful of it you can start making sense of a lot of things from a new perspective. Of course technically from a geometric viewpoint in Aikido you would start developing a more 3d view of what's going on. That alone is worth it's weight in gold but here I am going further than that. I am going to introduce you to some perspectives you may find useful in your life.

Psychology of space: To look at things taking into account the importance of space is well worth doing on so many levels. Even where you live now you already no doubt know how important it is to have your own space. A teenager wants their own space and thus their own room where they can have their own things and decorate their own way etc. It's very real.

Now this may shock a few people depending on their cultural upbringing but arrogance tends to disregard and disrespect others personal space and it can even be seen in certain cultural things like greetings. The Japanese culture somehow developed as a matter of etiquette and good manners the idea of not entering anothers personal space when greeting. Thus they bow. Now I ask you, have you ever been in receipt of such a thing from either someone from such a culture or maybe a buddhist priest or some such? Wasn't that feeling you got quite pleasant? Maybe unusual but pleasant none the less and the reason for that pleasant feeling is that it is someone respecting and acknowledging and honouring your personal space.

That's all. Now look at how upset you get when someone enters your personal space without permission, without respect. So we begin to see how important and real space is. This can be extended to horrendous things from rape to burglary to to mugging and even to a country invading another country. Space, personal space.

We could even look at areas of life from this view and learn much. You have in life if you wanted to divide it up a few different spaces yet all personal to you. For example you firat and foremost have your own personal space. Then you could say you have your family space. You have your living space which you may call a house. You have your local neighborhood space. You have different towns or parts of towns or places that for some reason you feel at home in. It's to do with the space. Now you can expand it and you have your country, that space. Notice that as you have that space it feels then that it is yours, your country, your family, your house etc. This a phenomenon of space.

Notice also that when you say 'your' family then that space automatically has all in it, it is all inclusive. Space is all inclusive as is love.

Another perspective here I shall give is that of time. So many complaints and worries people have to do with time. The solution to time is not to concentrate on time but rather to give yourself space. Space gives time.

Space gives time and space handles time.

Much is said in Aikido about taking someones centre and unbalancing them. Well it is true that if you 'take' their centre or 'disrupt' their centre then this happens but that is a limited view of hwat actually happens and thus open to a vast number of misunderstandings and false reasoning. It's like the saying 'a little knowledge can be dangerouse'

Firstly it's not the centre which is disturbed but rather your ability to keep attentin on it but more importantly is the question centre of what?

It's the centre of space of course. So when someone attacks you and you 'lose' your centre you find yourself losing timing, panicking, rushing........basically losing it! Actually you have lost your space for space gives you time and without it you thus panick, rush, worry etc.

So always remember space. When all seems 'too much' then it's time to space things out. This is organization. Space is real. Space is fundamental. Space is important.

And may we all one day finally recognise that humanity is mine, the world is mine, existence is mine and is all inclusive.

The Sword of Aikido---Kindness

The second weapon of Aikido I shall talk about here is the sword.

In the blog post called Ikkyo I have already given an introduction to this so this post will take it that next step forward.

Once again we shall start by asking what the function of a sword is. It is a cutting weapon. It cuts through. So what does it do? It opens.

So when using a sword you must know you are cutting through (that's the obvious bit)but more importantly that you are opening something.

Now unlike the spear which pierces and originates from center the sword originates from Koshi, the hips.

That 'space' below.

In history the sword, or especially the samurai sword is said to contain the soul of the warrior. So I say it is of the Aikido sword too. For the true soul is kind and the Ki that cuts through all is kindness. The Ki that opens all is kindness.

When you do an act of kindness to or for someone you are not only opening yourself but also opening them, connecting soul to soul. A reminder of what freedom is.

Another rule of the sword spiritually eventually is to do with what you are actually protecting. You're body? No. There is only one thing you are protecting and that is your center line.

Center line. What is it? It is that verticle line that connects heaven to earth, it is that verticle line that connects and runs through all chakras, it is that verticle line that goes from Koshi to Kokyu. It is that verticle line which is non-resistance.

The center line is neutral and herein lies the connection to what is true kindness. For neutral is a very powerful thing. All revolves around neutral. Neutral is also an axis in this respect and you need the axle of a car in order for the wheels to go around and motion to happen.

Kindness protects neutral. Kindness aligns with the principles which emanate from neutral and thus is imbued with non-opposition, non-control, non-aggresssion and being non-resistive even non-disturbance.

Thus it cuts through the oppositional mind, the 'must control' mind, violence and aggression and force and all other disturbance.

So we begin to see two things here. The mindset which is focused but purely neutral and the Ki used which actually is true kindness.

So kindness isn't a weak sympathy. Kindness isn't a rose tinted glasses thing. It comes from a mind which is neither for nor against, which is neither arrogant and controlling or subservient, yet slices through all such things with non-resistance and yet at the same time thus opens and leaves behind in it's wake good feeling, a sense of resatoration. For the mask has been cut through and the other is left in touch with their true self. This is the Aikido sword.

To follow on from the previous post where intention was a spear then I may ask what then is the sword in this respect?

The sword is a decision.

When all are arguing and looking for a solution and you either say something or do something or present something which immediately makes everyone stop as if struck by a 'good' bolt of lightening, then that is the sword.

When you are stuck and wondering and can't make up your mind then you know what the solution will eventually be for it will be the sword, a decision. A choice.

Those who are always nervous and even neurotic or and continually worried have lost their sword. Those who pride themselves in making the 'tough' decisions from positions of power or influence and yet the result of which is much suffering for many have lost the awareness of the true sword and it's essence of kindness. No soul, no wisdom, thus only opening up to the dark side.

The sword of kindness is strong and sharp and opens up your space so that universal love can flood in

The discipline of the sword is a discipline of neutrality and non-resistance which then in turn opens you up to love and wisdom and a better tomorrow.