The best Aikidoists have to be warriors on the inside. To be a warrior on the inside is to have not only a tsuyoikokoro (強い心) or “strong mind,” but also a mind that has been tamed. Aikido training teaches us that the mind is a tool, and, like all tools, one must learn how to use it.
People love to argue back and forth about effectiveness. Whether or not a martial art is “effective” is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things. The real fight is raging inside our minds. As someone once said, “The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.” Understanding this, perhaps that is why O’Sensei believed in masakatsu agatsu (正勝吾勝) or that “the true victory is self-victory.” O’Sensei understood that it is all mental and thus the real victory is to master our minds. Our minds like to play games. Our minds will tell us something that it wants us to believe and we have to be “mentally tough” enough or seishintekini kibishii (精神的に厳しい) to not believe it. Interestingly, seishintekini kibishii literally translates to mean “to be mentally strict.”
Before class starts, the two main things students should be doing to master their minds is practicing their rolls and sitting quietly. Sitting quietly and practicing one’s rolls actually go hand in hand and both play a role in learning to become mentally tough. The repetitiveness of rolling, back and forth, can only be done smoothly when our minds are turned off. Thus, the more we do it, the better we get. Once we get good at rolling, it becomes smooth and almost rhythmic. The repetitiveness and rhythmicness of rolling without stopping help us to turn our minds off and with this, we learn to be spontaneous and just move. Sitting quietly with our eyes closed helps us to calm our minds. However, just sitting in the quietude can sometimes allow our overbearing thoughts to overtake us. Here’s where rolling and sitting go hand in hand. While we are seated with our eyes closed, our minds will naturally gravitate to the rhythmicness of someone rolling off in the distance. This allows our minds to focus on something other than our thoughts. Allowing our minds and our breathing to be overtaken by the rhythm of rolling will enable our minds to naturally calm down. With rolling or sitting, the more we do it, the faster our minds will turn off and calm down. The sequence of rolling first or sitting first doesn’t matter - students should see what works best for them. When our minds are empty and we have mentally calmed down, then we can start to build mental fortitude.
In Aikido and in life, there will always be something. We will get injured, be annoyed, or become disheartened to name just a few of life’s bullsh*t. If it is not one thing, it will be another thing and there will always be a challenge to overcome. Aikidoists realize that it is all mental and that is why the best Aikidoists have to be warriors on the inside.
Today’s goal: When life gives you lemons, realize that it is all just a mental game.
Watch this video of David Foster Wallace explaining
how “The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.”