“Prepare for nothing, be ready for everything.” - John Grinder
The best Aikidoists are ready for anything. They have to be ready for anything because they know that they are in control of nothing. Control is just an illusion. We cannot foresee the future, nor can we control other people. So, if we don’t know what is going to happen or what other people will do, we have to be ready for anything. In Japanese, the idiom which means “to be combat ready at all times” is jouzaisenjou (常在戦場). In Aikido, the person who “receives the technique” is called the uke (受け) and roughly 50% of the class, we are taking ukemi or are on the “receiving end of the technique.” When we are taking ukemi we are trying to get to a level where we can receive the technique and move with the person doing the technique and move with spontaneity and appropriateness. In the beginning our ukemi is contrived, stiff, and forced and sometimes we don’t even take the right ukemi for the technique even though we knew the technique that was being executed. Later, as we become more experienced, we can take the proper ukemi smoothly and seamlessly without knowing what the technique was prior to it being done to us. This is something that people who don’t practice Aikido don’t understand. To be thrown and fall smoothly and seamlessly without hesitation and without getting hurt takes a high degree of skill. When our ukemi is good, we can be thrown harder and take more difficult throws. Thus, taking ukemi becomes a metaphor for life: no matter what life throws at us, we have to be ready to receive its chaos with composure and spontaneity. The road of life will always be fraught with unpredictability. One of the great unpleasant truths is that our struggles will always be equal to our level of ability - we only receive what we can handle. Understanding this, instead of trying to control it, we just try to be ready as can be. Miyamoto Musashi said, “The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things.” The trained Aikidoist is ready to meet all of life’s challenges with calmness, composure, and spontaneity.
Today’s goal: When things get tough, hang in there - just take ukemi.
Watch this video of Alan Watts talking about spontaneity