“If the mind is wrong, the sword is also wrong.
To study the sword, you must also study the mind.” - Toranosuke Shimada
In Aikido, mindset creates perspective. In Japanese, “the way of looking at things” or “one’s mindset” is mononomikata (物の見方). Thus, how we “see” something is dictated by the mindset we choose to cultivate.
When I was a student, sometimes Furuya Sensei would sometimes only demonstrate the technique one time. By the time we sat down, he was already walking away. At that point, we would all jump up and quizzically start doing what we thought he might have done. Sensei would get exasperatedly and when was showing us again, he would chastise us by saying, “Turn off your minds and see what I am doing.” What Sensei was doing was a test. He wanted to see which of us had developed the skill of “seeing.” In Japanese, some people call this minuku (見抜く) or “to perceive” but it means “to be able to see into someone's heart or mind.”
In class, more than learning what to do, we have to learn how to see. I don’t just mean where to look, but how to look. In Japanese learning “how to look at something” is called mikata (見方). In traditional training this begins with something called minarai keiko (見習い稽古) or “The practice of watching and copying.” It is a practice because we have to learn to look at something without any judgement or emotion. To do this properly, we have to learn to turn off our minds. In other words, we have to get into a subconscious state. It is said that our conscious minds can only take in 50 bits of information per second while our subconscious minds can process up to 20,000,000 bits per second. When we can get into a subconscious state of mind, this is how we develop an eye for the technique and how we learn faster.
The more we watch and listen without judgement or emotion, the more we start to see and hear things that were previously clouded by our biased perspectives. This is one reason why people should come and watch class when they are injured. Being forced to sit out is a great way to train one’s eye. When our perspectives become quiet, then our minds start to see, and ears start to listen and this enables us to learn incredibly faster.
It takes no training to hurt others. However, the mind is the most powerful weapon but requires training. That is why Shimada advocates studying the mind. Ram Dass said, “The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.” Our minds or how we choose to see the world can drive us to destroy or teach us to be kind. That is why mindsets and perspectives are a choice. If we come from a place of abundance, then we see life as being abundant. If all we see is lack, then the world will be a cold and evil place. If all we see are nails, then we are more apt to only be hammers. Aikido training gives us the ability to mindfully see rather than mindlessly judge. That is why the best Aikidoists are good at seeing.
Today’s goal: Spend time cultivating a positive mindset.
Watch this Sesame Street video to help you learn better.