From the Aikido Center of Los Angeles’ Aiki Dojo Message - Evolve
The best Aikidoists allow themselves to evolve.
Aikidoists should have an evolutionary mindset. When I say evolution, I am not talking about changing Aikido or incorporating techniques from other arts. Evolution, in this sense, is about evolving the Self. O’Sensei advocated that “the true victory is self-victory” or masakatsu agatsu (正勝吾勝). The more one trains in Aikido, the more they come to realize the truth in O’Sensei’s words.
One of the main things we battle against in our training is iikininaru (いい氣になる) or “self-complacency.” Self-complacency is “a state of self-satisfaction, often accompanied by a lack of awareness of potential dangers or deficiencies.” For a myriad of reasons along the Way, we become fatigued and then our egos quietly whisper a reason to become satisfied with good enough and then we become complacent. In a sense, we become “stuck” or hamarikomu (填まり込む). Interestingly, hamarikomu also means “to be addicted to” and so we become addicted to the accolades, abilities, praise, or level that we have attained and thus don’t want to leave it in the name of evolution and in pursuit of the unknown. Therefore, the greatest enemy is not the person who stands before us but TV, cellphones, the internet, or a soft comfortable chair. They make it so easy to get stuck and they are so addicting, aren’t they?
In order to battle self-complacency, we have to actively seek out opportunities to evolve. One way to do that is with Aikido training. In training, no stays the same. Every obstacle surmounted regardless of outcome is a victory. Every time you come to class or step up to a challenge, it is a victory and when we do something that stretches our comfort zone, it is a victory. Notice that none of these things have anything to do with dominating others or being effective - those things are external. William Butler Yeats said, “It takes more courage to examine the dark corners of your own soul than it does for a soldier to fight on the battlefield.” Masakatsu agatsu.
If we take a step back and really think about it, Aikido training in the beginning is really about irimi or “moving forward.” Irimi is not just something we do - it is metaphorical. The discomfort of moving into an attack gives us the will to evolve and the more we do it, the better we get at it. It is only after we have mastered irimi that we move into higher consciousness movements like tenkan or tenshin.
Furuya Sensei once wrote, “In one sense, we must practice with kindness. In another, as a martial art. The Art of Aikido is very strict and demanding. As we go higher in rank and experience, Aikido is more unforgiving and becomes more difficult - we must understand this as a part of our training and Path. It is with these challenges and the overcoming of many difficulties that we can polish ourselves and discover our greater Selves. Like a Samurai sword, its true value and beauty only comes forth with the polish. A sword is not born with a keen edge, only its potential. Only under the skill of the master polisher can the sword realize its sharpness.”
In order to take on an evolutionary mindset, we must allow. Allow ourselves to let go of our past selves so that we can evolve and polish ourselves into the greatest version of ourselves thus far.
Today’s goal: Step out of your comfort zone. As someone once said, “If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.”