Fall Back Fridays - The Last Practice

Fall Back Fridays - The Last Practice

Note: On this day in 2007, Furuya Sensei passed away. He originally posted this to his blog on June 27, 2004.

Training is very interesting, especially in how we must train our minds. We always talk about shoshin (初心) or “the beginner's mind” and it is important to have the mind of someone who is practicing Aikido for the very first time - so eager and so naive and so ready to absorb everything about Aikido. At the same time, as strange as it is to say, we must also have the mind that thinks that this is "our last practice" as well. In this mindset, we practice each day as if this is the last day we will be on this earth.

We need the energy and freshness of practice on the very first day and we need the desperate, anxious energy as if it is our last day on earth as well.

Some people call this, "life and death" practice. . . . . How do you achieve such a state of mind? Please find it on the mat!

Watch the latest Furuya Sensei short