Be the change you want to see in the world...

“Be the change you wish to see in the world” is an often fictional quoted attributed to Ghandi.  Ghandi's original quote is, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.” Even if it is paraphrased or misquoted it still has some value to how we live our lives as not only martial artist, but human beings.

As martial artist we live our lives by ichigon.  Ichigon directly translates as "say one thing" but is loosely meant to mean do what you say and say what you do or in other words integrity.  If we want the class or the dojo to progress or for the students to get better, the first person we need to look at is ourselves (students and teachers alike).  Are we living the Way?  Are we the change we seek in others first?  Saying is one thing but doing is quite another.  You want things to get better?  Change yourself first.

For teachers, please remember there is no such thing as bad students, only bad teachers.  Therefore, be the change you want to see in others.

---------------------------------------------- Day 4 update: The challenge still doesn't seem to be that difficult.  It just takes a bit of awareness.  This day wasn't difficult and I found myself gifted with several opportunities to let someone off the hook.  We had intensive and only 11 people came and that posed several opportunities, but the one that sticks with me can as a result of us spending time organizing Sensei's collection of swords.  That was a hard to let off the hook moment I have to admit, but isn't that why we are doing this challenge in the first place?

Day 5: Let someone or something off the hook 5 times.

Finding meaning to find your motivation

"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering." ~ Nietzsche In Viktor Frankl's book Man's Search For Meaning, he chronicles the suffering and his experiences in the WWII internment camp at Auschwitz.  In a nutshell, Frankl concluded that in order to survive you had to put some meaning to the suffering and ultimately to your life after release.  Those that ceased to have meaning or purpose for survival or their life after camp ended up succumbing to the Nazi's inhumane treatment.  He said, "Life never ceases to have meaning, even in suffering and death."

In order to push yourself find meaning in why it is your doing what you are doing.  "I don't know" is the surest way to come up short.  To gain perspective is to uncover your passion.  When you have passion you can keep going long past motivation or excitement.

------------------------------------------------------ Day 3 update: Well today went just as the previous days.  The hardest part was remember to let someone off the hook.  The first two were benign mundane everyday let off the hooks, but the last one was more meaningful.  We were tired and didn't feel like braving the crowds and sorting out dinner so we ordered food from a delivery service.  The food came late and was cold when we opened it up.  I started to get mad but ended up remembering to let someone off the hook.  I calmly sent them an email and they promptly gave us a refund.  My protein shake was excellent.

Day 4: You guessed it.  Let 4 things or people off the hook.

Empty your cup

Interesting Zen story... The Zen master Nan-in had a visitor who came to inquire about Zen who was a local university professor. But instead of listening, the visitor kept talking about his own ideas.  As he spoke, Nan-in served him tea. He poured tea into his visitor's cup until it was full, then he kept on pouring until it overflowed.

The visitor noticed this and was finally unable to restrain himself. "Don't you see it's full?" he said. "No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

Many students worldwide are just like this university professor.  Sometimes when students come to the dojo they are already filled up with ideas and theories.  This disables them from learning and just like the professor more will not go in.  Learning the techniques is hard enough, but we make it harder when we come in with our own baggage.   "When yo come to the dojo, cut off your head and leave it outside," is something Sensei used to say often to us.

In order to learn anything we need to have the openness and willingness to learn and this cannot be done when your cup is full.  Please empty your cup before you come to practice so that you can make room for so much more.

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Day 2 "Let someone off the hook" update: Day 2 went as expected.  Finding 2 things or people to let off the hook wasn't that hard.  Driving always yields a lot of opportunities.  The second one came in the form of letting an old acquaintance off the hook for misrepresenting himself.  This one took effort and I hope it lasts.

Day 3: 1+2 = 3.  Now let 3 people off the hook.

Omiyage - a gift of friendship

The Japanese are fond of gift giving.  The exchange of gifts is called zoutou.  Whenever a Japanese person goes somewhere or travels to any place they always bring back a small token from the place they visited called an omiyage.  If they travel within Japan, they usually bring back a food item that the area is known for called meibutsu.  Most areas of Japan have some food item that they are known for and this makes for a good omiyage.  Many times it is a dessert or snack and is called a miyagegashi or souvenir sweet.  When they travel abroad they usually bring back some small souvenir like a key chain, t-shirt or some other non-perishable food (they usually don't bring back food that is not pre-packaged because it is against the rules and Japanese people always follow the rules). The exchanging of gifts is a social lubricant.  It shows that although you were away enjoying your vacation you were still thinking of the other people.  To most Japanese, especially the ones over 30, omiyage is a must and not a choice.  In Japan if you came back to the office without omiyage you would be considered rude and not a team player.  So as not to offend anyone everyone plays the game and participates in omiyage.

In America, this is not something that we participate in.  I remember one of my relatives brought back things from her vacation and one of her co-workers said, "What is this a bribe?"  Omiyage is not a bribe but a gentle social gesture that reminds people that we care about them.

What would the world be like if we all showed even a little that we cared?  I am sure it would be a nicer place.

------------------------------------------------------ "Let someone off the hook" challenge update

Day 1: I was able to fulfill day 1's requirement to let one person off the hook.  It was quite easy and actually I was able to do it about four times.  Since I was in the car for 3.5 hrs yesterday there was ample opportunity to let someone off the hook.

Today's (Day 2) challenge: Let 2 people off the hook.

Take the 10 day "Let someone off the hook" challenge

Having balance in life is about being able to appropriately deal with stress.  Stress can come from a myriad of things most of which we create for ourselves.  For me one of my self made stressors comes as I personalize things.  I get upset as someone cuts me off, cuts in line at the grocery store, or is mean to me.  The crazy thing is that I know that I do it yet I still let it get to me.  I guess everyone has something to work on and for me this is one of them.   Today I am going to try the 10 day "Let someone off the hook" challenge.  Won't you try it with me? The 10 day "Let someone off the hook" challenge is simple.  Everyday I am going to consciously "Let someone off the hook" when something happens to me or if I feel they have done something to me.  I am not going to tell them.  When something happens like getting cut off in traffic, I am just going to say to myself, "That's OK, I am going to let you off the hook."  Starting tomorrow I will post my off the hook experiences.

Rules: 1) Let someone off the hook 2) Say to yourself something like, "That's OK, I am going to let you off the hook."  You can choose your own phrase, but you must say it out loud or to yourself. 3) You can do it as many times as you want, but they don't carry over to the next day. 4) Everyday add one Day 1: 1 Day 2: 2 Day 3: 3 etc, etc

Like me...

"Although I am just a human being, I just want to model myselfafter the sword - always straight, always true and very decisive. Something that doesn't have an outer obvious strength the we look for today, but something that has an inner strength which is hard to see unless you really know it and really can appreciate it." ~ Sensei

Today, we are buffeted by society's desire for gain and self-promotion.  What are we to do?  If we don't sell ourselves who will know we are good or that we have value?  This is probably one of the hardest parts about following the Way.  When I see someone's bio on the Internet and I see some bent truths it makes me feel sad for that person that they need to "pump it up" in order to maintain their relevancy.  Why can't we be accepted for who we are?  We are human beings who are wonderful, beautiful and fallible.   Here is something I use to try and keep perspective on myself.

Like me... Every person is good and doing the best that they can. Like me... Every person suffers and is going through their own stuff. Like me... Every person is human and human beings make mistakes. Every person deserves kindness, compassion and forgiveness... Just like me.

The Way is in training

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." - Tim Notke What does it take to become a black belt?

The other day someone called inquiring about classes.  The first thing he wanted to know was, "How long does it take to get a black belt?"  I answered, "About 5-15 years depending on how hard your train."  His next question was, "How long did it take you?"  I answered that, "That is not relevant."  He retorted, "It is for me."  He then said, "You're not going to tell me?"  I said, "No.  You should just focus on training and not the attainment of black belt."  He said, "So you're not going to tell me?"  I said, "No."  He said, "Maybe I should go someplace else then."  I said, " You can, there are many different Aikido schools around that might suit you better.  This school focuses on training and not rank."  He then hung up.

This is a typical phone call that I get about once a week.  This desire for rank could possibly be a a product of modern thinking or maybe even western thinking - I am not completely sure.  But, it is something that people today really covet.  When I was a student rank was the last thing you talked about.  Anyone who talked about it was severely chastised by Sensei.  Budo (martial arts) is not about the attainment of rank, status or wealth.  Budo is about self-development.

I want my students to be concerned with improving themselves and not with attainment or accolades.

I have uploaded a video about the 8th dan Kendo examination in Japan.  It has a passing rate of less than 1%, but for this particular test the passing rate was 0.4%.  In order to be qualified to take the test you have to have been 7th dan for at least 8 years and be at least 46 years old.  They say that 1 in 5000 people ever pass the test, but at least 2000 people challenge the test every year.  In this video they profile a guy who has taken the test 24 times.  He might have been initially concerned with attaining the rank but now it is all about his personal growth as a human being.  They say the Way is in training.  They don't say the Way is in getting promoted or attaining rank.  Please continue to train hard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmLfnWwP0g0

Have patience and just practice the basics...

You want to get good at Aikido?  Sensei said, "Just be patient and practice ikkyo, nikyo, sankyo and yonkyo everyday."

Awhile back, we had this really gifted student, who was a teenager, study at our school.  He was so athletic and caught on very fast.  One of the other students told me he was studying a few other martial arts at the same time and hoped to be a professional fighter someday.  The other day he asked me, "When do we get to learn kotegaeshi?"  I said that we were currently working on other techniques such as nikyo and that we would switch later on.  Soon after, he quit.  It was sad because he had so much potential, but I don't think the monotony of the basics was what he was looking for.  Too bad, but this same scenario plays out several times a year.  This is common and part of our instant gratification society where everything is available just a click away.

At our dojo, we stress the basics and we would rather that the students know a few things well than a whole bunch of things a little.  In this case, less is more.  The more I teach, the more I realize that Sensei is right.  I wish it could be flashier.  I wish it could be something fun.  It it could be something more entertaining.  But, it is not about what I want.  It is about making you better.  Supposedly there is something hidden in each of those techniques that holds a secret to the mastery of Aikido.  If you can master ikkyo, nikyo, sankyo and yonkyo, then you will have no problem doing any other technique in Aikido.  It is as simple as that.

Every day, day in and day out just practice the basics and be patient - this alone will make you good.

How hungry are you?

There is a Japanese saying, "Himoji toki no mazui mono nashi," which means that when you are hungry, nothing is unpalatable.  Learning in the martial arts is supposed to be like that, but many times we get into a rut and seek out only what is comfortable or familiar.  Many times when I go to another school or when visitors come to my school I notice that regardless of how the technique is taught the student ends up doing it his own way.  This, in my opinion, is the surest sign of complacency. Seeking the comfort of what or how you know something is the sign that you have stopped learning.  As the proverb above implies, if you are hungry to learn then you will try to take in anything and everything.  This is an indication of a good student.  This means that the student is not only ready but also eager to learn.

When I was a student one of my classmates once complained that the instructors taught the same thing slightly different and that it was hard to catch on.  I think this is true at all dojos and schools all over the world.  The problem lies within the student and not with the teaching.  My friend's discriminating palate disabled him from learning and only leads to frustration and confusion.  If you are thinking that the problem lies with the teacher, then you are looking at it from the wrong point of view.

If you are hungry, you will do anything to catch the technique, but not only that you will try anything as well.  In the old days there was a lot of "no-teach" teaching going on where the teacher demonstrated the technique or sometimes even just called it out and the students were supposed to learn it.  This "no-teach" style forced the student out of his comfort zone and to become hypersensitive to what and how something was being taught.  With that hunger the student becomes stronger and better at the techniques.  He becomes better not because the teacher is/was better but because the student is  hungry.

Please stay hungry...

There is no time to get ready so you must always be ready

In sports, you analyze your opponent, build a strategy and execute it.  This happens of a period of time.  In the martial arts, this happens in an instant. In the old days martial artists never gave exhibitions and there were never audiences to their matches.  Public displays of your skills came about during the Meiji era when schools became public but prior to this time public displays of your skills were always forbidden and the only time an opponent got to see not only your ability level or your skills is when they challenged you to a duel.

When a potential opponent approached you on the street, you had to be able to ascertain not only what style they studied (and people rarely studied more than one style), how long they have been studying, who their teacher was and what their ability level was.  All this had to be done in a blink of an eye because there are no second chances.  When a opponent came and challenged you to a duel at your school it was customary for them to announce all that information prior to the bout.  You would announce your name, your style, your school, your teacher and then your rank or years of study (most schools never gave out rank).

Martial artist then had to be well read as to what each style was capable of.  In the movie The Grandmaster, before Ip Man goes to duel with the master from the North he goes and sees all the masters from the South.  When they spar they show him what potential styles he may come up against so that he  won't be surprised.

Today it is fun to talk about style versus style and who might win, but in the end it comes down to the individual and how she is capable of adapting her style to the situation.  This is based on training and studying.  Today we have a wealth of information available to us.  In the old days it was primarily based on word of mouth.

When I was in Japan recently, someone asked me why Sensei wore his hakama so long and allowed it to drag.  I told him that Sensei did that to hide his foot work.  That person quizzically looked at me and said, "Oh, that's smart and old style."  To me it made perfect sense but the look on this guy's face said other wise.

The martial arts should not be treated as a sport.  There is nothing wrong with sports, but a true martial artist has a different mindset.  In the martial arts you have to be ready for anything as well as there is no time to get ready so you always have to be ready.  This require assiduous study and discipline.

What's your favorite martial arts movie?

The other day someone asked me what my favorite martial arts movie was.  This is a hard question to answer.  It might be even better to answer by genre.  The answer is that I don't have just one favorite, but rather that I am a fan of the entire martial art genre.  Maybe someday I will go through and write about why I like these movies, but that is probably an essay for each.  Nonetheless, here are some of my favorite martial arts movies that aren't in any order. Chinese The Iron Monkey starring Yu Rongguang and Donnie Yen Once Upon A Time in China series starring Jet Li The Grandmaster by Wong Kar-wai and starring Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi. Hero starring Jet Li Twin Warriors aka Tai Chi Master starring Jet Li Come Drink with Me starring Cheng Pei-pei Ip Man starring Donnie Yen The 36th Chamber of Shaolin aka Shaolin Master Killer starring Gordon Liu The One Armed Swordsman starring Jimmy Wang Kung-Fu Panda with Jack Black Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon starring Chow Yun-fat Fist of Legend starring Jet Li

Japanese Sanshiro Sugata 1 & 2 by Akira Kurosawa Sanjuro by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune Twilight Samurai starring Hiroyuki Sanada Kuro-obi (Black Belt) starring Tatsuya Naka Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune Yojimbo by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune Killing Machine starring Sonny Chiba Samurai Trilogy starring Toshiro Mifune Shadow Warriors (TV series) starring Sonny Chiba Lone Wolf and Cub series starring Tomisaburō Wakayama Throne of Blood starring Toshiro Mifune Street Fighter series starring Sonny Chiba

Honorable mentions Dragon Tiger Gate starring Donnie Yen Blade starring Wesley Snipes Red Beard by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune Mito Komon (TV series) starring pretty much every well known aging Japanese actor Kung-fu Hustle starring Stephen Chow Brotherhood of the Wolf starring Mark Dacascos High Kick Girl starring Tatsuya Naka The Throwdown starring Louis Koo Above the Law starring Steven Seagal (probably the only one Steven Seagal movie I would ever recommend) Vanishing Son (TV series) starring Russell Wong Kung-fu (TV series) starring David Carradine Ong Bak starring Tony Jaa Red Sun starring Toshiro Mifune The Karate Kid starring Pat Morita

Never give up on your dreams...

In the month of May you may have seen a lot of streamers with the koi or japanese carp symbol flying around Little Tokyo.  The banners were for Children's day (formerly Boys day) which is on May 5 every year. The koi is supposed to represent strength and perseverance and is s common motif seen in not only Japanese but Chinese culture too.  The main legend is that a group of koi were swimming upstream towards a waterfall.  Once they reached the end of the river at waterfall many koi became disheartened and turned back.  A group of gold koi began to try and jump to the top of the waterfall each time failing, but they kept trying.  Watching from the river bank was group of demons who mocked the unsuccessful koi and even made the waterfall higher out of spite.  After hundreds of years of trying one finally made it.  The gods were so impressed with the koi's perseverance and determination that they turned the gold koi into a dragon.

The koi symbol is a popular among the warrior class and martial arts as the symbol to never give up regardless of the odds.  The koi are often depicted swimming up a waterfall, with men or boys riding them or two koi swimming in a circle.

Irassaimase!

Whenever you go into any Japanese restaurant or any type of business in Japan for that matter you often hear the people working there shout out, "Irasshaimase!"  Irasshaimase is the customary greeting welcoming and acknowledging customers to a place of business.  You never hear "irasshaimase" when you come into a traditional Japanese martial arts dojo. A dojo doesn't have customers or patrons.  We only have students that are willing to learn.  If we create an atmosphere of business it will change not only the face of the dojo but how everything is done.

In a business, the customer is always right.  The customer gets what he pays for.  Feedback is necessary to keep the patron happy because your satsifaction is the key to success.  In business, they do all the work so as to minimize the customers efforts and to keep them happy.

In a dojo, the student is always not right.  (I am hesitant to say "wrong" because of the negative connotation).  If you approach it like a school, you get what you work for.  At the dojo, feedback only reveals what you don't know and is therefore frowned upon.  In traditional training, you satisfaction comes not from what the teacher does but more from what the student does.  At the dojo, the students do all the work to keep the dojo going.  The funny thing about the dojo is that the whole experience, atmosphere, curriculum, etc is designed with the student in mind and his development.  It just seems like its not about you but is really is.

In this day and age it is hard to maintain a separation between a business and a school.  In the eyes of todays student/customer they are the same.  Sadly, to the dojo they are completely separate and have to be.  They have to be because the dojo's biggest concern is not making money, but in developing good students.  Where would the dojo be if we allow students or potential students to dictate things like the schedule, what is being taught as well as how it's being taught.  If that were to happen, "The inmates would be running the asylum."  It is not that way because it would take too long and waste too much time, money and effort.  The best process for making students good is simply this: Listen to what the teacher says, copy what he does, don't ask questions, work hard and never give up.  This method is tried and true and has been refined over many years, decades and even centuries.

Please don't think about the dojo as a business.  It changes everything.

The enemy of all martial artists...

The enemy of all martial artists is a nice warm comfortable bed. Think about it.  Why would you get out of a perfectly nice comfy warm bed.  Nobody wants to.  I know I don't.  On one hand it is so delightfully wonderful that you could just lie there and lose the entire day there and I am sure many of us have wondered why scientitsts haven't come up with an answer for going to the bathroom or eating in bed.  Duh that's a no brainer.  On the other hand when you are not in bed, the thought of a warm comfortable bed is so inviting that we all strive for one.  The warm comfortable bed is  the metaphor for a wonderful life.  In the comfy bed everything is the way it should be - you are warm, safe, comfortable, stinky but in a nice way and surrounded by non judgmental totaly accepting pillows and blankets.  If you are lucky then maybe someone is there with you to share the awesomeness and help you order Chinese food.  If a warm bed is the glove in which evil slips its hand into then sign me up for another.

If the world is so great in a comfy cozy bed, why would you leave?  And that is why the bed is the enemy of all martial artists.

It is hard for me to advocate choosing pain over pleasure because I know that we are all human and sometimes we all need a break.  The old days are riddled with tales of martial artist going to extremes to stave off complacency.  They slept in caves, swore off wine and women, ate bugs, or did just about anything to avoid getting comfortable.  Eiji Yoshikawa's book Musashi is literally all about Miyamoto Musashi and his journey to stave off pleasure.  Miyamoto Musashi and other martial artists did this because they knew that complacency is the gateway to being unsuccessful.

The bed can be substituted for anything that we might choose in lieu of training - a nice meatball sub, a cold pint of beer, TV, hanging out with friends or anything that is comfy cozy.  I get it, but these things need to be undertaken with moderation because sometimes once they set in they are awfully hard to get out of.  We have all been there and some of us choose to get out of bed and some of us choose to stay.  Its your life and you are free to choose, but I my experience the bed can sometimes be the enemy.

I choose...

Who makes these changes?

Who makes these changes? I shoot to the right the arrow lands left I ride after a deer and find myself chased by a hog I plot to get what I want and end up in jail I dig pits to trap others and I fall in I should be suspicious of what I want

~ Jalal ad-Dīn Muhammad Rumi

Who makes these changes?  Me and me only.  I cannot control what happens to me, but I can choose what happens inside of me and what I am going to do in life.  When faced with an attacker, the classical responses are: fight, flight or freeze.  There is one more response - Aikido.

In Aikido we choose to see things differently and thus choose a different method of response.  Instead of running, freezing or fighting we harmonize with our opponent.  Although Aikido is a combat art, at its highest level mutual cooperation is its most coveted technique.  We know that all beings suffer and this person attacking us is no different.  Instead of destroying him, we show him the harmony of compassion.  To get to this high level one must train fastidiously and actively choose the path of Aikido and the way of harmony.

Your life is no different.  Are you chasing after a deer only to find yourself chased by the hog of life.  Well then, how about a change?  It is up to you, but if you fight, freeze or run away that is not Aikido.  Choose to see something that is not there.  The way out of suffering is through self reflection and awareness.  Self reflection and awareness are the fodder of choice and subsequently of change.

Therefore I choose...

To care

Greetings from Japan. Most likely the first characteristic and maybe the most important trait a teacher must have is to care.

To care about the students...

To care about how to teach...

To care about what to teach...

To care about the teachings...

To care about the art...

To care about others...

To care is to put yourself second. The word sensei might mean one who comes first but that doesn't mean that you put yourself first.  Sensei once quipped, "People don't realize that when they are served with things on a silver platter that they in turn must serve others as well."

Coincidentally caring is also the first characteristic of a student as well. Just substitute students for teachers and learn for teach. This is why the best students usually make the best teachers.

The relationship between a student and a teacher is symbiotic. The teacher thinks of the student while the student is thinking about the teacher. Each is concerned about the others burden.

This independence day weekend please enjoy your freedom. The freedom that someone else made possible for you.

You too can be a genius

"A genius! For 37 years I've practiced fourteen hours a day, and now they call me a genius!" - Violinist Pablo de Sarasate Are "geniuses" made or born?  For me, I believe in most cases its a environment of nature being nurtured.  It is extremely easy to look at someone who is good at something and think that they are somehow a genius, but, as the quote above implies, nobody ever sees the hard work or tenacity it takes to master something.  How does one become a master or genius?  I am not really sure exactly but what I do know is that they must have a method.  Everything in life has a method and once you can learn the method, all it takes is a little bit of elbow grease.  Here is a list of problem solving techniques that one might use to master any endeavor...

Nine approaches to creative problem solving:

1. Rethink! Look at problems in many different ways.
2. Visualize! Utilize diagrams and imagery to analyze your dilemma.
3. Produce! Genius is productive.
4. Combine! Make novel combinations...
5. Form! Form relationships.
6. Opposite! Think in opposites.
7. Metaphor/simile! Think metaphorically.
8. Failure! Learning from your mistakes is one example of using failure.
9. Patience! Don't confuse inspiration with ideas.

   If you are interested in reading more about these nine approaches this list was taken from http://www.studygs.net/genius.htm

If nothing exists, do you?

Here is a famous Zen story that may or may not be true about the famous swordsman and calligrapher Yamaoka Tesshu.

Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku. Desiring to show his attainment, he said: “The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received.” Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry. “If nothing exists,” inquired Dokuon, “where did this anger come from?”

For the US, the month of July revolves around our independence day which is on July 4th.  For martial artists, we train to attain a state of nothingness or emptiness.  Emptiness or nothingness is erroneously equated with some type of nihilism where we will reach a state of not caring.  Emptiness is quite the opposite where rather than not caring we have a deeper sense of caring and maybe even care more.  The idea of emptiness is more about attaining a state where the "you" no longer exist because of the realization of how we fit into the larger picture.  The idea of being independent is a myth.  Can you grow, harvest and cook your own food?  I know I can't.  Everything and everyone depends on one another and without this cooperation we would all perish.

Aikido is the physical representation of people living at a higher consciousness.  Think about what it means to take someone's ukemi.  By taking someone's ukemi what you are saying is, "I will sacrifice myself for you, please use me to develop yourself to a higher state or a better place."  So taking someone's ukemi is possibly what Aikido is really all about.  Every religion talks about being of service to your fellow man.  But what they aren't telling us is that when we do something for others we are being the people that we always wished we would become even if it is for just a moment.

If nothing exists, do you?  Please think of others before you think of yourselves.  If you can't, then maybe just try and take someone's ukemi until you figure it out.  It just might make the world a better place.  For if they exists, so do you.

Use it so you don't lose it

To become adept at anything takes practice.  Once we decide on what it is that we want then the two limiting factors are how much effort we are willing to put into obtaining that thing and what we are willing to sacrifice to obtain that thing. How do you put in more effort?  The obvious answer would go to class more, but the less obvious and probably more pivotal answer is how much time you put into acquiring that skill outside of class.  The formula is simple: more effort outside of class + class time = success.

For instance if you wanted to get good with the sword or bokken then you should put  more time into doing suburi (cutting practice).  One of the things Sensei would constantly advocate to us was, "Handle your weapons everyday."  Holding them, doing suburi or even carrying them around allows us to keep or gain a certain level of familiarity with that weapon.  Becoming adept with the sword means knowing not only what it can do but also what it feels like, how its balanced and what it is capable of doing.

Once you put the time into become adept at something you will be able to do things that seem utterly impossible.  But you can only do that when you put the work in.

Below I have linked a video of a young man swinging a baseball bat and he has become so adept at using it that he can do some amazing things.  I am sure this took a lot of practice. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JF-VZE2moc

Get clarity in order to get it right

Clarification is probably the one pivotal factor in solving any problem.  Seems logical and probably easy right?  It seemingly is, but in reality getting clarification is one of the hardest things for people to do.  Most of us have experienced the waiter who takes the order by memory.  They don't want to ask questions or inquire about details because they are afraid to mess up the order.  This technique is quite impressive when it works!  Some of the time it doesn't and when it doesn't it is quite terrible.  The food comes out wrong because the person was more concerned about showing off than getting the order exactly the way the customer wanted it.  Personally, I don't care so much about their memorization prowess as much as my food coming out correctly-it's just a small pet peeve. How does one get clarity?  Clarity comes from asking the right questions.  In the beginning until we get your bearings we will have to ask several questions that may or may not factor into solving the problem at hand.  But, as we become more experienced the amount of questions will decrease.  Sometimes as we think of questions to ask the problem gets solved and there is no need to ask any questions because we clarified it in our own mind.

In solving problems there are no bad or dumb questions as long as they are asked in the spirit of solving the problem.  I once had a client who was a well known chemist and during WWII he was practically kidnapped and brought to a super secret facility to help with a super secret problem.  The hard part for him was that he never considered himself a chemist and was only doing it to subsidize his love of singing.  So, he was brought to this room with several well known scientists and military people and asked to solve this super secret problem (he never actually told me the problem).    He told me that he was so nervous and frazzled that all he could only ask questions while he tried to calm down.  After several questions the problem began to solve itself and unravel right before everyone's eyes.  Within an hour he was lauded as the savior of the day, but he never told them the answer- all he did was ask questions.  He told me that for that point forward he always first asked questions to gain clarity before trying to solve any problem.

Have the humility to ask for clarity in order to solve any problem.  It is super easy to do in theory but super hard to do it in reality.  It is hard because of our egos and our desire to thought of as good and thus we lack the humility to be right.  So rather than be good be right.  In order to get it right, gain clarity by asking questions.