Adversity builds character...

There is a saying, "In order to get fine wine, the grape has to get squashed."  Adversity is one of the best catalysts for change.  It is in man's nature to resent or resist, but it is through this willfulness that great things can occur. Most times, we underestimate our capacity and capability, but adversity shows us just where we are and what we can do.  It is only when we are pushed up against a wall with no choice that our true character shines through.  At that moment, our eyes become opened to our true strength.

Sometimes in life we just have to be shown it in order to realize it.  We are all capable of doing and being so much more.

What superpower would you choose?

I listened to an interesting episode of This American Life which posed the question, "If you could choose one superpower, what would it be?" Surprisingly, the power of flight and invisibility come up more times than any other superpower.  Most times, people would use invisibility for more nefarious purposes and the power of flight tended to be something people would use to impress others or have a good time.

Therefore, whatever power people chose tended to say something about their character.   What would you choose if you could?  Would you choose something to better mankind or something that furthered your own purposes?  I actually used to play this game a lot with my friends and co-workers.  My personal choice would be to be able to speak any language in order to communicate with any person or animal.  I thought it would be cool to go anywhere in the world and be able to talk with someone.

One's choice in a martial art is kind of the same thing.  Why was that particular art chosen?  Was it chosen for nefarious purposes, to show off, to hurt others, to impress people or to be cool?  Whatever art form you choose, please choose it for the right reasons because it says a lot about you as a person.

If you want to listen to the program you can hear it here: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/178/superpowers?act=1#play

Japan Fair 2015

The Japanese Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Orange County Japanese American Association, and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center present Japan Fair2015, a weekend event of Japanese food, music and arts, in Little Tokyo on Sept 26 and 27.

Japan Fair 2015 will be held at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center Plaza, and will feature flowers and film events.

Renowned artist Yasuhiko Fujisawa will travel from Japan to create three large-scale murals consisting entirely of multicolored flower petals.

Children and parents attending the fair will be able to participate and assist this master of "infiorata," a unique technique originating in Italy, as he makes these Japanese-inspired works of art.

Japan Fair 2015 also will host Japan Film Festival 2015, where the hit anime "Yokai Watch" is scheduled to make its Los Angeles Premiere.

Children attending the screening will get the chance to dance together with "Yokai Watch" costumed-character Jibanyan. Manga fans will also enjoy the International Premiere of the live-action drama series "Attack on Titan: Hangeki no Noroshi."

The fair's main stage will feature taiko, koto, shamisen performances, kendo demonstrations, and a children's choir among other entertainers.

Japan Fair 2015 will take place Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm and Sunday, Sept. 27, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Tickets are only $3 for advanced purchase, and $5 on the day of the event.

For more information and tickets, visit www.japanfair.org

See the value in life

When we were young our concept of time was much different than it is now that we are older.  Life seemed to go by so slow then and it really tested our patience.  Today, life goes by so fast that there seems like no time left to get things done.  When we were young we squandered our time pursuing frivolous things.  Now that we are older we see the value in things. When we realize we are not young anymore and that life is steadfastly going by, it teaches us to live our lives differently.  Time, people and things become more valuable.  There is an old proverb, "An inch of gold can't buy an inch of time."  Once something is squandered it might not come back.

These days, I often wonder about the parable of the rice stalk that states, "When the young rice stalk sprouts, it stands up very straight; but as the rice stalk matures, it begins to bow its head towards the ground."  Why does the mature rice stalk bow its head?  Obviously, it bows because of humility.  But what creates this sense of humility?  I wonder if humility comes as a function of the realization of one's humanity.  With this new found humanity sometimes comes the realization of the shortness of life and this in some ways is sad.  This sense of sadness in Japanese is called kawaisou, but its not like a sadness in a depressive sense.  Kawaisou is an inner reflection that brings a sense of sorrow upon the realization of something.  In this case, it is that life is short and thus it causes one to hang their head.

When we realize that life is short we do our best to not waste time.  In not wasting time, we come to see the value in life.

According to Scientists, This is The Most Relaxing Tune Ever Recorded

I find it interesting that a scientific study concluded that this song is the "most relaxing tune ever recorded" because it's not really my cup of tea.  From the article cited below, "The song comprises of a sustaining rhythm that starts at 60 beats per minute and gradually slows to around 50. Thus, while listening to the song, your heartbeat automatically comes to match that beat. She even adds that it is necessary for the song to be eight minutes long because it takes about five minutes for entertainment to occur. The gaps between the notes have been chosen to create a feeling of euphoria and comfort." Why does this matter to Aikido training?  Aikido is a very different martial art.  It centers around being "balanced" and this balanced state begins with the mind.  Our society teaches us to "get ahead" and this rat race mentality causes us to not only be out of balance but awards competitive and aggressive behaviors.   Competition and aggression are forms of confrontation and thus confrontation is not the Way of Aikido.

In order for us to change and use the Way of Aikido we need a spend time living that way and training is how we do that.  In order to do that we must leave the competitive confrontational world outside.  Sensei used to say, "Cut off your head and leave it at the door."  Sometimes that is easier said than done.  People who have a hard time leaving it at the door might benefit from listening to this song (it's only 8 minutes long) before they come into the dojo so that they are calm and ready to train.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CySNhHVAokQ&feature=youtu.be

Source: http://dailyhealthpost.com/according-to-scientists-this-is-the-most-relaxing-tune-ever-recorded/

How do you choose to live your life?

  Someone on some uninformed TV show once talked about how the samurai "loved death."  This is funny to me because nothing could be farther from the truth.  The samurai engaged in bloody battles just as any other nation throughout history has but some how the Japanese got this reputation for death and dying.  It must have to do with the practice of seppuku or ritual suicide that exists within the Japanese culture, but who knows for sure.

However, as far as "loving death" is concerned nothing could be farther from the truth.  Somehow through their association with Confucianism and Buddhism, the samurai class adopted a way of thinking which enabled them to face the possibility of death in battle.

In the book Kendo by Minoru Kiyota, he states that when confronted with the possibility of death, people usually take one of two paths.  The first in Japanese is called seichu musho or "seeing death in the possibility of life."  The second is shichu usho or "seeing life in the presence of death."

Either path causes one to act accordingly.  Seichu musho might cause us anxiety and lead us to recoil from living where we spend time thinking about the end.  Shichu usho might enable us to live life to its fullest as we spend our time in the moment celebrating life in the face of death.

How one lives there life is a choice.  Which way do you choose?

Cherish every bite of that donut

Why is that we don't cherish things or people until they are gone?  We only have the mindset to conserve when we are about to run out of it.  I suppose it's human nature.  When we are confronted, we have a choice - destroy or save.  This is where O Sensei's philosophy of satsujinken katsujinken comes into play.  We can choose to be the sword that gives life (satsujinken) or the sword that takes it (katsujinken).  Aikido teaches us that all life has value and thus must be saved.  That is why the techniques are designed the way they are.  We could destroy others, but by doing so we would only be destroying ourselves in the process.  Life is to be lived, enjoyed and experienced.  Don't wait!

Source: http://www.highexistence.com/images/view/donuts-and-life/

Happy 300th post

To celebrate our 300th post, I thought I'd re-post something that Sensei wrote that strongly moved me in the past.  We are all standing on the shoulder's of giants in that without our teachers we would not be the people we are today...good, bad, right or wrong.

NO Success, NO Failure:

In Aikido practice, there is no success and no failure - this means that
in Aikido, like real life, you cannot make such snap decisions or conclusions.
Aikido is "living practice" - step by step, and day and day as
we live our lives. It is an organic, living thing and cannot be assigned
such values as rich or poor, success or failure, or good or bad. What is
important in life is living one day to the next - not how we are rich or
poor. However, in Aikido, as in real life - our most important value is
to live with Heart - in other words, with our whole mind, spirit and body.

Alignment

What is harmony?  Harmony is one of those buzz words that all Aikidoists talk about.  Harmony is when two or more things come together.  In an Aikido sense, harmony can be achieved energetically or physically when we align our power with our partners.  (As a side note: we also harmonize with our partners mentally and emotionally but that is more complicated and something for a different day).  Harmony, for lack of a better explanation, is nothing more than alignment.  We align with our partner's body on an energetic level or ki (氣) level and on a mechanical or physical level. Throughout the technique, Aikidoist use this idea of alignment in various ways.

At the initial onset of attack when we are engaged by an opponent, the first step for us to do is to neutralize the attack and we do this with alignment.  Generally speaking the first step in any Aikido technique is either irimi (moving forward) or tenshin (moving back).  Both of those movements allow us to move "with" our opponents power and thus neutralize their attack.

Once the attack has been neutralized we then create alignment again in a different way and begin to use their power.  This is where the idea of "matching" comes in.  Matching happens in almost every Aikido technique.  If one looks closely at the technique, they might see instances where we are aligned with our opponents.  This alignment can look like our hips, feet or body position going in the same direction as our partner.  This alignment allows us to bring their power into ours but never ours into their power.  Take for instance tenkan, after the initial irimi and tenkan movement our bodies are essentially going in the same direction as our opponents (see picture).  Once we create alignment with their power, we can then use their power for our needs which is that we usually redirect it and throw it or pin it.

What type of "power" we align with depends on our training.  The less experienced have a hard time with energy and need to rely on the physical while the more experienced don't need to the physical and can use the energy or ki more.

Therefore, harmony is nothing more than alignment.  When we can align with them we can see where they are coming from and thus take them where they need to go.   Once we are aligned with their power we can then use it and thus the Aikido techniques are born.

An ancient fairy tale about two swords made by two masters. Goro Nyudo Masamune is regarded as Japan's finest sword maker.  He made swords in the Shoshu tradition during the 13th or 14th century.  There is a famous tale that illustrates the quality and spirit of Masamune's blades.  As legend has it, Masamune was challenged to a sword making contest by his student Senji Muramasa who was himself a master sword maker.  After working for sometime they both produced what they thought were winning swords.  Masamune's creation was called Yawarakai-Te (柔らかい手) or the "Tender Hands" sword and Muramasa was the Juuchi Yosamu (十千夜寒) or "10,000 Cold Nights" sword.  To test the blades cutting ability, they immersed them in a rushing creek facing the current.  Supposedly this was one method a samurai would use to see how well a blade would cut leaves floating by.  Muramasa's sword cut every leaf as well as every rock and fish that floated by.  Masamune's blade cut not single leaf and many other things that were a drift just gently floated around the blade.  After some time, Muramasa declared himself the victor and taunted his teacher.  Masamune just smiled to himself as he sheathed the sword.  A monk happened to be sitting on the riverbank and watched the entire contest.  The monk politely interceded and declared Masamune the winner and offered this explanation:  "Muramasa", he said, "Your blade lacks discrimination and cuts whatever is in its path and its desire for blood makes it an evil sword."  He elaborated why Masamune's sword won, "Masamune's blade is far better because it has discrimination and does not needlessly cut."  He further stated, "Masamune's blade only cuts when it needs to and not only when it wants to."

The Japanese sword is not only a razor sharp precision cutting instrument but it is also universally thought that the sword has a soul that is instilled partly during the forging process by the smith and partly when wielded by the swordsman.  The sword then becomes a reflection of not only oneself but its maker too.  From this story we can understand O Sensei's theory of "satsujinken katsujinken" or the sword that takes life and the sword that gives it.  We are not wild animals driven by animalistic urges.  We train and develop special skills and with those skills comes responsibility.  An often attributed Voltaire quote is apropos for this story, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required" or as Peter Parker's uncle said, "With great power there must also come - great responsibility."  The sword or the art then becomes a reflection of who we are.  Therefore, because of the great power martial artists wield, they must then be people of the highest caliber.

Sensei used to say, "Aikido is only for the elite" which I misunderstood all of these years.  The elite that he was referring to was not the person who was outwardly rich or opportune, but the person who inwardly was of the highest caliber.

Martial arts IQ: Rare video of Tiger Mori Sensei

Tiger Mori (Mori Terao) is considered one of the greatest swordsman of the modern era.  Tiger Mori was 8th dan in Kendo and was a world class fencer.  He was also somehow related to the Noma Seiji of the famed Noma Kendo dojo.  O Sensei even demonstrated at Noma dojo.    Sensei was a Kendo and Iaido student of Tiger Mori's as a young boy growing up in the 1950s.  Sensei used to tell a story about Tiger Mori that he could thrust (tsuki) so quickly that he could hit the tip of the handle (tsuka) and knock it out of your hands as you were doing an overhead cut (kirioroshi). In a match in Manchuria Tiger Mori took on his teacher Seiji Mochida and attacked his teacher twice with such an unorthodox strike to win the points that famed Iaido teacher Nakayama Hakudo responded that those techniques could only have been born of a master with "real fighting experience."

There is almost little to no video footage of Tiger Mori and there is only a few articles and one book in Japanese written about him.  Below is a video I found of Tiger Mori doing a Kendo exhibition.  Notice  his poise and posture.  During the video they are basically demonstrating but there is a moment at 3:50 where Tiger Mori shows some interesting moves.

Tiger Mori is one name that in my mind is synonymous with Kendo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWQlx6CZMOo

Do not rely too heavily on any one thing

Last night I left my phone in a friends car.  I can't remember the last time I was without my phone.  I still don't have it 12 hours later and it is the weirdest feeling.  My wife described it like what it must feel like to be missing an arm which totally captures what it feels like.  Losing my phone revealed to me how much I rely on it.  I use for my alarm, to keep in contact with people, it stores all my information and occupies me when I am bored.  The Japanese have a saying, yudantaiteki (油断大敵) or "unpreparedness is one's greatest enemy and one that is too secure is not safe either."

As a modern person, I understand the need/importance of having a smart phone and how it is the way of the world.  It almost seems as if one cannot function without one.  As a martial artist, I can also see how we should not become too reliant on any one thing.

Not being too reliant falls in line with this idea in Buddhism and its influence on the swordsmanship teaching of non-attachment.  When the mind becomes preoccupied they refer to it as being "moved."  The goal of training is to train ones mind to be "immovable."

In the Unfettered Mind, Takuan Soho explains this succinctly: To speak in terms of your own martial art, when you first notice the sword that is moving to strike you, if you think of meeting that sword just as it is, your mind will stop at the sword in just that position, your own movements will be undone, and you will be cut down by your opponent. This is what stopping means.

Although you see the sword that moves to strike you, if your mind is not detained by it and you meet the rhythm of the advancing sword; if you do not think of striking your opponent and no thoughts or judgments remain; if the instant you see the swinging sword your mind is not the least bit detained and you move straight in and wrench the sword away from him; the sword that was going to cut you down will become your own, and, contrarily, will be the sword that cuts down your opponent.

As a martial artist, one should not become too reliant on any one thing or one person.  To do so could lead to us be moved or for our minds to abide and in doing so we will be defeated. It is good that modern technology has made our lives much easier and convenient, but like all good tools we need to master them and not become slaves to them.  Remember, the enemy of all good martial artist is a comfortable chair.  Comfort can sometimes lead to complacency and for a martial artist complacency leads to defeat.

Losing my phone is a good lesson.  Maybe I should take time out of my day every day to "lose" my phone so that I don't become too attached to it.

Hold it right there...

After the initial moment of contact or engagement, a moment arises where the nage pauses to assess the situation.  I say momentary because this pause depends heavily on the practitioner's level of training.  I quantify the pause as a moment because only you can define how long a moment is because it depends on one's level of training. Generally speaking... Beginners take a more physical pause, up to a second, where they assess if the have either broken their opponents balance or if they are in the proper position.  With this information, they proceed accordingly.

For intermediate practitioners,  they work to decrease the amount of time they pause to assess the situation but there might still be a noticeable physical pause.

For advanced practitioners, the pause becomes more mental and may not even be externally apparent to the uninformed onlooker.

What would the pause look like for a technique like sumi otoshi after the initial attack and irimi movement... The beginner pauses to see if their irimi movement was deep enough and if their opponents balance is broken enough to throw them.  If not they will have to inch in deeper to make the throw work.  The pause could be up to one second.

The intermediate level person can physically pause too, but their pause should be ever so slightly physical and inching toward the mental.  They try and cut down the amount of time they pause, but they still pause.  I would say that you should be able to barely make out the physical pause.

The expert's pause is purely mental and almost looks like they don't even physically pause between the initial irimi and the second step through.

This idea of a pause is heavily associated with the idea of zanshin which many associate with the ending of the technique in Aikido.  Zanshin really means a state of total awareness where the mind doesn't rest or stop at any one point.  The reason I say that the pause and zanshin are tied together is that the pause is zanshin at work.  For a beginner, it is easy to loose focus so the duration of the zanshin only extends to after the initial irimi or tenshin movement after the onset of the attack.  The more experienced person tries to maintain zanshin throughout the movement.  After one is able to maintain zanshin throughout the technique and demonstrate it at the end of the technique, one tries to extend the zanshin longer.  They try and make it last more than one technique, then throughout the whole class, then for a few hours, then the whole day and eventually into every moment of one's entire life.

Zanshin is a state of total awareness that begins with a pause.

New Beverly Cinema to show Chinese martial arts movies in September

When I was younger (probably too young), my father used to take me to see martial arts movies.  I can remember seeing Bruce Lee movies, all the Shogun Assassin movies, many samurai movies and tons of Chinese martial arts movies. I think seeing those movies played a pivotal role in me becoming a martial artist later on in life.  Unlike most of the martial arts movies of today, those older films always were almost always centered around a moral message or cautionary tale that were not unlike a Greek tragedy.  The protagonist was always some person who had to not only over come some situational adversity but also a personal one as well. In the month of September, New Beverly Cinema (owned by Quentin Tarantino) will be showing many of the Shaw Brothers greatest Kung fu movies.  Many of the movies being shown, I have seen personally but there a few I have not. I can recommended Gordon Liu in the 35 Chambers of Shaolin and Jimmy Wang Yu in the One-Armed Swordsman, both are classics.

They will also be showing Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo starring Toshiro Mifune on September 4 and 5 at 9:35 pm.

Must read: Zen and the Art of Archery

Miyamoto Musashi said, "To know one way is to know all ways."  What he was referring to is that what it takes to follow a Way and get good at it is the same for all arts.  I was reading Eugen Herrigel's Zen and the Art of Archery from Sensei's library.  Zen and the Art of Archery is an account of Herrigel's training in Kyudo in 1924 under Awa Kenzo and depicts what it was like to be a student of a traditional Japanese art or Way before WWII.  There is a marked difference in training and learning before and after WWII (I have a whole theory that I may write about another day).  If you look into Awa Kenzo's life, it is eerily like O Sensei's and you can see many parallels in their teachings and approaches to their arts.  I think Herrigel deftly illustrates how serious and strict teachers from an era gone by used to be.  It is funny because when I read it, I could see so much of it in Sensei.

Zen and the Art of Archery is a must read for anyone who follows any art seriously.

If you want to get a PDF copy of the book: http://www.ideologic.org/files/Eugen_Herrigel_-_Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery.pdf

Chiba Sensei explanation of masakatsu agatsu katsuhayabi

A student of Sensei's from the "good old days" emailed this to me.  It is an article that Chiba Sensei wrote that Sensei translated back in the 80s.  I found it a very good explanation of             O Sensei's masakatsu agatsu katsuhayabi theory.  Let this be your guide in your Aikido training. SANSHO by TK Chiba Shihan (Translation: Daniel M. Furuya)

“Sansho,” the name we finally decided on for our newsletter, is taken from the “three victories” found in Masakatsu, Agatsu, and Katsuhayabi, the three principles of Aikido training which the Founder was fond of using when he was alive. Masakatsu Agatsu Katsuhayabi is the name of a god identified in the Kojiki, (Records of Ancient Matters, 8th Century).  The original name was Masakatsu-Agatsu-Katsuhayabi Amenooshiomino-mikoto.  The following is an explanation of the meaning of these three terms as they are used in Aikido training.

Masakatsu

Masakatsu means the victory which comes from the correct method; that is, the law of universal creative evolution which transcends the boundaries of prejudice and discrimination and abandons the consciousness of the ego.  It is victory through the unification of the love of the Creator.   It is not an earthly victory, but a spiritual one, as shown in Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not horde any treasure for yourself on this earth which can be devoured by worms, corrupted by rust, or stolen by robbers.  Rather, for your own sake, keep your treasure in Heaven where no worms will eat it, nor rust corrode it, nor robbers steal it.  Where your treasure is, your heart is.”

Let us also consider the Founder’s words:

“There is no enemy in real budo.  Real budo is the operation of love.  It is the operation of creative evolution which gives life to and nurtures all things.  Aikido is not winning and losing by fighting with martial techniques.”

“Real budo means absolutely no defeat.  Absolute non-defeatism means that there is no conflict with anyone or anything.  Thus, Aikido is not training to become stronger or to throw down your opponent.  It is necessary to have a mind which unifies itself with the center of the universe and somehow helps a little to bring about peace in the world.”

“Aikido is a compass which directs the completion of the mission of each person who is part of the body and soul of God.  It is the way of loving protection of all creation.”

In his book, “My Life and Thoughts,” Dr. Albert Schweitzer explained his concept of life in the chapter, “Reverence Toward Life: ” “There are two experiences which throw a shadow over my life.  One is my observation that this world is difficult to explain, full of mystery, and abounding with suffering.  And the other is that this present age is a period of spiritual decay of the human race.  This is my opinion.  But, as for these two points, I have concluded in my studies that there is an affirmation of life and a world of reason as in ‘reverence toward life.’  Within these thoughts, my life has found a solid foundation and direction….”

“The world is not only shape and form, but life itself.  Toward life in this world within the limitations of my contact, I am not only passive, but I must perform actively.  By serving where there is life, I achieve deeds which are meaningful in this world…”

“Regarding the principle of ‘reverence toward life,’ one must realistically present and realistically solve the problem of how to bring mankind together in this world.  As for what mankind knows of this world, all living things express a will to life just as himself.  The method to unite a man of active existence and the world is for him not to live for himself, but to regard himself and all creation that comes in contact with him as one body.  He experiences this destiny within himself and gives all the assistance he can to others.  Thus, when one advances the life of another and gives assistance with one’s own power, one feels the taste of the utmost happiness within one’s self.”

To experience victory based on correct method of reasoning is to transcend from what the mid-l7th century sword master, Harigaya Sekiun, called animalistic warfare, meaning “to win over lesser opponents, lose to stronger ones, and draw against equals.”  “Nothing was decisive.”  Therefore, it could be said that this method is not the way of the sword used by human beings, but identical to the struggles among tigers and wolves.

Simply put, instinctive passive animals cannot place themselves higher and avoid facing other animals.  Therefore, at any time and place, they can eat or be eaten, and the only way to survive is to eat the others.  As long as you live in this kind of world, no matter how proud you are of your strength, you must perpetually live in uncertainty and uneasiness.  It is impossible to find a safe haven.

When an older Miyamoto Musashi looked back at the early half of his life, he confessed that the more than sixty victories he won by the age of thirty were either the result of his opponent’s inferiority, his own luck, or both.  There were no true victories due to accomplished swordsmanship.

Agatsu

Agatsu means to have victory over one’s self.  An understanding of Masakatsu as a preface and foundation is necessary for explaining Agatsu. The bandit in the mountain is easy to defeat, but the bandit within your own heart is difficult to conquer, it is said.  For the man who looks at his true self within his self, his most fearful opponent is no one other than himself.

The Founder taught that the form of Aikido techniques is useful for developing flexibility in the joints.  Then we must purify and cleanse the sins of the six roots (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and consciousness.) Through Aikido, we must cleanse and purify our six roots and return to God, leaving everything up to Him.

Of all the six roots (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and knowing), nothing belongs to us.  The desire to possess material things derived from these six roots is the cause of sin.  By purifying and cleansing this desire, we can unify ourselves with our origin. Before we can complete others, unless we complete ourselves, we cannot serve the spirit of God.  Victory means winning the struggle within your own soul.  It is to complete the mission given to you as part of the body and soul of God.

If you wish to train in Aikido, you must open the mind’s eye, listen to God’s truth through the spirit of Aiki, and practice it.  You must perceive this great cleansing and gladly undertake spiritual training.  Therefore, people with this kind of heart, please listen to the voice of Aiki.  It is not to correct others, but to correct one’s own soul.  This is Aikido.

For those who are unable to help themselves, there is no way they can help others build their lives.  Denial of the materialistic attitude derived from the six roots is entirely in opposition to the instinct to possess.  Through courageous self-denial, it becomes possible to help others. When an individual establishes himself as actively realizing his life, he realizes that his true life exists in oneness with his origin and with other lives.  Thus, self-denial leads to self-discovery by returning to the original oneness which transcends the ego.  In this way, a means of helping others becomes apparent.

Katsuhayabi

Katsuhayabi means the eternal victory which goes beyond time and space.  It is not a victory of time, space, condition, or cause and effect relationships.  This victory is an absolutely unchanging victory which is the essence of victory. The Founder said: “My Aikido has no time and space; only the universe.”  This is called ‘Katsuhayabi.’  In real Budo, there is no opponent or enemy.  I become one with the Universe and become one with its center.

“In my Aikido, with just this one wooden sword, I draw in all of the mysterious essence of the Universe.  With this one sword, I draw in all the past, present, and future.  The life which starts from the sound of infinity lives in this one sword.  I, who live in the past, and who live in the present, live.  My eternal life flourishes.”

What does the Founder’s fierce and colossal self-confidence say to us?  It teaches that the real victor is the one who awakens to the true principle of the oneness of the Universe and experiences it. No matter who is the victor, if he goes against the true principles of the oneness of the Universe, his victory is temporary, conditional, and relative.  It is not the eternal, absolute, unvarying victory.  This demonstrates that human sins, loneliness, and unhappiness originate in blindness and indifference to the true principles of the oneness of the Universe.

Summary

If you look at victory as discussed in the paragraphs above, then Masakatsu, Agatsu, and Katsuhayabi are not three different forms of victory, but one true principle viewed from different angles.  Thus, life which penetrates the fundamental concept of “Sansho” exemplifies the principle of the oneness of the Universe.

From this aspect, “Sansho” can be defined as follows:

Masakatsu – The victory that contributes to the oneness of the Universe is the only true victory.

Agatsu – Self-cultivation serving the oneness of the Universe and accomplishment of the true mission given to each of us.

Katsuhayabi – The unvarying victory existing in the experience of becoming one with the oneness of the Universe.

Aikido, as a result, is a discipline of the true realization of the oneness of the Universe and the training of new warriors who are awakened to its truth.  Superiority or inferiority in one’s attitude, Aikido lowered to the level of martial arts based on winning and losing, or simply the idea of amusement (self-satisfaction), and of course, using Aikido as a tool for profit are all monstrous revolts against the Founder’s teaching.

As each of us becomes the warrior who is a courageous practitioner of the true principle of the oneness of the Universe, our Aikido can finally become a “Budo” which the world is seeking as far more fundamental than traditional martial arts. The qualification for becoming that warrior is courageous practice of “Sansho” as embodied in Masakatsu, Agatsu, and Katsuhayabi.

Source: Chiba, TK. "Sansho." Sansho: Journal of the United States Aikido Federation Western Region 26 Apr. 1983. Print.

What did you get out of it?

In a perfect world, we always think that everything should be nice and work out in our favor.  But, as they say, "Life happens" and this coincidentally is where suffering begins.  We want what we want when we want it.  Anything else causes us to feel bad about ourselves and to suffer.  There is a saying, "You can't get olive oil until you squeeze the olive."  The implication is that adversity is the key to getting what one wants out of life.  Therefore it all comes down to context.  The famed psychiatrist Viktor Frankel who was a survivor of Auschwitz said, "In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice." The hardest part about suffering is that in the moment we forget that this adversity is creating an opportunity for us.  John F. Kennedy erroneously said, "In the Chinese language, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters, one representing danger and the other, opportunity" (I say erroneously because he is technically not correct, but his heart was in the right place).  It is easy to look back and see the negativity, suffering and scarcity but that only leads us to more negativity and to more suffering.  Like begets like.  The other day, I went to hear a prominent Buddhist priest speak with some of my students.  The lecture, if it could be called that, was more MTV than anything else.  As we left, some of my students grumbled about it.  When they asked me about it I said, "I didn't get nothing."

"I didn't get nothing," albeit not grammatically correct, means that there is something there despite the fact that we cannot see it.  We just have to be willing and open to seeing something different and use it to gain context and perspective.  The phrase, "I didn't get nothing" helps remind us that there might be something there that won't be revealed until later on, but we are open and willing to wait and see.

As we adjust our vision just a tad bit, we might just see the context with which this thing is unfolding and realize its place in the grand scheme of our lives.  Then as "Life happens" we can seize the opportunity that is at our feet and understand that we can get something out to this event.  Every thing, every person and every situation is unfolding in our favor, we just don't realize it yet.  When something happens regardless if it is good or bad, ask yourself, "What is that I am not seeing that is being gifted to me?"  If you can do that then you won't have gotten nothing.

Martial arts IQ: How a bow and arrow works

Why should we know or care how a bow and arrow works in the modern age?  It is not like we will be attacked by an archer and need to know something about their craft.  This is true, but knowing or having an understanding of something makes us more well rounded.  The man being interviewed in the video is a world famous long bow archer.  So it is not what we learn about archery that is important, but how a master views his craft as they explain how it works.  Miyamoto Musashi said, "To truly know one Way is to know all Ways."  The science is fun and interesting to me, but seeing the master Byron Ferguson is really what you should be focusing on.  Plus, if we call ourselves martial artists then we can never underestimate our opponents or the situation.  Remember, surprise the key to winning almost any battle.  So if someone pulls out a bow, you will hopefully know how to negotiate their advances. https://youtu.be/O7zewtuUM_0

The mind - the most important factor

Someone asked me, "What is the one aspect in the Aikido technique they should master?"  The most important element I told them is the mind.  In Buddhism, they have a saying, "mind matters most."  More than what we do or what we say, what and how we think are the most influential factors in our lives.  Every action and every word began as a thought in our minds.  The physical movement is non existent without the initiation of the mind.  The movement is therefore a physical manifestation of our minds.  Therefore, mind matters most. In the beginning, we are told to train with the goal of clearing our minds and to "not think."  This enables the training to clear our minds of "clutter" which is similar to meditation training.  This is also why we are not supposed to talk and keep the distractions to a minimum.  After we have mastered the movements and have de-cluttered our minds, we can then bring our minds back into the movements in order to take our training to an even higher level.

“Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny" is a quote that is attributed to several prolific historical figures.  Regardless of its origin it succinctly sums up how our minds or more importantly how we think factors into our lives.  The mind is the best tool we possess, but we must master it because as the old adage goes, "it is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master."  Therefore, be mindful of how you use your brain because the mind matters most.

Fall down seven times, get up eight.

 

When we are thrown down in class, we get back up.  This is courage.  With these simple moves, we are teaching ourselves to have the strength to carry on.  This is what training teaches us.

Japanese proverb: Nanakorobi yaoki (七転び八起き) or "fall down seven times, get up eight."