Be Gentle

Throwback Thursday - Be Gentle

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on July 20, 2004.

In Japanese, there is a word, "sunao na” (素直な) which means to be "gentle." Be gentle in your outlook and try to see what the teacher is trying to teach you. You do not have to blow up and quit every time something doesn't suit your fancy. Sometimes, understanding does not come immediately and may take days, weeks and even many years before it comes to you. This is what it means to be "gentle" and have a little patience.

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Finger Locks

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Finger Locks

David Ito Sensei covers the basics of Yubi-waza (指技) or “finger locks” in Aikido. Finger locks are a small part of Aikido training and really more used as a transition to other techniques. Let us know if you want us to do a full length video on this or any topic.

Sometimes there's no time to read a lengthy message or watch a long documentary. So we've created these quick and easy 2 minute techniques to help you improve your Aikido technique and knowledge. Keep an eye out for them every Wednesday. 

Enjoy!

Weakness or Strength?

至弱をもって至強に当たる
Shijaku wo motteshikyo ni ataru
Attack your enemy’s strength with your weaknesses 

Martial artist never judge but instead try to understand zengokankei (前後関係) or “context.” There was once a 10 year old boy named John who lost his left arm in a car accident. After getting out of the hospital, John was depressed because he felt that he could never be like the other kids. To improve John’s self-confidence, his mother took him to a local judo dojo to learn from a very old venerable master named Sato Sensei. Day after day, John only practiced footwork and ippon seionage or “one arm shoulder throw.” After a few months, John would see other students learning different techniques and asked his sensei why he wasn’t learning other techniques. Sato Sensei only responded, “Just keep practicing.” After one year, Sato Sensei entered John into a tournament. John was very nervous, but his sensei assured him that he would do fine. In the first match after John calmed down, he performed a beautiful seionage and easily won his first match. Match after match John kept winning with seionage until he reached the final match. John’s opponent was the state champion who was a foot taller than him. It was a hard fought battle and they pushed and wrenched back and forth and it took every ounce of John’s footwork to keep from being thrown. At the very last minute, John managed to do a perfect seionage and win the tournament. Afterwards, John asked his sensei, “Do you think they let me win because they felt sorry for me because I only have one arm?” Sato Sensei said, “No. You won because you dedicated one year to mastering seionage and the only way to defend against it is by using the opposite arm.” Having only one arm was John’s disadvantage, but it ended up being his advantage in the end. Most times something is only strong or weak because we judge it that way. More importantly, we should be analyzing something’s strength based upon the context in which it is applied. Thus, the great equalizer isn’t really technique, ability or having both arms but the mindset by which we choose to see something.

Today’s goal: Think about what weakness can you use to your advantage. 

Let it Flow

“Engender the mind with no place to abide.” -Takuan Soho

All martial artists are trying to reach a state of mushin (無心) or “no mind.” Having “no mind” doesn’t mean “no thought.” On the contrary there is thought but in this state the mind doesn’t hold on to any one specific thought. We can think of this state as a perpetual practice of “letting go.” Long ago there lived a famous sumo wrestler named Onami (大波) which means “Great Waves.” Onami was very strong. In training, he even defeated his own teacher but was so shy that beginners often beat him in tournaments. Troubled, Onami decided to visit a wise Zen master. The priest listened to Onami tell his story and said, “Your name means great waves, so please spend the night in the temple and imagine that you are a wave and not a wrestler who is afraid. Imagine yourself as a powerful wave sweeping over everything.” The teacher left and Onami sat meditating and imaging himself as a wave. As he meditated, the waves became larger and larger. At one point he imagined the waves engulfing the temple. At dawn, he no longer saw waves but only a calm vast ocean. When the teacher returned he found Onami seated in meditation with a big smile. He said, “Now nothing can disturb you. Become the wave and you will never again be defeated.” Onami was never defeated again. Like Onami, Aikidoists practice mushin but we practice it within our movement. We call this practice ki no nagare (氣の流れ) or “The flow of ki.” Most people think that by just being in continual motion that they have achieved ki no nagare. However, ki no nagare is actually a state of mind. It is the movement version of mushin. With every step within each technique, we have to keep reminding ourselves to let go, relax and stay centered. It is only when our minds and our bodies have jointly “let go” that we can achieve ki no nagare and step into mushin. In life and in Aikido, we should all be practicing the art of “letting it go” and let our ki flow.  

Today’s goal: Figure out what can you let go of which is holding you back? 

Throwback Thursday - Become Familiar

Throwback Thursday - Become Familiar

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on May 27, 2003.

The Japanese have so many words for "learning," which somewhat illustrates how important this concept is to their culture. For a while now, I have been talking about the Japanese term, "mi-narau" (見習う) or “to learn by observation." In Japanese traditional arts, it is best to learn by observation and practice with the emphasis on seeing and imitating the movement until one begins to understand it. I think this is especially important in learning Aikido and Iaido at the beginning level.

Now I would like to introduce another word Japanese use for learning,”nareru" (慣れる). This literally means "to become accustomed to” or "become familiar with." This is one aspect of the art which is often neglected. I see, in this world, that when we do the technique just a few times, we think we have caught on to it! "Nareru" means to work with something until it becomes second nature. I notice that many students sometimes cannot catch on to the technique - not because of any inability or lack of talent - it is simply that they have not worked with it enough. Again, this emphasizes the importance of regular and continued training in the art. To "nareru" also means that we have “mastered" it. Once we have become totally accustomed to something it then becomes a form of mastery as it has become "second nature" and is now really a part of us. So until you "nareru" the art, please keep up your training.

Photo: Furuya Sensei demonstrating at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Little Tokyo with uke Ken Watanabe

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Basic Atemi for Ikkyo

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Basic Atemi for Ikkyo

David Ito Sensei discusses and demonstrates the basic atemi for Ikkyo. An atemi (当て身) is a strike to a vital area of an attacker’s body.  Today, the use of atemi in Aikido has been evolved out of the movement in most cases. This is especially true for Ikkyo. However, Ikkyo is one of those techniques that needs to be done just right in order to execute it properly. If a person doesn’t catch the timing then they will probably need to use an atemi or two. Each attack has a specific Ikkyo technique for that attack. Therefore, because each attack has its own Ikkyo, it will have its own nuanced atemi as well. However, there are three basic atemi that every Ikkyo has: some sort of strike to the face, a rib strike with the fist and rib strike with the knee. If one’s technique is good then the atemi isn’t necessary but they are like money in the bank and thus every Aikido should know them. Let us know if you want us to do a full length video on this or any topic.

Sometimes there's no time to read a lengthy message or watch a long documentary. So we've created these quick and easy 2 minute techniques to help you improve your Aikido technique and knowledge. Keep an eye out for them every Wednesday. 

Enjoy!

Watch other Aiki Dojo videos here: 2 minute techniques

Thank A Teacher

“If you can read this, thank a teacher.” Harry S. Truman

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week. Teachers are supposed to forge us into better versions of ourselves. In Sumo training, the sumo-tori or wrestler practices palm striking and pushing exercises on this large pillar or pole called a teppo (鉄砲 ).  Repeatedly palm striking this pole is supposed to improve their tachiai (立合い) or the “initial charge” at the beginning of a sumo bout. A teppo is a large piece of rounded wood that is sunk into the ground and the wrestlers are supposed to try and uproot it with their pushes and strikes. Striking the teppo can be painful but it is supposed to make one’s hands very strong and improve their initial attack. In many ways a teppo is like a teacher. Teachers must stand up straight and be strong like a teppo in not only form but action as well. A teppo always stands firm regardless of what the wrestler does to it like a teacher and like the teppo, the teacher is always waiting for the student to arrive. The only job of the teppo, like a teacher’s, is to make the wrestler or student better. Obviously, the pole can’t be moved but the wrestler is supposed to imagine that with enough effort it can be. Thus, the goal of every student is to surpass their teacher, but only those who put in the greatest effort will. Furuya Sensei said, “An average student admires their teacher, a good student follows their teacher, a great student will surpass them.” Truman’s assertion about reading is poignant because it is easy to take for granted the little things that are bestowed upon us thanklessly by our teachers. In Japanese they say, “Rosoku wa hokanohito wo terashimasu ga, jibun jishin wo hakai shimasu” (蝋燭は他の人を照らしますが、自分自身を破壊します) which means “A candle illuminates others but destroys itself.” This idiom is very much like a metaphor for teaching. The teacher, like the teppo, is easily overlooked for its sacrifices and without it we wouldn’t be the people we are today. That is why it is important to take a moment and appreciate those that have taught us because it is through their thankless efforts and sacrifices that we can not only read, but also function as human beings as well. Thank you Sensei and all others that have taught me in the past. 

Today’s goal: Take a moment to remember and appreciate those that have thanklessly taught you now and in the past.

Watch this wonderful video of a teacher who disarmed a school shooter.

Resiliency

打たれ強い
Utarezuyoi
Be able to take a strong hit

The warrior’s mindset is resilient. In the olden days of budo, training was much harsher. Teachers would intentionally say and do things to try and even slap you in order to elicit a response. The reason for this style of rough training was because as children we are taught to be on our best behavior and put forward our tatemae (建て前) or “outward face” and hide our honne (本音) or “true face” and so without knowing the student’s honne, a teacher wouldn’t truly be able to help them reach their highest potential. So it was thought that the teacher would have to force out the student’s true feelings, personality or intentions and some people also believed that our truest self comes out right after being slapped. One day, Furuya Sensei thought I was dropping my guard in bokken training so he thrusted me in the soft cleft at the base of my throat. It was accurate and just hard enough to make me gag. Surprised and scared, I grabbed my throat expecting to see blood. Sensei just turned and walked away and casually said, “You’re fine.” After that, he confided in someone and said, “David has a temper.” I did but I never lost my temper in the dojo so I was dumbfounded as to how he could ascertain that from that one moment. I would imagine that with that information, Sensei would know how best to train me. In past times, a student’s feelings were never taken into account and the harshness in training was intentional because it was thought to be the fastest way to prepare the student warrior for the rigors of battle. It is thought that the best always prepare themselves to take on opponents of equal or greater strength and skill and we know that those opponents will always come at us with all their might. It is more inevitable than impossible that we will at some point fall but the greatest measure of who we are is if we are able to get up after taking a strong hit. 

Today’s goal: Make resilience part of your day. If you get knocked down, get back up. 

Throwback Thursday - Aiki is a Living Thing

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on August 24, 2003.

合氣は生き物
Aiki wa ikimono
Aiki is a living thing

Sometimes, when I am studying a particular blade or sword guard, I often do not realize how much time has gone by - several hours pass like it was only a few minutes. When we become engrossed in our studies, we seem to lose awareness of everything else - we lose ourselves

in our subject and do not think of anything but the subject itself. Once I realize this, I immediately think, "Oh, look what time it is,” Or, "I'm hungry," or, "I didn't realize how long I was studying.” At that moment, I revert back to "self" awareness.

This should happen in our practice too. If we are really concentrated, we will not think of anything else. I often see students who are too worried about their "self image” or "reputation," or worried about their egos and these people never reach a deeper state of concentration in their practice.

One doesn't need any particular skill or talent or grade in order to achieve this ideal mental state - simply love practice and love what you are doing. Simply throw yourself into your training - you will have more energy to train and not realize how hard or long the practice is. When class finishes, you will say, "The time went by so fast!” This is the ideal mental state for practice.

If our mind is distracted or split with too much on our minds - too many other issues and ideas, we will always lose energy, feel tired and not catch on quickly to the instruction.

Drop everything! - mind, body, ego, everything, when you train. You will see how well you focus on what you are doing and you will feel how much energy you can muster up from within yourself.

If we practice in this way, we will learn to bring up this inner energy at any moment we desire and this is one result of good training.

It is not a matter of strong or weak, just practice single-mindedly.

2 Minute Technique - Makiotoshi Kokyunage

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Makiotoshi Kokyunage

Ken Watanabe Sensei focuses this video on Ryote-tori Makiotoshi Kokyunage. This technique doesn’t technically have a name. We tried to name it according to the movement. Maki (巻き) means “to wind” or “spiral” and otoshi (落とし) means “fall” or “drop.” This is not a basic technique as it requires a higher level of body control and timing. Let us know if you want us to do a full length video on this or any topic. 

Sometimes there's no time to read a lengthy message or watch a long documentary. So we've created these quick and easy 2 minute techniques to help you improve your Aikido technique and knowledge. Keep an eye out for them every Wednesday. 

Enjoy!

Watch other Aiki Dojo videos here: http://www.aikidocenterla.com/aikido-videos

Remembering O’Sensei

“The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood. It is not a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek to compete and better one another are making a terrible mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst thing a human being can do. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent such slaughter — it is the Art of Peace, the power of love.”  - Morihei Ueshiba

On this day in 1969, Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido passed away. Aikido can be difficult for some people to understand because of the dichotomy of being a martial art that doesn’t advocate violence. The reason for this was that O’Sensei came to realize shinmu fusatsu (真武不殺) or that“true budo does not kill.” O’Sensei was a religious person who began his religious studies when he was six years old. Throughout his life he studied various religions and spent a lot of time studying various budo arts and this pattern continued throughout his life. It is thought that through a series of events in the 1920s that O’Sensei achieved “enlightenment.” In the early 1920s, O’Sensei was confronted with mortality as his father passed away in 1919 and two of his sons, Kuniharu and Takemori died in 1920. He also had a near death experience in 1924 while accompanying his spiritual teacher to Mongolia where they both were arrested and set to die by firing squad but were saved by a last minute reprieve. After returning to Japan, O’Sensei spent a lot of time engaging in spiritual training and performing misogi or “spiritual purification.” In 1925, O’Sensei reached the pinnacle of his martial arts training and was challenged to a duel by a naval officer who was also a kendo master. O’Sensei easily defeated him because he felt that he could sense the direction in which the blows would fall before the officer’s wooden sword could strike him. After the duel, he lied down in the garden and experienced a serenity of body and spirit and felt a golden light pour over him and he felt reborn. I believe that as O’Sensei skirted the line between life and death, he realized the value of human life and from this attainment, modern Aikido was born. Aikido teaches us that the journey of our lives is not about the destruction of others, but the destruction of the self and we can thank O’Sensei for that. True budo is about the preservation of life.   

Today’s goal: Take a moment and remember O’Sensei and try to understand what it means to preserve life. 

Photo from the private collection of the Aikido Center of Los Angeles. O’Sensei is perhaps on the top of Hombu Dojo with Mount Fuji in the distance. 

Give to Get

知行合一
Chikougouitsu
Awareness only comes through practice 

In a dojo, everyone has to care. When I was a student in the 90s, our dojo was a very rough place where everyone trained hard. The unspoken method of problem solving was to just “beat it out of them.” If a student was too scared, strange, uncooperative or weak, we just beat it out of them. They either changed or left - problem solved. In the beginning, I was not very athletic and didn’t take verbal instruction very well and that made for some painful classes as the students “helped me” by beating it out of me. On my very second day, a black belt was assigned to teach me how to roll. At some point, he got frustrated and just proceeded to smash me for the rest of the hour instead. From that point on, I hated him and Furuya Sensei and pretty much everyone else in the dojo. I only stayed so that I could beat them at their own game. The problem with this attitude is that it can help a person excel but it can also create a monster. As Nietzsche said, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.” Today, I do not subscribe to this culture and discourage others from engaging in it. The reason why I don’t condone this type of attitude is because I understand that the universe is reflective. Shakyamuni Buddha said, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” We reflect upon the world that which we wish to be reflected back upon us or in other words we get out of it what we put into it. This is why in a dojo everyone has to care about what happens and take care in how they treat each other. If we want people to care about us and take care of us, we have to care about them. Caring is about awareness. We can’t care if we are not aware. Thus, training is really just teaching us how to become more aware so that we can care and manifest those things that we want out of life. In life and training, we get out of it what we put into it and this is why everyone in a dojo has to care.

Today’s goal: What is that you want? Give it to get it.

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Defense Against a Shove

Ito Sensei discusses and demonstrates techniques versus a shove or hard push. A shove is typically a close quarters combat technique and most times it is used as either an intimidation technique or as a setup for another attack. In any encounter, spacing and timing are crucial to success. When a shove has occurred, the spacing has collapsed, so we have to time the move just right or we’ll lose the momentum or absorb too much of its power.

Let us know if you want us to do a full length video on this or any topic. 

Sometimes there's no time to read a lengthy message or watch a long documentary. So we've created these quick and easy 2 minute techniques to help you improve your Aikido technique and knowledge. Keep an eye out for them every Wednesday. 

Enjoy!

Watch other Aiki Dojo videos here: Videos

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Unparalleled Accuracy

Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything. - Wyatt Earp

Warriors strive for seikakumuhi (正確無比) or “unparalleled accuracy.” O’Sensei evolved the lethalness out of Aikido because of his philosophy of nonviolence. Thus, in order to retain the effectiveness, the techniques have to be more precise. To do this  in our dojo, we train in lanes. We do this to train for accuracy but also for safety. The nage or “person throwing” is supposed to work on where they wish to place their opponent when throwing or pinning. Likewise, the uke is supposed to practice putting themselves in the right position so that they can place themselves in a safe place when falling or when being pinned. In both positions, we learn precision of movement and the accuracy of execution. If we do cross over into someone else’s lane or bump into them, we are supposed to apologize. A while back I was training with a shihan and I kept saying “Oops, sorry” when I accidentally bumped into him or when I didn’t complete the throw because I thought I might throw him into another person. At one point, he said to me, “Stop saying you’re sorry and throw me.” He then proceeded to not only purposefully bump into me but also throw me directly into other people without apologizing. The problem with this “style” of training is that it shows a low level of accuracy and an even lower level of etiquette. Other than showing a low level of skill, breaches of etiquette are a form of saya-ate (鞘当て) or “challenges.” Saya-ate was an old samurai custom of intentionally banging one’s saya or “sword sheath” into another person’s sword to goad them into a duel. By apologizing immediately when we accidentally throw someone incorrectly or bump into them, we make our intention obvious. By not apologizing, the other person could accidentally take it as a slight and retaliate or harbor ill will. Quickly apologizing is also a form of verbal Aikido. A hard or strong practice doesn’t have to be reckless. Recklessness is a sign of low skill and an even lower level of character. The best Aikidoists are always the most precise and so an Aikidoist strives for unparalleled accuracy. 

Today’s goal: Don’t phone it in. What can you do in your life to achieve unparalleled accuracy? 

Watch this video of Japanese printmaking to see a glimpse of precision.

Inner Training

Martial arts training builds inner strength and character. Each day, we come to class and train and most of the time we don’t see or feel any changes at all but lurking deep down we are forging our inner spirits. It takes fortitude to stay when we want to quit and it takes courage to keep going when we are tired or injured. With every act of perseverance, we are cultivating our inner strength which is the true benefit of budo training. My favorite scene in the Avengers: End Game movie is when Captain America stands seemingly alone against Thanos and his entire army of galactic villains. At one point during the battle, the rest of the superheroes have all been defeated and Captain America finds himself all alone to fight the universe’s mightiest villain. Captain America is beaten handedly and his previously indestructible shield is badly damaged. After knocking Captain America down, Thanos monologues about how he plans to destroy the earth and how he will take meticulous pleasure in doing so. Breathing heavily and bloodied, Captain America wills his broken body to stand and he takes one last fighting stance. As he steels himself, he tightens down his broken shield for one last act to save the earth. In order to stand alone against an entire army like Captain America, we need to have a tremendous amount of inner strength which is almost spiritual in nature. Furuya Sensei described martial arts training as a “spiritual practice” where there is no tangible reward and described it as building up “spiritual capital.” He said, “In Aikido, as we begin to think of it as a part of our ‘spiritual training,’ we do not think, ‘How do I protect me,’ we think ‘I am saving the life of others.’” More than just building up our bodies or making us into killers, the training in the martial arts is supposed to be seishinshuyo (精神修養) or to “cultivate one’s soul.” Our souls or our inner character is what we can draw upon to will our beaten bodies to stand one last time. Most of us may never stand against an army, but there will be times when it sure feels like it. In those moments, we have to have “heart” and that inner strength is what training in the martial arts is all about. 

Today’s goal: You can make anything a spiritual practice. The easiest way is to make it about others. Sensei said, “Just do three good deeds every day.”

Throwback Thursday - Works of Art

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on May 11, 2002.

We can learn from everything in our lives, every thought and every single action. I don't mean to interpret or fantasize or deny or blindly believe in whatever it is we are doing or what is happening to us. What I mean is to learn from every thought and action by quietly and clearly observing them. This is a very serious process of training. It is difficult at first because we first do not know how to become very quiet and secondly, we do not how to observe very clearly. Normally, we are talking to ourselves much too much to make ourselves quiet or observe ourselves carefully.

The great talent of an artist is that they see, feel, hear, and are aware of much more than most of other people. They concentrate, they center themselves, clears their minds, become very quiet and see every detail of what they themselves are doing and what is going on around ourselves. If we try this very seriously, we will, I think, be greatly surprised at how much more we can become aware of. We will be greatly surprised at what we ourselves are doing and thinking. We will also be surprised at how much energy we waste in what our minds become focuses on rather than in what we are doing. This will become an important part of training.

Like O'Sensei, sometimes we have to look at our lives as an artist. We are not painting on a canvas, composing beautiful music, or making a sculpture out of marble or wood. But in the very same way, we are creating our own lives as our own works of art. We are trying to create something beautiful, we are trying to express our feelings and realize our aspirations in our lives. We are refining. We are going deeper in ourselves, as a work of art, and finding our true selves.

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Basic Sword Etiquette

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Basic Sword Etiquette 

Ken Watanabe Sensei discusses the basics of sword etiquette. To thoroughly know how to use a sword is to be an expert in its etiquette. More than one’s ability to use the sword, our sword etiquette demonstrates real true level of ability and also conveys one’s real intention. Keep an eye out for the advanced sequel to this video coming out soon. 

Sometimes there's no time to read a lengthy message or watch a long documentary. So we've created these quick and easy 2 minute techniques to help you improve your Aikido technique and knowledge. Keep an eye out for them every Wednesday. 

Enjoy!

Watch other Aiki Dojo videos here: http://www.aikidocenterla.com/aikido-videos

Faith

備えあれば憂いなしなし
Sonaearebaureinashi
If you’re fully prepared, you need not worry.

A martial artist has to have faith. The other day, a prospective student called up inquiring about Aikido. We talked for a minute about scheduling and what to expect. As we were about to hang up, he said, “Joe Rogan said that Aikido is fake. Is that true?” After a few minutes of verbal Aikido, I told him you just have to have faith. He seemed crestfallen and said, “Ok.” He never showed up, so I guess he doesn’t have faith that Aikido is real or effective and that is sad. It is said that the history of combat can be traced as far back as 3500 BC and that systematized martial arts can be traced as far back as 2674 BC when Emperor Huang Ti taught his troops a fighting system called Chiou Ti. In the 5th or 6th century, supposedly, Bodhidharma refined the movements of Chinese martial arts by watching the movement of animals which became modern day Kung-fu. Aikido can trace its roots back to Prince Tejun in the 9th century. In the 12th century Shinra Saburo Yoshimitsu examined the bodies of war victims and executed criminals to study the effectiveness of martial arts techniques which he used to form Daito-ryu Aikijujitsu which eventually became modern day Aikido. Since most martial arts can be traced back to an Indian or Chinese origin, the martial arts are roughly 4694 years old. If something has been around for almost 4700 years, there has to be some merit - there has to be something to have faith in. One of Inazo Nitobe’s 7 Virtues of Bushido is shin (信) which people translate as “honesty,” but it can also mean “faith.” Other than this moment, we aren’t guaranteed anything. Thus, we have to have faith in the history of our arts, the art itself, our teachers but, most of all, in how earnestly we have trained. Everything else is up to god, buddha or the universe and thus we do not need to worry. Whatever martial art we choose, we can never be 100% certain that it will be effective for us when the time comes, but we have faith that it will. That is why a warrior must always have faith.

Today’s goal: Don’t believe the hype. Don’t just read the headline. Apply yourself and investigate things for yourself. 

Between Breaths

“All the principles of heaven and earth are living inside you. Life itself is truth, and this will never change. Everything in heaven and earth breathes. Breath is the thread that ties creation together.” - Morihei Ueshiba

Warriors know that to breathe is to live. Our lives are lived between our first breath at birth and our last breath at death. The samurai were trained to fight until their “last breath” or  kisokuenen (氣息奄々).  Kisokuenen can also mean “more dead than alive,” but still alive nonetheless. It was thought that if one’s fighting spirit was strong enough , then they should be able to attack once more even if they were already “dead.” Perhaps this is why a samurai would sometimes cut off the head of their opponent to ensure that they couldn’t possibly attack again. This fighting spirit wasn’t really something that you could teach because it is more of a way of life. A samurai’s life was lived at kisokuenen because they could be called upon to give up their life at a moment’s notice. Thus, a samurai learned to live because they knew they were going to die. Living meant being present in each and every moment because it could be the last. It was thought that one could live a lifetime in-between each breath so they learned to live and cherish each lifetime within each moment or breath. At the end of each Aikido class, we practice zagi kokyu ho or kokyu-dosa. Kokyu ho (呼吸法) means “breath control.” The hand/arm movement is supposed to be the physical manifestation of our kokyu or “breath.” We practice breathing as a metaphor - if we can control our breathing, we can control how we choose to live. Living well is a choice. Epictetus said, It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” How we react is a choice and that choice begins with controlling our breath and that is why a warrior knows that to breathe is to live. 

Today’s goal: Don’t react. Take a breath and choose to mindfully act. It will make all the difference. 

Throwback Thursday - Humbleness

Throwback Thursday - Humbleness

Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on May 14, 2002.

The leaf at the top of the tree does not know the shape or function of the root deep in the ground, yet its life is dependent upon it. There are many things in this world we don't know about, yet we are so dependent upon them for our survival. This is why we should always be humble and modest in our training.

Photo: Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido seminar in the early 1980s. Seated in the middle is Takeshi Mitsuzuka Sensei. To his left is Kazuo Chiba Sensei, Furuya Sensei and Ichiro Shibata Sensei (I think).