aikinotesnthots

Shindo Meditations

2011-11-15T17:03:00.001-10:00

Koretoshi Maruyama Sensei came to Kapaa, Kauai and taught a Shindoseminar. During the seminar hedescribed numerous exercises and meditations. However, he recommended four specifically for dailypractice. I have described thefour here:

“Sun” Meditation - standing reaching for the sun.
“Praying” Meditation – standing with hands together (similar to praying) then bringing elbows together.
“Before You Sleep” Meditation - with hands in front of face.
“Marching in place” exercise.

Ancient Count:

HI– FU – MI – YO – I – MU – NA – YA – KO – TO

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10

Sun Meditation:

Stand with feet shoulder distance apart. At each step do ancient count 1-10.

2 hands above head - palms inward - like holding the sun
2 hands at sides of head – no touch
2 hands at sides of neck – no touch
2 hands at sternum – heart – touch chest
2 hands at stomach – touch stomach
2 hands at tanden – left hand in front right hand in back palm against body.
Hold 2 hands down at side’s palms out and quietly send the suns rays outwards from your hands to the universe.

Praying Meditation:

Stand with feet shoulder distance apart. At each step do ancient count 1-10.

Hands together in front of face, elbows at 90 degree angle like praying
Bring elbows together- keeping shoulders open
Move hands above head like a “Christmas tree”
Move arms out horizontally to sides
Bend elbows and move hands up to “stick up” position
2 hands down at side’s palms out, shoulders open.

Before You Sleep Meditation:

Stand with feet shoulder distance apart. This meditation should last about 20minutes.

Upper body:

Palms on face – inhale exhale
Palms on cheeks – inhale exhale
Palms on back of skull – inhale exhale
Palms on sides of neck – inhale exhale

Middle body:

Palms facing body - finger tips on sternum – inhale / exhale
Palms facing body - finger tips on stomach – inhale / exhale
Palms facing body - finger tips on Tanden – inhale / exhale

Lower body:

Palms over back on fingertips on back of shoulders – inhale / exhale
Palms reach from below as high as possible, palms, fingers spread on upper back – inhale / exhale
Lower palms to mid back at hips – inhale / exhale
Lower palms to lower back at sacrum (tail bone area) – inhale / exhale

Exercises while standing - Stand with feet shoulderdistance apart:

Hands way up – banzai style. Raise arms like a tree. Ki will enter through you like Ki enters a tree. 123 – relax.
March in place. Step vigorously swinging arms and stepping high. Count to ten 3 times.
Place hands on hips and lean head and neck backwards. 123 – relax.
Bend over hands dangling at knee level. 123 – relax.
Arm overhead to left, 123 – relax. Arm overhead to right, 123 – relax.
Turn at hips to left looking where you are going. Hands held outward at waist level. Left hand palm up, right hand palm down, 123 – relax..
Turn at hips to right looking where you are going. Hands held outward at waist level, 123 – relax. Right hand palm up, left hand palm down, 123 – relax..
Hands way up – banzai style. Raise arms like a tree. Ki will enter through you like Ki enters a tree. 123 – relax.

Carcinoma Angels

2011-11-03T09:54:00.000-10:00

I read this story many years ago when I was a kid. For some reason it always stuck with me. Little did I know that my wife, Cathy, would one day have to do battle with the very same Carcinoma Angels. Like Harry Wintergreen she won, the difference is that she is still standing, little worse for wear - cancer free. Score Cathy 1, Carcinoma Angels 0. Once again God has seen fit to bless us with a miracle.

[Taken from Dangerous Visions]

Carcinoma Angels

by Norman Spinrad

     At the age of nine Harrison Wintergreen first discovered that the world was his oyster when he looked at it sidewise. That was the year when baseball cards were in. The kid with the biggest collection of baseball cards was it. Harry Wintergreen decided to become it.
     Harry saved up a dollar and bought one hundred random baseball cards. He was in luck—one of them was the very rare Yogi Berra. In three separate transactions, he traded his other ninety-nine cards for the only other three Yogi Berras in the neighborhood. Harry had reduced his holdings to four cards, but he had cornered the market in Yogi Berra. He forced the price of Yogi Berra up to an exorbitant eighty cards. With the slush fund thus accumulated, he successively cornered the market in Mickey Mantle, Willy Mays and Pee Wee Reese and became the J. P. Morgan of baseball cards.
     Harry breezed through high school by the simple expedient of mastering only one subject—the art of taking tests. By his senior year, he could outthink any test writer with his gypsheet tied behind his back and won seven scholarships with foolish ease.
     In college Harry discovered girls. Being reasonably good-looking and reasonably facile, he no doubt would've garnered his fair share of conquests in the normal course of events. But this was not the way the mind of Harrison Wintergreen worked.
     Harry carefully cultivated a stutter, which he could turn on or off at will. Few girls could resist the lure of a good-looking, well-adjusted guy with a slick line who nevertheless carried with him some secret inner hurt that made him stutter. Many were the girls who tried to delve Harry's secret, while Harry delved them.
In his sophomore year Harry grew bored with college and reasoned that the thing to do was to become Filthy Rich. He assiduously studied sex novels for one month, wrote three of them in the next two which he immediately sold at $1,000 a throw.
     With the $3,000 thus garnered, he bought a shiny new convertible. He drove the new car to the Mexican border and across into a notorious border town. He immediately contacted a disreputable shoeshine boy and bought a pound of marijuana. The shoeshine boy of course tipped off the border guards, and when Harry attempted to walk across the bridge to the States they stripped him naked. They found nothing and Harry crossed the border. He had smuggled nothing out of Mexico, and in fact had thrown the marijuana away as soon as he bought it.
     However, he had taken advantage of the Mexican embargo on American cars and illegally sold the convertible in Mexico for $15,000.
Harry took his $15,000 to Las Vegas and spent the next six weeks buying people drinks, lending broke gamblers money, acting in general like a fuzzy-cheeked Santa Claus, gaining the confidence of the right drunks and blowing $5,000.
     At the end of six weeks he had three hot market tips which turned his remaining $10,000 into $40,000 in the next two months.
Harry bought four hundred crated government surplus jeeps in four one-hundred-jeep lots of $10,000 a lot and immediately sold them to a highly disreputable Central American government for $100,000.
     He took the $100,000 and bought a tiny island in the Pacific, so worthless that no government had ever bothered to claim it. He set himself up as an independent government with no taxes and sold twenty one-acre plots to twenty millionaires seeking a tax haven at $100,000 a plot. He unloaded the last plot three weeks before the United States, with UN backing, claimed the island and brought it under the sway of the Internal Revenue Office.
     Harry invested a small part of his $2,000,000 and rented a large computer for twelve hours. The computer constructed a betting scheme by which Harry parlayed his $2,000,000 into $20,000,000 by taking various British soccer pools to the tune of $18,000,000.
     For $5,000,000 he bought a monstrous chunk of useless desert from an impoverished Arabian sultanate. With another $2,000,000 he created a huge rumor campaign to the effect that this patch of desert was literally floating on oil. With another $3,000,000 he set up a dummy corporation which made like a big oil company and publicly offered to buy this desert for $75,000,000. After some spirited bargaining, a large American oil company was allowed to outbid the dummy and bought a thousand square miles of sand for $100,000,000.
Harrison Wintergreen was, at the age of twenty-five, Filthy Rich by his own standards. He lost his interest in money.
     He now decided that he wanted to Do Good. He Did Good. He toppled seven unpleasant Latin American governments and replaced them with six Social Democracies and a Benevolent Dictatorship. He converted a tribe of Borneo headhunters to Rosicrucianism. He set up twelve rest homes for overage whores and organized a birth control program which sterilized twelve million fecund Indian women. He contrived to make another $100,000,000 on the above enterprises.
     At the age of thirty Harrison Wintergreen had had it with Do-Gooding. He decided to Leave His Footprints in the Sands of Time. He Left His Footprints in the Sands of Time. He wrote an internationally acclaimed novel about King Farouk. He invented the Wintergreen Filter, a membrane through which fresh water passed freely, but which barred salts. Once set up, a Wintergreen Desalinization Plant could desalinate an unlimited supply of water at a per-gallon cost approaching absolute zero. He painted one painting and was instantly offered $200,000 for it. He donated it to the Museum of Modern Art, gratis. He developed a mutated virus which destroyed syphilis bacteria. Like syphilis, it spread by sexual contact. It was a mild aphrodisiac. Syphilis was wiped out in eighteen months. He bought an island off the coast of California, a five-hundred-foot crag jutting out of the Pacific. He caused it to be carved into a five-hundred-foot statue of Harrison Wintergreen.
     At the age of thirty-eight Harrison Wintergreen had Left sufficient Footprints in the Sands of Time. He was bored. He looked around greedily for new worlds to conquer.
     This, then, was the man who, at the age of forty, was informed that he had an advanced, well-spread and incurable case of cancer and that he had one year to live.

     Wintergreen spent the first month of his last year searching for an existing cure for terminal cancer. He visited laboratories, medical schools, hospitals, clinics, Great Doctors, quacks, people who had miraculously recovered from cancer, faith healers and Little Old Ladies in Tennis Shoes. There was no known cure for terminal cancer, reputable or otherwise. It was as he suspected, as he more or less even hoped. He would have to do it himself.
     He proceeded to spend the next month setting things up to do it himself. He caused to be erected in the middle of the Arizona desert an air-conditioned walled villa. The villa had a completely automatic kitchen and enough food for a year. It had a $5,000,000 biological and biochemical laboratory. It had a $3,000,000 microfilmed library which contained every word ever written on the subject of cancer. It had the pharmacy to end all pharmacies: a literal supply of quite literally every drug that existed—poisons, painkillers, hallucinogens, dandricides, antiseptics, antibiotics, vericides, headache remedies, heroin, quinine, curare, snake oil—everything. The pharmacy cost $20,000,000.
The villa also contained a one-way radiotelephone, a large stock of basic chemicals, including radioactives, copies of the Koran, the Bible, the Torah, the      Book of the Dead, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, the I Ching, and the complete works of Wilhelm Reich and Aldous Huxley. It also contained a very large and ultra-expensive computer. By the time the villa was ready, Wintergreen's petty cash fund was nearly exhausted.
     With ten months to do that which the medical world considered impossible, Harrison Wintergreen entered his citadel.
     During the first two months he devoured the library, sleeping three hours out of each twenty-four, and dosing himself regularly with Benzedrine. The library offered nothing but data. He digested the data and went on to the pharmacy.
     During the next month he tried aureomycin, bacitracin, stannous flouride, hexylresorcinol, cortisone, penicillin, hexachlorophene, shark-liver extract, and 7,312 assorted other miracles of modern medical science, all to no avail. He began to feel pain, which he immediately blotted out and continued to blot out with morphine. Morphine addiction was merely an annoyance.
     He tried chemicals, radioactives, vericides, Christian Science, yoga, prayer, enemas, patent medicines, herb tea, witchcraft, and yogurt diets. This consumed another month, during which Wintergreen continued to waste away, sleeping less and less and taking more Benzedrine and morphine. Nothing worked. He had six months left.
     He was on the verge of becoming desperate. He tried a different tack. He sat in a comfortable chair and contemplated his navel for forty-eight consecutive hours.
     His meditations produced a severe case of eyestrain and two significant words: "spontaneous remission."
     In his two months of research, Wintergreen had come upon numbers of cases where a terminal cancer abruptly reversed itself and the patient, for whom all hope had been abandoned, had been cured. No one ever knew how or why. It could not be predicted, it could not be artificially produced, but it happened nevertheless. For want of an explanation, they call it spontaneous remission. "Remission," meaning cure. "Spontaneous," meaning no one knew what caused it.
     Which was not to say that it did not have a cause.
     Wintergreen was buoyed: he was even ebullient. He knew that some terminal cancer patients had been cured. Therefore terminal cancer could be cured. Therefore the problem was removed from the realm of the impossible and was now merely the domain of the highly improbable.
     And doing the highly improbable was Wintergreen's specialty.
     With six months of estimated life left, Wintergreen set jubilantly to work. From his complete cancer library he culled every known case of spontaneous remission. He coded every one of them into the computer—data on the medical histories of the patients, on the treatments employed, on their ages, sexes, religions, races, creeds, colors, national origins, temperaments, marital status, Dun and Bradstreet ratings, neuroses, psychoses, and favorite beers. Complete profiles of every human being ever known to have survived terminal cancer were fed into Harrison Wintergreen's computer.
     Wintergreen programed the computer to run a complete series of correlations between ten thousand separate and distinct factors and spontaneous remission. If even one factor—age, credit rating, favorite food—anything correlated with spontaneous remission, the spontaneity factor would be removed.
     Wintergreen had shelled out $100,000,000 for the computer. It was the best damn computer in the world. In two minutes and 7.894 seconds it had performed its task. In one succinct word it gave Wintergreen his answer:
"Negative."
     Spontaneous remission did not correlate with any external factor. It was still spontaneous; the cause was unknown.
     A lesser man would've been crushed. A more conventional man would've been dumbfounded. Harrison Wintergreen was elated.
He had eliminated the entire external universe as a factor in spontaneous remission in one fell swoop. Therefore, in some mysterious way, the human body and/or psyche was capable of curing itself.
     Wintergreen set out to explore and conquer his own internal universe. He repaired to the pharmacy and prepared a formidable potation. Into his largest syringe he decanted the following: Novocain; morphine, curare; vlut, a rare Central Asian poison which induced temporary blindness; olfactorcain, a top-secret smell-deadener used by skunk farmers; tympanoline, a drug which temporarily deadened the auditory nerves (used primarily by filibustering senators); a large dose of Benzedrine; lysergic acid; psilocybin; mescaline; peyote extract; seven other highly experimental and most illegal halluncinogens; eye of newt and toe of dog.
     Wintergreen laid himself out on his most comfortable couch. He swabbed the vein in the pit of his left elbow with alcohol and injected himself with the witch's brew.
     His heart pumped. His blood surged, carrying the arcane chemicals to every part of his body. The Novocain blanked out every sensory nerve in his body. The morphine eliminated all sensations of pain. The vlut blacked out his vision. The olfactorcain cut off all sense of smell. The tympanoline made him deaf as a traffic court judge. The curare paralyzed him.
     Wintergreen was alone in his own body. No external stimuli reached him. He was in a state of total sensory deprivation. The urge to lapse into blessed unconsciousness was irresistible. Wintergreen, strong-willed though he was, could not have remained conscious unaided. But the massive dose of Benzedrine would not let him sleep.
     He was awake, aware, alone in the universe of his own body with no external stimuli to occupy himself with.
Then, one and two, and then in combinations like the fists of a good fast heavyweight, the hallucinogens hit.
     Wintergreen's sensory organs were blanked out, but the brain centers which received sensory data were still active. It was on these cerebral centers that the tremendous charge of assorted hallucinogens acted. He began to see phantom colors, shapes, things without name or form. He heard eldritch symphonies, ghost echoes, mad howling noises. A million impossible smells roiled through his brain. A thousand false pains and pressures tore at him, as if his whole body had been amputated. The sensory centers of Wintergreen's brain were like a mighty radio receiver tuned to an empty band—filled with meaningless visual, auditory, olfactory and sensual static.
     The drugs kept his senses blank. The Benzedrine kept him conscious. Forty years of being Harrison Wintergreen kept him cold and sane.
     For an indeterminate period of time he rolled with the punches, groping for the feel of this strange new non-environment. Then gradually, hesitantly at first but with ever growing confidence, Wintergreen reached for control. His mind constructed untrue but useful analogies for actions that were not actions, states of being that were not states of being, sensory data unlike any sensory data received by the human brain. The analogies, constructed in a kind of calculated madness by his subconscious for the brute task of making the incomprehensible palpable, also enabled him to deal with his non-environment as if it were an environment, translating mental changes into analogs of action.
     He reached out an analogical hand and tuned a figurative radio, inward, away from the blank wave band of the outside universe and towards the as yet unused wave band of his own body, the internal universe that was his mind's only possible escape from chaos.
     He tuned, adjusted, forced, struggled, felt his mind pressing against an atom-thin interface. He battered against the interface, an analogical translucent membrane between his mind and his internal universe, a membrane that stretched, flexed, bulged inward, thinned . . . and finally broke. Like Alice through the Looking Glass, his analogical body stepped through and stood on the other side.
     Harrison Wintergreen was inside his own body.
It was a world of wonder and loathsomeness, of the majestic and the ludicrous. Wintergreen's point of view, which his mind analogized as a body within his true body, was inside a vast network of pulsing arteries, like some monstrous freeway system. The analogy crystallized. It was a freeway, and Wintergreen was driving down it. Bloated sacs dumped things into the teeming traffic: hormones, wastes, nutrients. White blood cells careened by him like mad taxicabs. Red corpuscles drove steadily along like stolid burghers. The traffic ebbed and congested like a crosstown rush hour. Wintergreen drove on, searching, searching.
     He made a left, cut across three lanes and made a right down toward a lymph node. And then he saw it—a pile of white cells like a twelve-car collision, and speeding towards him a leering motorcyclist.
     Black the cycle. Black the riding leathers. Black, dull black, the face of the rider save for two glowing blood-red eyes. And emblazoned across the front and back of the black motorcycle jacket in shining scarlet studs the legend: "Carcinoma Angels."
     With a savage whoop, Wintergreen gunned his analogical car down the hypothetical freeway straight for the imaginary cyclist, the cancer cell.
Splat! Pop! Crush! Wintergreen's car smashed the cycle and the rider exploded in a cloud of fine black dust.
     Up and down the freeways of his circulatory system Wintergreen ranged, barreling along arteries, careening down veins, inching through narrow capillaries, seeking the black-clad cyclists, the Carcinoma Angels, grinding them to dust beneath his wheels...
     And he found himself in the dark moist wood of his lungs, riding a snow-white analogical horse, an imaginary lance of pure light in his hand. Savage black dragons with blood-red eyes and flickering red tongues slithered from behind the gnarled bolls of great air-sac trees. St. Wintergreen spurred his horse, lowered his lance and impaled monster after hissing monster till at last the holy lungwood was free of dragons...
     He was flying in some vast moist cavern, above him the vague bulks of gigantic organs, below a limitless expanse of shining slimy peritoneal plain.
From behind the cover of his huge beating heart a formation of black fighter planes, bearing the insignia of a scarlet "C" on their wings and fusilages, roared down at him.
     Wintergreen gunned his engine and rose to the fray, flying up and over the bandits, blasting them with his machine guns, and one by one and then in bunches they crashed in flames to the peritoneum below...
In a thousand shapes and guises, the black and red things attacked. Black, the color of oblivion, red, the color of blood. Dragons, cyclists, planes, sea things, soldiers, tanks and tigers in blood vessels and lungs and spleen and thorax and bladder—Carcinoma Angels, all.
     And Wintergreen fought his analogical battles in an equal number of incarnations, as driver, knight, pilot, diver, soldier, mahout, with a grim and savage glee, littering the battlefields of his body with the black dust of the fallen Carcinoma Angels.
     Fought and fought and killed and killed and finally...
     Finally found himself knee-deep in the sea of his digestive juices lapping against the walls of the dank, moist cave that was his stomach. And scuttling towards him on chitinous legs, a monstrous black crab with blood-red eyes, gross, squat, primeval.
Clicking, chittering, the crab scurried across his stomach towards him. Wintergreen paused, grinned wolfishly, and leaped high in the air, landing with both feet squarely on the hard black carapace.
     Like a sun-dried gourd, brittle, dry, hollow, the crab crunched beneath his weight and splintered into a million dusty fragments.
     And Wintergreen was alone, at last alone and victorious, the first and last of the Carcinoma Angels now banished and gone and finally defeated.
     Harrison Wintergreen, alone in his own body, victorious and once again looking for new worlds to conquer, waiting for the drugs to wear off, waiting to return to the world that always was his oyster.
     Waiting and waiting and waiting...

     Go to the finest sanitarium in the world, and there you will find Harrison Wintergreen, who made himself Filthy Rich, Harrison Wintergreen, who Did Good, Harrison Wintergreen, who Left His Footprints in the Sands of Time, Harrison Wintergreen, who stepped inside his own body to do battle with Carcinoma's Angels, and won.
     And can't get out.

Ochitsuite 落ち着いて

2011-10-27T13:36:00.000-10:00

A former sensei of mine usedto shout “Ochitsuite!” to me as I performed thewaza. Ochitsuite means to relax or calm down. If you are not calm andrelaxed when you are doing the waza, then you are doing it wrong. If you stutter, or flinch, or wince, orpause, then you have already lost.

Did you ever see the video onNational Geographic Channel where the antelope herd is on the run and the lionsare chasing them? One of theantelope’s stutters – zigs instead of zags like the rest of the herd, and thenthe lions catch him.

The concept is the same forany defensive situation. Youcannot “stutter”, you cannot have doubt because the split second you pause iswhen you lose. In Aikido wepractice economy of movement. It’s not necessarily speed that is important. Eliminate all of the extraneous movements this will make youappear to be fast.

In the practice of Aikidoslow can actually be fast. Thereis no need to rush your techniques.

Follow these tips:

· Steady and deliberateconfidence is good. Never show hesitation.

· Show Ki forward. Always look in the direction you aregoing.

· Show control of youruke. Uke must always be unbalanced.

· Always take up theslack. Ukes’ joints must be locked.

· Relax and move from yourtanden (center).

· “Soften” the knees andshoulders.

· Have merciful eyes. Don’t stare or appear to be angry.

If you have most of theabove, you will have achieved Ochitsuite. As for me, after 20 years, I am stillseeking Ochitsuite.

My 7 Pillars of Aikido

2011-10-20T16:28:00.002-10:00

It seems everyone has a list of their version of Pillars of Aikido - go ahead search the internet. I don't have any illusion that mine are the definitive list. They are just food for thought. This is my short list. Make up your own list.

KI

Ki is energy found throughout the universe.. In othercultures it is known by other names but the concept is often similar. In Indiait is Prana, in China it is Chi, to the Hawaiians it is Ha. Ki is the power that drives all thingsthroughout the universe. The stuffthat keeps galaxies and stars, and planets and moons, all working together likeclockwork. It is the power thatdrives molecules and atoms, and protons, neutrons and electrons. Ki is an invisible force, you can’ttouch it or smell it or taste it. Yet we know it exists by inference. In Aikido we train to harness thepower of Ki in our movements. Toharness the power of Ki, your mind and body must work together in balance withthe universe. When the uke attacks the tori responds by turning and blendingwithout impact or resistance.

BREATH POWER (KOKYU)

The samurai closely watches his opponent. A good samurai never shows hisbreath. His body does not move,his breath is so controlled and so long he doesn’t appear to breathe. At the moment the opponent inhales thesamurai strikes. This is themoment an opponent is at his weakest. In aikido we practice Ki breathing – long breath meditation. The breath must be slow and steady,controlled at the throat. A breathcan last as long as 20 seconds. The chest or body must never move. If done properly the opponent never sees you breath. At the same timeyou are expelling stale Ki and infusing your body with fresh Ki.

TANDEN

Your Tanden or core is situated about 2 inches below yournavel in the center of your Hara, roughly in the physical center of your body –the center of your universe, your center of gravity. Your Ki power isconcentrated in this area. Whenyou want to move powerfully, you move by leading the body from the core. When you are doing a tenkan or turningmovement, you turn from the Tanden spinning like a tornado. When performing an irimi or entering movement you move forward from theTanden like a tsunami, we call this central location “one point”. In old Japanwhen a dishonored samurai was forced to commit hara kiri, slicing his stomachopen with his sword, this meant he was exposing his core (hara) to prove hispure intentions.

MA’AI

Ma’ai is the subtle safe distance between tori and uke.Keeping ma’ai is an automatic response that you must develop so that you canmaintain a constant safe distance from an opponent or danger. Distance depends on opponent, lessdanger needs less distance and greater danger needs greater distance. We trainto sense the uke’s movement or ki energy and respond proportionally. It is very similar to the concept of“taking up the slack” a subtle tension is maintained between the tori and theuke. Keeping ma’ai is not running away, it is staying in control and inbalance.

UKEMI

Ukemi is the art of falling safely. In any fight there aretwo ways to get hurt, getting hit and falling down. Ukemi is a special methodof falling that protects key parts of your body, such as the head, neck andback, from injury Proper ukemi is your defense against tori’s throw,essentially neutralizing your impact with the ground. Learning to fall safelyis also an everyday skill that will save you from serious injury in any type ofslip or fall. Ukemi is more than just falling. It is also getting back up toyour feet, in a ready position, quickly and lightly, ready to respond in apositive manner. A good ukemimoves quickly, is light on his feet, falls but bounces back up on his feetimmediately after falling. In thedojo a good ukemi is a good thing, in a fight a good ukemi is a deadlyopponent.

BLENDING

Water and air will flow around you and blend with youwithout any resistance, Though soft and gentle, they can also become tsunamisand tornadoes. In aikido we trainto be like water and air, blending naturally with an opponent. Blending means that you developsensitivity to the uke’s Ki power so that you respond to him at the precisemoment he has committed full Ki forward, a subtle nudge is all it takes toredirect uke’s Ki energy, absorbing his power and blending it with yours. He will be compelled to follow youwherever you lead him. At thismoment you are a tornado, a force amplified by two, which the uke is powerlessresist.

BALANCE

Without proper balance we fall. As a small infant grows he first rolls over, then he crawlsand then as his balance develops he walks. Somewhere around adulthood many of us have lost sight of theimportance of balance. In aikidowe focus our minds in our center and our body weight to the underside of ourbodies. Weight is distributedequally to both feet at all times, focusing on balance. Keep the knees and bodysoft, lowering your center of gravity. Proper balance in a calm, relaxed stance is a very powerful defensiveposition. Imagine being rooted tothe ground where the roots stretch through the earth into infinity.

The Physically Gifted and the Average

2011-10-18T22:45:00.000-10:00

There are 2 types of students, the physically gifted and theaverage. Which should aninstructor prefer?

The physically gifted student learns quickly. He may have great reflexesand his movements may come to him naturally. However, if the gifted student learns too fast or too easilyhe will not develop a deep understanding of aikido. Being physically giftedisn’t a bad thing. A giftedstudent, training for many years, can become an exceptional martial artist.

But an average student can become very good over time, too.

The average student knows his techniques because he practices. He comesto class regularly – maybe 3 times a week, but more importantly, he practicesdiligently at home. He studies aikido books, the internet, YouTube and hewatches aikido DVDs. His aikido isgood because he spends hours studying it – it may not come easy, but hisunderstanding runs deeper in his subconscious.

Success comes through adversity. The body has to sweat and feel pain. The joints and muscles need to be constantlychallenged. The student thatpushes himself to be a little bit better every practice session growssteadily.

In aikido we do not look for the prodigy but for the long-term student.No one should learn aikido quickly. It takes a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication.

Granted aikido requires speed and automatic reflexive movements. But these movements must come from thesubconscious – the automatic or intuitive mind. The conscious or thinking mindis too slow. The knowledge must bestored deep in the subconscious through repetitious, long term training. Do a movement 20,000 times and you willstart to develop a “feel” for it. When you can apply a technique a thousand times and every time it isexactly the same, now you are working from the subconscious. A response to an attack must occurinstantly, naturally without thought. A split second of doubt or considerationspells defeat. To achieve thislevel of skill requires years of training.

The waza are not commandments set in stone.

2011-10-18T22:25:00.001-10:00

Is it a problem if one sensei teaches a waza or kata one wayand another teaches it another way? Should you choose sides, saying one way is right and the otherwrong?

In my experience in aikido classes or seminars with variousinstructors, I am constantly finding that it seems like no two techniques areexactly alike but they all work! There is always some variation. I have attended the classes of some of the best. Donald Enoki Sensei,Koretoshi Maruyama Sensei, KoichiTohei Sensei, Moriteru Ueshiba Sensei, Waka Sensei, Kashiwaya Sensei, YamadaSensei, these are masters in Aikido and they all teach with slight, even majorvariations in movement.

The waza themselves are only a series of body movements thatanyone can easily mimic by watching a video or YouTube. Memorizing lots of techniques is goodbut really understanding how to use and being able to modify them as thesituation requires is the real challenge. A good instructor helps you understand the basics and then allows you togrow intuitively.

Of course, I will follow the way my Sensei at Noelani KiAikido teaches. If he teaches me to do a certain technique or kata a certainway, I will do it that way. If he says step left instead of right, I will stepleft. If he says do Jo Kata 2 backwards that’s the way we will do it.

BUT, having said this, that doesn’t mean that I wearhorse-blinders when practicing Aikido, that I only see one right way to do amovement. Our dojo philosophy is“there is no wrong way”. New waysare being invented every day. Everyinstructor and student I practice with advances my knowledge of Aikido. My skills are the sum of every person Ihave ever trained with.

The waza are not commandments set in stone, they are simplytools for self defense. A goodinstructor interprets them for the student. He teaches the student that the waza must ebb and flow nomatter how the attack comes – and there are an infinite number of ways toattack and defend.

A waza can never take the place of a skilled Sensei.

Noelani Ki Aikido Yuishinkai Dojo Kun

2011-10-18T16:57:00.001-10:00

Karate has the ”Dojo Kun” or guiding principles. Ithought maybe I would come up with my own version of Dojo Kun for ourclub. Realize, of course, these concepts are not new. They holdtrue to all martial arts. I have merely re-written them to fit our dojo.

1. SEEK PERFECTION

Aim to understand and master the true essence of YuishinkaiAikido.

2. BE FAITHFUL

Share Yuishinkai Aikidowith others, yet strive to be faithful to, and guard the accuracy of theprinciples of Yuishinkai Aikido. Do not indiscriminately teach these principles to those who do not respect themor may misuse them.

3. BE RESPECTFUL

Always be respectful towards others and act with honor andself-control. Never use aikido techniques to harm others.

4. BE ONE WITH THE UNIVERSE

Seek universal balance with mind and body

5. ENDEAVER TO EXCEL

Develop a healthy mind and body through rigorous training.

6. ALWAYS HAVE POSITIVE KI

Cultivate a courageous, unyielding and indomitable spirit.Never give up. We call this Positive Ki.

Have Soft Eyes

2011-09-13T23:13:00.000-10:00

Miyamoto Musashi wrote inhis Book of Five Rings: “In usingthe eyes, do so in a large and encompassing way. There is observation and thereis seeing. The eye of observation is strong. The eye of seeing is weak. To seethe faraway as nearby, and the nearby as faraway is essential to the martialarts. To know your opponent’s sword, yet not to “see” it at all is veryimportant in the martial arts. You should make great effort in this.” (MiyamotoMusashi, 1645, p.67).

The 4^th principlein Koichi Tohei Sensei’s 6 Principles of Aikido states: “Have merciful eyes.”

The martial artist mustalways have soft and gentle eyes, by never looking at any one thing he sees allthings. Don’t “stare” at your opponent “observe” him.

Koretoshi Maruyama Senseicalls this seeing in 360 degrees. If you are calm and relaxed you see everything. Even behind yourback. The calm mind senseseverything in all directions. Thetense mind notices nothing except what is right in front. Hard eyes or angry staring eyes are asign of weakness. Just like tensemuscles are weak, angry eyes are weak too.

In the dojo while trainingit's important to be aware of all that surrounds you, there could be manypeople training on the mat at the same time. If you have tunnel vision you, oryour partner, will collide with others. A good martial artist is aware ofeverything around him at all times.

The eyes must be aware ofall the details in any situation – other people, potential exits, potentialobstacles, potential dangers, even potential weapons. The person in front of you is not the only obstacle in yourpath.

A line from the KempoHakku: "Me wa shiho o miru wayosu - The eyes must not miss even the slightest change".

Be Like Water

2009-12-02T14:22:00.012-10:00

Sticky hands, hand knife "tegatana", invisible angle "shikaku", disappear, be like water, look where you are going not at the opponent. Strange phrases, how do they relate to aikido? They are metaphors for certain skills or concepts.

Sticky hands. If you watch an aikido instructor, it looks as if his hands are sticky. It seems like no matter how chaotic the attack, he always seems to catch the offending wrist or deflect a strike effortlessly. You must always stay in contact with the uke. If you lose contact he will get away. Be sticky. You do this by matching the opponent’s movements and speed, blend with him. Enter his space and become one with him. In a sense you must join his ki – in this way you take over and the uke is compelled to follow.

Hand Knife. Many Aikido techniques evolve from early Samurai weapons techniques. Practice in any sword school and you will recognize many of the movements as similar to ours. Many of the modern Aikido-ryu no longer teach weapons techniques because the rationale is that swords and jos are archaic and no longer relevant. It’s true they are no longer practical weapons, however, we should maintain an understanding of the “roots” of our waza. In the case of the “hand knife” or tegatana we use the hand as if it were holding the knife or katana. The side of the hand is analogous to the blade of the knife. You can “cut” through your opponent, not literally, but with ki.

Shikaku or invisible angle. In Aikido we enter an opponent’s sphere of influence coming in very close but not quite touching or bumping into him. This is equivalent to invading the uke’s personal space. This cuts his ki. You enter from a slight angle just outside his view. He cannot see you and thus you are invisible. Many of the atemi come at the uke from similar angles, from down below or to the side of the head or to the ribs at his side. These strikes are not meant to be lethal but because they come at odd angles they are “invisible” and distract or cut the opponents ki. To the samurai these invisible angles were lethal strikes – the opponent died before he even knew what hit him. The aikidoka uses these strikes or movements to distract or cut the opponents ki.

Be like water. Bruce Lee, in a movie, once said “be like water”. In Tai Chi, Wing Chun, and in Aikido (and many other martial arts) this is also a very elemental concept. In other words do not meet your opponent head on. When he strikes, turn and blend with his movement, move away rhythmically. When in the ofuro (bathtub), when you push the water away, it always flows up the side of the tub and then back, no resistance. Water does not resist, it flows around you and envelops you. The harder you push the more it moves away then back. React in this way when the attack comes always move, envelop, turn, blend – do not block or stop. This is called “non-dissension”.

Disappear. Your uke’s ki is always focused on a specific part of your body – you’ll note that his eyes are always focused there too. He wants to hit you there or grab you there. Taunt him with that wrist or shoulder, but do not let him grab or strike it. Never be where he expects you to be. Lead your opponent or disappear just as he gets close – this is when you apply the deflection or the blend. It is at this moment that the opponent is at his weakest because this is when he thinks victory. The timing is very critical and specific. Practice this “last split second movement” and you will get the “feel”. This is when you catch his arm or wrist to apply kotegaeshi or shihonage or ikkyo – catch him in your tornado – spin away and apply.

Look where you are going, not at your opponent. There’s no need to look down at your hands or at your uke. If you need to know where your opponent is, your hands will do the “seeing”. “See” your opponent by having awareness in ALL directions. In aikido we say, “don’t look or stare, clear the mind and see everything”. Use your peripheral vision effectively. As you turn away to initiate the technique, your opponent can’t help but follow. Look where you are throwing – not at the opponent.

Strange and esoteric metaphors? Or core principles for everyone? Do not ignore any of these concepts or you will greatly slow down your progress in Aikido.

Learning a lot of waza for the test

2009-12-02T11:32:00.003-10:00

When I ask how many waza (techniques) do you know or how many kata (forms) do you know, 1, 5, 10? 1 kata, 2 kata? Do you really think it matters how many you know, now or ever? Do you think that learning them all quickly should be your goal? The answer is “no”. It’s better if you know a few good techniques very well than if you know them all poorly. As a beginner it’s not important for you to know a lot of techniques. Believe me, we are all beginners here. Just learn a few (your favorites) very well. Focus on the ones you are comfortable with. Don’t be in a rush to memorize them all otherwise all will suffer. Eventually, without even trying hard, you’ll notice that your list of favorite techniques will get longer.

Having said all of this, you also have to realize that, for you, this is an evolving martial art and you have to continue to grow at a steady pace. I didn’t say “fixate” on a few techniques. If you “fixate” you will stagnate. I said “focus”. Once you have a good feel for a particular technique move on to others. In this way your repertoire will grow as your skill level evolves.

In a test you are forced to learn a lot of waza in a short amount of time. Which may seem counter to Aikido teaching principles I mention in the first paragraph. However, the only way to learn is to challenge oneself. If we always take the easy road none of us will progress. It’s not important to be an encyclopedia of Aikido techniques but you still need to learn and grow. That is why we have testing and the pressure that accompanies it. It may be frustrating to you but the test is really a way for you to gauge your level of ability, the extent of your knowledge of certain techniques, your growth in Aikido. It is also a way for your sensei to see your comfort level, how calm and relaxed, and confident you are in a stressful situation. It’s understandable to be nervous in any test, but as you advance in skill level, hopefully your confidence improves along with your calmness. After the test is over you can get back to your regular training routine.

If we are to prune it down to the basics then Aikido simply trains the mind. That’s it. Don’t be obsessed with the waza. Everything follows the mind – waza, kata, ki, calmness, mind body unification everything. You will always be a little nervous during the test, but as your ability to control your mind evolves, your Aikido will improve. Nobody expects perfection. The test is a starting point. You now have these techniques in your pocket and starting from now you will perfect them.

Enjoy the test. Be calm, relax, don’t tense up, throw away nervousness, extend ki. You know the drill.

Eulogy for Moriyasu Sensei

2009-11-25T10:35:00.002-10:00

James Moriyasu
Uncle James

My fondest memories of Uncle James begin and end with the martial arts.

He had a Judo story about his early days in the Air Force, while stationed in Japan, he and a detail of men were on security duty when a call came in that some soldiers were causing a disturbance at a local bar. When they arrived at the bar the security detail fanned out to collect the culprits and as luck would have it Uncle James got the big burly haole guy. When the big guy saw this little Japanese GI – and Uncle James wasn’t much more than 5’5” in combat boots – The big guy reached down to squash him. Huge mistake, for the big guy – Uncle James quickly pivoted and executed a classic Judo Koshi-nage or hip throw. Suffice it to say, the big guy never had a chance.

This is essential Uncle James. He was your average nondescript person – picture Mr. Miyagi if you will. Never out to impress, never wearing his martial art skills on his sleeve, always a smile and joke but very serious about his martial arts. And yes, very skilled.

One of my earliest memories of Uncle James was when he and his Kung Fu group conducted a lion dance at a family event – this was years ago. It was fascinating and exciting, and I had no idea that the lion dance was performed by a Chinese martial arts club. I think this is where the martial art seed was planted in my mind.

4 or 5 years later I get a call at home – he is now teaching Aikido, a Japanese martial art, running a small dojo in Waipahu and that I should bring my daughters down to try it out. It didn’t seem like a request, more like an order. The girls joined and ultimately practiced for more than 5 years each. I on the other hand would sit outside at the picnic table and read a book while I waited for the class to end. Eventually, I think out of frustration, he told me to put the book down and join the class. Which I did.

Moriyasu sensei’s 7:30 Friday night Honolulu Aikido class was very popular. It was always crowded and the pace was fast. He didn’t believe in much talk. Just throw. He was strict but taught joyfully. I didn’t know it at the time but it was the beginning of my lifelong love affair with martial arts. I still practice Aikido today after 20 years and like uncle James, I now teach.

After 15 years or so of Aikido, he moved on to Escrima a Filipino martial art, training for several years with an aged master in Waipahu. One day I got the call to come down and videotape his black belt test. I was surprised to find him waving 2 sticks around with deadly accuracy.

Then came Tai Chi. Once again I get the call to join him in his Tai Chi class. I said to him, “but I’m still practicing Aikido”. He said (and I paraphrase), “It’s not the Ki in Aikido, it’s the Chi in Tai Chi that is more effective”. So I joined him in a little Tai Chi.

However, even Tai Chi didn’t hold his interest for long.

You see, Uncle James was an iconoclast. He stood alone. He practiced many martial arts in his lifetime: Judo, Kung Fu, Aikido, Escrima, Tai Chi, reaching the equivalent of black belt in most but never swearing fealty to any. He was not bound to any old fashioned tradition of blind loyalty to any dojo or master. When it no longer satisfied his interest, he moved on. He wasn’t sentimental about his martial arts.

He was my sensei and martial arts adviser. Above all he was a beloved uncle and we will all miss him greatly.

I’d like to think there is now a dojo up there in heaven where they teach all the martial arts that he loved. You all noticed the lightening and thunder storm last week? It wasn’t Auntie Betsy bowling in God's bowling league. It was Moriyasu sensei teaching a class. I almost can’t wait to practice there one day.

In the dojo after a strenuous training session, the student’s line up and bow to the sensei and say “thank you sensei” for a class well taught.

Now if you’ll all indulge me.

I think each and everyone of us who new and loved him must have each learned some small thing from him. So can we all please honor him this one last time. Can we all stand up and bow to him at the same time and say, “thank you sensei”.

Turn the Tables

2009-07-16T10:00:00.003-10:00

When the attack comes it’s usually like an oncoming freight train. The opponent is Ki forward, focused on some part of your body. He wants to punch your face, grab your shirt, knock you down, whatever. Should you meet this train head on, like another freight train? The impact will be devastating to both of you, maybe worse for you, since the opponent has momentum on his side. Instead, connect with him, turn and blend with the opponents forward Ki (or momentum), like jumping on a spinning Merry-Go-Round. Redirect him in a slightly different direction – like a ricochet. If you know your physics, this takes very little power – just a slight nudge will turn your opponent. DON’T LET GO! Hang on to him because now YOU are in control. Like a moon captured in a planets gravitational pull, your opponent’s forward momentum will not let him stop or pull away. This is when he is at his weakest and you have the advantage. Centrifugal and centripetal forces now come into play. Do NOT use muscle power, use centrifugal force to fling the opponent outwards (for example: shomenuchi kokyunage or yokomenuchi kokyunage hachinoji), or use centripetal force to pull him in (for example: katatori ikkyo ura or ryotemochi enundo). Remember the following critical points:

1. Do not try to stop the opponent by blocking him.
2. Blend with opponent’s forward Ki or momentum.
3. Turn the tables on your opponent by going from a position of weakness to one of power.
4. Take control. Connect with the opponent and don’t let go. Lead him in YOUR direction.
5. Use centrifugal or centripetal forces (not muscle power) to throw your opponent.

NOTE: My apologies, I may have gotten carried away with the mix of cliché and simile in this article.

Technique and the Subconcious

2009-07-15T16:02:00.001-10:00

Maruyama Sensei says that we have to practice technique 20,000 times to set it in the subconscious. What does he mean by that? 20,000 times is he serious? He is not being literal, he just wants you to understand that you have to be dedicated to practice in aikido if you want to become proficient – in other words, you have to practice a LOT.

In the dojo we often practice technique over and over and it can begin to feel somewhat repetitious. You do enough repetition and things start getting a little boring. That’s why I try to change it up in practice when I can. However, I always return to teaching the basics.

It’s the same as learning how to ride a bike, or learning how to swim. The techniques, needed to do it well, are alien at first. Balancing on 2 wheels can seem very tricky – staying afloat in water by waving your arms and legs may seem impossible. But eventually your mind and body become coordinated. Your mind calms and your body finds the rhythm needed so you don’t topple over on your bike or sink to the bottom of the pool. Aikido training is exactly the same. Don’t rush it, give your mind and body time to discover each other, to find their rhythm. I’m not saying that learning Aikido is as easy as learning how to ride a bike – you can learn how to ride a bike in a couple of days – it will take 5 or 6 months to learn some of the basics and years to get proficient at Aikido. But, the concept is the same. Just like anyone can learn how to ride a bike, anyone can learn aikido – young, old, male, female, anyone. Just give it time. Key concepts in the process: Mind and body coordination, rhythm, timing and subconscious memory.

So practice those techniques 20,000 times, you’ll get there. I think I am on about 2000 or 3000 on a couple of the techniques. I’ve got a ways to go.

Is Aikido a Religion?

2009-07-15T15:56:00.002-10:00

There is a misconception among many that Aikido is some sort of religion and practicing it may conflict with ones faith. Parents hesitate to enroll their child into an Aikido club because they are afraid he or she will be converted. They see everyone dressed in white, barefoot, kneeling and bowing to a symbol at the front of the dojo. To the average American, this appears to be submission or supplication. It is not. It is merely respect to our instructors, the founders of Aikido and appreciation for the use of the dojo.

Aikido teaches two very important concepts; respect, and discipline. These concepts are taught through repeated practice and strict adherence to dojo etiquette.

For example, Ki breathing meditation. Kneeling down (seiza), closing your eyes, and doing a breathing exercise, before a class begins, is simply a practice to meditate and clear the mind in order to focus 100% on training.

Bowing. This is a practice of respect. We bow to show appreciation to a practice partner or to an instructor. We bow before entering or leaving the dojo. And we bow to the front of the dojo in appreciation for the use of it. This is done in most martial art systems.

Why barefoot? In Aikido, your hands and feet, among other parts of your body, are your weapons. Part of your training is to develop these parts of the body. It is very difficult to train when wearing shoes or jewelry. It is also a safety concern. Heavy shoes and sharp jewelry can injure a practice partner.

Why do we wear gi? The gi is a workout suit. It is specifically designed for Aikido training. The collar and trim have multiple stitches, and thickly layered material, to reinforce them, and the sleeves are shortened to the forearm. The gi is loosely made to allow the body to move effortlessly in it, yet cushion the body when it hits the mat.

Why do students say “onegai shimasu” at the opening of class? This statement means “please teach me”. It is a sign of respect for the instructor and his knowledge. Why does a student say “hai!” after an instructor has spoken. It means "I understand", “thank you” or "I will persevere". It is always used in a positive way.

In conclusion, the practice of Aikido has nothing to do with religion. It is simply a martial discipline that teaches self-defense, non-violence, mutual respect, and personal development in mind and body. Aikido simply allows you to respect yourself and others.

The Samurai and the Way of Peace

2009-05-04T13:16:00.004-10:00

Is the Samurai ethic no longer relevant? Can its’ philosophy of violence, death and combat be rewritten as a NEW philosophy to fit a modern world?

Here's a little history: During WWII, Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, opposed the war. He moved to Iwama to do farming and seek enlightenment. Even though he believed the Budo (the Way of War) and the Bushido (the Way of the Warrior) philosophies, he felt that there was no longer a place for the Samurai warrior philosophy in modern society. The perversion of this ethic during WWII, by the Japanese military, convinced Ueshiba Sensei a change was needed. The development of Aiki-Budo was his answer. “Aiki” is an old martial term that Ueshiba Sensei adopted. By combining "Aiki" and "Budo" he changed the warrior philosophy to one of peace, love and harmony, developing his vision of the modern PEACEFUL warrior. He eventually named his new martial art “Aikido” or “the way of peace”.

Like Samurai philosophy, Aikido philosophy is rooted in high ethical standards and honor, which are combined with effective defensive martial techniques. However, the BIG difference is that the Aikidoist must always express an attitude of universal peace, love and harmony.

Having an attitude of peace and harmony doesn’t mean the Aikidoist should run away from conflict or not defend himself. In Aikido, the practitioner trains constantly to sharpen his martial edge. In the dojo, by training in structured combat and ritualized Kata, the Aikidoist sharpens his awareness, inner strength, speed and rhythm. Aikido prepares one to deal with conflict effectively and confidently – but always as a last resort.

There will always be conflict, but the Aikidoist’s first choice of response must always be peace and harmony, we call this “non-dissention”. In case all else fails, the Aikido practitioner trains to be ready to respond to conflict. However, his goal is always to control his power and to wield it only for peaceful purposes.

The Samurai is not extinct. He has simply evolved. The modern day Samurai is a peaceful warrior and his philosophy is contained within the concepts of Aikido – the Way of Peace.

Kempo Hakku (Eight Laws of the Fist)

2009-04-12T22:43:00.006-10:00

The poem comes from article 13 of the bubishi – an historical text recording martial knowledge and techniques from South China (mainly Fukien) and Okinawa.

Here is the English translation.

From top to bottom, right to left it reads:

1. Jinshin wa tenchi ni onaji.
The mind is one with heaven and earth.

2. Ketsumyaku wa nichigetsu ni nitari.
The circulatory rhythm of the body is similar to the cycle of the sun and the moon.

3. Ho wa goju no donto su.
The way of inhaling and exhaling is hardness and softness.

4. Mi wa toki ni shitagai hen ni ozu.
Act in accordance with time and change.

5. Te wa ku ni ai sunawachi hairu.
Techniques will occur in the absence of conscious thought.

6. Shintai wa hakarite riho su.
The feet must advance and retreat, separate and meet.

7. Me wa shiho wo miru wa yosu.
The eyes must not miss even the slightest change.

8. Mimi wa yoku happo wo kiku.
The ears listen well in all eight directions.

Tanden, the Core and Center of Gravity of the Body

2009-04-09T12:31:00.003-10:00

The tanden is the body’s center of gravity and plays a critical role in the initiation of movement. In many traditional Japanese arts – Aikido, Karate, Shakuhachi (Japanese flute), Shodo (calligraphy), Kyudo (archery), Kendo (swordsmanship) and even Chado (tea ceremony) – students are taught to move from the tanden. This area also serves as a focus point in Taoist and Buddhist philosophies and in Zen meditation where it is believed to help center one’s mind.

Quote from a Karate Sensei:“Tanden (core) wa king, ashi (legs/feet) wa soldiers. King tells soldiers – Go!".

What I like most about the Karate sensei’s analogy is that it captures the subtle difference between initiating movement from the tanden and over exaggerated ‘leading with the hips’ – like a king charging out ahead without his army - big mistake. In other words, a king must lead his army but king and army must move out in unison. If you only move from the hips the feeling will be awkward and weak. The tanden shouldn’t move BEFORE the body, but WITH it, while giving the orders. Like the king and army, the body and the tanden must move in concert.

One of my earlier sensei’s, Tabata Sensei, always said “move from the hips!” By pulling slightly on my belt, Tabata Sensei, showed me how to initiate movements without the obvious weight shift involved in stepping. This enabled me to slide forward more easily without telegraphing my movements, by keeping my head and upper body aligned and calm. The movement should be subtle and steady without betraying any power or effort to the opponent. When power comes from the tanden (the core of the body), the opponent will not be able to anticipate your movement.

Ki power resides in the tanden, or the core, not the muscles in the arms and legs. The body is the conduit through which Ki power flows, Much like water through a fire hose. Whether you are deflecting a strike or blending with an opponents’ attack, it's important to concentrate on moving from the tanden. This focus will help to concentrate power while moving efficiently. Body movement may be imperceptible or minimal, but your Ki and mind movement, which are invisible to the opponent, are large and very powerful.

Taigi Introduction

2008-12-19T12:43:00.006-10:00

Taigi have been practiced in Japan since 1978. It is based on the traditional movements of Aikido, and is used as an exercise and expression of Ki movement through a series of timed techniques with a partner. They are judged for balance, rhythm, largeness of movement and grace of dynamic motion. There are a total of 30 Taigi and are among the core disciplines for training in Ki Aikido dojos. The Taigi were developed by Koichi Tohei Sensei, the founder of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido.

In Taigi, uke and nage comprise a team. Each Taigi set is based on one type of attack usually using six different techniques, allternating left and right side.

During a performance, the Taigi set is performed twice. In the first performance, the nage and uke pause after each throw and are tested for Ki extension and mind/ body coordination. The second performance, timed by a timekeeper, is a test for rhythm, timing and largeness of movement. The timekeeper will start the clock when the pair bows in and stops it when the pair bows out. The time varies depending on what Taigi set is being performed. The pair is allowed plus or minus two seconds leeway.

Exerpt from a Koichi Kashiwaya Sensei intervew:

Kashiwaya Sensei: My personal understanding is that Taigi was not originally formed as competition. Tohei sensei designed the forms as a gift for his instructors so they wouldn't "screw up" during a demonstration.

At the time, most of his students were pretty young and going through training kind of like in a military boot camp. We learned a lot from Tohei sensei in a short period of time and we were able do the techniques pretty well -- one by one. But, in a situation like a demonstration, because the range of techniques were not that "well digested," it became difficult. Tohei sensei gave us a tool -- the Taigi -- for us to use as a sort of guidance so we wouldn't feel like we were getting lost. With this repertoire under our belt, we would feel more comfortable giving a demonstration.

The people he was teaching were really close in training with him -- we understood the basics really well with him. We were able to see him doing these forms at demonstrations and we started noticing patterns that he was doing. He formalized these forms a little bit later.

Later, he watched his students carefully and found that his students were not doing the forms correctly. That's why he came up with the idea of competition so that we can polish what we were doing so we didn't just plainly look alike.

A long time ago, companies like Honda were content at making passenger cars for people like you and me to drive. But, they then started entering auto racing like the Formula One. This was not due to their wanting to make their passenger cars be able to drive at a high speed like 200 miles per hour through the city. Rather, they used the racing track as a sort of a laboratory or a polishing stone to create better technologies that they could then put back into their passenger cars to make them into safer, higher efficiency, more ecological cars.

In a way, the Taigi competition is like a Formula One racing track. The students are not there to just "win" the competition but to use it as a way to further polish his or her techniques. Tohei sensei always paid close attention to how people were competing -- what was working and what wasn't. Shallow practice would show up as people just having technical form only. But, through taigi, people could refine their mind and body coordination.

What goes on in the Taigi are not necessarily "street" applications. Tohei sensei did show us those kinds of things -- arresting techniques or how to deal with a very aggressive person. But, that's not necessarily what we have to teach, but for us to know in case we need to teach it. We, as teachers, are expected to deal with a wide range of students with different backgrounds. I may end up teaching a police officer or a prison guard. But that's not something, I think, that needs to be taught to everyone. A police officer may need to know something that a civilian does not. A prison guard may have restrictions on what they are able to do, so they may be taught something else. In regular practice, there's no need to focus on any specialized way. Regular practice is mainly geared toward mind and body coordination.

But, there's a difference between teaching, say, a baseball player and teaching a sumo wrestler. Teaching these kinds of people were, to Tohei sensei, a sort of a personal hobby. He's not teaching baseball to a baseball player or sumo to a sumo wrestler. When he would have time and they would ask him about things, he would teach them about mind and body coordination.

Understanding Ki Breathing

2008-12-18T14:26:00.001-10:00

Ki breathing cleanses the system. It fills the YUSO, or fine capillaries, with oxygen and expels carbon dioxide. It gets rid of old stale Ki and re-infuses the body with fresh Ki.

When I exhale, I breathe out with the audible sound of “HA” (with the mouth wide open), emptying the whole body of stale Ki, and when I inhale, I breathe in audibly through the nose, bringing new Ki filling my body from the tip of my toes to the top of my head (like filling a cup of water).

The sound of “HA” is important because it creates a feeling of openness and largeness, no other sound will work because they do not have the same feeling of largeness or openness. If the mouth opening is small, it is difficult to exhale completely - open wide with the sound of “HA”.

As I inhale, I calm my mind and focus my thoughts on my tanden, infinitely smaller and smaller. When I exhale, I expand my mind out farther and farther to infinity.

The maximum lung capacity of the average human being is roughly between 3,000 and 4,000 cubic centimeters (cc’s) of air, however, the average human only inhales 600 to 700 cc’s of air into his lungs, only a fraction of the maximum. This means that we ordinarily exchange only about one-fifth of our lung capacity of oxygen. The arteries are holding only a fraction of the total amount of oxygen that they can potentially carry. When we do Ki breathing we take in approximately 10,000 cc of oxygen – about 3 times the average.

Listen to your own breathing. Notice that you are only using a fraction of your lung capacity every time you inhale. Imagine if every breath were deeper and filled your lungs to full capacity. Oxygen helps the body heal and rejuvenate itself. If you could increase the efficiency of your lungs, you would improve your health. Ki breathing is geared to do just that. Consider the free diver. He dives deep under water for long periods of time, sometimes as long as 3-4 minutes. They train themselves to relax completely to conserve oxygen. Try holding your own breath. I think the average person can hold it about 1-2 minutes. Like developing the muscles through weight lifting or strengthening the heart through cardio exercise, we do Ki breathing to develop the lung capacity, to increase your breath power. The breathing increases your stamina and the expansion and contraction of the mind strengthens your Ki power. Doing Ki breathing exercise, daily, will improve your ukemi dramatically.

If you are always getting sick or feel weak, do Ki breathing every day. As you age and feel yourself physically slowing down, do more Ki breathing. Through Ki breathing you get the greatest amount of oxygen to the YUSO. You have an enormous amount of veins and capillaries in your body. If all were stretched out they would encircle the Earth two and a half times. Fill these veins with a maximum amount of oxygen and you will heal and strengthen the body and mind.

Some thoughts on the Sensei title

2008-12-17T17:06:00.006-10:00

The title “Sensei” is an expression of respect for someone who teaches. I consider it an honor to be referred to as Sensei and I take the responsibility that comes with the title very seriously.

The title, Sensei, doesn’t necessarily indicate seniority. For example, there may be other yudanshya (black belts) in the dojo that do not teach on a regular basis. They are still my senior if they have trained longer in the dojo than I have, yet they call me "Sensei". This is because I am an instructor, certainly not because I am on the same skill level of these senior Sensei in terms of rank or experience. They are showing courtesy to my position as an instructor in the dojo.

When I am not sure of the correct title, I always call my seniors and other unfamiliar yudanshya, no matter the age or experience, "Sensei." Be especially respectful when Sensei from other dojo are visiting. Suppose a 10th dan visits. You would not want to go up to him and say, "howzit’ brah!” and start coaching him on the finer points of Aikido.

"Sensei" is a term that your students and others call you. It is not a title that you would use to refer to yourself. If I call someone on the phone, I would say, "This is James Peters." I would not say, "This is Peters Sensei." I personally would not use the term "Sensei" in connection with my name.

If I were speaking to a Sensei, I would refer to him as "Lum Sensei" or just “Sensei” It is not correct to say "Sensei Lum," nor would I call him "Sensei Vernon." Sensei always follows the surname.

It is not proper to refer to a Sensei by his first name. It is very difficult to establish a student/teacher relationship if the student refers to the Sensei by his first name.
For example: it would be improper for a prospective student to say, "Hi Joe, I want to be your student." If the student is inexperienced, the Sensei might overlook it. Senior students should instruct the new student how to properly address the Sensei. But if the student has martial arts experience, then the Sensei might assume that he is rude, or possibly that he has been poorly trained.

Instructors from any martial art – no matter the style or nationality, should all be referred to as “Sensei”. It is a term of respect regardless of the style of martial art.

Remember, getting the title of sensei is easy, all you have to do is earn the black belt. E However, earning and keeping the respect of your students is the hard part. Be respectful of the responsibility that comes with the title. Be humble, be accurate, be concise, and always be a perfect model for the rules of dojo etiquette.

Misogi as see it.

2008-12-16T13:29:00.005-10:00

The Shinto definition of Misogi: Misogi is the practice of uniting with nature and uniting with the universe. Humans are only flesh and blood, but by practicing Misogi we can elevate our spirits. Aikido and Misogi are a way of harmonizing heaven and earth, a way of uniting everything with the Kami (gods of nature). Through Misogi we erase the mind that fights and create a heart of harmony.

The chant “TO - HO - KA - MI - E - MI - TA – ME” translates as bright sword, mirror, and beautiful crystal ball. The deeper meaning is somewhat vague. TOHO, a double edged sword, implies the ability to cut through to (or discern the) the truth; KAMI, the mirror, represents the mind which is calm and unclouded and sees all things clearly; EMI, the smile, means a state of joy or eternal optimism; TAME, the jewel, a round flawless object which can roll about freely, represents the mind which can adapt freely to changing circumstances.

Misogi is described as a purification ablution. I have practiced it in winter weather in Japan, part of it required 3 buckets of water over the head early in the morning, very cold. Even though ritual purification sounds very religious, I don’t really see it that way. It was very invigorating and since we did it so early in the morning, it really woke me up. I’d rather look at Misogi as a meditative practice to purify the body and spirit.

I have my own analogy for Misogi. To be honest, I find it hard to grasp the concepts of Japanese Shinto symbology. Right or wrong, here’s how I see it.

When we do Misogi, we are forging our minds and bodies through adversity. The whole process is difficult and strenuous. It reminds me of the Japanese swordsmith forging the metal for the katana. As he hammers on the metal, breaking it down over and over again, folding it and flattening it, the metal becomes stronger, more pure, more unbreakable and unbendable, the more he repeats the process.

Like the swordsmith, we sit seiza, or bodies must be calm, our minds focused. The swordsmith cannot be distracted as he makes the katana. His strike must be steady and full of ki power, his mind focused. The chant is our ki power focused 100%, our minds clear of all distractions. The bell is the hammer. Our minds and bodies are the sword metal. The ring of the bell is the sound of the hammer striking the anvil, forging the metal, purifying and unifying our minds and bodies. As the swordsmith hammers at the metal repeatedly, we also ring the bell repeatedly.

When we practice Misogi, we must think and feel like the swordsmith. When the entire dojo practices Misogi as a team, we are forging each other and the spirit of the dojo through adversity.

Misogi, the Purification Ritual

2008-12-14T22:57:00.004-10:00

"Soku shin no gyo" or breath and mind training, is also known as "Misogi". Misogi translates as purification ritual. Soku shin no gyo has it's roots in the Shinto religion, but is not a religious practice in Aikido. Aikido should not be mistaken as a religion. It is a martial art. Soku shin no gyo is one of the most important of the Aikido disciplines. Its’ purpose is to help you to forge and unify your mind and body. When I say “forge” I mean, like the blacksmith forges the metal to make the sword, we forge the body to strengthen the mind.

The essential elements are sitting seiza, chanting, ringing of the suzu (bell), and controlled breathing. When performing Soku shin no gyo, the sound of the voice and the sound of the bell must become one. Give one 100% to each ring and each chant. Never hold back in Misogi, attempting to save energy for later in the exercise. Giving your all or 100% helps you to develop your focus and strengthen your resolve. Yes, it is very difficult to do, and to some (maybe all?), it is a painful test. But performing Misogi is a way for us to discover the limits of our resolve – both mentally and physically. Look at those around you - challenge yourself. They are doing the same. By doing this you become a team, you work together, in a sense, by challenging each other to maintain the grueling chant. By doing Soku Shin No Gyo regularly, you yourself will develop powerful Ki and the dojo spirit will become stronger as a whole.

I used to take great pride in the fact that I could endure the ritual. It proved how tough I was. Of course for days afterward, my arm was essentially useless and my voice was a hoarse rasp. I've come to realize that Misogi is not about guts and muscle. It's about relaxation, rhythm and teamwork expressed through the chant and the bell ringing. It doesn't matter how long you do it or how strenuous it was. It only matters that you maintain concentration, rhythm and calmness. The mind must always be calm no matter how vigorously you are ringing and chanting.

Chant: TO - HO - KA - MI - E - MI - TA - ME
Translation: bright sword, mirror, beautiful crystal ball

This cadence or chant changes 4 times. Each change has a unique rhythm and speed. At each of the transition points the sensei raises his bell high above his head, and places strong emphasis on the phrase "Kami", Maintaining these transitions with precision requires tremendous concentration at all times. The goal is to never give up. Keep your focus at all times. If you lose your concentration you will start thinking about the pain in your legs and arm, or you will start counting the minutes. The idea is to forget about all the distractions, and focus only on the chant and the bell ringing.

And finally, a last bit of advice. Before you start, settle down, get your seiza position just right and from then on, don’t move or shift your legs and don’t fidget. Let your legs go to sleep during the chant. Focus only on the chant and the bell ringing. You’ll be fine. When it’s over, stand up as soon as possible. The faster you stand the quicker the sting of sleeping legs will dissipate.

Ki as I see it

2008-12-10T00:57:00.006-10:00

The practice of Ki is not based on the size or the strength of the individual, because theoretically that shouldn’t matter. Ki is a strength that goes beyond pure physical power it is a universal strength. Ki is energy that permeates the universe. Ki comes from nothing yet it exists everywhere. It is invisible, it is intangible, you can’t see or taste it, so the only way to tap into it is to “feel” it, or to experience it. If you try to think too hard about it or try to verbalize it, for example, by saying or thinking “smaller, smaller, smaller” or “half, half, half”, you never really find it. The act of actually saying or thinking the words is a physical or conscious action and is therefore wrong. I do my best to do nothing but to “feel” Ki and to “live” Ki, to simply be natural. To “be natural” means to do nothing, to allow the natural force of gravity to take over. Do not resist or tighten up. Relax and be completely calm. However, it does NOT mean to be asleep or “dead”.

There is great innate power in being completely relaxed. Imagine being calm in an emergency, being calm in a dangerous situation. Imagine being steady and confident while competing in sports, or as a soldier in combat. When you are relaxed, you are confident. When you are calm you can do anything. When you are the opposite of calm – stressed, nervous, or angry – do you think you can solve problems? Save your child’s life in an emergency? The answer, of course, is “no”.

In practice we are always saying, “keep weight underside” or “extend Ki”, these are simply phrases that allow us to put the concept of Ki into words. It’s really up to you to find your own definition. It may be different for you than it is for me, and that is okay. I have my own methods for finding my Ki and applying it. You need to find your own. I don’t say this to leave you hanging or lost. The concept of Ki is difficult to grasp and difficult to explain. That is why we test each other in class.

In the Japanese language there is no simple definition of the word "Ki" – try asking someone who speaks the language. It is a broad concept. You find the word “Ki” incorporated in many Japanese words and phrases. For example: genki (health), denki (light), tenki (weather), ikimasu (to go), you’ll notice that all of these words are dynamic. They define movement or an action or energy. Ki is all of these things and more.

Our physical bodies come from Ki. If you look at the atoms and molecules that our bodies are composed of, you will see an energy force that holds it all together – the protons and the neutrons and the electrons circling around a nucleus. It is in many ways the same source of energy that binds the universe together. The moons and planets circling the sun, the sun and its solar system circling the galaxy, the galaxies, giant pinwheels circling the universe. Who knows the extent of the power of Ki. But for lack of a better word, “KI” is the power of the universe.

Don’t misunderstand me. Ki does not replace God. Ki and Aikido are not a religion and should not be seen as such. My Christian faith and it's concept of eternal life, blends very well with the concept of Ki. Ki Aikido is a philosophy of living. The word Ki is simply a Japanese name for this concept of universal power. But there are many languages that have similar words for similar concepts. “Prana” to the Hindu, “Chi” to the Chinese, “Mana” to the Hawaiians (and other Polynesian cultures) and “Maban” to the Aboriginal Australians, to name just a few.

Ki exists everywhere and is not something you can simply build up in your body by lifting weights or by gaining weight. Ki is in constant flow throughout the vast universe, constantly ebbing and flowing. In Ki Aikido we train to tap into this flow. Join with it and to blend with it. When you achieve oneness with the universe, when your mind and body are unified, only then do you become invincible. For most, if not all, of us this is an unattainable goal. We will spend our lives seeking it. Just like in training, we practice and practice so that we can take the test to get the colored belt. Is the colored belt really the goal? No it isn’t. It’s just the beginning of another phase in your training. The training never ends. You will never reach perfection. It is a lifetime of training and then you die. However, after you die, your Ki energy is reabsorbed by the universe, in that sense, I believe, through Ki, we all live forever.

A Short Note on Happo Waza

2008-12-09T15:43:00.003-10:00

When practicing Happo Waza we learn to send our Ki 100% in each of eight directions. You must concentrate completely in the direction you are looking and sending your Ki. The same is for Happo Giri or Bokken 1, where you are holding a Bokken, and pointing it in 8 different directions. We learn that you focus completely on one opponent, or direction, at a time, while being aware of all around you and able to respond in any direction 100%. When you turn in each direction always send new Ki, never “drag” old Ki in all eight directions, start fresh each time. Never look backwards at the previous direction - look in the direction you are going. The analogy in daily life is that one should be able to do many things and do them all with 100% effectiveness. For instance whether you are in class, or doing your homework, or sleeping, or eating, or in a meeting, or doing chores at home, you perform all of your activities 100%. You can only do this if your mind and body are coordinated and you send Ki to infinity.

Harmony and the Joint Lock

2008-12-09T14:55:00.004-10:00

Aikido techniques use a circular motion with the tori using the uke’s own momentum to overcome him. This is very similar to the way the universe works, everything moves in a circular motion. The Earth revolves around the sun, the moon revolves around the Earth, all three rotate in a circular motion, nothing has changed in the universe in millions of years. Everything is in perfect harmony. The tori should not try to block the uke, this would be considered dissension. Instead the tori leads his opponent and joins the direction of his Ki using the power and mind of the uke against himself. It is very important for the tori to know the direction of the uke’s momentum and Ki so that he can use it against the uke when redirecting his energy.

It is important to practice with an opponent, you are able get the feel of an attacker to learn how you must harmonize with him . The uke must understand his role as an attacker. He must throw honest strikes and punches and he must be realistic in his attack, because only in this way can a tori learn how to effectively defend himself.

Aikido is not a contest of strength, there are no arm or leg breaking techniques. Aikido employs a series of joint locks to the elbow, wrist and other parts of the body. There are both natural and unnatural joint techniques, Aikido employs natural non-lethal joint locking techniques. Whether we throw Shihonage, Kotegaeshi, or Nikkyo techniques, the joint is bent only in its natural direction, the opponent cannot resist and is thrown but is not hurt.

Simply throwing the opponent does not mean that the art has been mastered or one understands the principles behind it. The tori must train with close attention to each subtle movement, always following the natural feeling in all techniques. The point of the art is not to use strength to twist the joint until it breaks but instead to practice the use of the power of Ki, bending the joint its natural direction - locking the joint, and in the direction of the opponents Ki. Beginners usually misunderstand the joint locking techniques thinking that they are meant to break the wrist or elbow by bending it in an unnatural way, but we learn in class that if Ki is properly applied and mind and body are coordinated the uke will be incapacitated without permanently injuring him. The uke is gently, but firmly encouraged, to go in the direction the tori wants him to go, without any force, strength, or anger.

Anger and strength are forms of dissension, and show a failure to achieve mind and body coordination. The mental attitude of the tori should be one of complete relaxation yet alertness, you must be completely aware of your opponent and his movements, with proper mind and body coordinated the tori can anticipate the uke's attack and respond instantly. Aikido was developed as a defensive martial art, not as a method to attack and injure an opponent, it uses the opponents aggressiveness against himself so that the opponent ends up defeating himself.

Brown belt, 2nd kyu, Responsibilities

2008-12-08T17:03:00.001-10:00

Along with brown belt come certain responsibilities. You are now sempai to the younger less experienced students and those of lower rank. You should start assisting the instructor in a serious way. Assist teaching, not so much in words but in action. Don’t speak a lot when teaching – just do. Lead by example. Younger less experienced students will look to you for guidance. Make sure your own technique is sharp and your verbal instruction concise.

The same goes for dojo etiquette. Good etiquette is a reflection of a good instructor. Your actions and attitude inside and outside the dojo are a reflection of Enoki Sensei. Make sure you don’t embarrass him in our own dojo and when you visit another dojo.

As a brown belt we instructors will be counting on you to step up and take on more responsibility as the dojo grows. You will be the next black belts, the next instructors. If you are serous about your aikido you should be ready and willing. Attend dojo meetings, volunteer to help organize dojo events, and select a class to attend on a regular basis so that Sensei can count on you to assist.

Another bit of advice. Buy a hakama and also fold as many hakama as possible. You will be black belt soon and the time to learn how to properly fold it is NOW, not AFTER you pass the Shodan test. Offering to fold an instructor’s hakama isn’t a sign of subservience. It is a sign of respect and appreciation for a well taught class.

The Kohai Sempai Relationship

2008-12-06T02:27:00.002-10:00

The ‘sempai-kohai’ system is generally regarded as essential to maintain order and discipline in the dojo. The ‘sempai’ (senior students) are expected to take care of the ‘kohai’ (junior students) and help them in their practice; and the kohai are to accept advice from the sempai.

The sempai kohai relationship can be found in all areas of society. In business corporations, sport teams, the military, in schools with the teacher student relationship. There simply must be a system of hierarchy in all aspects of social interaction.

It is traditional in Japan, and many other countries too, to respect the older people, since they have lived longer and experienced more. Especially in martial arts we respect seniority, this is why we have sempai, or senior student, and kohai, junior student. However, in martial arts this relationship is not necessarily based on age.

If two students start Aikido the same day, all things being equal, the older person will be sempai, or senior. When two students take the same kyu test at the same time, the older person will be sempai, or senior. However, regardless of when you start, if someone who is your junior puts in more hours and takes the next promotion test before you, that person, who was once your junior, will now be your sempai. So attending class regularly, and taking tests when you're qualified is very important. The kyu test is a method for the student to gauge his progress and position in the dojo. The color of the belt shows others, the level of skill the student has achieved. If you are a higher rank than your partner, during practice it is your responsibility, as sempai, to help the kohai.

The sempai kohai relationship within the dojo is critical to the development of all members of the dojo. When all members understand and accept this relationship, the dojo is in balance. As we train in aikido, remember your center of balance or tanden, is very important. If your center is out of sync, your whole body is off-balance, and you will easily fall, or be thrown. Look at the larger picture, our organization, and realize that the center of Yuishinkai Aikido, Maruyama Sensei, is very important. He is the tanden. If we show disrespect to him, this can be considered as off-center. So we must all respect Maruyama Sensei as the center of Yuishinkai Aikido. It should follow, in our own dojo, Enoki Sensei is the center of our training, the tanden of our dojo, so to speak. We must show our respect to our sensei. It also follows in relationship with sempai and kohai. Ranking, or senior students, should be respected as such. As long as we all understand the concept of kohai and sempai, I think our dojo will be in balance and will continue to grow and develop.

Rule Bound Aikido

2008-10-29T13:03:00.005-10:00

What happens when confronted by an opponent who isn’t interested in a fair fight? It’s not likely he is going to respect the traditional Aikido rules of non-dissention. You have to be prepared for the possibility that a fight could become a struggle between life and death. What do you do then, as an aikidoist, to defend yourself or your loved ones? Do you stick to the tried and true “rules” of aikido? Respect your opponent, do not harm, never use lethal techniques? Is this realistic? Or, is it wiser to resort to an unrestricted form of Aikido?

“Unrestricted” Aikido is different from “dojo” Aikido. Aikido techniques become less and less effective the greater the reliance on “dojo” Aikido. Size and strength become the deciding factor in a fight. Women, children and men of smaller stature (like me – I’m 5’5) are at a distinct disadvantage if bound by rigid Aikido rules. I’m not saying that Aikido techniques are ineffective. I am saying that strict reliance on the niceties of dojo training, where strikes, punches and falls are choreographed, can be a liability in a real fight. There is a time and place for sharpening your dojo skills, but knowing when and how to apply them in a real life situation, where nothing is choreographed, is what will save your life.

Don't forget Aikido is a martial art and should be used as such when a desperate situation arises. Like any martial art, Aikido skills are akin to having a weapon, like a knife or a gun. They can be just as lethal. Learning to know when to apply lethal methods, when all else has failed, is essential, if you are to become a true martial artist.

I’m sure even the samurai of old, though bound by many rules of conduct, knew when to take it up a notch. Politely bowing to expose your neck in combat is not a wise move. If all you practice is rule bound Aikido, then your development as a martial artist will be limited by the rules.

Dojo Etiquette

2008-10-23T15:44:00.003-10:00

I "borrowed" this excellent list of dojo rules of etiquette from another Aikido club's web site. These are actually rules that all dojos follow - usually unwritten rules. It's just that someone did a great job writing them out and it saved me a lot of time writing them myself. I had to modify it somewhat to work for our dojo. I especially like the rule about folding the sensei's hakama.

The Aikido dojo is the place where we train our mind and body. Such a place offers effective use only when it is filled with feelings of respect, gratitude, right attitude, and positive mutual support. When you come into the dojo, you will notice that everyone works very hard and sincerely to maintain these feelings. Any feelings to the contrary should be left outside the dojo. Following traditional forms of etiquette in the dojo is an essential aspect of our training and should be practiced with sincerity.

The following are a few simple rules which allow us to train together in the spirit of budo:

Bowing is an appropriate way of showing gratitude, humility, and respect while at the same time placing one's mind in a state of non-dissension, which is necessary for the right training attitude.

When to Bow

* Upon entering and exiting the dojo.

* When Sensei arrives at the dojo, all students must make it a point to greet the Sensei. If all are sitting, all should stand and bow.

* Always bow when addressing the Sensei.

* When stepping on or off the training mat.

* Before each training session, bow to the front of the dojo, and then to the instructor, saying "onegai shimasu," which translates as "please teach me."

* Bow whenever requesting help from an instructor.

* Bow when instructor calls upon you to assist in the demonstration of a technique.

* Bow to thank the instructor after he has assisted you while practicing a particular technique.

* After each training session, bow again to the front of the dojo, and to the instructor, saying: "Thank you, Sensei," then bow to your partner or partners.

General Dojo Etiquette

* The instructor is treated with respect at all times.

* The instructor is referred to as "Sensei."

* Please do not interrupt the class to question unnecessarily. If you must ask a question, wait until an appropriate moment.

* Please do not call out to or interrupt the instructor while he or she is teaching.

* Please do not leave the mat during class without first obtaining the permission of the instructor.

* There should not be conversation of any kind while the instructor is demonstrating. When training with your partner, speak only as absolutely necessary.

* If you are in the dojo, but not on the training mat, respect the teaching, stay quiet, and pay attention. Guests should also be informed of this policy.

* Please do not argue about a technique. If there is a problem that cannot be resolved, ask the instructor for help.

* Please do not interrupt another student's training to ask assistance. Wait until the instructor is available to help.

* When receiving personal instruction, remain quiet until the instructor has completed his explanation. Then bow.

* It is inappropriate for a student (including black belts) to offer instruction when he or she is not formally teaching the class, or has not been specifically requested to assist by the instructor. This is an essential point of your personal development, and should be followed carefully, particularly among those who assist or teach in other classes.

* When an instructor is teaching a point, do not attempt to move ahead to another point, thinking you know what is next.

* Do not compare one instructor with another. Every Sensei has something unique to share with you. Your job is to discover it.

* Sensei should not have to fold his/her own hakama after class. You will learn the proper method of folding as you progress.

* Arrive at the dojo with plenty of time to change into your gi, and report to the mat at least 15 minutes before class is to begin. If you are early, do rolls or practice your techniques to warm up.

* If you are late for class, wait at the side of the mat until the instructor signals that you may join the class.

* All participants should be sitting in attentive meditation when the instructor steps onto the mat to begin class.

* The formal sitting position on the mat is seiza. If you have an injury, check with the instructor, and/or if the instructor suggests, you may sit cross-legged (agura), but do not sit with legs outstretched or lean against posts or walls, or lie down during class. Once in the dojo, you are here to train.

* Please do not be idle during practice. You should be training or, if necessary, seated formally awaiting your turn.

* The are only 2 ways to move around the mat during practice: Zagi (samurai walk on knees) or a quick trot. Do not saunter, stroll, skip, or run. Always move quickly when the Sensei calls on you.

* A place of martial arts training should be kept spotless. If you see something that indicates otherwise, for example, rubbish or dirt on the floor, don't wait for someone else to correct it, pick it up or throw it away.

* When approaching or leaving the dojo, check to make sure that the outside area is clean. Take care of your dojo.

* Training weapons, jo, bokken and tanto, will not be taken from the dojo without permission of the Chief Instructor.

* Treat your training tools with respect. Your gi should always be clean and mended. Your bokken, jo, and tanto, should be in good condition, and in their appropriate place when not in use.

* A pair of slippers is part of your training outfit. Slippers must always be left neatly facing away from the mat. If someone's slippers are not in order, correct it immediately.

* Your body and, your feet, must be clean before you step onto the mat.

* Enter the dojo with an "empty mind", a positive attitude and with plus Ki. Do not let outside distractions interfere with your training.

Do not come to train when you have ingested any type of drug or alcohol unless it has been prescribed for your health.

* No rings, watches, or jewelry of any kind should be worn during practice. These items can injure yourself and others.

* If you are ill or injured, do not attempt to train in the dojo. If you do decide to train, do what you can without aggravating the existing injury. If your leg is injured do not sit seiza. If your shoulder is injured do not roll. Ki breathing and Ki meditation will help you to restore your Ki and help your injury to heal.

* No gum chewing or eating is allowed on the mat during training.

* There will be no smoking in the dojo.

* Do not wear heavily scented perfume or cologne in the dojo.

* Please do not speak ill of another form of martial art. All martial arts are to be respected.

Musings on Self Defense

2008-10-21T13:50:00.003-10:00

As I sit here at LAX waiting for a flight home to Hawaii (5 hour layover), I have the opportunity mull over some questions that have been thrown my way over the years. Certainly the question of self-defense or fighting back is an overriding issue of discussion after practice. How would you defend yourself if someone bigger and stronger were attacking you or a family member? What would I do as a so-called ”advanced” level aikidoist? I have practiced Aikido for close to 20 years now – I’m not sure if that makes me “advanced”.

I will be 50 years old in February 2009. My flexibility has certainly diminished and my physical speed is definitely not the same as it was when I started in my late 20’s. Case in point, I broke my shoulder recently teaching flying rolls. I had convinced myself that as the instructor, I needed to always roll farther and throw harder than all my younger students. A broken shoulder that required surgery was my rude awakening. Fortunately all is well and I am back to 100%. Hopefully my Aikido skills have improved, over the years, to a level that compensates for my mortal limitations.

Again the question is: What if a young strapping 25 year old bully decided to attack me or a family member? How would I deal with it and could I successfully defend myself? Could I use Aikido successfully since it only offers self-defense as a fighting mechanism? Note we rarely use atemi (strikes). None of the techniques are to be used to purposely break or injure an opponent. We essentially use no weapons, certainly no contemporary weapons. Who carries around a bokken or a jo anymore these days? As we all know, Aikido techniques must only be used for self-defensive purposes and only as a last resort to save life. Aikido should not be used indiscriminately in petty disagreements. If someone lays a hand on your shoulder, your first reaction shouldn’t be to apply Nikkyo. Always try to diffuse the situation first, if all else fails then, of course, resort to Aikido.

If your opponent is much stronger than you the problem is that he may overwhelm you with his power. I am 5’5” about 145 lbs, how do I submit someone the size of a football player intent on my destruction? You will certainly take a few punches. In any fight there is a give and take. Chaos, you don’t know what he is going to do and he doesn’t know what you are capable of. All that Aikido can do is give you the tools to defend yourself. You as the victim must find the opportunities to apply them. In a fight where the situation is chaotic there will always be opportunities.

The beauty of Aikido is, all you need is one successful technique. Grab three or four fingers and apply Sankyo. Use the “bee sting” pinch atemi, in sensitive areas to distract your opponent. Apply Nikkyo when he grabs your shoulder. There are endless choices but you must be selective. There are many techniques that would not be effective in a close contact, rapidly developing situation. You do not have a lot of time to pick and choose. Reaction must be instant, in fact, you must anticipate your opponents next move. In my opinion it would be a good idea, in the course of practicing Aikido, that you select a few techniques that you are most comfortable with. Why apply 500 techniques in a mediocre way when you can do 4 or 5 with precision? There are several that can be applied quickly and effectively.

You may end up wrestling or grapplng. In organized wrestling you have to “pin” your opponent. In a fight such niceties are rarely respected. You have to submit your opponent so that he is unable to strike back. You could certainly grab his wrist or fingers and apply Sankyo or Nikkyo. There are a number of wrist, elbow and shoulder locks where pressure or torque is applied in an unnatural direction. Remember the intent is not to break but to submit. Hopefully, for his own good, your opponent will give up. If your opponent fights against the lock, he will injure himself. All Aikido locks become lethal if the opponent refuses to submit and fights back. The difference of as little as ½”, when applying torque to an attacker’s elbow or wrist, can cause a break or a tear.

Your opponent may throw a punch. Using techniques you have learned in practice, deflect his punch and step behind and throw him. In practice we are always concerned about throwing the ukemi in a safe place where he doesn’t get hurt. In a real fight, your choices are less sympathetic. You can throw the attacker into things, sharp things, or into other opponents. You could throw the opponent off things like a wall or down steps. When your opponent is intent on injuring you, you need to stop his ability to get up and attack you again. If you throw your opponent, make sure he cannot get up again or at least make sure you always end up in a ready position to defend yourself. We practice Rondori (multiple attackers) to help us to develop the quick thinking required to throw and evade one or several opponents. The goal is to move quickly and confidently and to deflect and stack up the attackers so they are totally confused.

Having said all this. I suppose there will be Aikido purists who will say that Aikido is an esoteric art that has transcended the need for violence. That it is a form of healthy exercise. Unfortunately in the real world "esoterics” don’t stop punches. No matter how you look at it Aikido is a martial art and must be practiced as such. Once you ignore the fact that an attacker will never respect the philosophy of Aikido, you are doomed to get your butt kicked. Stand your ground, face your opponent confidently, anticipate his attack, and respond decisively. If bones break so be it.

Bokken Introduction

2008-10-20T10:36:00.000-10:00

The bokken is not just a piece of wood, carved to look like a sword. You must believe that it is much more than that. Think of it as an extension of your mind and body. The bokken is solid matter - wood, you are flesh and blood. How this matter interacts with you, or anyone or anything, depends entirely upon you. It has everything to do with your perspective, your attitude towards it.

For example, “Unraisable” body - if you keep One Point, your partner won’t be able to lift you, but if you don’t, he will easily lift you. The difference is perspective. You don’t weigh more; you simply changed the way you think.

Changing the way you think changes your relationship with matter, or the bokken. This is done by “maintaining stability” or “Extending Ki”. When we practice with the bokken, we are practicing extending our sense of presence, or Ki, through the entire length of the bokken. In this way the Tanden (or core) and the tip of the bokken are one, not separate. When holding a weapon, your “reach” doesn’t end at your fingertips. Extend ki through the bokken and your reach will continue to the tip of the bokken. When your hands are empty, it is the tips of your fingers that are an extension of the Tanden (or core). If you are holding a bokken, or a tanto or a jo then the tip of the weapon is the extension of your Tanden (or core).

Even if you are a beginner, and have never cut with the bokken before, if you treat it like it is full of Ki, an extension of yourself, then even if your technique is not perfect, your cut will be acceptable. What matters is what you are feeling when you practice with the bokken. How deep is your concentration and focus? Even if you are a beginner, if your Ki is properly focused, your technique will be acceptable. Naturally, your understanding of the technique will improve with experience, as they say, “practice makes perfect”. However, perfection for the beginner is not necessary. It is the feeling, the extension of Ki, the maintaining of stability. Practice developing your stability, your Ki extension, don’t obsess about perfection of technique. If you are not extending Ki properly, no matter what level your aikido skills, your technique will be poor. The most experienced student can lose his focus.

Kokyu Dosa

2008-10-02T14:40:00.000-10:00

Kokyu (Breath) Dosa (exercise). Kokyu or breathing is essentially the rhythm of the body. In aikido we balance the power of the mind, through the use of ki, with the rhythm of the body. We call this coordinating mind and body. Aikido techniques cannot be executed correctly without proper use of kokyu.

Kokyu dosa is a “mind and body coordinated” exercise that is executed while in the seiza position. It is the most basic of Aikido techniques. To apply Kokyu Dosa properly you must be completely relaxed. Weight must be “underside”, which means the weight of the body should shift downward with the pull of gravity. Imagine sending ki through the Earth to infinity. You must be sitting properly in the seiza position – lower back tucked in, body “open”, ki extended.

At the start of Kokyu Dosa the uke tests the tori’s ki by pressing lightly on the tori’s shoulder with the side of his hand, lifting tori’s two hands by the wrist and finally lifting tori’s two knees. In every case the tori must be immovable, and weight “underside”.

When executing Koku Dosa you must be completely relaxed. Do not think about the uke. Move forward without pushing. Rise up with your entire body, arms forward and unbendable. Send ki through the uke, rising up and forward. If the uke offers resistance, ignore it, continue moving forward. A smaller person can easily “throw” a larger person. There is no use of strength involved in Kokyu Dosa.

Here are some variations:

Note: Always throw to left first.

Kokyu Dosa 1
T - raise arms to chest height and width.
U - grab tori’s wrists from the outside.
T - bring both hands up to shoulder height extending slightly forward. Uke is pushed slightly backward and his elbows outward.
T - left hand extends way out against ukes forearm, extend beyond the uke. Leaning forward into uke. Tori must quickly lean in very close to the uke, breaking his ki.
T- right hand extends to uke left shoulder beside head.
T- pivot and bring uke to ground. Apply kimari

Kokyu Dosa 2
T - raises arms to chest height and width.
U - grabs tori’s wrists from the outside.
T – rotate arms as if holding a basketball. Tori holds his position and does not apply kimari. Once uke has fallen tori pulls him up into position and throws him again repeatedly. Uke never lets go.

Variation: At top of rotation, tori’s left wrist goes over uke’s right wrist, applying tegatana pressure as he throws. Tori throws uke repeatedly.

Kokyu Dosa 3
T - raises arms to chest height and width.
U - grabs tori’s wrists from the outside.
T – raises hands up to shoulder height, opening knees, pushing forward with hips. Extend left hand out deep against uke’s inner elbow. Extend both arms. Tegatana rt hand on uke’s chest. Shift slightly to left on knees bringing uke down. Keep arms in front of shoulders, not side. Apply kimari.

Kokyu Dosa 4
T - raises arms to shoulder height and width.
U - grabs tori’s wrists from the outside.
T – drops hands palms up, to his knees. Then sends hands upward, shoulder width apart close to uke’s chest, forcing uke up to his knees. Tori then pivots uke to ground. Apply kimari.

James Peters
10 August, 2008

Mind and body must be one

2008-09-30T18:02:00.000-10:00

We practice that mind and body are one, but the reality is that they are both very different. Just as fire and oxygen are different, you can’t have one without the other. The Mind is limitless. Like the universe or the void, the mind has no boundaries. The body is governed by the physical laws of nature. If it gets too hot or too cold, you die. Without oxygen, you die. There are physical limitations that are impossible to avoid, however, we often impose greater limitations on ourselves than necessary. Many of the boundaries that exist are the ones we impose on ourselves. We often think we can’t do this or can’t do that. For me, a test that shows this very simply and clearly is the one where we make a circle with our fingers by touching the tips of the thumb and forefinger together. When I press them together with strength and ask someone to pull them apart they come apart easily. No matter how hard I hold my fingers together, anyone can pull them apart. But If I hold my fingers with Ki and do nothing but relax and coordinate mind and body, and feel the Ki flowing continuously through my fingers, and ask someone to pull them apart, they can’t. It is as if my fingers are glued together or are a continuous circle. Of course this doesn’t always work for me, but if I use my Ki properly, it is a classic example of the power of the coordination of mind and body, the power of Ki.

Reiseishin

2008-09-17T16:17:00.000-10:00

REISEISHIN is maximum KI or maximum calmness. A good analogy is to imagine an iceberg, the tip of the iceberg, the part that is visible to the naked eye, is the physical self. It represents your body, but beneath the surface of the water is the rest of the iceberg and it is huge, this represents the infinite untapped potential Ki power – or Reiseishin. The physical body is limited in strength , if you only make use of the physical self you will always be weak no matter how hard you train. We have to train to discover the untapped potential of our Reiseishin, the universal power called Ki, It's only through discovery of our Reiseishin that we achieve Fudoshin.

Plants and animals can't have Reiseishin. There are 4 states of mind: 1. ROCK MIND, the universe is constantly moving. Although the rock appears to just sit there, it is actually eroding, slowly to dust, always changing, this is called Rock Mind, it happens automatically. 2. PLANT MIND, when autumn comes the leaves turn yellow and die, when winter comes all the leaves fall off and the tree “knows” to hibernate, when spring arrives the flowers and leaves bloom again, there is constant change but it is automatic, this is called Plant Mind. 3. ANIMAL MIND, when animals are hungry they eat, when tired they sleep, when angry they bite, they think with their emotions but do not use judgment, this is called Animal Mind. 4. JUDGMENT MIND, is the mind that seeks the truth, also called REISEISHIN. Only man has the ability to use their judgment and are not controlled by their animal emotions.

Fudoshin is calm mind. When you have Fudoshin or a calm mind, also called SEISHI, you make good decisions, your thoughts are clear and calm. A good analogy is the reflection of the moon and a bird, on a calm lake, are sharp and clear. But if you are experiencing Fudotai, also called TEISHI, you have a rough mind. The same reflections of the moon and a bird, on a rough lake, become distorted shapes, not clear or sharp. When you have Fudotai, or rough mind, you are easily confused, you make poor decisions and you can't handle difficult situations. By calming the mind like the waters of a calm lake you are able to make good decisions, to react quickly and correctly in all situations. You have discovered Reiseishin and have Fudoshin - calm mind

Detail, Collaboration and Repetition

2008-09-16T17:17:00.001-10:00

Detail is good.
In some dojo’s instructors show a technique very quickly, without much detail, maybe 2 or 3 times. Then the students are expected to practice the techniques from memory without further explanation. I always start with detailed explanations – each step demonstrated slowly. I start at the kaishyo level so that students can master the technique easily and quickly. My teaching style is the result of making many mistakes myself – of having developed many bad habits, and having to correct them. It is extremely difficult to get rid of bad habits that have been reinforced by continuous training over many years. I will immediately stop students if they are executing their techniques incorrectly and teach them correctly in detail. Having said that, too much detail is also bad. I try to be concise and to the point.

Opponent must attack realistically.
If your opponent yields, weakly to you all the time, you can’t tell if you are executing techniques properly. By holding firmly, your opponent helps you to understand your weaknesses. This doesn’t mean the opponent should be combative. Although a technique can be changed to deal with an unpredictable situation, if the opponent is combative, neither participant learns and both are frustrated. The uke must hold firmly, but correctly, this way the tori learns to blend with the uke’s power. This is basic or kaishyo training. You must challenge each other, but you must also cooperate together, so you can both train seriously.

Some say that aikido can’t measure skill because the opponent, or uke, collaborates. I disagree. You can always judge if your skill, or your partners skill, is good or bad at any moment when practicing, just be observant. You don’t need a contest to prove skill. If you feel your opponent is heavy, or you clash, or you use strength, then you know it’s because you are not blending with your opponent. You are not respecting his Ki. By cooperating with each other, you help each other to sharpen your skills. This would not happen if training were a wrestling match or a pushing contest.

If I say punch with power, then punch with power. If I say strike hard, then strike hard. If I say grip tightly, then do so. The uke should attack with strength – honestly not falsely. Obviously some people are larger than others, if the difference in strength between the 2 partners is extreme, for example, when training with a child, the uke should adjust his power to blend with his opponent. Practicing with a young child or small adult is an excellent way to practice aikido because you learn how to control your power and to blend ki with your opponent. If you injure your opponent while practicing, then you are not practicing correctly. Practice must be enjoyable for all people involved. After practice we must all be able too say “thanks, please train with me again soon”. If practice were a tug-of-war, how can you say “thank you”?

Practicing when injured.
If someone has an injury, but still wants to practice, he or she should be accommodated. If you have a sore leg or shoulder, you can still practice with your good leg or shoulder. If your knees are bad, practice standing techniques and avoid seiza and zagi. If your back is bad, there is no need to roll or fall. Don’t practice recklessly, take it easy, focus on developing your ki power. practice at the kaishyo level. Make sure your partners know your limitations. If you have any disability, you can still practice aikido. Just be aware of your limitations and practice accordingly.

Repetition in training.
Even if you practice cutting with the bokken 1000 times a day, you are wasting your time if you are not putting all your ki or "heart" into it. 10 times a day is plenty, if you are extending your ki power 100%. It is not how many repetitions or how much time you spend at the dojo - it is the quality of the training that makes a difference. We don’t become proficient just because we attend 6 classes a week and train for many years. You can still be a poor student. It is a question of how seriously you devote yourself to understanding aikido concepts. Be very serious in your training, no matter how few techniques you practice and always be aware that your technique must be effective in all situations – real and in practice. Don’t waste a single minute of training – never train casually. Always focus on the instructor, concentrate – do not let your mind wander. Relax completely, open your mind, and extend ki.

How do you extend ki?

2008-08-01T05:41:00.000-10:00

We always say extend ki to infinity. What does this really mean? Do you force your hand forward? Do you stare and point? Do you tense your muscles? Certainly not. Before you even move or react you must learn to extend ki.

Ki goes first – mind follows – then body moves last.

Imagine sending ki to infinity. Just raising your hand is moving infinitely. Don’t begin to move but become part of a movement that is infinite. Imagine that you are joining a universal movement that is constant – like the constant movement of the planets and suns in the universe. Everything in nature follows a constant cycle of birth, death and re-birth. Imagine your movement coordinated with this larger universal cycle. Imagine the movement focusing, smaller and smaller, condensing, – half, half, half … , never ending - infinite. Your movement joins with this infinite “half, half, half”. It is not simply the movement of your arm from here to there. There is no beginning and there is no end. Everything you do in aikido, every movement, is part of an infinite cycle of rotation. Never think small in aikido. “Small” implies finite. Think infinite – infinitely smaller, infinitely larger. That’s what we mean when we say extend ki to infinity.

Four principles to help unify mind and body:
Keep one point - Focus on tanden.
Relax completely - Always be relaxed.
Weight underside - Accept the pull of gravity.
Extend ki - Extend ki infinitely.

When you extend ki have gentle eyes and a peaceful expression. Your body must be relaxed. Empty your mind and extend ki infinitely. Do not move first. Ki first then your mind must follow, and finally your body will react.

TEST: Extend arm, unbendable.

Calmness and Posture

2008-07-23T10:38:00.001-10:00

7 Rules of Calmness
1. Extend Ki infinitely
2. Place all stressful thoughts in your core (tanden)
3. Relax without losing power
4. Have a feeling of “largeness” – Big body
5. Empty your mind
6. See and feel everything
7. Anticipate and be quick in your response

Standing Posture
Do not have a stiff posture or a fighting posture. This is unnatural. Do not tighten your muscles and hunch over in a stance of power. These positions are forced. Learn to stand upright in a calm and naturally balanced position. Allow your body to assume a relaxed and natural stance. Allow your arms, legs and back to flex slightly. Let weight descend normally, without any stiffening, pushing or tightening of muscles. Relax and allow weight of upper body to flow down naturally to your core (tanden) with the pull of gravity. Practice this daily until it becomes instinctive.

TEST: “Un-raisable” body when standing.

Sitting Posture (seiza and agura)
Be still and let the upper body weight and all stressful thoughts flow down to your tanden. Sit quietly until the feeling of being centered at your core becomes continually present. Allow your body to assume a relaxed and natural stance. Allow your arms and back to flex slightly. Sit lightly on your heels, with your lower back “tucked” in. You will feel as though you are leaning slightly forward. Imagine a string at the top of your head pulling you upward - send ki upward and outward in all directions. Practice this so that whenever you sit seiza or agura, you automatically assume this attitude.

TEST: Sit seiza. Test shoulders, wrist, and knee. Press in all directions. Sit agura and push shoulders from standing position, lift knee and wrist.

Exercise for Stillness
Sit seiza. Concentrate on your tanden. Do nothing and remain completely still. Disperse all thoughts that come to mind and concentrate only on your core. Hold all physical responses in check. Don’t scratch that itch, don’t fidget, forget the inevitable numbness and “needles” in your legs. “Throw away” the body aches and pains. Focus only on your core, and forget everything else, until this stillness becomes a natural state. Through this exercise you develop self-discipline. You establish total control of your body and physical reactions.

TEST: Sit seiza. Test shoulders, wrist, and knee. Press in all directions

Exercise for Concentration
Once the body has become still, shift your mind to your tanden. The core is your physical center. It is the center of the universe as it relates to you. Allow the body to relax completely. Let your upper body join with the natural flow of gravity. Do not slouch. Empty your mind letting all outside noise and distraction come to rest in your tanden. Focus your mind inward to your core. Concentrate Ki power with maximum intensity.

TEST: Lay on back, lift at head and shoulders. Body will not bend.

Exercise of Meditation
In order to make concentration in the tanden natural and permanent, we practice staying centered for long periods of time. Meditation options:

Toitsu no en. Sit seiza with hands clasped in a “church steeple” grip in front of eyes at chest level. Elbows at about 90 degrees - relaxed. Send Ki in all directions. Imagine holding a pole in front of you that extends upward and downward to infinity. Optional: Shout “iyei!” with Ki.

Kokyu ho (Ki breathing). Sit seiza, with eyes closed and open hands on mid-thigh. At sound of hyoshigi make a controlled exhale, through mouth, with the sound of “ha”. Hold this position with mouth open until all air is expelled, continue to send ki (with mouth open) even after there is no air left. At sound of hyoshigi, lean slightly forward from your tanden, close mouth, hold this positon. Inhale through nose with an audible sound. When full, keep mouth closed and hold position until you hear hyoshigi. Repeat inhaling and exhaling with the sound of the hyoshigi. It may be helpful to imagine "filling a cup of water" when inhaling, and "emptying a cup of water" when exhaling.

Expand and focus. Same as Kokyu ho except, instead of breathing, you expand and focus Ki in the tanden. Alternate sending Ki, infinitely, outward in all directions and then inward to your core. Imagine: half, half, half or smaller, smaller, smaller for focus. Bigger, bigger, bigger for expansion. Repeat expansion and concentration with the sound of the hyoshigi.

Why does everyone pass the kyu test?

2008-07-03T17:18:00.001-10:00

You have probably noticed that all students pass when tested. There are no marks, points or scores awarded. Notes are taken, but these notes are only for the instructor to discuss with you areas for improvement.

It is only when the instructor feels you are ready, and you have achieved a certain level of proficiency in ki training and the waza, that you will be asked to test. Note, that it is not appropriate to ask to be tested - your instructor will watch your progress and will invite you to test when he feels you are ready.

The reason you take the exam is to show, that you can perform with confidence and mind and body coordinated in front of your fellow students and instructors. Testing will expose your weaknesses and will help you understand where you need to focus in future training.

Some students do not want to test, preferring to only to train. Yes, training is essential for growth in Aikido but testing is a way for the student and the sensei to gauge the student’s progress through various levels of competency.
Testing is carefully structured to ensure steady progress

Passing the test for a certain rank does not signify that you are proficient at that level. It merely means that you have only just begun to train at that level – that you are essentially a beginner at that level. It is only through additional training, while you hold that rank, that you are actually expected to achieve greater levels of proficiency at a particular rank.

4th KYU TEST – Old Test

2008-07-03T16:47:00.002-10:00

Tori (Nage) - defender
Uke - attacker

Shomenuchi Irimi nage
(Chop to center of forehead)

Yokomenuchi shiho nage irimi (omote)
(side chop to neck)

Yokomenuchi shiho nage tenkan (ura)
(side chop to neck)

Munetsuki Kotegaeshi
(Punch to chest)

Katate dori ikkyo irimi (omote):
Uke right hand grabs Tori's left wrist.
Tori deflects grab.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward to the right (Tori must be close to Uke's side).
Tori sends ki straight down to the ground - driving Uke to the ground.
Kimari - Uke flat on ground, Uke's arm parallel to shoulder. Bend Uke's wrist - ki out then ki in.

Katate dori ikkyo tenkan (ura):
Uke left hand grabs Tori's right wrist.
Tori deflects grab.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward and downward stepping in close to Uke.
Tori pivots to left while bringing Uke's hand to ground.
Tori spins in place bringing Uke a full 360 around and to the ground.
Kimari - Uke flat on ground, Uke's arm parallel to shoulder. Bend Uke's wrist - ki out then ki in.

Katadori nikkyo irimi (omote):
Uke right hand grabs Tori's left shoulder.
Tori skips back deflecting Uke's right hand before it grabs shoulder.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward to the right (Tori must be close to Uke's side).
Tori steps in to side of Uke and grabs inside elbow with left hand bringing Ukes right hand to left front shoulder.
Tori slides keft hand to Uke's wrist bending at center (tanden) apply nikkyo - "hugging" and cutting at same time.
Tori swings Uke's wrist to ground.
Kimari - Uke flat on ground, Uke's arm parallel to shoulder. Bend Uke's wrist - ki out then ki in.

Katadori nikkyo tenkan (ura):
Uke left hand grabs Tori's right shoulder.
Tori skips back deflecting Uke's left hand before it grabs shoulder.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward to the left (Tori must be close to Uke's side).
Tori steps in to side of Uke and grabs inside elbow with left hand bringing Ukes right hand to left front shoulder.
Tori slides left hand to Uke's wrist bending at center (tanden) apply nikkyo - "hugging" and cutting at same time.
Tori pivots to left while bringing Uke's hand to ground.
Tori spins in place bringing Uke a full 360 around and to the ground.
Kimari - Uke flat on ground, Uke's arm parallel to shoulder. Bend Uke's wrist - ki out then ki in.

Ushiro tekubitori sankyo
(2 hand grab from behind)

Kokyudosa - Maruyama Sensei version
Both Tori and Uke sit seiza face to face about 6" apart.
Tori tests Uke - shoulder, wrist, knee.
Uke grabs Tori's wrists
Tori throws to left first
Throws to right second.

3rd KYU TEST – Old Test

2008-07-03T16:44:00.001-10:00

Tori (Nage) - defender
Uke - attacker

Katadori ikkyo irimi (omote):
Uke right hand grabs Tori's left shoulder.
Tori skips back deflecting Uke's right hand before it grabs shoulder.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward to the right (Tori must be close to Uke's side).
Tori sends ki straight down to the ground - driving Uke to the ground.
Kimari - Uke flat on ground, Uke's arm parallel to shoulder. Bend Uke's wrist - ki out then ki in.

Katadori ikkyo tenkan (ura):
Uke left hand grabs Tori's right shoulder.
Tori skips back deflecting Uke's left hand before it grabs shoulder.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward and downward stepping in close to Uke.
Tori pivots to left while bringing Uke's hand to ground.
Tori spins in place bringing Uke a full 360 around and to the ground.
Kimari - Uke flat on ground, Uke's arm parallel to shoulder. Bend Uke's wrist - ki out then ki in.

Katadori nikkyo irimi (omote):
Uke right hand grabs Tori's left shoulder.
Tori skips back deflecting Uke's right hand before it grabs shoulder.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward to the right (Tori must be close to Uke's side).
Tori steps in to side of Uke and grabs inside elbow with left hand bringing Ukes right hand to left front shoulder.
Tori slides keft hand to Uke's wrist bending at center (tanden) apply nikkyo - "hugging" and cutting at same time.
Tori swings Uke's wrist to ground.
Kimari - Uke flat on ground, Uke's arm parallel to shoulder. Bend Uke's wrist - ki out then ki in.

Katadori nikkyo tenkan (ura):
Uke left hand grabs Tori's right shoulder.
Tori skips back deflecting Uke's left hand before it grabs shoulder.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward to the left (Tori must be close to Uke's side).
Tori steps in to side of Uke and grabs inside elbow with left hand bringing Ukes right hand to left front shoulder.
Tori slides keft hand to Uke's wrist bending at center (tanden) apply nikkyo - "hugging" and cutting at same time.
Tori pivots to left while bringing Uke's hand to ground.
Tori spins in place bringing Uke a full 360 around and to the ground.
Kimari - Uke flat on ground, Uke's arm parallel to shoulder. Bend Uke's wrist - ki out then ki in.

Katadori sankyo irimi (omote):
Uke right hand grabs Tori's left shoulder.
Tori skips back deflecting Uke's right hand before it grabs shoulder.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward to the right (Tori must be close to Uke's side).
Tori steps in to side of Uke and applies sankyo to Uke's right hand.
Tori throws Uke out.
Kimari - extending both arms forward.

Katadori sankyo tenkan (ura):
Uke left hand grabs Tori's right shoulder.
Tori skips back deflecting Uke's left hand before it grabs shoulder.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward to the left (Tori must be close to Uke's side).
Tori steps in to side of Uke and applies sankyo to Uke's left hand.
Tori brings sankyo hand down releasing his left hand and hooking inside of Uke's elbow, bringing Uke a full 360 around and to the ground.
Kimari - apply sankyo as Uke lies on ground.

Katadori yonkyo irimi (omote):
Uke right hand grabs Tori's left shoulder.
Tori skips back deflecting Uke's right hand before it grabs shoulder.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward to the right (Tori must be close to Uke's side).
Tori steps in to side of Uke and applies yonkyo to Uke's right hand (tegatana cutting through wrist).
Tori brings Uke to ground while applying yonkyo.
Kimari - apply yonkyo as Uke lies on ground.

Katadori yonkyo tenkan (ura):
Uke left hand grabs Tori's right shoulder.
Tori skips back deflecting Uke's left hand before it grabs shoulder.
Tori swings hips and twists Uke's wrist forward to the left (Tori must be close to Uke's side).
Tori steps in to side of Uke and applies yonkyo to Uke's left hand (tegatana cutting through wrist).
Tori brings yonkyo hand down, bringing Uke a full 360 around and to the ground.
Kimari - apply yonkyo as Uke lies on ground.

Yokomenuchi (sensei will select 2 arts for test)
(Round house, side of neck strike)
Yokomenuchi shiho nage (omote and ura) - 4 direction throw
Yokomenuchi Kotegaeshi
Yokomenuchi Enundo - hand in front of face
Yokomenuchi Hachinoji - jump behind
Yokomenuchi Kokyunage - clothesline face
Yokomenuchi zenponage - chop to neck
Yokomenuchi sayu waza
Yokomenuchi tenkan pivot

Ryotemochi (sensei will select 1 art for test)
(2 hand grab 1 wrist)
Ryotemochi shiho nage (omote and ura) - 4 direction throw
Ryotemochi Kotegaeshi
Ryotemochi Enundo - hand in front of face
Ryotemochi Hachinoji - jump behind
Ryotemochi Kokyunage - clothesline face
Ryotemochi zenponage - throw out
Ryotemochi sayu waza
Ryotemochi tenkan - pivot

Kokyudosa - Maruyama Sensei version
Both Tori and Uke sit seiza face to face about 6" apart.
Tori tests Uke - shoulder, wrist, knee.
Uke grabs Tori's wrists
Tori throws to left first
Throws to right second.

Aikido / Martial Art Resume

2008-07-03T16:38:00.001-10:00

Current rank and title (as of March 2008):
4th dan, Vice President, Instructor, Noelani Ki Aikido Club, Aikido Yuishinkai.

Martial arts experience and dojo affiliation:
1981 – 1982, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Master Thomas Zane.

1989 - 2003, Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, Honolulu Ki Society, Seishinkan Dojo, CEO and Chief Instructor, Seichi Tabata, 8th dan, Direct student of Koichi Tohei, Founder, Shinshin Toitsu Aikido.

2003 - 2004, Dong Family Tai Chi Chuan, Grand Master Dong Zeng Chen,

2005 - current, Noelani Ki Aikido Club, Aikido Yuishinkai, Kenshinkan Dojo. President and Chief Instructor: Dr. Donald Enoki, 7th dan. Direct student of Koretoshi Maruyama, Founder, Yuishinkai Aikido; and Koichi Tohei, Founder, Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido.

Instructor positions:
1995 - 1997, Assistant Instructor, Honolulu Ki Society, August Ahrens Elementary School, Waipahu dojo, children's class.

1997 - 1999, Assistant Instructor, Honolulu Ki Society, Gus Webling Elementary School, Aiea dojo, children’s class.

1999 - 2003, Instructor, Honolulu Ki Society, Seishinkan Dojo, Myohoji Temple, adult class.

2006 - current, Instructor, Noelani Ki Aikido Club, Kenshinkan dojo, Japanese Cultural Center, adult and children’s classes.

Well Here I am

2008-07-03T16:09:00.000-10:00

This Blog is my effort to put into words my personal understanding of Aikido. It isn't an organized recitation of lesson plans, but a day by day documentation of my thoughts on Aikido as they occur to me. For years I have taken notes with pencil and paper, accumulating numerous binders, folders and tablets of varying sizes and in various stages of disintegration. So, in order to better preserve my notes for posterity, I have decided to go digital. Please forgive me if my ego gets the better of me, or if I over philosophize. I'll do my best to stay on point. Hey, maybe no-one will ever read this stuff.