Aiki Body

 

 

 "with this Aiki, my Aikido training
has changed completely"

 

My understanding of Aiki may still be very limited. But taking the principle of this Aiki at the core of my Aikido, my Aikido training has changed completely. The things that I have experienced so far and the things that I am able to perceive with my body tell me that in order to develop Aiki, we have to develop a kind of an Aiki body, that means a body that has the appropriate abilities in the perception of Aiki and also is able to move in accordance with the Aiki principles. Only a body capable of this will be able to produce Aiki techniques.

 

"unity of the body
is a prerequisite for Aiki"

 

My own experience shows me that an Aiki body can only be developed through physical training. With intellectual thought alone things can't be done. Aiki expresses itself through the unity of one's own body, with perfect balance at any given moment in a body movement. Like precision in technique, balance and unity of the body can endlessly be improved and refined. Therefore real perfection likely will never be achieved.

By developing our own unity of the body we become able to perceive the level of balance and the level of body-unity our partner has. We become able to see and feel which way we have to lead our partner to stay in accordance with the Aiki principles, that is without having to use any force or power against our partner in order to lead or partner. Thus, it could be said that we can start talking of having an Aiki body the moment we start to be able to act with our own body according to the Aiki principles, the principle of non-resistance.

 

"in Aiki it's like a technique
fall naturally into our hands"

 

In the beginning, working with this Aiki, it's like learning all techniques anew. It feels like every technique learned so far  has to be learned again. This is true in a way, but also it's not the whole story since the techniques themselves, we have learned before. Now we have to learn to do the same techniques in accordance with the Aiki principles. This requires some change in thinking about the functioning of the technique in question. 

So in a way, yes, it's like learning all techniques anew. Even better, we should forget all about the techniques learned so far and just let them unfold themselves as we move along with Aiki. As in Aiki it's like a technique falls naturally into our hands, there's no need to look for a specific technique, when moving in accordance with Aiki, it will just present itself.

 

"we have to be completely willing
to let go all that we have learned
so far and completely entrust
ourselves to Aiki"

 

If we want to go with Aiki, I'd go as far as to say that we have to be completely willing to let go of all that we have learned so far and completely entrust ourselves to Aiki. In the beginning this may be very frustrating as it is so much easier to rely on the old habits that worked so well. Especially with our body, when beginning to work with Aiki, but still just having limited Aiki capacities, our techniques of course won't be as strong as they maybe were just before we started working with Aiki. 

By improving our Aiki body and developing our Aiki capabilities we become stronger, not in the conventional sense of getting a stronger body, but more in the sense of being capable using our body more and more in accordance with the Aiki principles and so gradually developing a body which is able to perceive and move according to Aiki.

So, step by step, we can move closer to perfection, although we will never ever get to that point of perfection really. Because what is perfection? Perfection is achieved when there's no room left to improve. As I understand, O-Sensei kept improving himself all his life, until the very end. 

Page first published on 26.09.2023
Page last updated on 10.01.2024

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Disclaimer: everything presented in this post only represents my personal opinions based on my personal  knowledge, understanding and experiences made regarding the matter in discussion except where quotes are made. Other opinions are highly respected as long as they can withstand the argumentation. Some of the points presented may be purely speculative on my side due to the lack of evidence known to me. Any evidence presented to help clarify the points in question is highly welcomed. The post may still undergo little changes, although the content will mainly remain the same.

Notes on Copyrights: Neither text or parts of the text may be used or published elsewhere without the consent of the author. It is OK though to quote with correct references made to this text.
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