Aiki training and Aikido training (part 3)

To develop Aiki awareness and capabilities, besides musubi and kuzushi there are other prerequisites. In Aikido, unity of the body is essential. To move with body unity we first need to have good body coordination, that means our body in movement is well coordinated and well connected. Coordination and unity of the body can be practiced with suitable exercises, be it with or without training partners. 

 

"In Aikido,
unity of the body is essential"

 

To move correctly in Aikido, we need to be able to perceive suki or openings, be it on our side as well as on our training partner's side. It’s absolutely necessary to follow the budo principle of not having openings in our stance and position. Michio Hikitsuchi sensei explained 1 : “Aikido is budo. This means you can’t even ignore half an inch of vulnerability. A suki (opening) of even one centimeter can do you in”. The bo-katas, as left to us by Michio Hikitsuchi sensei, are a helpful practice method to train our body coordination and movement. These katas also teach us a lot about position and angles in Aikido. A good understanding of position and angles leads to a good perception of suki or openings. In Aikido, at every single moment in a movement or a technique we have to be at the exact right place with no openings whatsoever. 

In Aikido there's only the here and now. This makes it all the more understandable that Aikido is all about position and at any given moment being at the right place, it's not so much about speed or force. Hence, to be at the correct position or place doesn't depend on strength or technical abilities. It depends on our abilities to correctly perceive the situation we are in and to be able to move our body accordingly. 

 

"All body movement is
connected to one's center"

 

Coordinated body movement allows us to move our body as one, in unity. All body movement is connected to one's center. Moving this way following the principles of Aiki allows us to lead our partners through the techniques without doing harm to them. We need to lead our training partners through a technique instead of forcing a technique upon our training partners. To do this we need to be able to connect to our partner’s center, be it with or without having a physical connection, such as touch or grab.

 

"In order to understand Aiki,
we need to experience Aiki
with our own body"

 

In order to understand Aiki, we need to experience Aiki with our own body. Although we can experience Aiki when we are thrown with Aiki or when we apply Aiki, we cannot actually perceive Aiki as an acting force itself. Because in Aiki there are no forces in play from one person against another person.

 

"We don’t feed the fight
by adding to the fight,
but we literally starve the fight
by not giving the fight
anything it could feed on"

 

In order to understand Aiki, we have to change our thinking. It is no longer a matter of orienting ourselves on the feedback of the training partners, but rather of leading the training partners to where they cannot give feedback because they lack the clues to do so. They can not fight against us as we don’t give them anything which they could actually fight against. We don’t push so they can’t push back. We don’t pull, so they can’t pull back. We don’t feed the fight by adding to the fight, but we literally starve the fight by not giving the fight anything it could feed on.
 

"In aikido, there is
absolutely no attack"

 

To correctly apply the Aiki principles, we have to forget about the technical application of the techniques learned so far. The only thing left to do is to follow the Aiki principles, or as O-Sensei puts it, to be completely in harmony with the universe. O-Sensei explained 2 : "In aikido, there is absolutely no attack". Where there is no attack, there can be no reaction to it. Furthermore, O-Sensei states 3 : “We must not look at our partner's eyes because they will take our spirit. Don't look at your partner's sword because it will take our ki. Don't look at your partner because you have to suck your partner's ki... The real bu is the training of aspiration, of the attractive force (inryoku no tenren), to suck in the whole partner.”

 

 "the more I know,
the more I understand
how little I know"

 

Reading O-Sensei's explanations about Ki, I can only start to imagine what more there is to know about Ki, Aiki and Aikido. I guess it's just as the saying goes: "the more I know, the more I start to understand how little I know".

 

 

1  Quote taken from "Michio Hikitsuchi - The essential teachings of Aikido, Vol. 1"
2  Quote taken from an interview with O-Sensei as published in Aikido Journal online
3  Orig: “Il ne faut pas regarder les yeux du partenaire parce qu'ils prendront notre esprit. Il ne faut pas regarder le sabre du partenaire parce qu'il prendra notre ki. Il ne faut pas regarder le partenaire parce qu'il faut aspirer le ki de votre partenaire... Le vrai bu, c'est l'entraînement de l'aspiration, de la force attractive (Inryoku no tenren) pour aspirer le partenaire en entier.” Quote taken from “Aïkido, des paroles et des écrits du fondateur à la pratique” by Gérard Blaize, 1994, page 30

 

Page first published on 29.10.2023
Page last updated on 17.07.2024

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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.

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