Aikido is joy

 

"Doing the right thing
the right way"

 

Aikido training gives us the opportunity to practice "doing the right thing the right way". But what is the right thing to do and what is not? This seems not quit so clear if we think about it. Sometimes a thing seems right, but sometimes the same thing seems not so right anymore. So, how can we be sure to do the right thing? 

One criteria could be, if we are able to give joy to others, to make them happy, then it should be right. If we make other's feel sad or angry, then most likely it's not quite right. If we look at it in a basic way, the question is, what makes us happy and what makes us sad or even trigger anger in us? 

 

"winning is fun,
but loosing is not"

 

In our daily lives we often see that winning is fun, but loosing is not. Yes, who doesn't like to win? But to put this in other words, it's like, what makes us happy oftentimes makes other people sad or angry. To be aware of this, we soon realize that this way of doing things in a competitive or winning way, which always means someone has to be loosing too, doesn't quite work out so well (unless we are a sadistic or a masochistic person, depending on how we look at it), because the winning game really always is a loosing game too. As a feeling person with compassion for the suffering of others we can clearly see that this winning game can't be the right thing to do. 

 

"the winning game
really always is a loosing game too"

 

O-Sensei said "Aikido is not about winning over others". But how can we do Aikido, a martial art, without winning over our opponent? How not to subdue or overpower our training partner, which we see as our opponent? 

By taking on a different perspective on our Aikido training, by taking on a different goal in our training, we can change things and we can get closer to the ideal of not making others suffer with our actions. To do so we have to have get away from the winning game and make something else the center of our attention. By putting Aiki at the center of our thoughts and actions, we won't make other people loose anymore. We thereby much less are due to become the source of aggression, be it within ourselves or be it in others. 

 

"Aiki is to cut the vicious circle
of producing sadness, anger and aggression
to be the source of even more
sadness, anger and aggression"

 

Even better so, by putting Aiki at the center, as we help others to make progress, by making progress they will feel happy and therefore we will be able to feel real joy too. No negative effects whatsoever. Aiki is to overcome the winning game. Aiki is to cut the vicious circle of producing sadness, anger and aggression to be the root of even more sadness, anger and aggression.

Since at the dojo, it's a training situation, it's absolutely OK if we don't always get it perfect. In fact, we should rather assume that we more or less don't get it right most of the time. If, against all expectations, once in a while we do manage to do it reasonably well, we shouldn't give that to much value either. Nevertheless we should always try to give it our very best.

If we train with this kind of mindset, we also don’t give ourselves any reason to get impatient or angry with ourselves or others, as it’s just a normal thing to make errors and faults, here and there. Of course, once pointed out and instructed with proper ways to do things correctly, we should be able to do better, maybe not at first, but with a bit of training we should be able to change and advance. 

In Aikido, doing the right thing, to do Aiki also means to lead our training partners, instead of working against them. But if we don't do this the right way, we won't be able to do so. In other words, in Aikido, we can only do the right thing if we also do it the right way. One requires the other and the other won’t do without the one.

However, it is not up to us to decide what is right and wrong. The meaning of “leading our training partners” is part of a universal truth. We cannot bend this truth in our favor. Nor can we deny this truth, because it's there. We can't imagine another truth. Well yes, obviously we can imagine a different truth, but it wouldn't be the real thing, as the real thing just is as it is. There is also no alternative truth which could be justified by our own subjective perception. Of course we can ignore the truth, but that wouldn't help much either.

 

"We all already have the
capacity and sensitivity,
we just have to allow ourselves
to be aware of it"

 

This truth is openly visible to all people who have the capabilities and sensitivity  to see it. However, just because sometimes we don’t (yet) have the ability to perceive it, doesn’t mean that this truth doesn’t exist. It is not a question of believing or not believing, it is only a question of sensitivity in perception. However, it is not a subjective perception based on personal considerations and personal feelings, much more it's an objective and non-judgmental and non-biased perception of natural facts.

But all of this isn’t just as simple as black and white, yes and no, can or can’t. Instead, there are all the nuances in between and around it, and it comes in all colors and shades and shapes as well. The good thing however is, that normally (without illness- or otherwise medical related conditions) we all already have the capacity and sensitivity to be able to feel at least parts of this truth, we just have to allow ourselves to be aware of it. All we have to do is to focus more on these aspects in our training, instead of focusing on other things which so easily keep us from perceiving these important points. 

Aikido training enables us not only to experience this truth, but also to practice this truth and to live this truth. Nevertheless, in order to express this truth or this Aiki in our actions (body, mind, spririt and heart), we have to train our body, our perception so that our mind will understand and our spirit and heart will be able to follow.

 

"Even by giving our very best,
the mistakes we make
are the mistakes we make
because we are not yet capable
of not making them"

 

How do we get there? First of all, we need to accept ourselves as we are and give up pretending to be all the things we are not. We need to refrain from bending the truth to our will. Aikido training gives us the wonderful opportunity to just do so. 

Even by giving our very best, the mistakes we make are the mistakes we make because we are not yet capable of not making them. Unfortunately there’s no other way, because this is the way this works. I’m afraid, there are no workarounds available. Through training however, we can learn to accept our errors, faults and flaws, our mistakes and our shortcomings, and we can learn to work on them in order to do better next time.

In Aiki based Aikido training things can not be forced. Just as we should not try to hide our own errors and faults (by using speed or force or both at once), we should also not search to expose the errors and faults of our training partners (by using speed or force or both at once). This kind of behavior is totally unnecessary, because all the errors and faults will present themselves openly and on their own at all times. It is simply a question of being able to perceive them and act accordingly, which is to work on our own errors and faults and to best possible support our training partners in their own work as well.

In Aikido training we can practice all of this without any risk to our health whatsoever but with a great deal of joy and a lot of fun too. The body just loves to be lead with Aiki and spin around and roll about this way or that way. The body also loves a lot to move in good coordinated ways, in body-unity. So whichever part in training we take (giving techniques or receiving techniques), the body just loves to be part of it, to take it's part in it.

Once we understand with our body, we can also understand with our mind. Once we truly understand with our mind, we can act accordingly to our understanding, not only in Aikido training but in daily life as well. 

To put it all in slightly different words: If we take a look at the psychological side of Aikido with Aiki we can come to understand too, why Aikido is joy. What are the emotions we get when we win in a competition or a fight? Most likely we feel great, we feel triumphant. Too much of this kind of feelings and we are at risk of seeing ourselves to be better and greater than others, we are at risk of becoming overly arrogant. Then, what are the emotions we get when we are losing in a competition or a fight? Most likely we feel defeated and probably we feel also down. In some cases we start to feel anger against our opponent, aggression starts to rise. Either ways, winning and losing, as we can easily see and understand, are the root of bad feelings and thereby just the opposite of joy. Whereas if we take Aikido as a training method to find and to experience Aiki, by helping our training partners and by letting our training partners helping us to advance in our Aikido we can all experience the joy of being useful and helpful in a fundamental good thing, by creating and experiencing Aiki.

 

"Aikido is to give others joy
and happiness through budo
without fighting"

So Aikido to me, really is a wonderful thing to practice and it goes far beyond just being gymnastics and sports or just being a martial art for self-defense. As Michio Hikitsuchi sensei puts it 1 : "Aikido is not about winning over the other person. It’s about victory over yourself. It’s about transforming your life. It’s about finding new purpose in life, to give others joy and happiness through budo without fighting". 

In fact, I deeply feel that Aikido is joy, because doing the right thing brings joy, not only to ourselves, but also to our training partners as well as to any of our fellow human beings involved in this kind of action.

1  Quote taken from "Michio Hikitsuchi - The essential teachings of Aikido, Vol. 1"

Page first published on 04.11.2024
Page last updated on 16.05.2025

--------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------