Aikido is ...

 

 

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

Aikido to me, indeed is a wonderful thing to practice and it goes far beyond just being gymnastics and sports or being a martial art mainly 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 Aikido is doing the things right and also doing the right things. To do so 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.

 

"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? The simple question therefore is: 'what's right and what's wrong'? 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 about it? 

Well, one of the criteria to base our decisions on, 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 should be 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.

According to the explanations given by O-Sensei on his Aikido, Aikido is Misogi 2. So then, what is Misogi? „Misogi is a Japanese Shinto practice of ritual purification by washing the entire body“ 3  . Surely there may be better and more detailed or deeper explanations about what Misogi is and what it represents, but for the moment let's just leave it at that: Misogi is a purification practice to purify the self. So then, if Aikido is Misogi and Misogi is a purification practice, then Aikido is a purification practice too. That would make sense, doesn't it?

 

"Aikido is Misogi,
Aikido is a purification practice"

 

But in what ways exactly would or could our Aikido training be a purification practice to purify the self?

Of course there may be other ways, but here's one way to look at it:
By cleansing our sometimes more or less clogged or clouded perception 4  , we are getting more sensitive in our perceptual capacities. By clogged or clouded perception I mean our perception being reduced, diminished or limited due to personal circumstances like tension, personal filters and distortions which basically most of the time just represent or mirror parts of our own ego. Just to be clear about it, I'm not referring to medical conditions. 

So, by cleansing our perception, by becoming more sensitive we become more likely to perceive the situations we are in more clearly, thus being able to act more accordingly to the situation and thereby getting closer to do just what is needed, by not doing too much and by not doing too little either.

We then act not so much anymore like what we think is needed according to our own and sometimes egoistic thinking. We don’t feel the need to impose our thinking, our ideas, or ourselves on others. In training situations as in our daily Aikido training in the dojo we don't need to force a technique onto our training partners, but by allowing our body to perceive and make the experience of non-resistance our mind too, will be able to understand at once and a change of spirit towards a less egoistic behavior becomes possible. Thus a change of spirit towards a more peaceful thinking may happen too. 

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Michio Hikitsuchi sensei explains 5 : 

"Aikido, this budo of purification, this thing we call Aikido is dedicated to Susano o kami. Susano o kami’s job was to cleans and purify the universe. He was the god of the breath of live, but that’s the legend, the myth, but the idea of purifying through breath is still important. It’s all ki, we must purify what might be called the world of conflict and opposition, the world of fighting and destruction. Purification must start with one’s own self. So, the purpose of aikido is firstly, on a small scale, to perfect the individual and secondly, on a large scale, to bring peace and harmony to the earth. That's why Aikido was created, it is only by becoming one with nature that truly inspired Aikido can be born. 

Aikido must not become a mere sport. Aikido is a true budo, a true martial way, it should not be reduced to a simple game played for amusement. It is essential that O-Sensei’s original goal be preserved, that Aikido be a way to develop individuals with courage and sincerity. Without sincerity there is nothing, sincerity is the most important aspect of human endeavor. Humanity and sincerity must take precedence over all other things. Our efforts in life should lead to happiness and joy for all, this is the goal of Aikido, this is what makes Aikido a budo of great love. Where there is love there will be harmony. O-Sensei said love gives birth to harmony, harmony brings forth joy, joy is the greatest treasure. This is our motto and this is our goal as aikidoists. Ki, this thing called life energy, there’s ki that pours down from heaven and there’s ki that springs up from the earth, these two, the ki of heaven and the ki of earth flow into one another forming the ki of the universe, there is also the individuals ki. Aikido has the power through it’s techniques and spirit to connect and unite all of these sources of ki, thereby bringing them into actuality. This is the path of Aiki. The dojo should be a place to teach a budo of harmony and love. It has to be a budo that draws the world together as if one family. From here on we have to spread aikido around the world. The techniques (after the war) were different from what I had originally learned before the war. I still have books describing the old techniques, but the modern Aikido we started to practice in 1952 was different. The old destructive fighting attitude had been replaced by an emphasis on leading and harmony.

What is Aikido? As is said before, Aikido is dedicated to Susano o kami which is to say, Aikido is a way of purification. Aikido is a way to cleanse the individual spirit that’s what it means. It means to get to a place in your life where there’s no fighting, to make a world where there is no fighting, to work in this sense of great love we aim to have a heart capable of generous, large love like the love of god. God gives us the light of the sun, the warmth, the air. All of these are aspects of gods infinite grace. The first step is to purify your own heart and to perfect yourself as an individual, to work so that the whole world is like one family, it’s possible through purification. At all these levels this is the start of all Aikido, this is what Ueshiba Morihei, O-Sensei, the founder of Aikido taught in Aikido. 

You must be able to read the opponent’s ki and thus grasp their intention in advance of the actual attack. This involves a speed much greater than the speed of light or electricity, this requires a speed that transcends space and time, the ability to instantaneously sense the flow of a situation and change accordingly as such. It involves a spiritual transcendence of one’s own limited self . O-sensei called this masakatsu agatsu katsu hayabi, true victory, self victory, the speed that transcends time and space. This is the mystery of Aikido, the central teaching. Study it well, practice until you understand it’s essential principal. When your heart is bright and full of love, the spirit of the kami can enter into you and fill your Aikido with a wonderful life giving power, that’s what Aikido is about. 

You have to train your spirit at the same time as you train your body. We practice the techniques of Aikido to cleanse our body and to cleanse our spirit. Aikido is a practice created to build personal character in the larger sense. Aikido exists in order to build a world of peace and of harmony, that’s what it’s about. Everything depends on the movement of your ki. Cultivate your ki, you have to purify your soul and in the crucible of your own practice, only then will you attain a fine and wonderful spirit and this is the most central goal of Aikido, this is the most important point." 
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"The Aikido we do
is a mirror of our self,
our body, mind, spirit and heart"

 

So yes, by looking at it this way, Aikido indeed can be seen and practiced as a Misogi practice. The Aikido we do is a mirror of our self, our body, mind, spirit and heart.

 

1  Quote taken from "Michio Hikitsuchi - The essential teachings of Aikido, Vol. 1"
2  see Takemusu Aiki, Aiki Shinzui
3  Quote taken from Wikipedia: Misogi
4  Perception is a receptive thing as it receives rather than it gives
5  Michio Hikitsuchi sensei "The heart of Aikido" Vol.1 (transcript by blog autor)

 

Page first published on 04.11.2024
Page last updated on 16.05.2025

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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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