Budo and Non-Action

Learning aikido is about learning action, action to escape, to control, to throw. But what about those times when doing nothing is the best course of action? Can you stand in peace? When it's best, can you do nothing?

That's what this blog post is about.

http://budobum.blogspot.com/2016/09/...on-action.html

What do you think? Are you able to do nothing?

I always enjoy your writing, and I am looking forward to your book soon. Congratulations!

I am used to thinking of Wu Wei and Mushin as similar; moving and responding without planning, without tying myself in mental knots. Doing nothing mentally.

Physically, I think of doing nothing as meditation, reflection, learning to observe a principle. I remember Sensei coming in at night and watching me with a bokken. I had been trying to do 1000 cuts a day, I was bored, not clear what I was doing (but doing lots of it) and it showed. He had lots of concrete advice, and he asked me to do way fewer but better repetitions.

Sometimes for me, the barrier isn't that I need to work harder but that I need to take the time to evaluate, meditate, understand. Writing, reading, watching, doing other things that aren't strictly speaking my Budo - many benefits to be brought into practice later.

I guess a version of working "smarter not harder." Smarter coming from better understanding of both a situation and the skills I may employ.

John Hillson wrote: I always enjoy your writing, and I am looking forward to your book soon. Congratulations! I am used to thinking of Wu Wei and Mushin as similar; moving and responding without planning, without tying myself in mental knots. Doing nothing mentally. Sometimes for me, the barrier isn't that I need to work harder but that I need to take the time to evaluate, meditate, understand. Writing, reading, watching, doing other things that aren't strictly speaking my Budo - many benefits to be brought into practice later. .

Interesting you should say that about things that aren't strictly speaking your budo. Mifune Kyozu Sensei was fond of saying 文武一道 (bunbu ichido) or "Budo and Cultural Arts are one road" An older saying was 文武両道　(bunbu ryodo) meaning to "Be accomplished in both the budo and cultural arts"

I tend to think that it is wrong to think of the other stuff as not being part of our budo. It's all one to me. That might require another blog.....

I do agree that Budo benefits from a full life.

I guess in Aikido, each rank required a certain number of days of specific training in the dojo. So, running a marathon has many benefits that might create a superior martial artist in several ways, but I know some instructors who would say the marathon did not count as a day of training (instructors who I have to answer to).

I remember setting up a goal for myself to train for 100 days without a break. The day came I was at a cross country ski loppet (marathon). I chose to believe it counted. I do train every day; I am not in the dojo every day. Enough years have passed that I count meditation, reading, and writing as valid practice. If I had a beginner come to the dojo who meditated, read, and wrote I might insist that student do regular classes to count for testing requirements - while the above are all important activities, they do not specifically create skills or reflexes, nor exercise specific muscle coordinations for speed, accuracy and power in combative techniques. While there are many other beneficial things out there, at some point a student needs to learn how to fall.