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Analysis of Aikido techniques and practice with the aid of Physics
As far as I know there's only one interesting book that deals with the Physics side of Aikido, 'Ratti, Westbrook':Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere', but it's just a description with nice illustrations; the few other essays I've met spend just a few and usually wrong words, using terms like 'lever' that are not correct. So I'll try to have an exchange that can make our knowledge of Aikido richer and also, I think, stimulating.
We have seen in the first entry that in Aikido there's (almost) always Conservation of Energy;
that's what states the 3rd and more general law of my book. (The Physics of Aikido and the Body-Mind Unity)
And this is coherent with the principles stated by the Founder, O'Sensei.
It's quite interesting that our body has a center of Energy Control (Omeostasis) that resides in one of the most ancient parts of our brain, the Hyppocampus.
And this organ is connected with almost every part of our body: it receives (electrochemical) signals from everywhere and it controls (or does directly) a lot of functions, from producing and distributing hormones to stimulating immune response.
Much of recent research on physiology and the mind-body connection have found out the traces of its relevance, growing at every step.
It's a bit too early to think about ways to influence it, but we already have some clue; to make an example, if we control a house heating temperature with a thermostat we know that the position is crucial, so we can trick the system by positioning the probe not in a 'neutral point' but nearer of far away. And with th Hyppocampus we know for sure (thanks to large datasets of the last five years) that physical exercise together with mental concentration (as you find in Yoga or Aikido) helps the Hyppocampus to mantain balance or recover; in Covid time elders who did exercise had a much better (3 times) immune response.
This is just the beginning of the story...longevity is one of the other terms that we know we'll meet along this path.
11-09-2024 10:48 AM 