senshincenter

Some more things came to my mind after reading Ann-Marie's post.

- The whole idea of not muscling is not quite the same thing as having no muscle (or having less muscle). Really, what one is looking at is not the total absence of muscle tension and/or not using one's muscular system. Rather, one is interested in gaining a particular type of muscle usage. This use, in truth, is not hindered by a well-developed muscular system -- it is aided by it. Here, I feel, we must realize two things. First, a well-developed muscular system can have one more physically coordinated and thus more capable of cultivating the particular muscle usage being required to practice the art correctly. Second, the particular muscle usage being sought requires (indeed!) a great deal of muscle development -- one that can act to support the particular forms of selective (muscle) relaxation being used. In particular, one has to have great development in the core muscle groups -- with special attention given to the legs, hips, and the back (both up and lower), etc. The stronger you are in these areas, the better.

- Much of Aikido's power comes from gravity -- either directly or indirectly. More accurately, we can say, that much of Aikido's power comes from our capacity to allow gravity to pull down upon our mass. The more gravity is allowed to pull down on our mass, often, the more powerful our technique. Thus, the more mass that can be pulled by gravity, the more powerful our technique. Since muscle development is one way of increasing one's mass, muscle development can assist us in making our techniques more efficient and thus more powerful. A lack of mass, and/or a lack of muscle development, therefore, can make our technique less powerful and less efficient -- relatively speaking.

- For me, based in part upon those things mentioned above, as a practitioner, I very much seek to develop myself muscularly. For example, lifting weights is a huge part of my personal training regiment. Moreover, as a teacher, I encourage every student, both male and female, to lift weights as well. For me, a well-developed muscular system helps one's training -- it does not hinder it. If anything, a poorly developed muscular system hinders one training more than most things.

- A capacity to use something does not hinder one in choosing not to use that thing (i.e. that if one has muscles, one cannot opt to use them incorrectly). Equally, an incapacity to use something does not mean that one will not still try to use it and/or that one will come more easily to use something else. It is like this: If you want to learn Japanese is the States, it is "x" hard. If you go learn it in Japan, it does not become "less than x hard." What might change is the need to learn it. However, need never made anything less difficult -- it only makes it more pressing, which more often than not tends to make learning more difficult.

In the end, my opinion is this: The weaker you are, the harder it is to learn to do Aikido efficiently, correctly, properly, accurately, as it was intended, etc.