Aikido like a mirrow of the soul

Show me your aiki and I will tell you who u are.
It is very interesting how your aiki show thing from u.
If you are afraid, I will see that
If your heart is open, I will see that
If you are generous , I will see that

Your aikido is like your finger print, you can know someone only by practicing with them.

May be there are more friends by your side and you dont even know,
that happened to me, and I am grateful about that.

That was a very beautiful bit of poetry! Thank you.
I think one of the things which attracted me to Aikido initially was the great use of metaphor and metaphysical application.
Aikido definately can help us polish our proverbial mirrors...and I agree it's very interesting how each person expresses themselves in training...and often through that training, in their daily lives.
Take care,
Matt

Me too. Greetings from AKI Pennsylvania, USA!

Steve

http://akiusa.org/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=1

it's very interesting how each person expresses themselves in training...and often through that training, in their daily lives.

Thats was Osensei meaning of sharing his knowledge to all of us.
Thanks all for posting.

"Aikido like a mirrow of the soul"

This thought is very much an influence of "The New Religions" of Japan--Kurozumikyo, Tennrikyo, and, of course, Omoto, fwiw.

hope to see each other by may in Japan Stephen, I am planning to visits takeda sensei dojo by that date

Saludos de Chile
:-)

I hope to be there too!

I hope you will post on the bulletin board: http://akiusa.org/phpBB3/viewforum.p...62d1d73008d2ee

Maybe you can post some photos?

Cheers,
Steve

Where's the bit about fish?

I misread the thread title...

IMHO, everything is holographic (the parts contain the whole).
Everything is an expression of who you are.
It all depends on how clean you mirror is and do you know what you are looking at.

Lynn Seiser wrote: It all depends on how clean you mirror is

pouring ourselves, pouring our keiko, one true,
like a water puddle you can see my reflection and still get into me,
thanks all

Lynn Seiser wrote: IMHO, everything is holographic (the parts contain the whole). Everything is an expression of who you are.

While this is true, I am always amazed by the fact that Aikido training reveals so much. I think that's one of the main reasons that people quit early on. Often, around 2nd or 1st kyu, they have a crisis and quit. I used to think it was all because of the time and effort commitment but I have come to believe that much of it has to do with how "exposed" training makes some folks feel.

I think that most folks start martial arts because on some level they realize that they are fearful. So they try to cover up that fear by trying to be more powerful. But Aikido training in particular requires accepting being vulnerable... I think that being that accessible to other people really pushes some folks buttons.

Train with someone for a very short time and you know most of the essential information about them. There's just no way to really hide from others because the practice is so intimate. An Aikido dojo is a hard place for someone with intimacy issues.

George S. Ledyard wrote: While this is true, I am always amazed by the fact that Aikido training reveals so much. I think that's one of the main reasons that people quit early on. Often, around 2nd or 1st kyu, they have a crisis and quit. I used to think it was all because of the time and effort commitment but I have come to believe that much of it has to do with how "exposed" training makes some folks feel. I think that most folks start martial arts because on some level they realize that they are fearful. So they try to cover up that fear by trying to be more powerful. But Aikido training in particular requires accepting being vulnerable... I think that being that accessible to other people really pushes some folks buttons. Train with someone for a very short time and you know most of the essential information about them. There's just no way to really hide from others because the practice is so intimate. An Aikido dojo is a hard place for someone with intimacy issues.

This is an area where I am beginning to wonder. I don't often find myself on a differing viewpoint from you, but in this, well, as I said, I'm beginning to wonder.

Does aikido truly require such intimacy between people? If the way of aiki is really something done inside oneself and requires internal matching rather than matching a partner, then intimacy isn't really a requirement.

If, as Ueshiba supposedly did, "harmonizing" with the Universe is a vital component, then that's really a very personal thing between you and the Universe. Ueshiba didn't need to be intimate with any of the people he came across. Ueshiba didn't know Tenryu at all and yet applied the secret (aiki) to best him.

Put together, Ueshiba's Aikido, then resolves around an internal, non-resistant (not related to what others are doing at all), appropriately matching harmony (in a very neutral aspect) with the Universe that doesn't rely upon anyone else. There is no intimacy outside oneself.

So, where then does the intimacy come from in aikido training? In what training area did it start? Why do we persist with it?

My thoughts,
Mark

Well Mark, for me at least, even with the new perspectives that I've gained, I do find aikido practice can often be very intimate. Especially for people with previous issues, as George said.

Even if "aiki" is something that you do more in yourself, there is still the physical contact with another person during training in a dojo that can highlight pre-existing issues. I myself don't really have any, but even for me, I tend to be very cautious when working with women or young kids. I've had plenty of female training partners who had no issues at all with the physicallity of aikido keiko, but I've also known some who do have issues that they work through.

No big deal overall...

Best,
Ron (I'm kind of used to mixed gender training...there was a woman who trained with our wrestling team in college who was actually quite good)

Mark Murray wrote: Does aikido truly require such intimacy between people? If the way of aiki is really something done inside oneself and requires internal matching rather than matching a partner, then intimacy isn't really a requirement.

In my opinion, pure internal skill building is not true aiki any more than going through the external motions without any internal truth. Aiki (in the sense I use it anyway) requires both. Correct internal structure allows much more external sensitivity because it allows you to use and direct power more efficiently, so you don't overload your proprioception on your own muscular tension. With the relatively little ammount of 'internal' training that I've done, I would say that my ability to sense/feel/experience what George is describing has increased not decreased. YMMV as always.

Mark Murray wrote: Ueshiba's Aikido, then resolves around an internal, non-resistant (not related to what others are doing at all), appropriately matching harmony (in a very neutral aspect) with the Universe that doesn't rely upon anyone else. There is no intimacy outside oneself.

Mark,
Good points. Made me think.

IMHO, while the internal is the center of the circle, the radius extends and encompasses outward to include a very intimate
connection to the uke. Aiki is not just connecting to your own center but entering and blending with the other's center, becoming one, intimate, and mystically losing the duality.

I often wonder if that is why O'Sensei said no one was following his Aikido, because we were relating it to our reductionistic self centeredness instead of an intimate harmonizing of our center with that of another, and moving from that connection.

It may be as much a philosophical frame of reference (mind leading ki) as a physical technique.

IMHO, intimacy is always outside myself because it involves very close contact (physically, mentally, spiritually) with some one else. I am not alone in my Aikido.

But hey, that's me. And we all know I have fear based intimacy issues.

George, Ron, Chris, and Lynn. Thank you for the posts. Anything that makes me redefine my preconceived notions is always a blessing.

I'll chew on this bone for a bit to see what I can make of it.

Mark

It is hard to articulate Aikido from a keyboard, but to the original poster... "very nice words"

Thanks Mathew.