27th Nov 2007
Aikido and the Future by George Hutchinson
In an increasingly divided and tribal world, Aikido is a vehicle for achieving social unity just as it promotes the Aikidoka’s individual unity (connecting the physical, emotional and causal bodies of each person).
The mutually dependent and linked role of Uke and Nage, learning to forcefully commit, open to the other’s energy, and reacting to the technique is a great example of how the physical intimacy or connectedness in Aikido increases our individual sensitivity.
Is uke large or small, quick or slow, tall or short, aggressive or passive, full of ki extension or energetically tight? In each case our technique must adapt to uke’s individual characteristics. We constantly amend our technique and what are we learning? In part we learn that no one particular way of doing a technique will work for all people. We work with principles, with understandings with an open heart that accepts all that each different uke presents and we adapt. While we may be practicing kokyo nage - we find with practice there is a variation of kokyo nage for every uke in the subtle differences that each uke presents and - yet all of it is kokyo nage…
If each world leader and politician, every general and soldier could practice I believe many of our conflicts would whither. Why? When we start Aikido we see a technique as concrete - a pure method or technique. We want to apply the exact technique to every person we meet to every nation on earth that crosses our path. Over time we learn that the technique to be successful must be adapted to every uke. So we learn 20 katatori ikkyo for 20 different uke. Outwardly each katatori ikkyo might look the same to an untrained eye, but in the body sense of nage, each is slightly different.
Our rigid expectation of the technique becomes far more flexible the more we train. We learn to stop projecting and expecting and simply be. Be there for the entry, the tai sabaki, and utilize what each uke gives us to complete the particular technique. In effect time stops in a way as we simply learn to live in the present moment and do the technique.
Let us train together, grow together, adapt, be flexible, open our hearts and through our practice accept our lives as it comes every day, every second.
George Hutchinson is a nidan at Shinjinkan dojo in Spring, TX.
