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Loving Attack and Peaceful Reconciliation

The Way of Aikido

©By Todd Paul

Reprinted from the Chronogram magazine,
with permission by Jason Stern.

Students kneel in silence along the walls of a quiet room. In the center, the sensei, or teacher, demonstrates a simple technique. Again and again his partner attacks and is thrown or pinned. The technique is demonstrated slowly, quickly, from various angles. There are few words to this teaching; the sensei is not giving a lecture. Often, class is conducted in near total silence. Learning comes through the body, through practice. When the demonstration is finished, students practice with each other.

This is aikido. Developed in Japan in the 1920's, it represents to its practitioners the culmination of many martial arts preceding and contemporary to it karate, judo, the samurai arts of the sword. Yet aikido differs from these not only in form but it spirit. "Aikido's spirit is that of loving attack and that of peaceful reconciliation," wrote Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido. "Understand aikido first as budo (a martial art) and then as a way of service to construct the world family."

Westerners typically receive the external trappings of Eastern practices and philosophies the movements, words, and postures without comprehending the internal forms. Ninja turtles and Bruce Lee movies inspire millions of children to meaningless violence, and our children are rarely the better for this. What they are imitating, in its true form, requires years of practice and discipline, of harmonizing the breath and the body, and of focusing the mind. This is true also of aikido, but the founder, also referred to a O Sensei, developed his art as a spiritual understanding. The motions and techniques of aikido are expressions of this understanding.

Ai is the Japanese word for harmony, Ki is force or energy, the fundamental creative principal. Do means the way. Aikidi is thus the way of harmony with ki.

The founder wrote, "The secret of aikido is to harmonize ourselves with the movement of the universe and bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself. He who has gained the secret of aikido has the universe in himself and can say 'I am the universe'... When an enemy tries to fight with me, the universe itself, he has to break the harmony of the universe. Hence at the moment he has the mind to fight with me, he is already defeated." This cleaves to the heart of aikido and points to the huge difference between aikido and other martial arts. Put two aikido practitioners in a room and they will not fight,. Whoever fights loses.

Very well, the student says, but I am not the universe. I don't feel the rhythms of the cosmos in my veins. How do I cope with 200 pounds of angry barfly swinging a bottle at my head?

Aikido is a "soft" martial art. That is to say, it doesn't emphasize hitting and kicking or linear movement of any kind. Ancient jujitsu teachers taught, "when pushed, pull." O Sensei changed this to "when pushed, turn." Using circular rather than linear movements, the the aikidoist harmonizes the attacker's ki with her own, controlling both energies from her center. As in a game of crack the whip, the energy of the attacker throws him to the outside of the aikidoist's circular movement, and he is easily taken off balance or controlled.

O Sensei is said to have possessed incredible personal powers. Witnesses say he could lift huge boulders, throw opponents without touching them, and avoid bullets by seeing their intended path before the trigger was pulled. Though he acknowledged these feats, O Sensei's teachings rely on simple movements accessible to young and old, male and female alike. Great strength is not necessary and relying on strength hinders the student's progress. If there is anything mystical about the techniques of aikido, it is mysticism born of utmost respect. The aikidoist honors the opponent and protects the attacker.

Many books have been written on aikido, but words without practice have little meaning. Those interested in learning more are invited to join a class. Woodstock Aikido classes are held in the Byrdcliffe Barn on Lower Byrdcliffe Road; for more information, call Lowell Miller at 845-679-9166 or Harvey Konigsberg at 845-679-8153. In New Paltz, contact Tim Pettys at 845-255-6312. In Poughkeepsie, call Ted Wolf at 845-471-6971.

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