Sensei Berry on Aikido

After Michael Jackson died Thursday, I went online early Friday morning and checked out Amazon.com.  It is amazing how profits and monetary considerations affect people. What I was looking for was the 1983 video, “Motown 25, Yesterday, Today,  Forever.”  What I found was $19.99 crossed out and a new listing of $129.99 for the collectors version VHS tape on sale. Now I find some listed for prices of $69.00 to $199.00

Today’s newspaper commentary headline shouted “Mega-wealthy survivors have never had it so good.  They were talking about the drop in prices for goods and services which we average folks have trouble buying because of salary reductions and/or layoffs.  It was also stated that the number of millionaires listed dropped significantly.  The super wealthy have no such problems.  However, wealth is relative as is everything else.

When you consider health, money may buy extremely good doctors’ care, but when you look at all the celebrities dying lately, money doesn’t seem to have helped much.  Michael had his own cardiac specialist right there in the house and it didn’t save him.

However, speaking of wealth, feeling GREAT is priceless! When I look around the country and throughout Kokikai, I realize that one cannot put a price tag on having a multitude of friends.

When I look at our dojo with Wilmington Aikido, Sanuces Ryu Jujitsu and Quiet Storm members I realize how truly blessed I am.

Consider this: I am extremely wealthy primarily because of my attitude, belief structure, convictions, dedicated martial arts principles and way of life.  It took me a while to get here.

Anyone care to join me?

What is Aikido?  Why do we practice this art of throwing and neutralization?  To begin with, I do not practice for the sake of self-defense, nor have I felt the need to work on that aspect of life for a number of years.  Although it is true that we train through the medium of attack and defense, the art-form  and concept is realized mentally rather than physically.

Physical confrontations develop in accordance with misunderstandings and ignorance.  The higher a person evolves mentally and spiritually the greater the likelihood of a peaceful resolution of a conflict.  This can be likened to a math problem: when an equation is worked properly, the equation will be balanced on both sides of the “equal” sign.

If the attacker is one-half of the equation and the defender is the other half, the Aikido technique used correctly through mental preparation could be considered the equal sign. Or better yet, expericencing correct spiritual preparation one could avoid the confrontation altogether simply changing it to lively conversation.

Life is full of complex problems, trials and tribulations moving sometimes up and sometimes down.  It seems that sometimes we  will not make it through this world or ththat the world will not survive.  But then comes Aikido, these  simple movements.  And  while they may be difficult to learn - like understanding life’s complex problems - something happens; they really become nothing more than simple exercises designed to lift us up to another vibrational level where understanding simply happens.

And we realize that it is just life flowing onward.

Aikido is us dancing life.

To those of you who are listening: If you think what you do affects only you, you are mistaken. All affects all!

Everything is interconnected and most of what you do is, to some extent, caused or brought about another action, be  it a person or an event.  Conversely, everything that you do is, to some extent, a “cause” affecting another person or event, sometimes singular, sometimes  plural.  If you notice I made no mention of this cause being positive or negative, not good not evil, its just an Effect!

You may have heard it explained as the “law of unintended consequences.”  Or, you really experienced it as something like this, ” I meant to do  ‘one little thing’ but ‘this’ is what happened.”

Society is a moving, living, breathing entity having a collective effect on itself. Please realize that this society, which is actually all of us, subconsciously sets each of us up to think and act in a certain way, which sometimes causes us to behave contrary to our original intentions.

The key to a satisfying life is to be more of a “cause” rather than being jerked around by relentless negative “effects.” The biblical quotations, “live by the sword, die by the sword,” and “an eye for an eye,” are for real. On the street it’s stated this way: “What goes around truly comes around.” All these statements revolve around that natural law called “Cause and Effect.”

This universal truth is always in operation.  Therefore I say this:

If there is a thing to be done, it is worth doing well and to the best of your ability.  “You can make it if you try” is not the answer. Trying implies failure, do it with intention.  Whatever you do affects all around you so Dare to dream… Dare to Dream BIG!

Is the dream complete?  Then ACT!

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if the world was without war.  Would the martial arts continue to exist?  As I see it, without war peaceful enterprise would allow for opportunity for all and there would be no need for crime and/or self protection, or as most put it self-defense.  What would I be doing these days?  What would you be doing?  Training or something else?

Sometimes I wonder why I feel this way.  Maybe my beliefs are a result of the my environment, those around me and the sum total of my experiences. I only know one thing for sure.   If you look back over my past blogs you will discern at least one principle thread.  You see I am a firm believer in the principle of “cause and effect.”  Cruelty, abuse, physical domination and hatred are all learned by children and taught by adults.  Of course, some weak-minded adults learn these applications from other adults.

For instance, ( this is no put-down on Joe’s comment) when Vice President Joe Biden commented on not allowing  his family to travel anywhere in a confined environment, he was severely criticized by the  news media and others for possibly damaging the travel industry. The claim was his words might cause a panic because of the swine flu fear.

Sometimes I wonder if maybe that childhood game we played years ago may have had too much influence.  That game was called “follow the leader.” How easily people are influenced by some idle commentary is the real cause for concern, not whether the lead is a proper guide post or not.  Why is it that many, many more will follow poor judgment or commentary and few follow good or great declarations?  Is it possible that negativity is less difficult than the positive?  Most people are too lazy to think for themselves and consequently fall into less than optimum situations then scream for help.  We are our brother’s keeper only up to the point where continuing makes him weaker.

As I was ending my book,” Stepping Off the Mat,” I made a wish: That self-defense become unnecessary and that society reach a level where the martial arts shall be taught for no purpose other than self improvement.

Sometimes I wonder.

The paradox of kata.

Is kata present when you think about it?  Kata does not occupy space such as a bowl or table?  But is it simply an abstraction?

The paradox is simply this; while kata does not physically exist like a table, it comes into existence when you perform it. Therefore it can only exist in the present, not in the past or future.

Kata are the manuscripts written by the teacher for students to study when the teacher is not physically present.

My understanding of kata goes something like this:

First of all, kata are not, as has been stated in the past, a continuous fight against an imaginary four to eight opponents. They can be, and most often are powerful “training tools.” I say that because many misunderstand the purpose of kata.

Second, kata are not as old as most think.  While many Japanese kata were originally derived from Okinawan variations, many of these Okinawan kata as well as many of the Korean variety were of Chinese origin. Many others are no more than sixty-five or seventy years old.

The original purpose of kata was to transmit methods of defense and counter for the exploitation of an opponent’s weaknesses. The secretive nature of original practice was essential to keep outsiders from learning clan or family secrets. Also there were many  “okuden,” hidden techniques and methods within kata so a spy or a less-than-loyal student could not decipher them.  In fact many students spent years studying a ryu’s basics and all of their kata thinking that they had mastered the system when in fact they only had a superficial understanding.

Due to this lack of transmission many secrets were lost when a founder or subsequent master died prematurely.

Pay attention!

Pay attention to your thoughts, they turn into words.

Pay attention to your words, they turn into action.

Pay attention to your actions, they turn into habits.

Pay attention to your habits, they develop your character.

Pay attention to your character, it becomes your destiny.

These words written by an unknown author caused me to reflect on my most recent thoughts and this is where I found myself going.

Cause and effect.  Nothing stands alone. Nothing happens without cause. Everything affects everything else.  Impact as the title implies is what this is all about.

This is a little statement I made at the 2009 Winter camp’s Saturday night event:

“Each of us is born on different days  and in different locations and the process called Life marches on.  We all have a certain number of weeks, months or years to spend while developing on this planet.

We all spend them exploring, studying and learning. We also spend them teaching. For we are all learning from or teaching each other.

As we go about our various ways in this life, we are encouraged from time to time to pause in our journey, to look back and reflect on how far we’ve come or how short we’ve fallen in our quest. With the passage of time it is left to others to grade us or place us in the appropriate category: some successful, some not so successful.

My martial arts quest began when I entered the military in 1963. So I’ve been on this particular journey 46 years learning, teaching, exploring and dancing life and the martial ways.”

We all affect each other and every other living thing in the universe whether we like it or not.  And everything in the universe is alive.  Nothing happens in a vacuum and of course there is no such thing as a total vacuum.

As martial arts teachers, martial skill is obviously essential, however, our success should not be gauged by how highly we develop those  skills.  We are measured historically by how great an  impact we have on our students and secondarily by how many we cause to develop.  IMPACT!

Some students get it and some do not. Here is an example of one who gets it. This is remarkably similar to my treatise on Aikido which is required writing for successful entry to black belt in Kokikai. How does it fit into your interpretation of Aikido?

The Dance of Aikido

By Fernando del Rosario

Rick Sensei has always encouraged his students to take the principles learned in Aikido beyond the confines of the mat and to find ways to integrate these principles in our daily activities. I recently had the opportunity to do just that, thereby, expanding my appreciation for our art and the people we learn from.

My wife and I were recently invited to the Opera Ball held this past Valentine’s Day. It was a fund-raising event for Opera Delaware and one that involved ballroom dancing. Yikes! So off we went to take a refresher course in ballroom dancing. During the course of our instruction, our dance instructor described to us the different variations of fox-trot promenade — one of them being “the grapevine”. As she demonstrated it to us, I remarked, “That’s something we often do when warming up in Aikido practice. It teaches us balance, control and coordination.” She was quite surprised that something like that was done in a martial art. Later on, she was trying to describe to me how I should move forward with intention when doing the foxtrot, emphasizing that I should focus on moving my “core” rather than moving my feet. I told her that what she described was similar to the concept of “Ki” and what we try to feel and learn when we do our “rowing” and “shomen” exercises in Aikido. Needless to say, she was quite intrigued how the principles of dance mirrored the principles of Aikido so well.

So what’s the point of this story? The point is that Aikido is like dancing and one of the major lessons to be learned in both is the concept of “leading”. The man leads the woman, as the nage leads the uke’s mind. And when done close to perfection, it is spectacular. I remember when I first came to our dojo to watch the Saturday adult class. I was mesmerized by the gracefulness of the black belts and how elegant they looked in their white gi and black/navy hakama (think black tie to the Opera Ball). Their moves were so fluid and looked effortless. Even falling and rolling looked great. I knew then I needed to join, learn Aikido and be just like the black belts one day. I strive for a

yokomen uchi kokyu nage with the grace of a finely executed waltz or perform a tsuki kotegaishi with the crispness of a tango. I want fluidity of motion in my jo and bokken katas like an effortless quick step. I want to reach that level where my practice of Aikido looks like great choreography.

If you think about it, life is one big choreography. We are always responding and reacting to what life throws at us. Hopefully, we are also leading and controlling some of our destiny. In the end, whether it be on the dance floor, on the mat or in life, success truly depends on: 1) progressive relaxation, 2) positive mind, 3) proper posture, and 4) a strong focus on our one point for calmness even in duress.

One more thing, though it is not one of our 4 Aikido principles but important nonetheless, have fun in whatever you do!

Why do I, here’s why.

My intention in training in these martial arts and  my intention in training my mind and my intention in living the way I do on this planet at this time is simply to gain control of ego.   Now please, I understand that we cannot live without ego.  The control that I’m talking about is making sure that I do not follow in the footsteps of many of my fellow martial artists.

I have encountered so many inflated egos that it is exceedingly difficult to attend a seminar or a simple  gathering and avoid stepping on someone’s enlarged impression of themselves.

I close friend of mine while speaking to a martial arts group several weeks ago  expounded on true self defense after being asked about advanced technique. He is a bit younger than me but you wouldn’t know that by what he said.  He said, “Real self defense begins with self; by doing battle with and gaining mastery over your ego.” By ego, he  meant false pride or a swelled head and little substance.

If you look closely, you can see huge ego problems at the top of many organizations be they martial, business, educational or social.

To correct a possible misunderstanding, there are countless  great martial artists out there just as there are countless superior business leaders around.  There are just not enough of them in the correct roles.

Look at congress and you will see what I mean. If you closed your eyes and listened to the republicans and democrats and did not know the subject matter, you would think it was a bunch of adolecents  arguing over school recess instead of the business of government.

Why do I?

Train?  Because I can.  Heal? It’s a GOD given gift.  Breathe? Because I must.  A deeper question is why do I live?

I don’t know.  I suppose the answer to that question would give me many other answers also.  In fact, if I could just figure out some of the simplier things in life, it would be oh, so easier to get along.  Don’t get wrong, I’m really enjoying myself. I’m just a little short in understanding why some people do the things they do.  If I could just see a little deeper into their motivations it would be easier to step out of their way.  As it is, I seem to be spending more of my allotted time on this planet practicing basic mental Aikido exercises when I could be showing my students more profound concepts. Of course that may be to answer to the whole thing; this may be the way it’s supposed to be.

Nah. I don’t believe in predestination.  All the great books say we set up life by the way we think and live. And if that’s the case, why do these weird situations keep happening?

A book I’ve read states that it is fate.  F.A.T.E. - From All Thoughts Everywhere. Which makes more sense than any other idea I’ve heard in a long, long time. Which makes it essential that we entertain strong, powerful and progressive thoughts to disrupt the destructive ones bombarding us. However, simply thinking is not enough, we must verbalize those ideas and also act on them.

Any sugesstions?

Many more leave than stay. That’s a given. The hard work and seemingly small reward would be daunting to even more of they knew how truly tough the training is. A comment made today at my student’s jujitsu class was”we train hard so we can deal successfully with the stresses, trials and tribulations of life. I disagree. But why do some stay?

I train to come into harmony with nature so I do not have to struggle so much, to allow nature to show me the way, to flow with, not against. My senior student read an article which stated that some, not all back pain comes about as a direct result of exterior problems not mentally resolved. That author may be on to something. Many people carry around the weight of the world. In fact a question asked in one book I read was this: “Do you see yourself living in a fundamentally hostile universe, or a friendly universe?” The answer pretty much dictates how you live your life and what you perceive yourself to be in conflict with. That’s just about fighting my friend. My life is so much more than that. Is yours? But why do some stay?

I rarely catch colds. I’ve only had the flu once in my life. And I attribute this to not only my lifestyle but my thought processes. A large part of that is controlling my emotions. An angry man can usually be controlled much easier than a calm one. An angry man is easily taken advantage of. Whenever I find myself getting angry I immediately go inward and question. Then consider the another point of view, the other person’s perspective. Anger dissolves. I move on.

With martial arts training it gets easier. An added plus is the older I get the easier it gets. Then there is “Teaching” while training which gets me to that doorway in a much safer environment. I teach myself as much as I teach my students. In fact, teaching students is really learning to reinforce my these ideas in own mind. So this whole thing is in fact very, very selfish. It’s all about me. But selfishness can be a good thing, right? But why do some stay?

Some stay because they like the challenge and begin to sense the possibilities. Some stay because they get that taste of inspiration. Some stay because they feel a sympathetic vibration from the teacher, other students or from dojo itself. They realize that this may be their last best opportunity to truly test themselves in a danger filled physical environment, especially if they encounter the sword.

Why do you stay?