Sensei Berry on Aikido

There has been to date, 14 responses to my musings on “time to leave.”  Actually it felt more like I lit a fire and no one called the fire department while the house was burning down.

Well, the house is still standing and I’ve received much advice and concerns.  For all those concerned, thank you. For the guy who said “nobody likes a quitter,” walk a mile in my shoes before you make that kind of comment. (just kidding)

In response to concerns of my current state of mind consider this: No one knows what the future brings. Or if there is to be a future considering the way many in the present are acting.  Can you predict what will happen in the next day or two?  How about in the next moment?  If you could have back the last three years, what would you change and what would you do differently?

Has your training and your accomplishments been satisfactory?  I can answer both yes and no to the last question.  And I’m in charge of my life, am I not?  Believe me I would like to think I’m in charge.

The truth of the matter is I’ve not been in command as I should be.  I’ve given too much power to others. By that I mean some thoughts drifting into my subconscious during the last few years came from elsewhere and I know that should not be.

I’ve found that when I let up a little, too many random thought-patterns come in, though not necessarily from stronger minds, it’s just too many  minds collectively thinking the same weak, negative thoughts.  Collectively they have the capacity to wear one down in much the same way a large group can overwhelm  one person physically. It just takes many, many more working overtime to do it mentally.

While that is no excuse for my outburst, it is my wakeup call.  The truth of the matter is that I am, as I said in that last blog, responsible for my own happiness and well-being and no one else.  I’m on this path and teaching myself during this journey and invited others to travel with me.  Some travel as students, others as friends, there have even been a couple traveling as adversaries but we are all on the path.  When the time is right for me to step off the path, or maybe I should say hit an intersection and head down a different path I will know it and so will many of you.

In the mean time, train on.

We recently put down a new mat; right on top of the old one.  We didn’t even the remove the old canvas.  But we did extent the mat from wall to wall.

What a challenge we encountered at 8:30 in the morning.  The new mat material is 2 inches thick, 6 feet wide and 42 feet long and covered with carpet material. In fact, it is a  gymnastics mat.  It came in 4 tightly rolled bundles. We knew when ordered that they would not fit through the door so we were four people strong.  (guest what, not enough people) We had to unroll each mat and snake it through the door, up the stairs to the second floor, around the corner, down the hall, through the dojo door then lay it down with chairs on each end for several hours to get it to lay flat.  Consider that process times four.  Two hours later we were done the bull work.

5pm that afternoon we started the process of fitting the 4 pieces together, cutting them to length and filling in the corners and odd nooks.  The joints are covered and held together with 5 inch wide velcro strips and fit very nice.  Just about the whole dojo joined together to put it down. Nice work, everybody.

The question usually comes up as: What does the future hold?  Then comes: Is there an answer?

Short version, Yes!

Realistically I may not know the exact answer.  However, why concern myself over what I cannot control.  But that calls up another idea.  Do we or do we not draw to us what we agonize over? And is that not an ancillary form of control?

The answer is both yes and no.  The truth is, most things we worry about will never materialize.  That said, consider this: We really do draw to ourselves whatever happens.  As I’ve stated before, most situations we find ourselves in are a result of what we did or did not do. Even though we may have agonized over some supposedly detrimental situation, it usually comes ( if it comes at all) in a manner or form we do not expect.

Getting to the essence of all this stuff requires no more than a simple and practical “thought” equation one must bring into play.

Learn from the past; Prepare for the future; Live in the present!

That’s all there is, there ain’t no more; just the eternal NOW!

In writing the book “Stepping Off the Mat,” I had no idea the mental training and conditioning of Aikido would come in handy in a completely new and different direction.   To be completely honest I know all about the mental aspiration and preparation for surgery since I’ve had 4 major operations in my adult life.  I knew the necessity of relaxation in preparation for surgery I just did not realize I would have to use it during the  surgery yesterday morning.

Cataract surgery is done with the patient fully conscious, fully awake.  They place an IV in the arm for an anesthesia just in case of an emergency but unless something happens it is not used, which was the case yesterday.   I knew this before hand I just thought they would administer something to make me drowsy.   Nope, it didn’t happen.

I was told to stare at the bright light overhead which I did.  They covered up my other eye and placed a cloth around and against my eyelids so I could not blink and started in. Of course, they put multiple drops in my eye to dilate it in the  pre-operation procedure and gave me a valium tablet as a relaxer.

The Aikido training I applied as I was asked to relax.  It was difficult to do when I’ve never had someone fiddling around in my eye for the first time.  What added to the strange sensation is there was no pain just that odd little pulling and nipping.  The doctor must cut the membrane then cut and vacuum out the old lens and implant  a permanent artificial lens so the sounds are not very reassuring either.

I focused on the bright light and on my breathing.  It’s very interesting that I was not going back and forth between the two.  I  simply noticed my breath  as a background happening in addition to the light.

As I’ve explained to my students over and over, relaxation is the key, or ki to everything.  The actual procedure only takes 7 and a half minutes, but those 7.5 minutes seem like an eternity when you are under the knife.  Most fights never last that long.

I’m fine now, though my left eye has not yet regained its full focus.  No physical Aikido, no bending forward and no driving for the remainder of the week and not pressure or rubbing on the eye for two weeks.

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.

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 since there’s no such thing as a total vacuum.

As martial arts teachers, to have martial skill is obviously essential, however, our success should be gauged by many other aspects of our lives in addition to how highly we develop those martial skills. Of course I’m speaking more of the “Do” arts here, not the “Jutsu.”

While fighting skills are more necessary than ever today, fighting skills are not nearly enough.  The Roman soldier no longer exists. In this age the thinking man with a “super strong will,” will survive.

Historically we may be measured by how great an impact we had on our students. How great a skill level and degree of knowledge imparted, rather than how many followers we developed.  The wise martial arts teacher must help develop wisdom in his or her students. And while you can’t make that horse drink the water you led him to, you can demonstrate commitment and follow-through, good character and a great attitude, grace, servility and leadership by the way you live, by the way you conduct your life.

The courage to live this way is, in my opinion, a by-product achieved while developing fighting skills.

Your students are watching what you do in addition to what you say…you’re having an…

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.