Sensei Berry on Aikido

What to write when no new thoughts come to mind. What I mean is I don’t have anything pressing me, shouting to get out. Of course I’ve been here before and it can sometimes be bothersome. The same thing sometimes happens while teaching. No inspiration, no new ideas. When these situations occur I just practice.

Practice what you ask? Would it surprise you to learn that I do not use lesson plans? My reasoning can be simply explained. When I plan my lessons they can come off stiff and sometimes kind of lifeless. However, when I tap into the students’ energy and practice spontaneity the lessons come off charged and inspiring, able to transform a student. I call it energizing. Some have called it spirituality. All I know is that I cannot take credit for the ideas for they come from the universe, through me to the students. I am just a conduit.. On many, many occasions, I will teach an idea I have never uttered before or even thought of before. It’s as if the teaching is for me as well as the students.

For me there’s one shortcoming from this type of learning and it is this: unless I video-tape the lesson I cannot always remember said lesson after I’ve taught it. Years ago, in Quiet Storm, I would encounter a student using an unfamiliar technique and and when questioning the student got a surprise. He would say “you taught me this technique last year.” That happened many, many times in Quiet Storm, now it’s happening in Aikido.

So, I just practice. Something will come.