Aikido Center of Los Angeles

Aiki Dojo Message: Fall Back Friday - The Natural Path

Reverend Kensho Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on August 10, 2005.

Aikido practice must always be clear, simple, natural and with good spirit. If you can master these qualities alone, you will be a great person!

What we think is difficult is actually simple, and what we think is simple is actually quite difficult. At least, this is the way to understand our Aikido practice. . . . .

Self-defense is nothing more than living life in a simple and safe way. Why we fight with each other or feel we must gain power or advantage over others, is simply a distortion of how we should understand the life we lead. . . .

There is nothing more easy and natural than Aikido. However, how to find this easy natural Path is very difficult.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Read more about Furuya Sensei here: http://www.kenshofuruya.com

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

Aiki Dojo Message - Understand

The best Aikidoist seeks to understand.

Aikidoists take the world view that there are no accidents. If there are in fact no accidents, then everything fits together into a puzzle forming a bigger picture. Thus, everything has meaning. I am not talking about it from a philosophical or religious standpoint of who gets to be in control of the direction. What I am talking about is trying to understand oneself within this moment and understand the meaning of how or why this occurrence factors into the larger picture. With this mindset, an Aikidoist becomes a seeker.

Every day when students arrive at the dojo, they should have an intention - they should be working on something. They should be proactive and work to perfect some aspect of their technique or themselves. Those that just show up, will gain some benefit but those that have a purpose will improve much faster.

Improvement in Aikido is incremental. We improve inch by inch, or step by step.
One thing students should be working on is perfecting their footwork. It is thought that the better the footwork, the more efficient the technique will be. Conversely, the more the feet move in a nonsensical or wasted way, the more inefficient the movement will be. In the old days of teaching, footwork was the last thing they taught. It was the last because if a student knew the footwork, then they also knew or could figure out the timing of the technique or how the technique generated power. This information could then be used in the future to defeat the system, the technique, or the teacher - so it was taught last. Therefore, even the smallest step has meaning and importance to the overall movement. Interestingly, when the Japanese say, kyakkashouko (脚下照顧), it means “look carefully where your own footsteps fall” but it can also mean “know thyself.”

When I was a student, Reverend Kensho Furuya Sensei used to end his talks and some of his blog posts with the rhetorical question, “Can you understand this?” The way I took it, was that it was an open challenge. It was like he was saying, “Go home and think about this and see if you can figure it out.” I could have just sat there and nodded my head waiting for the class to end or I could try to be proactive and try to understand it. Trying to understand something is about “introspection” or naisei (内省) and it creates the mindset of intentionality. A person who has this doesn’t just want to be told the answer. A true seeker wants their own “aha” moment and to discover their own meaning. They don’t just want to borrow someone else’s enlightenment.

The goal of every human being and Aikidoist alike is to find themselves. At Ryoanji temple in Kyoto, there is a famous tsukubai or stone “washbasin.” On the face of the stone basin there are four kanji characters that are surrounding a square. The ideographs alone don’t mean anything, but when combined with the square (口), the characters become 吾 唯 足 知 which translates as ware tada taru wo shiru or “I only know contentment.” Through training, we only train to know contentment. Contentment is a function of knowing ourselves and understanding the meaning of our lives and its components. Everyone wants to win, but the best Aikidoists want more - they seek to understand. Can you understand this?

Today’s goal: If everything happens for a reason, seek to understand. Ask yourself, what’s the reason for this?

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

Aiki Dojo Message - Chance

“Chance favors only the prepared mind” - Louis Pasteur

The best Aikidoists leave nothing to chance.

In Aikido, we are supposed to be scanning for our opponent’s suki (隙) or “openings” and simultaneously hiding our own “weak points.” Weak points are used to gain advantage and hopefully the victory. Interestingly, the word suki can also mean “chance.” Thus, one can posit that chance needs some sort of opening.

This makes sense, up to a certain point, that chance is a function of preparedness. In Japanese, “attack preparedness” is kougekitaisei (攻撃態勢). If we are diligent in our preparations, then chance will go in our favor but if we are careless in our training then most likely chance will not. One definition of chance is “The occurrence and development of events in the absence of any obvious design.” Therefore, to the ardent Aikidoist, chance or its effect on the outcome is largely about effort.

In the dojo, students should be searching for incremental improvements in their techniques. With every mindful repetition of technique, a pattern should start to emerge. Some patterns are about what is working while others are about what is not. Those things that are not working enable us to “see” where we need to put in the work. With every wrinkle that we smooth out, we get closer and closer to perfection. Obviously, perfection is not attainable or sustainable but in striving for it, we close the gap on chance.

When I was a student, we weren’t allowed to hurry in the dojo. We weren’t allowed to do things in a hurried way like run in the dojo or throw things to each other. My first foray into this was on someone else’s behalf. During a black belt examination, Reverend Kensho Furuya Sensei asked the candidate to demonstrate tanto-tori or knife disarming techniques called for a tanto. At that moment, a black belt slid one across the mat. Sensei got mad and afterwards unleashed a diatribe on this guy. We all had to sit in seiza and listen to this lecture for what seemed like an hour. The gist of Sensei’s teardown was, as Martha Beck would say, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” He spoke about how we don’t run in the dojo or throw things because a moment of carelessness can cause damage, an accident, or an injury. He said something to the effect that when the time comes, it is hard to separate being a normal person from being a martial artist and that our sloppiness in the dojo would most likely carry over to carelessness on the street.

From Sensei’s teardown, I learned that rules of the dojo weren’t there to oppress me but were there to help me develop good habits. Learning those good habits could then be applied to everything in my life because it really is true that “how you do anything is how you do everything.”

Author James Clear said, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” The system is how we prepare ourselves. Without a doubt, chance can never be completely eliminated but it can be mitigated if we prepare ourselves ahead of time.

In Aikido and in life, we should try to use chance to our benefit. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Well begun is half done.” His wisdom indicates that if we prepare ourselves ahead of time, the chances of things going in our favor are much higher. Things will happen and we can never be 100% prepared but the more we apply ourselves in our training, the more likely the outcome is in our favor. A good Aikidoist understands this and does their best to leave nothing to chance.

Today’s goal: Apply yourself, leave nothing to chance.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

Aiki Dojo Message: Fall Back Friday - The Teacher is a Compass

Reverend Kensho Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on March 11, 2002.

If I were to think about the main objective of being an Aikido teacher for myself, I would say that, most importantly, it would be to set the student's life on a good, constructive and fulfilling course. I think this is an old idea. In olden days, teachers were known as "compasses" who kept their students' lives on course.

In the dojo, the first objective is to give the student a basic knowledge of Aikido and perhaps the initial phase of training may be pretty much physical. However, as students advance, especially at the black belt level, it seems that the proper attitude and mental focus is very important because this is what will be most valuable to the student's life in the long run.

From the standpoint of the teacher, on the mats, it is easy to correct the technique because we can see what is wrong immediately with the students' technique or posture or balance, etc. However, it is the students' mental focus and posture which is much more difficult because it can't be readily seen and it is often hidden deep inside the student's heart.

At the same time, the student must learn to be open to the teacher and express the proper attitude in training. This is why we follow the proper etiquette and rules for training because it is through these forms that one can learn how to behave and act properly. One may not understand these rules at first so they are difficult, but as time goes on and one gains more experience and knowledge in the art, they become very clear and one sees how necessary they are.

Sometimes, I have to watch myself because I am always harping on the same subject day after day so you must be tired of hearing me talk about the same thing over and over again. I only do this because it is always on my mind and because it is so important.

When I talk with my students and everyone, most people are so interested in the so-called "mental" or "spiritual" aspects of the art, but few - very few - ever approach it. I think, nowadays, we are much too absorbed with our own selves. The "Self" as we know it, is not "mind" and is not "spirit." This Self is something like a big clump of something which is hiding our true mind and spirit. Training is to clear away this clump. This is what we must understand in practice.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Read more about Furuya Sensei here: http://www.kenshofuruya.com

AIKIDO DOJO MANZANO Aikido Kodokai Salamanca- España Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

Aiki Dojo Message - Adapt

“Depending on the circumstance, you should be as hard as a diamond, flexible as a willow, smooth flowing like water, or as empty as space.” - Morihei Ueshiba

The best Aikidoists are masters of adaptability.

The single greatest skill every Aikidoist should cultivate is adaptability. Adaptability is “the quality of being able to adjust to new conditions.” In Japanese, one way to say “adaptability” is tekiouryoku (適応力). Tekiou means “to adapt” and ryoku means “the power to.” Thus, adaptability is having the power to adapt to one’s circumstance, environment, or opponent.

Adaptation is a fluid state of mind that is both willing and capable of finding a way to surmount any situation or circumstance. Every day we are confronted with things that are out of our control. Our egos look upon new or different things with fear and thus it tries to control it. Adaptation looks at it with curiosity and says, “Let’s see what this is all about.”

If every day is the same, then we are probably not growing. To grow, we have to be willing to look at something new or different with a mind to “start over.” Starting over is a function of courage and humility. Do you have the courage or humility to try something new? If not, you are giving into the fear of change. Aikidoist not only court change; they desire it. They desire it because they know that the only way to change is to do adapt and try something different. As Henry Ford once said, “If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.” The normal person likes familiarity and seeks comfort - that’s stagnation. Growth is about trying something different and seeing if it is in fact as scary, hard, or painful as we thought.

Every martial art, Aikido included, has kata (型) or “predetermined movements.” When one thinks of kata, we tend to think of them as being static and one dimensional. What is different in Aikido is that although the attacks and the outcomes are predetermined, what happens in between is not. Aikido movements are supposed to be free flowing and thus its movements are not thought of as kata in the traditional sense. What this means is that the nage or “one doing the technique” has to adjust their movements according to the situation, environment, and how the uke or “one receiving the technique” is moving their body. With every movement of the nage’s body, the uke has to adjust and with each adjustment of the uke’s body, the nage must adjust. No two bodies are alike and so each person will present with a different skill level, body type, and temperament to name just a few. Therefore, each person will have to adapt because every encounter will be similar but different. The mark of a good Aikidoist rests in their ability to adapt their movements to what is being presented. It is a low level of skill to just “do it the way you do it” disregarding the presentation of the situation.

In Aikido and in life, the one constant is change. Each day a new challenge arrives on our doorstep. The challenge will be similar but different than what we were dealing with yesterday. Thus, we have to have the ability to adapt or in a sense “start over.” No matter what comes our way, we have to find a way, mostly a new way, around it, over it or through it. With every adaptation, we simultaneously become bigger and smaller. We become bigger or stronger in what we can do but smaller or more well defined in who we are. As the Buddha once said, “​​Change is never painful, only resistance to change is painful.” So true indeed. In Aikido and in life, it is all about change or rather our ability to adapt to change and that is why the best Aikidoist are masters of adaptability.

Today’s goal: The secret to life and Aikido is being adaptable to change.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

The Aiki Dojo Podcast - Atemi in Aikido

In Episode 53 of the Aiki Dojo Podcast, we discuss atemi (当て身) or the practice of striking in Aikido. We discuss its history, evolution, and its place in training.

Enjoy!

Listen to it here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/aikidojo/episodes/Atemi-in-Aikido-e2mmeqt

The Aiki Dojo Podcast’s goal is to translate traditional Aikido and traditional martial arts training into the modern world. The podcast is hosted by David Ito Sensei who is the Chief Instructor of the Aikido Center of Los Angeles and he brings brings over 30 years of Aikido training to the podcast. The podcast is co-hosted by Ken Watanabe Shihan, Mike Van Ruth, Aikido 4th Dan, and Bill D'Angelo, Aikido 4th Dan. Let us know if you have a topic that you would like Ito Sensei and the team to discuss in the next podcast.

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you download your podcasts.

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Centern #合気道 #居合道　
https://youtu.be/QtnyuqvQaVo

EP53: Atemi in Aikido - The Aiki Dojo Podcast #aikidocenterla #aikidosalamancaaikikai The Aiki Dojo Podcast - Atemi in Aikido In Episode 53 of the Aiki Dojo Podcast, we discuss atemi (当て身) or the practice of striking in Aikido. We discuss its ...

Aiki Dojo Message - No Preferences

“The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When love and hate are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.” - Sengstan

The best Aikidoists have no preferences…

The other day in class, a student was having a difficult time doing kotegaeshi with their partner. As I walked by, the student looked at me with an expression as if to say, “It’s not me, it’s them!” When I inquired, he said in a hushed tone, “He's not taking the right ukemi.” I told him, “That might be true, but you are struggling because of your expectation as to how they ‘should’ be taking your ukemi rather than accepting their limitations and modifying your movement based upon what they can do.”

Reverend Kensho Furuya Sensei’s Zen master Bishop Kenko Yamash*ta used to say, “Nandemo omoidori ni ikanai” (何でも思い通りに行かない) which means “Nothing goes the way you want it to.” The Bishop’s words illustrate a fundamental point in martial arts training - we are not in control of anything outside of ourselves.

In class, many of us are perfectionists and want everything to be “just right.” In a class setting this might be ok because as we are learning the kata of the technique. Kata and repetition are how the techniques enter into our subconscious and become second nature. If we ever have to actually use our Aikido in a self-defense situation, it will be similar but not exactly the same. If we expect that the other person will move like our partners move in class, we will be sadly mistaken. If we can modify our movement to the situation or the attacker, we have a greater chance of being successful. To move accordingly, we will have to be fluid. This fluidity in Aikido can be thought of as ki no nagare (氣の流れ) or “the flow of ki.” Fluidity and spontaneity can only come after we have mastered the basics and those basic movements have effectively entered into our subconscious.

The main thing which impedes our ability to be fluid is our ego’s desire to maintain control and stave off uncertainty. To have a preference or a way in which we want something to go is a form of control. We want control and shy away from uncertainty because we think that will help us manage fear. However, fear is not something to be controlled but only accepted. This is where the Bishop’s words become poignant. When we can accept that nothing goes the way we want it to, we can accept that the fear exists, and we can loosen the grip it has over us.

It is not that we should be robots devoid of wants and desires. Allowing things to be as they “are” is a mindset. A trained martial artist has realized that control of anything external is just an illusion and thus all we can do is ride the tide. In the end, the only thing we can control is ourselves in this one moment. Perhaps that is why the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi listed “accept things as they are” as his first tenet to live by.

Life and Aikido training will be filled with ups and downs. When something untoward happens, it is only natural that it causes us to become upset. We get upset because that undesirable thing smacks up against our sense of entitlement and we don’t feel that we deserve it. The best Aikidoists know that the only thing that they truly have control over is themselves and how they act and react when something uncomfortable happens. Realizing this, that is why the best have no preferences.

Today’s goal: Go with the flow. Happiness comes to those who have no preferences.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

Aiki Dojo Message: Fall Back Friday - Work Together

Reverend Kensho Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on January 12, 2003.

Definitely, Aikido is not a sport but if it was it would be a very unusual one! Not in the sense that it will be a competition of strength or skill and not in the sense that one will accumulate points. Aikido would be unusual because everyone, one and all, would carry the ball at the same time, not just the star player! Of course, I am only saying something silly, but the point is, sports only features the player or victor and hardly focuses on the team anymore. In Aikido, we are all in the same boat when it comes to our training. Thus, we have to work together.

Not only do we look out for ourselves and develop ourselves, but we must see to all the others around us. This great fundamental difference between Aikido and sports means that we do not focus on ourselves in a self-centered way, but we must think of everything and everyone around us and learn to work well together.

It sounds like an easy enough concept, and I am sure that we have heard it many times before, but, in reality, working together with others is probably the single most difficult skill to accomplish and always we are so vulnerable to frustration and disappointment. Today, it only seems to make sense that "only #1 comes first.” What a sad world this mentality creates. Why don’t we take a minute or two and take a good look around ourselves? No one accomplishes anything by themselves.

Sometimes this singular focus happens in a dojo too. People think it is like a supermarket, only getting what they want and then leaving. Smart ones leave the market quickly once the shopping is done so that they don't waste too much money or time. I suppose this is the smart way to be, but, again, I ask, “look at the world around you today!” A dojo is a different place - where we go, we all go together. Aikido is a different Art - no one can achieve its mastery alone. Please work well together.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Read more about Furuya Sensei here: http://www.kenshofuruya.com

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

The dojo will be at Zenshuji Soto Mission 66th annual obon. We will be at the chicken teriyaki booth. Come by and watch us aikido-ing some chicken!

Aiki Dojo Message - Sincerity

"Economy is the basis of society. When the economy is stable, society develops. The ideal economy combines the spiritual and the material, and the best commodities to trade in are sincerity and love." ~ Morihei Ueshiba

The best Aikidoists strive to be sincere. The Japanese believe in the proverb shiseitennitsuuzu (至誠天に通ず) or “Sincerity can move heaven.”

One way to say “sincere” in Japanese is magokoro (真心) which means “true heart.” Conversely, “insincerity” is kokoronimonai (心にも無い) or “to have an empty heart.”To be sincere is “the quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy.” True sincerity is easier said than done. The normal person isn’t intentionally insincere. Most times they are insincere because of fear and an unconscious desire for love and acceptance. They think that if they express what is truly in their hearts, then they won’t be loved or accepted. Thus, they spend an inordinate amount of time and energy “faking until they make it.”

An Aikidoist is supposed to be a developed person. A developed person, as someone once stated, strives to ”speak with honesty, think with sincerity, and act with integrity.” The person of Aikido is not supposed to lie, cheat, steal, or show off. Those things expose the true nature of what lies in our hearts and each one demonstrates a certain level of weakness.

Reverend Kensho Furuya Sensei said, “You can learn everything you need to know about a person by how they do Aikido.” The reason why is because although the movements may be physical, the intention of one’s movements are dictated mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

In class, we attack or move with the sincerity of our hearts. If we are happy, mad, or sad, it is evident in our movements. One way to work on this is in the attack. When talking about the strength, energy, power, or enthusiasm of the attack, Furuya Sensei often advised us to attack our partners with “just enough.” Just enough means the right amount of strength, energy, or power to help our partners do the technique properly for their ability level and just a little bit more to help them grow. We need to know how much is just enough. In order to do that, we need to be aware of our own tendencies and balance that out with the needs of our partners. We cannot be unaware and give our partners just enough. Not enough won’t enable our partners to grow. Too much will overwhelm them and stunt their growth and it might even cause them to become discouraged and quit. Thus, throughout class, we train ourselves to not attack from a place of emotion. To do that, with every strike or grab, we must relax our minds and remember to breathe. Being mindful of our breath enables us to be in the moment and not living in the past in our heads. When we are mindful of ourselves and aware of others, we can attack our partners with just enough.

Sincerity is not something we achieve. True sincerity is a practice. It is so easy to give into our fears and destroy other people. Likewise, it is easy to give into insecurities and lie, cheat, steal, or show off. To open our hearts and be truly sincere takes so much fortitude that it seems as if it can move heaven. The Aikidoist understands that the path towards their own salvation lies in their ability to be truly sincere. Thus, the ardent practitioner of Aikido trains themselves to eliminate insincerity, fear, and self-doubt from their hearts.

Today’s goal: "Speak with honesty, think with sincerity, and act with integrity.”

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

Aiki Dojo Message: Fall Back Friday - The Layers of Practice

Reverend Kensho Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on March 26, 2005.

Usually, we practice to develop our technique with the purpose of getting stronger and developing more expertise in Aikido. However, this is only one layer of many layers of practice. Of course, we practice hard to develop ourselves. There is another layer of practice where we must emphasize harmony in practice and learning to get along with others and working together in a friendly way. And yet there is another layer where we emphasize the form and rules in the practice to mold ourselves within the spirit of Aikido. And yet, at another level, there is the question of how we bring our Aikido into our daily lives and materialize the Aikido teachings in thought and action.

When you think about it, these are all obvious aspects of our Aikido training. Yet, how we realize all of this together in our Aikido practice takes a lifetime of study. Please devote yourself to correct practice.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Read more about Furuya Sensei here: http://www.kenshofuruya.com

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

Great 10th anniversary seminar at North Coast Aikikai 合気会北岸 with Andy Demko Shihan

Aiki Dojo Message - Move Forward

臨 兵 闘者皆陣列在前
Rin byo to sha kai jin retsu zai zen
The bravest warrior excels at the front of the battlefield

The best Aikidoists move forward.

Psychologists tell us that there are five hardwired responses to stress: fight, flight, freeze, flop, and fawn. There is actually a sixth - Aikido. Most of the responses to stress are either passive or aggressive. Aikido is neither - it is proactive. To be proactive is to take control of the situation or attacker. In Aikido, we talk about this concept called awaseru (合わせる). Awaseru means “to unite” but people take this understanding to mean “harmony.” In other words, Aikidoist harmonize with the attack or stressor. We don’t fight or resist the attack, that is aggression. We also don’t become passive and fall apart or freeze out of fear and we definitely don’t just give in and comply. In Aikido, to awaseru, we move in or move with the attack, change the orientation of its power, create alignment with that power, and then redirect that power into something useful like a pin, throw, or joint lock. However, this is easier said than done. To get to this level where we can be proactive instead of reactive takes time and training.

In Aikido training, one of the first things we learn is how to irimi (入身) or “move in.” The reason why is because irimi is the gateway to Aikido movement. It is the gateway because moving into an attack is counter intuitive and irimi teaches us how to have composure to do so. When we are attacked, our basic survival instincts kick in and we either fight or run away. To move into an attack requires not only technique but also courage. In the beginning, we will be late out of fear and/or lack of technique. This lag causes our timing to be late which will enable our opponent to crush us with their strike or jam us up with their grab. With time and training, we become more developed, and our bodies move appropriately. But more than movement, our minds will become somewhat desensitized to the fear of moving in and this is where this idea of harmony comes into play. Harmony is more of an internal phenomenon rather than an external physical response. When we have overcome the fear, our bodies and minds achieve seijaku (静寂) or “quietude.” In Zen, they say that with this quietude comes a “calmness of the heart” or a stillness within. With this calmness or quietude, we can meet that which confronts us with complete composure and truly awaseru or harmonize with the attack rather than fight against it.

Aikido and life are really about the confrontation of fear. Fear shows us where we need to put in the work in. Anyone can punch adversity in the face but only a developed person can move forward and harmonize with their fears. Reverend Kensho Furuya Sensei was fond of this expression, “rin byo to sha kai jin retsu zai zen” which means “The bravest warrior excels at the front of the battlefield.” We cannot grow if we cower in the back. The only way to be free of our fears and grow is to move forward into them. In the Hagukure, Yamamoto Tsunetomo wrote, “Whenever you meet difficult situations dash forward bravely and joyfully.” Thus, the best Aikidoists move forward relentlessly but also joyfully.

Today’s goal: Once you find your path, move forward and be relentless, but don’t forget to smile joyfully.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center