"Relax" Seems to Be the Hardest Word
I met the late Ichihashi Norihiko Shihan the first time in 1996 when he was sent by Hombu Dojo to teach seminars in Hong Kong and then Macau. Mike and I were assigned to be his escorts to Macau. Therefore, in addition to attending Sensei's classes, we got the opportunity to spend time with him after class.
Most of us, Aikido students, have had teachers say "Relax!" to our faces many times. But, how many of you have had the chance to say it back to a teacher, particularly an 8th degree shihan? Oh, I have. Many times, actually. I believe Ichihashi Sensei was my first.
During practice, I noticed Sensei was constantly rubbing the base of his left thumb. I later asked him over a drink what it was about. He said he injured his thumb and it had been hurting. I offered to work on it using acupressure. Without hesitation, Sensei gave me his hand.
"Ahhhhh! ITAI!" Sensei blurted out loud a split second later. ("Itai" means "Painful" in Japanese.) "Sorry, Sensei. You want me to stop?" I looked at him sheepishly. "No, no. It's ok. It hurts good." Sensei mumbled with squinty eyes.
"Relax, Sensei, relax," I said to him with much sympathy. I know acupressure treatment can be quite intensely painful. Looking at me with his teary puppy eyes, the Aikido shihan whimpered, "Yes, I know, I know. Itai ne . . ."
Ichihashi Sensei displayed an array of rather interesting facial expressions during the process, but he insisted that I continue to work on his hand. "Very good ki mochi!"he commented. Because of this good energy he felt, he asked me to work on him many more times during the trip.
Conclusion: If you want to have the pleasure of saying to an Aikido master the magic word of "Relax!", consider learning to do bodywork.
Most of us, Aikido students, have had teachers say "Relax!" to our faces many times. But, how many of you have had the chance to say it back to a teacher, particularly an 8th degree shihan? Oh, I have. Many times, actually. I believe Ichihashi Sensei was my first.
During practice, I noticed Sensei was constantly rubbing the base of his left thumb. I later asked him over a drink what it was about. He said he injured his thumb and it had been hurting. I offered to work on it using acupressure. Without hesitation, Sensei gave me his hand.
"Ahhhhh! ITAI!" Sensei blurted out loud a split second later. ("Itai" means "Painful" in Japanese.) "Sorry, Sensei. You want me to stop?" I looked at him sheepishly. "No, no. It's ok. It hurts good." Sensei mumbled with squinty eyes.
"Relax, Sensei, relax," I said to him with much sympathy. I know acupressure treatment can be quite intensely painful. Looking at me with his teary puppy eyes, the Aikido shihan whimpered, "Yes, I know, I know. Itai ne . . ."
Ichihashi Sensei displayed an array of rather interesting facial expressions during the process, but he insisted that I continue to work on his hand. "Very good ki mochi!"he commented. Because of this good energy he felt, he asked me to work on him many more times during the trip.
Conclusion: If you want to have the pleasure of saying to an Aikido master the magic word of "Relax!", consider learning to do bodywork.
A good "reversal" story!
ReplyDelete