It Is Easier Than You Think!
"Stop thinking!" "You are thinking too much!" I believe most Aikido students have received such comment from their instructors. I remember the days of constantly being reminded of that myself.
Aikido is an activity that attracts intellects -- folks who have higher degrees, professionals who have the tendency of analyzing everything, overthinking everything. Students expect and sometimes even demand their instructor to explain to them verbally how things works. During practice, they cannot help having discussions with their partners about the technique they are doing.
Larry Levitt Shihan is known to use very few words when he teaches Aikido. Levitt Sensei is a retired counsellor. He once explained the logic of this practice using his knowledge in how the brain works:
It is counter productive to rely on verbal tuition when teaching Aikido. The moment you start talking to students, you trigger the language center in their brains, which is a very different region than the movement center. The more you encourage students to verbalize their experience, the more you stimulate their language center, which means, the more you diminish their ability to learn to feel and move.
When people overthink, they tend to pause their movements frequently. Pausing in movement breaks the flow, which, in turn, breaks the breathing pattern. Aikido is about the harmonization of mind, body and breathing. If it is not good for us to frequently pause or hold our breath, we probably should not keep pausing our movements either.
Do yourself a favor: Don't think, feel. Maintain a good flow and let the flow guide your movements.
Trust me, it is really easier than your think. So, stop thinking!
Aikido is an activity that attracts intellects -- folks who have higher degrees, professionals who have the tendency of analyzing everything, overthinking everything. Students expect and sometimes even demand their instructor to explain to them verbally how things works. During practice, they cannot help having discussions with their partners about the technique they are doing.
Larry Levitt Shihan is known to use very few words when he teaches Aikido. Levitt Sensei is a retired counsellor. He once explained the logic of this practice using his knowledge in how the brain works:
It is counter productive to rely on verbal tuition when teaching Aikido. The moment you start talking to students, you trigger the language center in their brains, which is a very different region than the movement center. The more you encourage students to verbalize their experience, the more you stimulate their language center, which means, the more you diminish their ability to learn to feel and move.
When people overthink, they tend to pause their movements frequently. Pausing in movement breaks the flow, which, in turn, breaks the breathing pattern. Aikido is about the harmonization of mind, body and breathing. If it is not good for us to frequently pause or hold our breath, we probably should not keep pausing our movements either.
Do yourself a favor: Don't think, feel. Maintain a good flow and let the flow guide your movements.
Trust me, it is really easier than your think. So, stop thinking!
Comments
Post a Comment