"I Am Only Being Gentle."

Aikido is an art, not a jutsu.  Like other art forms, ultimately, it is an expression of oneself.  Naturally, with time, even though the movements and techniques are commonly shared by different schools, the manners they are performed diverge into a wide spectrum like a giant rainbow.

People make their choices based on their own personal criteria.  Even when I first started Karate, I did not aim at being able to beat up someone.  I just wanted to be able to protect myself.  With my small build and the personality I have developed, I choose to follow a path towards the more gentle end of the Aikido spectrum.

Once, a small, young lady who was newly transplanted to the DC area came to the dojo.  After practice, she came to shake my hand and gave me a big hug.  "My teachers have always been very big men.  I could never do what they did because I am not even half their size.  I thought there was no hope for me.  But you just showed me small people can do things do.  You gave me hope!"

Not only was the comment very flattering, it gave me hope, too!  I also practiced with a lot of big men when I first started.  I was beaten up and ridiculed.  I thought about quitting so manly times, but  I persisted.  "O Sensei and his top students were not huge guys.  If they could do it, why can't I?"  And now, some young lady tells me, after practicing with me, that I am showing her hope.  I must have done something right.

People who have only experienced force and impact cannot appreciate gentle Aikido.  They think it is fake.  "It is so choreographed.  It is a scam!" "He is a fraud."  "It does not work!" are common comments to be found under YouTube videos of teachers like Yamaguchi Sensei and Endo Sensei.  I do not even bother to argue with these people because it is obvious that they have not experienced it themselves.  When we do not even share a common experience, how can we have a discussion?

A Chiba-style Aikido student once reluctantly joined an Endo seminar with us.  In his mind, there was no way you can take down someone or make them fly without using force.  Otherwise, where does the energy come from?  Happily, Endo Sensei called him up for uke at one point.  The young man launched his strongest attacks, but he missed every time.  Endo Sensei dealt with him only with his finger tips.  The whole class watched the young man thrash round on the mat like a fish out of water, but he could never escape Sensei's fingers.

"I was prepared that this is going to be a waste of money.  I just wanted to find out what this fad is all about.  It blew my mind that he threw me and pinned me, but I did not feel a thing.  I don't know how he did it.  I am stunned!"  Not that this young man has become more gentle when he practices Aikido, but at least, he has stopped saying that gentle style Aikido is just "being weak".

What many skeptics fail to see is that, to be able to do gentle Aikido effectively, you have to have very strong, clear basic body movements and be very connected within yourself before you can afford a gentle interface with your partner.  The inability to see beyond force and impact is a reflection of the lack of depth in the understanding of martial arts on the critics' part.

Harry Ng Sensei from Singapore is another great teacher who has beautiful, gentle, yet powerful Aikido.  One time, someone went up to Sensei and said, "Sensei, I love your Aikido.  You are so soft!"  Ng Sensei immediately clarified with a serious face, "That is not correct:  Do not say I am soft.  I am only being gentle."