Heart In The Right Place

Sometimes Aikido instructors get to play advice columnists . . . 

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Dear Mike and Meipo, 

Yesterday was wonderful.  I appreciate the help both of you gave me.

As I am practicing at home, is it better to try to practice the whole kata; or to pick particular parts of it to work on?

If it is the second, where would you suggest that I focus?

Thanks again for a wonderful class.

Stephan 

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Hi, Stephan!

I am a big believer in basics.  Whatever you do, if the foundation is shaky, nothing works.

A kata is a collection of different moves.  The moves may look different on the outside, but the one main commonality is the consistency in the form, the structure, meaning how you stand, how you hold the jo to incorporate into the big structure.  How good is your alignment?  If your front foot is constantly crooked, the very bottom foundation is compromised.  Where is the back end of the jo pointing?  Is it aligned with the edge of your hanmi?  If not, your form is broken.  Are you picking up your jo?  If so, your shoulders are up, and your jo is not aligned with your edge, once again, your form is broken. I can go on and on about possible ways that one can have the form compromised and render fancy moves totally useless.

I understand that it is a lot more "satisfying" to wave the stick around and do a set of fancy looking kata to feel good about oneself.  However, for your practice to be meaningful and for the moves to be actually useful, it all starts with self-awareness.  It takes a lot of discipline and patience to shape oneself and to be rid of bad habits.  If you are to practice alone at home, instead of rushing through a whole series of moves, I'd recommend doing one move at a time.  Before you start, check your posture and alignments.  Do the move, then stop and check everything all over again.  Take notes of any deviation and then do the next one.  Repeat process as you do the next one.

Long time ago at the old dojo, there was a large mirror on the wall.  In addition to regular practice nights, I spent Friday evenings to do weapons all by myself for years.  I looked at the mirror to check my alignment and practice one move at a time.  I did many, many repetitions until I was tired and my mind was numb.

Doing martial arts is no different from playing music.  Every note is just as essential.  The goal of playing is to play, not to rush to a finish.  There is no instant gratification, but only persistence and drills.  The practice is for something inside of you.  The enemy is inside.  It is not about hitting anything outside.  If your enthusiasm is about fighting something outside, you are totally missing the point.

This is a mistake that many aikido students make.  I almost feel like I should turn the above into a blog post . . . 

meipo

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Sure enough, I have.  Thank you, Stephan.