You Are The Answer

A few students are ready to take their next Aikido grading.  We decided to structure classes differently so as to help them prepare for their respective tests.  In addition, we wish to take this opportunity to strengthen their fundamentals and shape them up in general.  Grading is not just about getting a new belt.  It is supposed to be an educational experience, after all.

Many times, when I make corrections for a particular student, he seemed surprised. "Did I do that???" he says.  Apparently, he is not quite aware of what he has been doing and how he is moving.

As the late Donovan Waite Sensei suggested, when students do something very different from what is shown in demonstrations in class, we ask them, "Where did that come from?  Why did you do that?"  Quite often, the response is either plain silence or "I don't know."  

After a long day of work, people can get task-oriented and start taking the "Whatever It Takes" approach to make something happen on the mat, rather than letting things happen.  The moment they slip into that mode, all their intentions and awareness are directed towards manipulating their partners.  As willfulness is in full swing, mindfulness promptly goes down the drain.  

It is interesting to watch people focus so much on what is happening to their partners' bodies that they lose sight of what is happening to their own.  Their posture, balance and alignment quickly vaporizes.  

"Can you see that you just threw yourself away?  There is no technique that is worth throwing oneself away."  When I reenact what I saw in front of the class, I can see the uneasiness on people'e faces.  They know what they did -- just not aware enough while they were doing it.  "Why did you do this?  What was going on in your mind?  I have some ideas.  It is slightly different for different people.  However, I am not going to tell you because you should know.  If you don't, you may want to find out for yourself."

As Endo Sensei once said, the goal of training is to develop an unwavered mind.  If you can stay calm and exercise good self control, even in face of a challenging situation, you really do not have to do much.  

In Aikido and life in general, self control and awareness is key.  Stop looking outwards.  The answer is inside yourself.