The Neutralizer

At a recent dojo gathering, we had the pleasure of having Takeguchi Sensei in our company.  It was a precious opportunity for students to listen to Sensei talk and to ask him questions directly.  

One student asked Sensei how he could be so patient because the student, himself, has a hard time with certain people at work.  He finds these people annoying and difficult, and he often loses his patience with them.  

Sensei broke into a gentle smile like he always does.  He said, "I have many students and they are all different.  Some of them are loud and they are full of questions . . . " as he rolled his eyes to glance at me.  "So what do you do?  You just deal with them."  

Sensei and I exchanged a look and we both laughed.

The student was confused.  "Sensei did not answer my question," he thought, but I think Sensei already did.  

I later found out that the student took Sensei's words to mean "You just ignore them."  His interpretation is almost the exact opposite of the message I think Sensei was trying to convey.

That evening, Sensei said to the students that, one thing distinct about Aikido is that one can practice with everybody.  Regardless of the size and strength of the partner, you can throw them all the same.  It is pretty unique for a martial art.  And this is also why we can have Aikido students of all levels and sizes practice together on the same mat.

Applying this idea to everyday life, aren't the annoying and difficult people at work akin to big, strong, resistant partners?  If you use your mental Aikido properly, you should be able to deal with difficult people just like you do with the easygoing ones and result in the same outcome -- harmony.  Sensei is very good at this.  That is why everybody who knows him says he is a very nice person.  

How does Sensei do that?  "You neutralize their attacks." Sensei says.  And how does one neutralize attacks?  "You have to be willing and be able to adjust."

Not blocks, not hits and not evasion.  It is to adjust.

Seishiro Endo Sensei once said, "Stiffness in the body is due to stiffness in the mind."  

Aikido is harmony.  Harmony is the result of blending, not insisting, resisting and standing your ground.  If you are not ready to change, your feet will not move.  You do not move?  Even without anybody's help, you are already stuck!  As Endo Sensei once asked the crowd at his seminar, "You can be free.  Why do you put yourself in jail?"

Your body is simply a reflection of your mind.  Whatever physical obstacle you encounter on the mat is just a manifestation of what is going on in your heart.  

If you want change, change starts with you.  Make your first step.