Hurry Up And Wait

I really like an article I recently read on the NYT newsletter -- 'The Morning".  The author recounted a story about how she rushed to work and ended up getting hurt.  Her dissection of the ridiculous logic behind our illogical habit of rushing is priceless.  I highly recommend that you give it a read. 

Read [NYT The Morning 3/2/2024]

This article made my heart smile also because the lesson is exactly what we are trying to learn and teach through Aikido practice: To be here and now.  Simple idea, but much easier said than done.

Among his many wise teachings, Takeguchi Sensei always says, “Finish the movement you have started.”  You really do not save any time or anything at all, including yourself, by skimping on your moves.  

Takeguchi Sensei taught us that, although there may seem to be many different moves in martial arts, if we boil it all down, there are actually only two kinds of moves: Blocks and Hits.  As nage, when faced with an attack, you always have to block yourself before you get to hit back.  As exciting as the technique might be, if you rush and skip the block in your entrance move, and jump to hit, you, actually, will never get to hit.  

Reason?  Dead people are dead.  They don’t get to do anything, including to hit.

Alternatively, if you do not deliver a full hit and try to rush to your next move, you may find yourself stuck in an awkward position where it is impossible to block yourself.  Nor can you hit again from there.  

Different way of rushing, but the same result.  Trust me: Being dead is really not fun.

At one Summer Camp, Osawa Sensei spent a lot of time correcting a common alignment problem that is a result of rushing.  He pointed out how we use our bodies in Aikido like in Sumo: the upper and lower limbs on the same side move together.  This right hand/ right foot, left hand/ left foot alignment turns a person into a strong human wall.  The problem is that, when people rush as they turn, before they finish the upper body movements, they already step back with one leg.  Maybe they thought moving that way might help them to be ahead of the game?  Unfortunately, it just leads to a right hand/ left foot alignment.  (Or should I say misalignment?)  The moment people rush and break their own structural integrity, they are widely open.  There is no stability and strength left.  They cannot defend themselves.  They rush for a dream, but end up making their worst nightmare come true.  How ironic.

Another common way that people rush is to combine consecutive movements in a sequence.  When doing kaiten and similar moves, for example, instead of enter THEN turn, many people enter AND turn.  

Ask a computer programmer about THEN vs AND.  It makes a huge difference.

By mushing the two distinct moves into one, the ma-ai and the direction of the movements change so dramatically that heaven suddenly turns into hell.  Another irreparable damage to oneself due to rushing.

In her article, the author insightfully pointed out that most misery is caused by rushing.  In addition, impatience and worrying are just different forms of rushing.  

According to Endo Sensei, when O Sensei taught Aikido, he often said, "When your partner does this, you do that.  When this happens, you move that way."  

There is a time for everything.  Yet, many of us just cannot wait.  Reason?  Part impatience, and part worrying.  As a result, many nages shove and pull to hurry their partners, rather than allowing their partners to finish their half of the movement in their own time.  When Yin and Yang start interfering with each other, the cosmos will be out of balance.  How can there be harmony?

I remember Endo Sensei, more than one time, asked us at his seminars, "You are worried.  Why are you so worried?  Why???"  Well, guess why?

Terry Dobson Sensei said Aikido is a lot like dancing.  It is, indeed.  In more than one way.

When we dance, the goal is to interact with our partner so as to create an enjoyable experience to share.  We savor our time together.  Eventually, we will complete our dance, but the goal is never to finish the dance so that we can send our partner back into their seat.  Every moment matters.  It is about the process, not the end.

Likewise, we do not engage with someone in Aikido just to finish a technique.  It is all about the exchange and interaction during the technique.   It is never about the throw.  After all, we do not live so that we can die, do we?

If you get on the Aikido mat with a task-oriented attitude, and you rush because you fear that you may be missing out, I am afraid that you really have been missing out . . .