Back from Gashoku in Jakarta

Just got back today from a 2 day Aiki camp in Puncak at Jakarta. I would show you pictures but since I used up all my memory card for videos instead, you'll have to make do with my words painting the view.

First of all, I had hoped I would lose a little bit of weight say 1-2 kg during the camp. I mean after all we're talking about 5 sessions a day here. Unfortunately it didn't happen quite to plan. The food in Jakarta is undeniably good and they have rice with everything.

Ok back to the subject at hand. I won't narrate everything we did, but only the things I want to make a point of remembering.

The first class we did was with weapons. Jo and bokken practice. The katana tsuki and jo takes awase in 2 ways. One where we had the jo vertical to the side and we irimi to his hand and musubi with chushin. The 2nd, we awase like spear diagonally upwards to uke. The awase is 0 energy by the way. We then continue to go in and execute an irimi nage. Again, no physical pushing, musubi.

We did all the characters of Aiki. Some helpful tips.

For downwards ki, one basic method is to harden ki extension physically and then make it zero.

For ateru (this not proper ateru btw, just like the above is not the correct downwards ki), receive and return. Its almost enveloping the power back like a wave. It does not feel like a catch.

Proper ateru. I managed a bit sporadically here. Keep the feeling of skin and uke's skin. Move uke's skin with yours. Forget gathering ki to center and exploding it out. That's more like Focused energy. In fact sensei says that my skill hitting is focused energy method which can evolve into ateru.

Pulling aiki. Again skin moving skin is the best. A beginner may visualise uke's tanden and connect, then pull the tanden with our movement. Ie. our tanden connect with uke's. Our tanden move our hand and uke's tanden like a line. Don't use triceps!

Always be aware of uke's grip on whereever it is he's gripping. If any movement enforces the sensation, then that is the wrong way.

All waza can use the different characters of aiki. Our preference will be decided by the type of person we are and the situation that uke engages us. But in this school we practice all.

Practiced with jo disarming. Again practice awase.

To reinforce my last post, the sequence of practice is this:

1. Chushin

2. Awase

3. Musubi

4. Kino nagare.

Remember there are various levels of ability for each of the above. But each ability leads to the other. So start with Chushin like sensei, but practice for awase. And when we understand awase more, practice for musubi.

Also, we are reminded that an opponent that grabs us, could have hit us.

If we just focus on tanden to tanden connection, what happens when we have multiple attackers. That's when musubi comes into play. Again musubi here is long distance musubi. Train this with enveloping aiki.

Note, ateru is not harmful. But it will be painful against people who resist especially those who uses energy build ups or shields. Most times they'll get better on their own though it hurts. But other times you'll need someone to push the locked energy out. I have a theory that it all gets warped out because ateru does not have impact. It also doesn't penetrate. It crushes but there is no impulse energy.

Kaoru was heard to mention relax your legs. In fact at anytime we do anything, our body parts should be able to move. Hmm, funny because during our weapons awase, the stances were too wide. Though, the feeling was relaxed. I guess its ok to have long stances if we are not dead weight but poised/as in connected with musubi.

Sensei's parting advise is to teach everyone extension and center. I told him we will practise aiki with the regulars. Otherwise, we'll fall behind everyone in Jakarta.

Something else I need to remember is, we can enter someones space. In fact when we did a tachi version of the jo awase/disarming, it is very penetrative. The feeling is uke gets cramped down. Also note the tachi waza here is more powerful then the jo version. Nage's circle is smaller. This is also harder to do but the key point here is awase must be 0 energy.

I can't remember anything else for now, I'll add it later.

Arigato gozaimus.

Ah, a final wisdom...

What is an apple? A red skin? A yellow flesh? A sweet taste? A nutrious food? A seed...

The Principles of Aikido and Aiki

Whew, the weeklong training with Hakim sensei is coming to an end. Although it has been a hectic week with too many late nights for my liking, the learning has been non stop.

The best thing of it all is that, every practice has been rejuvenating. Its unlike training with some aikido classes, where students ache with pain and injury and training is more often than not a cumbersome exercise filled with disheartening moments.

The practice is not easy. Though physically it is not as demanding as normal classes since Hakim sensei is fond of lecturing about Aikido as much as he is of physically doing 'aikido'. After all, the key here is that Aikido is spiritual in nature. The fundamental aspect that makes it different to other arts, is the spirit and heart that is required to practice aikido with.

Anyway, before I forget everything I've learned so far let me just jot some key points here for everyone's sake.

Principles of Aikido

1. Keep Center

2. Relax

3. Extend Ki

4. Intention

Followed by the Stages

1. Aiki no Kokoro (heart of aiki)

2. Aiki no Genri (principles of aiki)

3. Aiki no Waza (the techniques)

4. Aiki no chakray (the power)

5. Takemusu Aiki (all encompassing/complete aiki)

Characters of Aiki

1. Entering ki

2. Downwards ki - disolve

3. Inviting ki

4. Absorp ki

5. Pulling ki

6. Ateru

7. Enveloping ki/control the mind

No mind

Not thinking about the unnecessary

Immovable spirit

acceptance, surrender

Other training elements

Taking the opponents line. Using inviting aiki, we flow with the line but do not avoid it.

Cut, cut and cut both as nage and uke to maintain weapons

Although we cut, we must find the path to cut and not cut blindly

Extend opponents ki. Up, Down and fingers.

Whilst we extend our ki, make sure we do not just physically extend. There is extension in the mind and the hands are relaxed. We can do physical extension in certain circumstances, but at times we need to make our hands 0 but still extend in the center.

Awase, Musubi and Kino nagare

Maintain chushin. Saeka tanden, kokoro tanden, jo tanden.

Musubi - standing to standing.

Feel opponents center and manipulate it.

Shihonage - ashi sabaki, center down, hand lightly touch above, center move together.

Irimi - 3 styles. Head sweep in. Chushin rotating arm. Ashi sabaki irimi control hand body and throat.

Kuzushi kosadori. Center close. Down. Draw the sword out.

Musubi - point in hand move.

Moritodori - center close and turn point.

awase ryotedori. Cut horizontal.

Kotegaishi - finger ki direction. Grab is touching with fingers.

I think I'm too sleepy to make more sense then this.

Weeklong training with Hakim Sensei

My teacher from Jakarta is here in KL for a little more than a week. Last night we had our first class and from Sunday onwards we will have a week long practice everyday.

Sometimes, all our life we will be learning from a teacher who gets paid to do his/her work. Some of them might be teachers you like and some would be the ones you dislike. But rarely do you find a teacher who teaches you in order to learn.

In Aikido, a teacher teaches not just because he has something to learn, but he teaches so that he too learns as well. But finding a teacher such as that is difficult. Also finding a teacher who understands that very important aspect, AND also has some very good fundamentals to teach is monumentally more difficult. I am blessed to have found Hakim sensei who is what I consider my true Aikido teacher.

Having said that, anyone here will think I have now shown disrespect to my previous teachers Sensei Kolesnikov, John, Sara and Marcus; and all those Shihans and sensei's who have I have spent considerable time with Yamada, Ariffin, Harry and so on. They have all thought me something and that is undeniable. Yet, they have not fulfilled the role of being a teacher to me. That they have taught me much including ettiquette and fundamental aikido skills is important. Yet a teacher must also teach spirit and he must do that not by just lecturing but also doing.

That is why it is important to practice with a teacher. Because mere words alone do not translate well into the page of Aikido. Most physical arts require physical instruction. Aikido goes beyond physical instruction and requires mental and spirit unification. Imagine how much harder one has to practice in order to attain this.

Seeing Hakim sensei's aikido is testament to his abilities. At his young age, one is surprised to see how well he grasps the knowledge of Aiki. But he himself was in a similar state of any aikidoka out there not too long ago. He had been taught by several senseis and have reasoned that his skills were if not the best, certainly respectable. Until he found himself unable to execute his techniques on a certain individual. Realising that he has found a weakness in his art or himself, he sought a teacher. That teacher told him that his techniques are already good but his heart is not good enough. Finally the teacher agreed to teach him if Aikido until he requires no techniques anymore.

And because of that failure, Hakim sensei has finally found his path and the knowledge that he craved for. Certainly that knowledge is something that I too crave for and I believe any aikidoka out there would want that even if they do not know it themselves. Otherwise, why are we learning Aikido?

It was all a lie...

No one likes to discover that what they've been doing for the past 10-20 years is a lie. So imagine if you've been training that long and suddenly someone shows you something that makes sense of everything that you thought was missing.

So what do you do now? Quit? Give up? Throw a fit of anger? At the end of the day, you get what you sow. So even though you've done something 'wrong' the past 10-20 years, if you have trained with at least some common sense and with an objective in mind, you would be much better off than someone who hasn't train that long. Yes someone with a better training method would be better off than you and nothing you do can change that, but it doesn't detract from the fact that you now have a higher base to start training the correct way than if you were to start from zero entirely.

Also, it is quite possible that this new revelation might be actually more positive for you than you really thing. At this point in time in your training, you probably would have thought you know most of what you need to know. Its like a seasoned veteran who don't really pay much attention to minor details anymore and instead focuses on getting the job done, sometimes improperly or with more force than necessary. By starting again using unfamiliar methods, you will perform your techniques with a beginners mind. Conscious of trying to do the right thing. At the sametime you are also reinforced by the knowledge and experience you have garnered over the years.

Life is a journey. There is no ultimate ending nor was there a real beginning. So why create titles for knowledge which has no boundaries?

What is a Shomenuchi strike

Shomen as we like to call it is a strike to the head. Using one hand akin to a hand blade, we propel our movement forward with a shuffling step beginning with the front leg and we strike using the same technique as we would if were to use a sword.

The strike is actually aimed at the head for training purposes. But if misses should stop at around your waist level. At that position your torso is straight and balance and your feet are ready to move anywhere. Weight distribution 50:50 and not too much at the front.

Often you will see Uke's striking with their hands starting behind their head, or their shoulders lagging behind the feet, or that the strike stops suddenly upon contact, or if it misses Uke suddenly finds himself with all his weight at the front of the feet or he's leaning forward.

Those ways are incorrect for whatever reason and from whatever art you learn.

So how come even with the 'correct' form, most people disbelieve the power of Shomenuchi? The argument being, no one on the street attacks that way, or that no one strikes the head, and etc etc.

I guess most aikidoka's have 'defeated' shomenuchi so many times, they no longer perceive it as a realistic attack. Regardless, I too will feel the same way when so many Uke's attack with so little understanding.

I wouldn't want to delve into too much of the story that Gozo Shioda used Shomenuchi to break an attackers leg. Instead we shall use common sense. The shomen is really a strike that cuts down, and it could also cut up. Everyone cuts down on a sword, but sometimes you will see cuts going up. Be it a deflection cut or a thrust upwards, the strike essence remains. Also, a shomen using principles of the sword is a very fast attack, one that is essentially used to cover your front as well. Done properly, it will negate frontal attacks. Lastly, even if you train to hit the head... you don't have to aim there all the time.

Domo arigato.

Aikido and Politics

Firstly I want to say this, I've no interest in Politics and I especially dislike Politics in Aikido.

Funnily enough, politics used to be a good word. I remember when people used to refer to So and so being politic to someone else, i.e. tactful. Now the connotations are different. Politics are more closely related to fraud, embezzlement, corruption and dirty money. 

Ironically, Aikido the art of peace is never far from Politics as well. The saying goes, one man is an island, two a company and three a party. It's not even funny anymore because it's true.

I wanted to write about this, because sooner or later you will encounter politics in Aikido. Sure, at the start everyone is nice, everything is hankydory and everything you learn at the dojo is amazing. But as you progress and the magic seems to be waning (I'll get to this later), you'll here more and more about whose side you should be on, why you can't train with this sensei or that organisation or something like that.

You'll wonder to yourself, what have you gotten yourself into. Don't worry, that's life. Any martial art, any organisation... I bet you that you'll find some kind of political powerplay going on.

The best advise I can give you is just listen politely and continue to train with your principals and objectives in mind. Remember, your aikido rank is only valid in class. It doesn't translate into the real world. A black belt is meaningless if you can't help yourself against despair, anger, fear or defeat. 

If you can do irimi, you can do it. The answer is never, if you're a black belt you can do irimi. 

Some photos from the Demo

Here are some of the pictures taken at the demo. My Uke is Shane.