Aikido Technique Videos and Self Defense Training

The Power of Ki
by George Leonard

As a longtime practitioner of the Japanese martial art, aikido, George Leonard is quite familiar with the life-force energy that seemingly flows through all things. Unfortunately, in the West the closest term we have to approximate the nature of this life -force is the word "energy." Leonard feels that this is a bad translation at best. Called ki in Japan, this so-called "energy" has been known by many names in many cultures and historical periods: chi in China, prana in India, pneuma in ancient Greece, mana in Hawaii, elan vital in Vitalist philosophy, the Force in Star Wars.

Leonard joked that when he saw the movie Star Wars, there was a line uttered by Obi One Kenobi that seemed to be copied directly out of his own book, The Ultimate Athlete, "The Force is that particular force which permeates all living things and goes to the ends of the universe." When he met George Lucas, he learned that Lucas had indeed been influenced by his writings.

For Leonard, aikido is a way of harmonizing with the spirit of the universe. Importantly, he emphasized that at some point the scientific paradigm must let go of "proof" and "belief" and must instead engage in direct experience with the ki of aikido. As Leonard said himself, "I don’t believe in ki, I just do it." Because the West is so fascinated by brute strength and force, it has overlooked the subtle nature of ki.

Leonard recounted some of his humorous experiences with the nature of ki in which he confronted men much larger and stronger than he. In an demonstration in front of the conference participants, Leonard revealed the power of ki by repulsing Steve Dinan. When Steve confronted Leonard’s energy, he felt the direct impulse to yield, because the power of Leonard’s ki was so strong. After the demonstration, Leonard emphasized that ki can be enhanced by imagery and visualization and that it is a qualitatively different experience than muscle power.

So how do we explain the phenomenon of ki? Leonard offered a plethora of ideas that are being explored. Some researchers are investigating the electro-magnetic field of the human body, while others are looking at the electro-static field. Leonard mentioned the research of Jan Wallenczak at Stanford, who has demonstrated that there are effects taking place below the thermal barrier (KT), when, according to classical physics, this should not be happening. Other more radical theories and investigations are also cropping up, such as string theory and M theory in physics.

Leonard also mentioned the zero-point energy theory of Harold Putoff. One growing orientation is that we are essentially swimming in a pool of energy that is all around us. Leonard feels that we need to investigate how human intentionality can serve as a bridge to access this ubiquitous energy. Like Marilyn Schlitz, Leonard believes that human intentionality is a vague but very significant force that we are only beginning to understand. Leonard is particularly curious about how intentionality relates to the nature of the subtle energies, such as ki.

After his brief presentation, Leonard had a couple important points to emphasize in conclusion. First, he offered that the nature of ki might well be incorporated into any comprehensive evolutionary theory. He mentioned that although gravity is the weakest of the four recognized forces of physics, its reach is endless, and it overcomes everything in the end. Perhaps ki as well is like gravity in this respect. Leonard also mentioned that after years of experience in teaching people about the nature of ki, he has realized that all people need is permission to begin to access this seemingly amazing ability.

Lastly, Leonard offered an important orientation for the entire conference. Because the Western, scientific worldview is so bent on discovering certain and demonstrable "truth," we often miss out on the mystery and wonder of it all. Leonard rhapsodized that we live in an imponderable universe of unfathomable beauty, truth, and mystery. The only thing that will ever hamper our quest for truth is the very nature of our minds. We must always remain curious and open to new vistas and new horizons. Leonard closed with a poem encapsulating this view:

Do not think this is all there is
More and more wonderful teachings exist
The sword is unfathomable

In General, samurai society was dominated by men, but history records that the female members of the samurai clans often displayed a fighting spirit and a concern for honour and duty matching that of the men.
Women were trained in the martial arts and, in time, many became highly skilled, especially in the use of naginata.

"A creature of... no importance"

Over the centureies that followed, the practice of using daughters as pawns in the marriage market (a crucial tool in the struggles of the period) and the influence of neo-confucain philosophy, combined to reduce the status of female samurai.The ideal of fealess devotion was gradually replaced by one of quiet passive obedience, a change reflected by the introduction of the new words for wife: Kani and okusan (person in the innermost recesse of the house).
By the 17th century, many samurai felt that while women were necessary to bear children, they were not really fitting companions for warriors. A cult of homesexuality developed amoung some warriors and, despite repeated prohibiton, many adult samurai formed close relationships with men. In 1687, Ihara Saikaku published his famouse book "Nanshoku okagami" ("The Great Mirror of Manly Love"), which took the homosexual activitys amoung the samurai as its theme. "Woman is a creature of absolutely no importance', he wrote, "but sincere pederastic love is true love".
Samurai women were still expected to show contempt for death when it came to defending their husbands honour. A wife's sacrifice of herself, or her honour, for the sake of her husband was a common theme in Japanese drama. self-renunciation was an imperative for women and remained so even at the end of the 19th century, despite the popularity of western ideas.
Inanzo Nitobe, writing in 1905, devoted one chapter of his book "Bushido: The soul of Japan"
to "The Training and position of women". This underlines the inferior role accorded to women, telling us that: "In the ascending scale of service stood woman, who annihilated herself for a man, that he might annihilate himself for the master, that he in turn might obey Heaven'.
However, the fighting sprit of the female samurai still managed to show itself on occasion. Their martial prowess was demonstered during the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, when the women of Kagoshima fought against the imperial army. In 1868, the fighting between suporters of of the shogunate and those supporting the imperial restoration privided another such display.
Samurai of the Aizu clan, supporters of the shogunate, were left to defend thier stronghold of wakamatsu Castle without any hope of outside assistance. Heaviley out numbered by an army of 20,000 men, the 3,000 Aizu samurai mobilased anyone who could use a weapon. A group of 20 women formed a unit that fought on the front line.
One women, Nakano Takeko, was highly skilled in the use of the naginata, and during the fighting she rushed into enemy lines and cut down many men. Eventually she was shot in the chest. To aviod the disgrace of capture, she told her sister Yuko to remove her head and take it home.
A monument to her was erected in the Hokai temple in Aizu Bangemachi, Fukishima province.

Zanshin

by Christopher Caile and Deborah Klens-Bigman, Ph.D.

There is an old Japanese samurai saying, "When the battle is over, tighten your chin strap." This refers to constant awareness, preparedness for danger and readiness for action. The Japanese saying itself focuses on the end of a combat engagement when it is natural to relax awareness, thinking the danger is over, when in reality it often is not. "This concept carries over into the dojo which is not just a training hall but a place where a certain awareness of the possibility of serious combat must constantly be maintained," said John Donohue in his article Kendo: The Way of the Sword. But, for the serious martial artist this heightened state of awareness becomes a natural part of the psyche, something that is automatically turned on while awake as well as during sleep.

In karate practice when kata are completed students are expected to stand quietly for a few seconds. This is zanshin practice -- the maintenance of readiness for action even though the physical aspect of a particular kata is finished. In iaido, partners practice kata with wooden swords. From the moment the opponents face each other until they finish working together, the participants practice zanshin. The sense of heightened awareness allows partners to practice potentially dangerous moves in safety, by controlling technique. Zanshin also supports good technique in the kata. The idea behind partner practice is that technique becomes second nature, while zanshin continues to be developed. In aikido, daito ryu aikijujutsu and many other arts, when a technique is completed (the attacker often on the ground having been subdued) the defender is taught carefully to maintain his or her awareness, position of advantage and readiness to resume action if need be--zanshin.

"On one level, zanshin refers to neutral, non-threatening stances or kneeling in such a way as to be always ready for action. Zanshin is also the flip side of single-minded devotion to technique. You must learn not to focus exclusively on your actions but rather to be attentive and receptive to all activities surrounding you," says Donohue. It may seem contradictory, he continues, "but both the ideas of focusing entirely on technique and of maintaining zanshin have to do with the transcending of subjectobject distinctions through martial training. Unity with the Void, to use Musashi's (the famious Japanese swordsman) idiom, results in the execution of technique without any selfconscious awareness of doing so. By the same token, proper zanshin is indicative of the fact that the swordsman experiences no discontinuity between his surroundings and himself."

Various martial arts have different ways of training to develop heightened zanshin. Opponents are sometimes allowed to attack from the rear in order to develop an almost intuitive sense of impending attack. Another exercise places a defender in the middle of a circle of opponents who attack one by one and sometimes in groups -- the defender using heightened awareness and/or intuition to anticipate attacks, often combined with movement for protection. In one style of karate (Seido) students testing for black belt train blind folded and then are led through the streets of New York City to heighten their senses and awareness. Often students report that the experience made their senses pop open, every sound, its source and direction, the feel of the floor or street, the sense of others being close by -- all becoming heightened and experienced as never before.

There is an old Japanese story about a young man who sought teaching from a great swordsman. After being accepted, the student endured several years of personal service -- cooking, washing and cleaning for the teacher. Then his lessons began, but not practice with a sword. His teacher began to surprise
him with incessant attacks with a practice sword -- when the student was cooking, sleeping, anytime. Over time the student's pains and bruises lessened as he gradually learned to avoid and dodge the attacks. Finally the student asked the teacher when actual sword training was to begin. The teacher then replied that he had been taught all that he needed to learn. This was zanshin, such total awareness that the student could sense and then avoid the attacks.

Zanshin is what many soldiers, law enforcement officers and advanced martial artists endeavor to develop. In some forms of meditation and Zen, zanshin is also a goal for students -- total attention to the moment: the focusing of the mind (without thought or emotion) on everything around them.

Roy Suenaka, the author of Complete Aikido, tells a story about aikido's founder that is the epitome of this concept. They were seated on the floor face to face having tea and talking when Morihei Ueshiba, without turning his head, casually reached behind himself and then held something out for Suenaka to see. "Ah, a young cockroach," he said, before gently putting it to the side. Only later did the significance hit Suenaka. How was Ueshiba so aware that even when focused on their conversation could he not only sense the presence of something so small but be able to know exactly were it was so that he was able to pick it up without looking?