I have been practicing Aikido, the most spiritual of the martial arts, for 30 years. It is a way of practicing disappearance, the annulling of self to resolve conflict in a peaceful way.
Cafh and Aikido run parallel on the planet´s antipodes. Both were founded in the 1930s and both seek universal harmony.
Aikido originated from the lethal Japanese martial arts and from an illumination of its founder, Morihei Ueshiba, within a Shinto branch led by Onisaburo Deguchi, who wanted to create a “paradise on earth”.
Aikido gives bodily substance to what we learn in our spiritual path. It is expressed within “dojo” (literally, the path´s place in Japanese).
When a practice companion´s attack comes, instead of counterattacking or blocking, one advances and leaves the trajectory. If the companion insists, we move in such a way that, by disappearing, we produce a void where the other person is knocked over.
Even though this is a martial art where all the means try not to harm the adversary, it does not fail to be effective and strong if we want it to. It is there that one expresses who and how we are.
Meditation and harmony
In the whole movement, which lasts a few seconds, one keeps one´s attention focused on oneself, the surroundings and one´s companion. If one becomes tense or wishes to engage force against what flows, the harmony is immediately broken. It is like dialogue, where energy flows.
In Aikido, instead of opposing the attack, one joins it, and thus it is resolved through harmonization.
In daily life, it is reflected when instead of resisting a situation—a discussion, a sickness, an inconvenience—we remain centered and attentive, ready to act in the right way without allowing our prejudices, automatisms and easy answers to assume control.
Every aspect emerging in Aikido can be used in daily meditation, and daily meditation can be used in Aikido practice. For example, Aikido has falls, some are seen as spectacular and appear dangerous. In these cases, it is possible to meditate on bravery, on the power of moving beyond one´s own limits.
The body expresses our indecisiveness, our doubts, how we face conflict. From there, we can work on what we are not always aware of.
How to put it into practice
These aspects which are brought to light in Aikido can be seen in other activities and sports. Observing how we react, what we always do when faced by a ball, when we swim, when we walk or run are a source of deep learning. For example, an activity like always running medium distances (around 5 to 10 km) is a great mental and physical challenge. Around half a kilometer one feels like one can go no further, like the body doesn´t respond. If one continues, one quickly notices that it´s nothing to keep running. One can go farther the more relaxed one is. One needs to be attentive to the surroundings and take advantage of them: the landscape, the sounds, the body´s movement. Then suddenly someone catches up and goes past us. What do we feel? How do we react? This is when the adversary becomes evident: Who is it, if not us, ourselves? It is ego that invades, that confuses, that repeats; the enemy who knows us in detail and knows our most intimate weaknesses.
Thus, every path is a warrior´s path. The warrior is vigilant of his inner movements; he/she is present, flows with the surroundings and re-establishes balance. It is the warrior of and for peace.
