Thursday night is normally Maxon sensei’s night to teach, but he’s away in Japan, so Hess sensei taught.
During Ki class he focused on Ki meditation. I’d like to think I’m getting it. I don’t coordinate mind and body all the time, but when I think about it I do it. I work through a simple meditation technique and coordinate mind and body until I get distracted–truly distracted. As in my mind is now elsewhere for good.
But what I’m having problems with is collision.
Coordinating mind and body while alone and undisturbed is one thing. Coordinating mind and body while doing things is a little more difficult, but it’s not so hard once you “get it”. Then comes coordinating mind and body while someone else is actively colliding with you.
Collision can be anything someone else does or thinks. They grab your arm. They stand in front of you and won’t let you past. They put their hand on your chest and actively keep you from going your way. People can collide with you in a meeting. In politics, or a debate, or even someone you love doing something you don’t like. People can actively attack your spirit as well. Say hurtful things, assassinate your character, gossip about you and destroy your reputation.
If I collide back when they collide with me, it becomes a contest of strength. Who can overpower the other, who has the best position, the best strategy. Who has a better reputation, stronger character, better argument, or better advertising campaign.
If I do nothing, (aikido calls it dead relaxation) they win.
But if I coordinate mind and body, they cease being a threat. Their collision with me finds nothing colliding back, but they cannot move me. Neither, can they stop me. I can move through them. They’re powerless to resist–unless they know how to coordinate mind and body. But here’s the fun part–if they know how to coordinate mind and body and they cease to collide with you and you’ve ceased to collide with them then collision still ended.
But for me, I suck at it. I anticipate collision, I step into it. Argh!
In fact, my problem collision was so pronounced that it carried over into Aikido class. I couldn’t do what was being taught. Whenever it came time to send my partner to the mat I’d completely lose all mind and body coordination and try to put them on the mat with force. Of course–none of them actually went to the mat when I tried that.
Don’t get caught up with results.
I think I did. I wanted them on the mat. The more I tried the less they went down. The more I tried to coordinate mind and body the further it skittered away.
Then I got so tired. I’d been running around, throwing people, being thrown and running back for more that I finally stopped caring about how I was doing the form, then I stopped caring about the results, then I stopped caring about how I looked or felt.
Then my aikido improved.
But I was too tired to be able to analyze what was happening.
Lessons Learned
- Colliding with my opponent is bad
- Having a partner to test mind and body coordination with is a very good thing.
- When thrown don’t stay down on the mat during practice (courtesy, and mutual injury avoidance)
- Don’t get caught up with results.
