Question: How do you know you’re Coordinating Mind and Body unless someone tests you?
Answer: Until you know what it feels like to actually coordinate mind and body, umm, you don’t.
Tests are a good thing, ever since grade school started giving tests I’ve loved them–I know, I’m one of those nerdy, scholastic wackos. Tests are moments to shine. Transient moments to acquire scholastic glory while attempting to beat your best friend’s score.
Aikido tests are different. The goal of the test is awareness of how mind and body coordination feels. The person giving the test is usually aware of when the person taking the test will pass or fail…unless, of course, you’re a fresh off the assembly line white belt. i.e. ME!
When I test I want the person to pass it–but I’m not about to give them a shoddy test. When I’m tested I want to know when I’ve failed and when I’ve succeeded. I want the hard tests, the ones that will challenge me to go deeper and further into aikido.
But I’m rambling. Let’s get to the fun part.
Unliftable Body
- You stand with mind and body coordinated.
- Someone attempts to lift you up by grabbing one wrist.
- You pass the test if you stay still and they can’t do squat
- You fail the test if they knock you over
To the lifter it should feel like trying to pick up a chair evenly while only lifting one leg…so I lifted up the chair evenly while only grabbing one leg–whoops! I wasn’t supposed to be able to do that!
My own solution to the chair problem involved a little visualization used by weight lifters. When I bench press my left arm raises the bar quicker than my right arm. My spotter always tells me to focus on lifting the right side, the left side will take care of itself. So that’s what I did. I focused on lifting the leg furthest from my hand and viola. I lifted the chair evenly off the ground. Don’t get me wrong though, it was much, much harder to lift this way, but it is doable.
On the flip side the person being lifted really shouldn’t feel anything. Yes the lifter’s hands are there, yes there’s force being applied to my arm, but it felt like my arm was attached to my leg through my finger tip. I just stood there unmoved–until I got proud of my accomplishment…then they pushed me over without any trouble what so ever. Argh! I can’t even savor having passed the test! That’s probably for the best though–I’d probably be even more cocky and proud than I already am 
