EP59: Is Aikido Meditation? - The Aiki Dojo Podcast

[@KuzushiKev]

Meditation, flow state, “Mushin”, a stillness of mind - it all refers to the practice of being able to sever thought so you can naturally respond to the situation at hand. This ability has physical and mental benefits but is also important from a martial perspective. You’re not burdened by anxiety, fear, or any other attachments. You’re not worried about what you had to do before or what you have to do after, you’re completely focused on the present moment without the hindrance of conscious thought. I agree it’s something that happens in aikido. And I agree it’s not something you’re truly able to do until you’ve trained to the point where techniques are reflexive and you’re able to remain completely relaxed under duress. It’s often something that doesn’t happen intentionally, but as a byproduct of hard training. It’s not necessarily unique to aikido, I feel the same zen-like qualities when training boxing, wrestling or going on a run. Flow is a huge concept in many sports. But I would say meditation is definitely emphasized more in aikido depending on how it’s practiced. I’d go as far as saying some practitioners expressly train aikido for meditation and aren’t concerned with any martial practicality. Like a Japanese Yoga.

[@HakamasMaximus]

Thank you for the podcast. Wonderful conversations, insights, and truths. No one progresses in any art until they first learn to "sit" Peace!

[@raulmontolfo9278]

Always enjoy these podcast !

[@dmitryvinnik8591]

Thank you for a great podcast! I also discuss almost all the topics you covered with my students and subscribers. One thing that few people work with is the concept of accelerated perception of information by the Uke-Tori pair through physical contact. This involves working with the subconscious mind. A good way to understand the meaning of practice in martial arts and aikido is through the concept of "Maslow's pyramid."

[@HishamSamir-wc7xz]

👋

[@user-sg8kq7ii3y]

35:58 - Longoria is able to do that because he's done it thousands and thousands of times since he was a little kid. So a baseball flying at 100 mph at him is a normal day activity for him. In just one baseball practice, he probably catches 100 balls. The guy does it 6 days per week, and he's done it for decades. So a baseball flying at his face is more normal and mundane for him, than taking out the trash is for me. I only take out the trash twice-per-week. Longoria has baseballs thrown at him, hundreds of times in just ONE day. It's not a normal day activity for a lay person, so that's why a layperson views it as being so incredible. Watch the fight between Floyd Maywather and Canelo Alvarez. Slow the video down to 0.5 or even 0.25 playback speed. You will see Floyd doing some absolutely mind-blowing slipping and parrying of Canelo's punches at close range. I'm talking Floyd is standing in the pocket, and slipping, parrying, and rolling with Canelo's combos with EASE. He's toying with Canelo. There was one series where Canelo missed a six punch combo at extremely close range because Floyd slipped or parried all of them. It happens so quickly that you cannot see it at regular speed. Even seeing it at 50% speed is difficult. Floyd has slipped punches hundreds of thousands of times. It's a walk in the park for him.

[@user-sg8kq7ii3y]

KI-Aikido trains the four principles from the beginning: 1) Keep weight underside 2) Extend completely 3) Relax completely 4) Keep one point. If you achieve one of these, you, automatically, achieve them all. Aikido students can learn a lot from Tohei-Sensei's teaching. However, it's unfortunate that the split in the aikido community has caused a schism that persists till today. Everyone talks about being "open-minded", yet so many in the aikido community are close-minded. Aikikai loyalists don't want to learn anything from Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, and vice versa. Tohei was considered one of the top students of O'Sensei even before he went on his own. Tohei was also an accomplished judoka. In the same way that a wrestler can learn different things from different wrestling coaches, aikido students can learn different things from different aikido organizations. People should open their minds and learn from others.

[@OneLoneMan]

I love Aikido, I used it as a police officer. I can't listen to people talk about it for an hour.