2007 Winter Gasshuku: Blue Mountains

I've been over the events of my weekend Aikido Gasshuku in my mind a number of times, thinking of some great strategies to write about my experiences in-Blog.

I’m sitting down at my usual café, sipping an extra strong iced coffee (I'm on a first name basis with the staff here, they all but serve up the iced coffee when they see me walk through the door), and as I look around at the colourful, bustling, bright Sydney lifestyle - hairdressing salons, tailor store, clothes stores, shoppers etc. - can't help but feel the surreality of the world we live in.

So much symbolism, so many social and cultural protocols, so many pretencities. Not all good, not all bad, just... complicated, and not entirely authentic.

After three days of intensive Aikido training in a Blue Mountains retreat just outside of Sydney, I find it difficult and yet comforting to readjust to my regular lifestyle. I feel comfortable, safe, and yet at the same time I am left with this gaping chasm of emptiness, as though my life is filled with all these bright colours, noises, symbols and events, but that they don't actually mean anything.

Aikido challenges me, pushes me, improves me, fills my life with a vibrant energy which I find I’m hardly able to describe. Yet it has left me with the recent realisation that its shown me a better way of living, in fact - it has shown me how to live, as though before I wasn't living at all but waiting to discover Aikido.

All this sounds pretty incredible, I know, I find it incredible myself. But now I am left with the knowledge that my life is left wanting - the time in between Aikido training feels almost wasted to me. I don't know whether to thank or curse Aikido for this wonderous gift. Thank it for showing me an incredible and fulfilling world which challenges my mental, spiritual and physical worlds, or curse it for showing me that my life up until this point has been incredibly empty - regardless of my lack of knowledge to that effect.

Now that that's over, I should talk a little about the actual Gasshuku, which was my original intent in writing this entry in the first place.

Nah... Maybe I'll leave that until tomorrow :)

'Till then, to any would be wanderers who happen to stumble upon my meager and virtually empty little blog which has only just emerged from the womb, good luck with your Aikido adventures!

The Secret of Aikido

(Master Ueshiba)

The secret of Aikido
Is not in how you move your feet,
It is how you move your mind.
I’m not teaching you martial techniques,
I’m teaching you non-violence…

If all you think about is winning,
You will in fact lose everything.
Know that you and your opponents are treading the same path.
Envelop adversaries with love, entrust yourself to the
natural flow of things, unify ki, body and mind, and
efface the boundary between self and other.

This opens unlimited possibilities…

Those who are enlightened to these principles are always
victorious.
Winning without contending is true victory, a victory
over onself, a victory swift and sure.
Victory is to harmonise self and other, to link yourself to
the Divine, to yoke yourself to Divine Love, to become
the universe itself.

O-Sensei
Master Ueshiba Morihei
“The Great Teacher”

Two Basic Pins: Ikkyo & Nikkyo

(Nage pins Uke using Ikkyo)

In our Aikido dojo, there are five basic wrist pins or techniques that we are taught:

1. Ikkyo
2. Nikkyo
3. Sankyo
4. Yonkyo
5. Gokyo

Having been through my first grading, I really only consider myself somewhat proficient in the first two pins, though I have had some experience with Sankyo and Yonkyo. (Nage immobilises Uke with Nikkyo)

At this point, I have to say that Nikkyo is my favourite pin, simply because of the ease of movement required to bring Uke to his knees once the wrist has been captured against Nage’s chest (pictured).

For those unfamiliar to Aikido, we call the attacker ‘Uke’ and the defender ‘Nage’. In the illustrations, the Aikidoka wearing the black hakama is the Nage.

First Grading: Gokyu

It was scary, it was intense. My body and mind pushed into overdrive. As my instructor - he doesn't like to be called Sensei - is fond of saying "We push through the pain, and find something new". (Well, he also enjoys saying “Don’t just stand there like a gingerbread man”, but gingerbread men were the furthest things from my mind). I certainly found a measure of the pain he was referring to.

The camcorder was setup just off to the side, half a dozen other students filing in to sit in seiza position on the training mats. My instructor and another instructor from nearby dojo converse at the side, flicking over the grading syllabus.

I'm called to the front, we bow to the Shomen, and we begin. The grading panel call out the techniques and as my Uke attacks me using different motions of attack, I perform the requested technique.

After what seems a short time the grading ends, my instructor congratulates me. I pass, with flying colour apparently (and unofficially).

I have reached the first graded level of Aikido Kenkyukai: Gokyu.

It was more than a little intimidating. I was the only student grading out of all of my peers - all of us having started at roughly the same time in our dojo. It looks that on this occasion my commitment and mental training has paid off though, I pushed through with it and have achieved my very first Aikido goal.

Now to maintain the standard consistently.

Alternative Chinese Medicine: Aka Herbs!!

(Beijing Tong Ren Tang: Alternative
Chinese Herbalists)

T he TCM herbalist only spoke Cantonese, but luckily my partner was able to attend and translate for us.

It would be wonderful if GP's could be as attentive and curious as this particular TCM herbalist was towards my symptoms and possible diagnosis. Within a short period of time he had my complete trust, and although I was speaking through my partner to him I couldn't help but feel incredibly appreciative to have his advice and diagnosis.

A week and a half on the herbs have left me feeling incredibly elated and energetic. It is (almost!) a joy to wake up every morning, and at night time the bed feels so wonderfully comfortable and inviting. It's difficult to explain the effect these herbs seem to have had on me.

A week into the treatment left me with a slight case of acne, though this is being managed quite well with frequent facial washes throughout the day.

Aikido training has been incredible while I have been on these herbs. My stamina seems to have increased tenfold, and my symptoms have so far not repeated themselves or shown any sign of returning. Whether or not these great benefits continue when I discontinue the herbal treatments is another story.

I hope the benefits are not temporary. At $120 for a weeks worth of herbal soup, as wonderful (though terribly bitter) as the concoction has proven to be, really is not an affordable option for me on a long term basis.

Only time will tell.

Symptoms of Adjustment

(ECG: Electrocardiogram)

W hile the benefits of Aikido are almost too numerous to count, potential drawbacks need to be considered.

It took my body a whole month to adjust to the Aikido training regimen, the stretches and training techniques shocking my body to a whole new level of functional performance.

Following the initial bodily aches and pains, I was visited with knee and ankle discomfort, something which I still occasionally experience but only after extensive sitting in the seiza position (try sitting on your legs for half an hour and tell me you still feel comfortable!)

Where does this leave me?

Within the past 6 months, on at least four occasions, I have experienced dizziness, nausea, light headedness, weakness of limbs, and overall exhaustion.

Blood pressure? The search continues, and my GP has yet to be of much help in this regard. In the mean time, after having had preliminary heart and function tests I have turned to Traditional Chinese Medicine.

What's in a Blog?

(Morihei Ueshiba: Founder)

It's been a difficult choice, but with certainty I have arrived at the conclusion to Blog my progress in Aikido, the peaceful "Zen" style martial art.
Whether or not anyone cares to read is another matter, however it will be satisfying to look back on my progress and entries in another six months time. In any event, I welcome any and all who choose to share my adventure in Aikido, and hope that this Blog gives inspiration and insight to at least one person out there, looking for direction.

Having trained for 7 months now, I have learnt a lot about this peaceful martial art. Not only with regard to the philosophy and technical aspects of the defensive moves, and the many variations thereupon. Aikido has taught me how to concentrate, has improved my reflexes, health, vitality, social life, and so much more. It is really hard to quantify, and I can't recommend enough this fantastic martial art (don't misspell that as 'Marital Art', a form of marriage resolution Aikido is not!) to anybody who is peaceful minded and looking for that something extra in their lives.
Whether you choose Aikido for health, self-defense, or just out of boredom - you will have made the right choice for a hobby, sport and way of life.

That's what Aikido is after all, a way of living.

Ai-Ki-Do: The way of harmonious spirit.