Musubi is the "connection" between the attacker and the defender.  Some consider it to be purely physical and others look at it as more than simply physical.  I mention the concept on occasion and indeed, everything we do on the mat contains some facet of musubi.  With enough web searching there is a lot of reference material out there to look at but here are some concepts for you to consider for the moment.

In Aikido, there is a principle called "Musubi" and by using this principle you learn to feel and control the physical connection between you and your training partner.  As you train and gain higher skill levels the practice of musubi helps you to build sensitivity to small changes of movement, direction, posture and off-balance that can be so small that they are not even visible to your eyes but instead are "sensed".

If you are big and powerful or utilize a lot of pure muscle, speed and trickery then you may, when you first start training, find it easier to move your partner with your size and power.  But eventually your practice must begin to include the idea of "Musubi" in your practice as you learn how to do as little as possible to get the greatest outcome (Kano's maxim of minimum effort and maximum efficiency).  The vast majority of traditional Japanese arts work on this idea of getting the greatest benefit with the least effort since they (the developers) understood that at some point in your Aikido career you will meet someone who cannot be overcome by size, power, speed and trickery either because they are just larger than you are, or they are more highly skilled.

Some Aikido Sensei say that Aikido is like wazan (cannot be precisely evaluated or measured - i.e.imponderable).  Another way to consider "wazan" is to understand that when your opponent comes at you using a power of 9 on a scale of 1-10, you use just 1 (out of 10) level power to create 10 power.  As Ueshiba said, this is creating harmony.

Musubi however goes beyond simple physical mastery of the changing dynamic of physical conflict.  Through physical musubi practice we also learn internal musubi or  the idea that your outside may look calm, but if your inside mood is focused on tenseness and aggression then your technique will be tense and aggressive.  If you are calm inside then your technique will be calm, relaxed and flowing.

This idea of a calm outside being reflective of a calm inside is a key to the whole concept of "The Way of harmony".  It is a reflection of your internal world and you learn over time and practice to create a harmony within yourself to create a harmony outside.

So next time you are working on musubi and it feels like you are struggling, you may want to stop and think about what is going on with your internal world.

Musubi can also be looked at as joining, connecting, unifying or tying it all together; what some Sensei refer to as "The Heart of Aikido".  Senior players know that once you (the Aikido player) gets a sense of this concept of musubi, of the power of giving up the "self" to become something positive (rather than fearing the loss of self because of actions done to or by them) then you can begin to see a way out of the self-defeating, downward spiral which you may tend to see yourself caught up in ..... and then you may come to realize that the anger, vulnerability, fear, aggressiveness that you carry is actually a source of energy that you can tap in order to blend and join with a threatening situation or individual. 

You may then begin to feel more control over and gain more possession of your own self and no longer allow outside negativity to control you.  At that point, the "not-understood negatives" become "understood positives" and can used to be gain an internal and external calmness not before experienced. 

A monthly commentary from Aikido players about how it has affected their day-to-day activities or helped them avoid unpleasantries.

Sensei asked me to relate a couple of Aikido moments that I have had recently.

Thankfully the moments had nothing to do with violent actions but were just the subconscious taking over and the training coming out.  About a month ago, I was at school talking to a classmate (Rene) when another classmate (Robert) walked past. 

Rene and I were at the back of the classroom, in a small path b/w the wall and back row of seats. As Robert walked by, his hands were down by his side. I noticed, through my peripheral vision, that his hands were moving, my next conscious thought was "Why am I so far away from Rene", now about five steps.  Robert had this look of surprise on his face.

Apparently after noticing his hand movement, my subconscious kicked in, I guess thinking there was a threat.  I had reached out with my right hand and pinned his right hand (it was closest to me) to his hip and I slid along the walkway until I had him leaning on the outside of his feet. When I realized what was going on, he was at the point of losing his balance. 

He told me, afterwards, that he thought I was going to give him a hug but then I had him moving down the row and he had no idea what was going on.  He was laughing b/c he had never seen anything like what I did and could not believe how effective it was. 

It's all about balance, Jo or Aikido, you take his and you have the advantage.  One of the great things about what we do, in my opinion, is the look on the faces of people who see/feel what we are trained to do.  Those stunned faces have turned into questions like "How did you do that?" and then I get to explain Aikido and talk about the dojo.  I feel so lucky to be able to train with sensei and everyone else.  How often in ones' life do you get to do something that is such a positive, life changing activity?

Ben Gregory

March 2005