Haragei (belly talk)

Monthly newsletter of the Aikibudokan, Houston, TX
Vol 1, Issue 2December 2010
In This Month's Issue
Misogi-Purification
Mastery in the MA
Aikido in Real Life
A Personal Note from Sensei
Featured Article
Dojo Cleaning
"Misogi-Purification"
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Janie Carranza-Ikkyu (Aikido)

Fernando Gomez-Frutos-Ikkyu (Aikido)

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Carl Hustad-Yonkyu (Aikido)

Chris Nobles-Nikyu   (Aikido)

Ron Riojas-Nikyu (Aikido)

Julian Ho-Nikyu (Aikido)

Mathew Hutchens-Nikyu (Aikido) 

 

 

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This Month's Thought:

 

"Human life is truly a short affair.  It is better to live doing the things that you like.  It is foolish to live within this dream of a world seeing only unpleasantnesss and doing only things that you do not lke."

 

Yamamoto Tsunetomo

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Greetings!

Welcome to our second issue.  As we said last month we plan on this "Belly Talk" being a monthly issue for all of our past and current players, patrons, friends and associates and also anyone who has visited the dojo or indicated an interest in someday training with us.  If you are currently training; we hope this helps you retain your focus and answer questions that you may have.  If you dropped out some time ago; we hope that you "get the bug" again.  If you are still considering Aikido, still looking for a dojo, or just aren't sure; we hope that this gives you some food for thought.

Hope to see you on the mat,

L.F. Wilkinson Sensei
Misogi-Purification
Dojo Cleaning

Misogi-Purification of the Spirit

Although I have never been to Japan, I have spent so much of my life around Japanese and Nisei, living and training in activities based in Japanese tradition and ideas that I sometimes feel that I was born out of time & place.  There are many things "Japanese" that seem so much more familiar to me than the "Texas cowboy" world I grew up in.

 

Japanese have a "phobia" about dirt and not being clean.  A good example of this is the scene in "The Last Samurai" where the American walks into the Japanese woman's house wearing muddy boots.  Unaware of the Japanese penchant for cleanliness and ignorant of manners and respect for something (a home) that belongs to someone else, he gives her a heart attack sending her into a cleaning frenzy while she mumbles under her breath about the  uncultured and filthy barbarian.  

  

In Japan parents have the responsibilitiy for cleaning their childs' classroom.  This is a willingly, if not gratefully, accepted responsibility since the parents "own" the space their child inhabits during the class times and they rightfully feel an obligation to assist in keeping the space clean and orderly in the same fashion that they would clean the home where they live, sleep and eat.  Japanese parents take pride in the work and by so doing, their child learns things about responsibility, respect, achievement, and cooperation.

 

Much like a child's classroom, a dojo is also a place of personal significance because in a dojo we live and train in an environment focused on the business of learning and practicing skills that could put us squarely in the middle of the no-man's land between life and death.

 

Many Americans seem to mistake the dojo for some kind of recreation center like a fitness center, gymnastics school, or kick-boxing academy for bored suburban parents looking for somewhere to dump their kids while they have their nails done. 

Unlike a fitness center or a gymnasium, a dojo houses the kami (spirit) of budo.  In a dojo a spirit of bushido, a code of conduct as it were, pervades the training due to the deep nature of the MA.  Many long-time Sensei claim to be able to simply walk into a dojo and be able to sense the spirit of the dojo, the energies left behind by serious and committed players who are serious followers of "The Way" in a "Yoda-esque" kind of way.

When a dojo lacks this Budo spirit it has wide reaching ramifications and dilutes the importance of what is being learned.  This dilution carries over into the world outside the dojo resulting in the lackadaisical attitudes of many "civilians" that we see at work, at home and in our neighborhoods; manifested by such things as ADD/HD behavior, lack of common manners, a rabid focus on unimportant things and activities, and a blantant disrespect for others.

I believe that it is this budo spirit, a refined & elegant sense of respect, that shows the differentiation between a true dojo and a social club; and it is this difference that ultimately carries over into our behavior in society and that allows us to be "elegant" in our lives as compared to someone else considered "boorish".

The act of caring for a dojo allows us to physically manifest the process of purifying our own spirit.  One example of this caring is the act of mopping the floors when opening the dojo and sweeping the mat before class begins and after class ends.

In the same manner that people walk into the dojo and leave their worries and their ego in their shoes at the door, the dojo itself must reflect the pure mindset, goals and focus of the deshi/players so that they can progress on the path of budo.  Cleanliness (of the dojo and of the physical and spiritual aspects of the person themselves) is just one more aspect of this.

In my life on the mat I have many times seen students who seem to consider their training to be separate and apart from this simple act of caring for the physical place of learning "The Way".  They avoid caring for and cleaning the dojo which of course in my mind raises the question of what their home looks like and what do their very personal hygeine habits consist of?

This avoidance can consist of showing up late for every class so-as to not have to pick up a broom or, walking over an obvious piece of dirt or trash when it would take no time to simply pick it up and put it in the trash.

The manner in which each individual approaches their training impacts the spirit of the dojo which itself impacts the other players.  I believe that the students who train in the dojo should consider the dojo itself to be a manifestation of themselves and that they should approach its purification in the same manner as they would the purification and renewal of their own spirit.

Throughout the history of MA, Budo, the warrior's way, The Way, (however one wishes to consider it) the act of cleaning and purifying has been a both a practical and a symbolic gesture of great meaning in all facets of life.  In Japan, this purification ritual or "misogi" is an integral, important part of everyday life and can consist of such seemingly small considerations as showing respect for others by washing before sitting for a meal with friends or wearing a clean gi without B.O. or massive stains and having clean hands before performing waza that include putting your hand in someones' face.

In late December, end of the year for example, everyone in Japan works with their families at schools, companies, and dojo to clean these places where people gather.  This simple act of cleaning (representing a small part of personal purification) enables them to welcome the New Year with purified surroundings as well as a purified spirit.

Other rituals of misogi in Japan (to further illustrate the idea) may include the purification of a building site before they lay the foundation.  In the ancient national sport of sumo, the wrestlers purify the ring upon which they will be competing by throwing salt onto it before every match.

To Westerners unfamiliar with misogi it appears paradoxical that seemingly simplistic and mundane acts (such as cleaning .... or being clean) have the power to transform all aspects of our lives but this fact has been borne out again and again over the ages.  By polishing the mirror then maybe one day the mirror will be spotless and then we will finally be able to see our true reflection.

 L.F. Wilkinson Sensei 


Mastery In the MA


Being consistent in training is an important factor in mastering Aikido or any other martial art.  The principles are "consistently" the same across almost any range of endeavor whether that be gym or dojo.  The following by a well-known author is certainly a good view of the topic and the issues surrounding mastery of any activity.

L.F. WIlkinson Sensei
______________________________________________________

"Consistency, not novelty is the secret to uncommon results.  Only those too impatient to follow simple, rational, and balanced eating and training programs will choose fringe eating and training methods.  And these are the people who won't be in the gym 12 months from now.

The body will always deliver a just desert for both good and bad decisions.  Sacrificing intelligent and balanced eating for more speedy results may work in the short run, but in the long run, the body will have its final say.

The only way to truly understand your physique is by years of trial and error.  Appreciate the journey.  There is absolutely no short cut to mastery.

This game is not only about looking good naked and straining under a big plate-loaded bar.  It's about experimentation, longevity, piece of mind, confidence, and enjoyment.

Experienced trainees must learn that only the most critical and challenging individuals will push them beyond their barriers. Surrounding yourself with groupies and undiscriminating ego strokers will only lead to stagnation."

(John Berardi 2002 - Words of Wisdom)
Aikido in Real Life 
Tomiki-Shihonage
Tomiki Sensei taking Shiho-nage

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

 

My first Aikido moment came in an unexpected fashion when still quite a young player.  I was a brown belt, preparing for promotion to Shodan and was attending a training clinic in Houston (I was still living in S. Texas at the time).

 

There were probably 100 people milling around the dojo at which the clinic party was being held on the last night of the clinic.  There were two main doors into and out of the dojo and Sensei was by one door with a drink in a cup in his hand.  He was done with the drink and asked a player standing by the door to open it so he could throw the drink out the door by emptying the cup into the air.

 

The second the door was open Sensei pitched the drink (still holding the cup in his hand) and as he did so someone walked into the doorway from outside.  It was obvious that the person walking through the door was getting ready for a bath.  Without thinking, sensei let go the cup keeping his grip on it with only the thumb and forefinger and let the cup spin in his hand.  This had the effect of actually catching the liquid before it could exit the mouth of the cup, thus avoiding an accident.

 

When it occurred, Sensei looked at the cup and said, "Wow, that's the first time I ever did that."

 

The next day at the clinic during the morning session, Sensei talked about what had happened since several of us saw it and were all walking around commenting on it.

 

Sensei, having had a night's rest to consider the event told the story of how he was taught by his teachers/Sensei in Japan that Aikido effectively re-wires the inside of your head and allows the intuitive processes to begin to fully develop and mature.  This educational process allows for what seems like super fast reactions on your part.  In reality though, the super fast reactions are nothing more than "educated" musculo-neural responses that normally are not developed (unless you are training within a martial arts system that stresses development of internalized and intuitive responses).

 

Within this one simplistic event that on the surface seems to bear no relationship to Aikido at all lies one of the most important elements of martial arts and self-defense; the ability to respond to an attack without conscious thought.

 

In later years as I continued to train I found myself doing much the same kind of "magic" or "super fast reactions".  My wife also found herself doing the same.  In her case, we were in the kitchen one day and I was putting away coffee cups.  I was in too much of a hurry and put the last one on the shelf up high and because I positioned it incorrectly, it fell off the shelf and was heading towards the floor.

 

Without looking up at the cup, Lynn casually reached out and caught in mid-air and just put it back on the shelf.  After she did, she stopped and said, "Did I just do that".  I responded yes and began laughing at her reaction because I had done the same myself many times before.

 

The lesson here is that Aikido enables us to do things that seem like magic to those around us but which objectively are nothing more than training ourselves to make the best and highest use of our natural abilities; abilities that exist in us all but which school, tennis or happy hour do nothing for, abilities that if not developed become stunted and which we lose as we age.

 

The odds are that you will never have to use Aikido for real or in actual anger at anyone but the real benefits of Aikido are to be found in our daily lives as we do the mundane and catch falling coffee cups, step out of the way of the car or the door opening in our face or some other little thing that makes you want to stop and say the line from the song, "Things that make you go...hmm".

 

L.F. Wilkinson Sensei 

A personal note from the Sensei.....

(A repeat from last month  ...... an important thought about our training) .................

Many times when we're feeling discouraged about training it very well may be the best time to get on the mat.  Over years of training I've found that many times the frustration I was experiencing was nothing more than just a brief plateau in my long-term progress. 

By accepting that learning and progress are not a steady upward line but instead can sometimes be a matter of taking two steps forward & one step back, before going forward two or three steps again, then any plateau or momentary frustration can be recognized as only being a natural part of the learning curve.

Accept that it is a long goal that you have set for yourself and enjoy the journey; knowing that you will eventually arrive.

L.F. Wilkinson Sensei

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About Us:  We've been teaching independently since 1998 and are now one of the largest aikido dojo in the Houston metroplex and South East Texas; offering instruction in Muso Zato Isana Tomiki Ryu Aikido, Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo and Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido.  Commited to the preservation of traditional Budo and Japanese martial arts, our goal is to preserve these disappearing art forms for the benefit of future generations.  If you have any questions about our classes and dojo activities then please contact us.  We are a member dojo of The International Aikido Alliance.