Advanced Aikido. Phong Thong Dang

common good and best interests of everyone. Therefore, to train just for self-improvement is still very selfish and does not demonstrate or apply the higher spiritual principles of aikido. One must train the self, but one must also lose the self in order to help improve others.

      When practicing as tori (the one executing the technique), stay relaxed, calm the mind, and follow the instructions given. This will lead to self-improvement. When uke (the one initiating the approach and attack and receiving the technique), give honest intention and intensity to the approach and attack so that the tori can practice and improve. Do not give too little intensity and intent. This makes the practice useless. Do not give too much or you are not training, but fighting for your life. This becomes a contest of muscle and ego, not a training environment for self- and others improvement.

      Train slowly and pay attention to details. The best way to progress rapidly is to progress slowly. The best way to make big changes is to pay attention to the little things.

      Train in technique and concepts. Train in both the physical techniques that apply the concepts and the concepts that make those techniques effective and efficient.

      HIERARCHY OF TRAINING SKILLS

      The hierarchy of training skills is similar to the hierarchy of training goals. One can either use the techniques to illustrate and learn the concepts and principles or use the concepts to direct the techniques.

      Using the techniques to illustrate the concepts is all too often the usual standard operating procedure. This bottom-up thinking is a way to rationalize and justify what one is doing by finding an overall strategy that will explain the tactic or technique. In most martial arts, the tactical techniques of doing battle by hitting and kicking to overpower another suggests, dictates, or even promises that this route will bring about peace. Some people need to see the little picture before they can see the big picture. Some people will need the concrete before they can grasp the abstract. Some people will learn better by first having some verbal instructions and having an internal frame of reference.

      Using the concept to direct the technique is the process of finding the higher belief, concept, or strategy that one sets for oneself in order to find a way, tactic, or technique that is consistent and congruent to it. Aikido is one of the few martial arts to have a belief or strategy of peace and harmony that then dictates taking the strikes and damaging techniques out of the training and application. Some people need the big picture before they can make sense of how the little pieces fit together. Some people will need the abstract before they can grasp the concrete. Some people will learn better by just seeing and imitating the technique, by having an external frame of reference.

      The goal in aikido is the loving protection of all people. The strategies for accomplishing this goal are achieved through the concepts, such as irimi (entering) and awase (blending), redirecting, kuzushi (unbalancing), nage (throwing), and controlling. The application of these concepts and principles is achieved through the execution of the techniques of aikido. Therefore, the best goals are those that are in the highest and best interests and safety of all people. The best strategies are those principles and concepts that maximize the chances of achieving this goal with the least amount of damage. In other words, do the least to achieve the most. The best techniques are those that follow the concepts to achieve the goal as directly as possible.

      In the beginning, the aikido students tend to be bottom up in orientation. Later, the students begin to transition from bottom up to top down. Eventually, the students apply the beliefs in peace and harmony, through the specific aikido concepts, in the actual training and applications of aikido techniques.

      TRAINING GOALS

      Training in martial arts, like anything in life, is best undertaken when directed toward a specific goal by setting specific objectives, and according to specific schedules. However, one must always take into account motivation and learning plateaus.

      Training goals are individual, need to be stated in positive sensory-based terms specific enough to recognize and acknowledge the progress initiated and maintained by the individual student. To obtain advanced status and rank in aikido (goal) the student must show up consistently and persistently to train with the proper intensity and intent to learn what is being taught.

      It is important to find your own motivation for practice. What motivates one individual may have no effect on another. Some people move toward a goal, while others move away from fear, shame, or danger. Some people want external public acclaim, while others want an internal satisfaction. Some want money, prestige, or fame, while others want solitude and peace of mind. Some people want to be different, while others want to belong and be the same. Some people train because they feel they have to; others train because they simply want to. There is no right or wrong motivation for studying aikido. Each student must come to understand his or her own motivation and use it to continue training and progressing in aikido.

      The training plateau is the understanding and acceptance that there will be times within the training schedule that one is not learning any new skills. There will be times that one does not always have the necessary motivation to maintain a schedule, to do the task to meet the goal. The training plateau can be one of the most exciting and important times in aikido training. The initial learning curve in which one learns a great deal tends to have its own momentum based on the excitement of learning and progressing. The learning eventually, and inevitably, will hit a few plateaus where nothing new appears to be learned and the old techniques may appear and feel boring. Mastery (LEONARD 1992, P. 39) suggests that through the repetitive and realistic rehearsals of training and practice of the known techniques, the skill will go from conscious competence to unconscious competence. The learning curve will then have a new base line from which to learn new skills and concepts. With this goal of unconscious competence in mind, the training plateau is no longer a plateau but a necessary, and welcomed, stage of training and practice.

      PHYSICAL MOTOR TRAINING

      There are many aspects to physical training. They include nutrition, exercise, and skill.

      Nutritional analysis and advice is beyond the scope of this text, but it is important to realize that the fuel the body relies on has direct effects on bodily performance. Eating the wrong foods, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and the use of drugs will eventually take their toll on the body and the mind. Eventually, with consistent and persistent training, the student of aikido will begin to be more nutritionally oriented and healthy.

      Strength training is of lesser importance in aikido because the proper execution of an aikido technique does not require physical muscular strength. O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba specifically stated that training should not be a contest of strength. Nonetheless, everyone can benefit from a toned and conditioned musculature. The only way to strengthen or tone muscles is through weight or resistance training. Visualize the movement to help coordinate and unify the body and mind. Staying completely relaxed and calm, focusing on posture and alignment, and breathing and extending ki from one's center make resistance training a practice in the application of aikido concepts. It is important to put any skill into context, so please remember to lift weights, not people, and to throw people not weights.

      Flexibility training incorporates stretching exercises. These exercises increase the range of motion and help prevent injuries in training. Flexibility can help the body respond faster and more efficiently by relaxing antagonistic muscles and improving the full range of motion. Visualize the movement to help coordinate and unify the body and mind. As in strength training, staying relaxed and focused on your center, while breathing and keeping good posture, can help you apply aikido concepts to flexibility training.

      One develops cardiovascular fitness through any exercise program that consistently raises and maintains a high heart rate. These exercises include running, cycling, swimming, dancing, or fast-paced randori (multiple opponent attack). Aerobic, or cardiovascular, exercise is the only way the body burns fat. Cardiovascular fitness can greatly increase the ability to train harder and longer by increasing stamina and endurance. Visualize the movement to help coordinate and unify your body and mind. Staying relaxed, breathing, focusing on your center, and extending your ki will help you apply aikido concepts to a cardiovascular activity.

      Skill training takes into account the technical proficiency needed