Advanced Aikido. Phong Thong Dang

give to your kohai.

      Ultimately, there is no sempai, tohai, or kohai. There is only the training. If one thinks too much of rank, one will not be paying attention to the lesson or training and will totally miss the beauty of aikido.

      The sensei-student relationship is very important in the training and practice of aikido. The student must learn to trust in the sensei and the sensei must be worthy of that trust. Like all relationships, it takes two to make it work and be productive, but it only takes one to make it fail. Both the sensei and the student make a mutually beneficial and reciprocal agreement that betters not only themselves but also all within the dojo.

      Keiko: Everyday Training

      The first level of training is keiko. Keiko is physical practice and training, but it is more casual. Most practitioners of aikido begin with keiko. They begin training and practicing, but the level of intensity and intent is still rather tentative and restrained. This level of training is necessary in the beginning. Too rigorous, too fast, too soon creates little progress and too many injuries. Accept that as your level of skill and proficiency increase, so will the intensity and intent of your training.

      Shugyo: Rigorous Daily Training

      The next level of training is shugyo, meaning daily practice. Shugyo is the daily struggle of life. Aikido suggests we use our everyday life, inside and outside the dojo, to refine and purify the quality of life for all people. Ultimately, there is only the daily commitment to doing the best possible in everything. Rigorous daily training is a commitment to harmony and peace. It is a commitment to entering, connecting, and blending with others. It is a commitment to redirecting one's own thoughts and behaviors, as a model for others, from anger and separation toward peace and harmony. This is the shugyo aikido inside and outside the dojo.

      Misogi: Purification Training

      Aikido training is or can be misogi, a means of purification of body, mind, and spirit. It is the honest, genuine intent and intensity of training that provide the opportunity to minimize the learned ego identity interference, and let the unity of body, mind, and spirit occur naturally. Misogi takes the ability to control or reinterpret the signals sent from the body to the mind. What was once thought of as pain, to which the mind would send avoidance signal, now becomes the fire to forge the spirit by accepting it and staying with it or even moving into it. Misogi is the ability to invite, withstand, and even enjoy severe conditions and training.

      Takemusu-Aiki: Spontaneous Creative Execution

      Takemusu-aiki (spontaneous creative execution) does not just happen. It takes years of realistic repetitive rehearsal, practice, and training, before one's body will respond without effort or thought. It is a goal, but it is not the journey.

      Takemusu-aiki uses Ki as the natural life force to embrace dynamic and powerful martial techniques. These "divine techniques" come of their own after a lifetime of training. There is no shortcut to takemusu-aiki. There is only the training until the training itself manifests in the spontaneous and creative execution of an aikido response that is beyond, yet embodying, all concepts and techniques.

      In the beginning, one will have difficulty practicing the predetermined attack-response patterns taught. The beginning and intermediate students have not learned yet how to respond spontaneously or creatively as they are still too focused on learning the craft of aikido. Eventually, the advanced student will be able to express the art of aikido by responding spontaneously and creatively, without thought.

      Like the flow and the zone, takemusu-aiki demonstrates a detached absorption in an activity with a sense of spontaneity and peak power. There are several ways of training toward takemusu-aiki, but the actual experience comes from letting go and trusting that training. This state requires the ability to center solely on the task, the use of persistent and consistent training, and the ability to remove conscious thought and control.

      To train toward the goal of takemusu-aiki, the advanced aikido practitioner never forgets to continually train in the basics of aikido. It is only through the honest and genuine training and discipline through realistic repetition that the basics become naturally occurring patterns of behavior and movement. As one gains proficiency in the basics, both the body and the mind relax. The advanced practitioner of aikido begins training against random attacks and allows the development of consciousness and responsiveness. Jiju-waza is the freestyle training against an individual. Randori is the practice against multiple attackers. Both jiju-waza and randori are essential to becoming more effective and efficient in technique and more confident and spontaneous. Takemusu-aiki is the natural product of consistent and persistent training with honest and genuine intent and intensity. At some point, the advanced aikido practitioner simply enjoys the flow of the training. Relaxed and focused, the attack dictates the response. The advanced practitioner follows the natural flow of ki, enters and blends with it, redirects it, and harmoniously resolves the conflict nonviolently.

      CONCLUSION: THE FUTURE

      Once one understands the past, the present and future are more understandable as well. You know how you got here. If you draw a line from the past through the present, you can get some idea of what the future may hold. Aikido has many possible futures. It can become stronger or it can become weaker. That choice is ours. Each of us plays a part every time we step into the dojo, onto the mats, and train.

      Aikido, as a martial art, will only survive if we choose to train with honest intent to apply aikido to a fighting or combat context and scenario. While aikido originally came from a jujitsu fighting system, its current intensity, and intent in training and practice, brings its practical application and effectiveness into question. It is only by ensuring its martial application that aikido can remain a martial art.

      The inner development of the advanced aikido practitioner, to make a practical and comprehensive training philosophy a part of life, requires training the mind directly.

      TIPS FOR REFINING YOUR TRAINING PHILOSOPHY