The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.  George Bernard Shaw

 Aikido = The Way of Aiki       (Few seem to define it this way)

O Sensei’s Aikido moved away from the traditional static kata based approach towards a style that was more a living entity – a responsive art that has at its base a feeling of unison between tori and uke. While uke makes attack, tori harmonises to the extent that any movement of tori’s centre corresponds to movement in uke’s centre. A few have this from their very first day of training even though they might not realise it, many take much longer, most perhaps never achieve it.

So, if we define Aikido as The Way of Aiki, it implies that everything we have (the exercises and the techniques) and everything we do (the training methods) should be utilised and focused on discovering what aiki is and training it so that we get better at using it. To me, this is the main purpose of Aikido. Certain old Jujutsu schools contained aiki elements that were supposedly secret, only to be taught to seniors at some future point. Even one of the seven katas of Judo, no doubt taken from Jujutsu, has aiki elements. It is these 'exercises' that I think Ueshiba focused his training on. Most Aikido waza are pretty simplistic - or rather, not realistic at all. This is because it is less of a fighting system and more of an aiki training system. Of course, it is up to the individual to make it into a fighting system if that is what you want but if you do that without training the aiki then all you have is a skeletal mechanical art without flesh, mind, or much harmony. Once you begin to understand elements of what aiki is then you can apply it to all the movements of Aikido and those of other arts. At its most basic level, I define aiki to be using my opponent's force against them.  This is very hard to train in a kata-based format - uke can be asked to respond in a certain kata-defined way, but this is just not natural. To really learn it you have to really try to do it. A 'responsive' kata might provide a very basic start, but beyond that, a resisting uke will become your best friend. The biggest problem you will face is that this is difficult to do if you have a technique-based mindset. How you think is very important and it therefore follows that you need to change the way you think and approach everything. So, think of manipulating uke's energy and you will learn to manipulate it. Think of doing Ikkyo or Kote-gashi, and you will probably forget to think about manipulating uke's energy. For myself,  my first insights into aiki came from other arts, and it was only later that I realised this and sought to 'put the aiki back' into my Aikido. It is a continuous, slow, yet fascinating journey. I have to say, I honestly feel that I am now making progress.

In terms of understanding aiki, we are all at different points. With that in mind, it is essential to go out and pry the minds of as many teachers as possible to see what they can do to get a better idea of what to seek. You need to have a humble searching approach and to constantly test yourself. You will need a lot of patience in your training as you will experience hundreds of failures for each little success. That is the nature of the learning process we face.

To learn aiki: First learn mechanical waza and ukemi. Learn to make your body structure work for you. Figure out levers, position, space, time, sword, coordination and how to take balance etc. Next, become more alive and responsive - good ukemi skills are crucial here. By this time you should be able to blend with uke's attack and movement. Finally, learn to manipulate uke's movement and add to it; use his energy against him, so to speak. If you are not using uke's energy it is not aiki, it is just mechanical waza.

But just what is this mysterious aiki? How can we find and learn that which few can do well? Well, first, we have to figure out what we seek. For example: Search for practitioners who, when you catch or attack them, well, there is just nothing you can do. This alone is not easy; the number of people I have met who can do this (since 1980) fit on one hand. The moment you take hold of them - they have you in their power. Anything you do is already neutralized. They seem to have lots of effortless power. Your power has inexplicably been neutralized. In fact, they use your own effort against you. And no matter how hard you try to get it, you just can't figure it out. So, sit down and watch them for awhile. You will probably notice that none of the other students can do it either. Get a full appreciation of what is going on. They will not or cannot teach their stuff. You have no choice but to steal it. And you can only do that by training long and hard keeping the 'experience' in mind. So in order to start your aiki journey, you must search for that experience.

These days people of other arts criticize Aikido calling it ineffective. Well, what they see is probably - very ineffective. They typically see tori forcing some fancy looking waza combo on their uke. And, their uke just flies for them. Or, they take away a sword from a pathetic attack. Such is very common and should be left out of demos. The main purpose of Aikido is to find aiki. If you start that journey, and you should, everything else is out the window. If you succeed, then people of other arts will come to you to learn it. Remember: Aikido is the Way of Aiki. The waza are not really waza, they are just some of the tools to help find and develop aiki. If you make them into waza and claim to be an expert in self-defence all you will have is ineffective Jujutsu and those of other arts will rightly continue to laugh at you ... and us. If you concentrate on and study aiki, eventually they will come to you to learn.

(a) Realm of the possible

The ultimate in aiki power is that lone finger, quite incomprehensible, that steers uke up and away or down to the floor with delicate precision. A contrasting method is to send uke away or down with such a force that they are momentarily shocked, experiencing sudden fear, again with seemingly little effort. Impossible for the most of us and even for the students of those that can, it is at the very least necessary to travel far and wide to seek and experience it – if only to know the realm of the possible and to keep such in mind as a distant aim. In the meantime, one needs to develop a more practical and achievable definition of what aiki is.

(b)   Defining practice

The yin-yang duality of Chinese thought can be applied to the aiki learning approach. The smaller the eyes of the yin-yang circles, the greater the difference between the hard and soft either between styles, or within a style – but even though small, hardness still remains as an intrinsic part of softness and vice-versa. The larger the eyes, the more the two merge into each other, meeting at some happy median. Even within a style there are always those of a slightly harder or softer disposition than others. At one extreme are those who only use solid technique from a strong centre to twirl uke around and down, at the other are those who insist that uke’s determined attack be the sole energy input leading to their demise. In reality, those most like ourselves become our favourite training partners but when dealing with extremes of any kind, it makes sense to bring the majority towards the centre by developing Aikidoka with ‘large eyes.’ But this does not mean that the ‘little eyes’ are wrong – working at the extremes is absolutely necessary, the mistake is to work at only one.

(c) Progressive method

There are two common poles from which to start the aiki journey. The first route recommends ‘light-fast’ training. This develops rapid understanding of movement, timing, and co-ordination. The second path is a ‘slow-heavy’ approach through which the student learns to perform basic movements against increasing resistance against many different people. Both routes have validity and head towards the same destination, yet many, most even, never arrive. In the meantime, later adding a component of slow heaviness to the ‘light-fast’ route is not so easy as one has always trained to be light and such seems to run against the 'perceived' aiki grain. Contrasting this, adding speed to the ‘slow-heavy’ approach instils the idea of logical advancement in skill. While in the short term progress seems to be slow, in the long run it leads to a better understanding of the basics; training against measured resistance means that, by necessity, tori has to contact with uke’s centre from the very beginning of their aiki journey. By adding speed later, tori can create and maintain that already learned aiki feeling within more rapid movement. Having trained extensively in both environments and having reflected upon the outcomes in terms of my own training and that of many others I am convinced that natural progression is the logical means: Adding speed to heaviness later on in one’s development is far more beneficial than adding heaviness to speed.

The most important fact is that someone who does not have aiki can be taught to recognise it and to develop it and the most efficient means to do so is through solid kokyu-ryoku, kokyu-ho, and kokyu-nage exercises. One first learns to move uke from a position of mechanical strength and over time the aim is to advance by reducing the amount of effort needed, replacing force with technical skill amidst the harmony of fluid movement; one has to develop a composite understanding of co-ordination, space, time, speed, power, and technical skill – all realistic aims in the quest for understanding. True aiki appears when tori demonstrates superb sensitivity in movement, he uses the skills he developed while being uke himself to melt and absorb his opponent's force, merging with uke’s strike or grip and general body movement to the extent that uke actually feels comfortable while beginning to be immobilised or thrown. But contrasting this, it is also necessary to learn how to disrupt and cause disharmony and imbalance in uke, sometimes to the extent that they feel very uncomfortable.

With any logical approach, even if aiki were never fully understood, the keen student should still have a good understanding of martial movement resulting in real skill in self-defence. The point here is that achievable aims need to be set, worked on, and overcome. If the only aim is one-finger magical Aikido there will be no practical means to achieve it. At each level of development one’s understanding of aiki will necessarily change; there is no singular answer as to what it is in the midst of process, only that one should seek, all the while keeping an eye on that elusive goal while never straying too far from reality.

(d) Other aiki

Definitions of aiki are sometimes broadened to include any means whereby uke is manipulated, controlled or toppled with minimal effort. For example, any efficient means of taking uke’s balance to effect an immobilisation or projection can be regarded as being in tune with uke and as such is not limited only to Aikido. To trip someone up requires perfect timing and co-ordination, and the result is an unbalanced uke who is momentarily wide open for a technique. A boxer who can avoid all attacks with ease and hit his opponent at will is demonstrating a kind of aiki. The magician who misleads his subjects, directing their attention at will, performs an excellent composite of mental and physical skills in the moment. The husband / wife, worker / boss, and man / dog that accurately gauge each other’s minds or feelings with careful observation are somehow in tune with each other and such skill can be an example of aiki. Extending the argument further, any craftsman who is master of his trade and can do some complicated looking task with nonchalant effort is also demonstrating a form of aiki between himself and the object he is working on. Some people like to say that such high degrees of nonchalant skill in particular fields of skill are demonstrations of a kind of aiki. But in Aikido, the aiki we seek is quite different. What we seek is to control our partner through fine sleight of hand, controlling uke's energy and balance to produce waza. All our previous training - strength, speed, timing - provide and important basis but it does not automatically result in aiki.

(e) How to find centre

    Everyone struggles with this for ages - it is impossible to understand what aiki is (or my interpretation of it) without understanding centre. I tried listening to everyone for years but it simply does not sink in until you have been through all the exercises under the sun, and then some. However, what is abundantly clear is that many of those attempting to explain it either can do it but can't explain it, or can't do it so can't explain it. The only way forward then is to search for yourself. I don't know if I am the former or the latter but I will try to explain how to learn it in a more efficient way than 'they' gave me.

   First: practice pushing people around (either tegatana to tegatana; or try tegatana against uke's chest/shoulders/body). Move back and forth up and down the mat. Then, have the person being pushed do a little tai-sabaki to make it harder for tori to push directly at uke. When pushing uke directly, tori feels he can simply, push uke; when uke turns, tori has to search for uke - then find him - to make direct contact again to push him. This is 'making contact' with uke and the easiest way is to simply push him straight. When you get better, you can catch him earlier when he turns and maintain the pressure. In this way, you begin to find and feel uke's centre, i.e., where he is.

   Second: once you get a good feel for uke's centre you can begin to try to feel that you push him with your body through your extended arms. Then try it from your feet, through your body, and through your arms. This will take awhile but it is easier to find your own centre after you find uke's centre. What this means is, if you are a beginner, it is really a waste of time to do lots of solo exercises to try and find your centre - it will just make no sense at all. Worse still are exercises where you just stand there waving your arms about - dreaming for some kind of elusive enlightenment. It might work if you are determined, but it didn't work for me. Once you get the idea of pushing uke with your body through your arms, try doing ikkyo in the same way, and so on.

   Third: join two swords together at the hilt and push each other up and down the mat (strength is fine at this point - sometimes, the more the better). When joined at the hilt it is easy. Next, move slightly away from the hilt and you will find it hard to push with strength while maintaining sword contact. Next move further down the sword. Finally, try with the swords say four inches apart - advance and retreat, 'pushing' uke. This will help you understand what people mean when they say things like 'push from the centre, keep centre, control his centre'. It is actually pretty easy - the problem is in the words - when people say 'keep centre' the beginner has no clue what they are talking about and might even be doing it right already without even knowing it.

   Fourth: I came up with this from wrestling, where you get a point if you push your opponent out of the ring, which means, you try to push him out and he tries to not-be-pushed-out, and it provides a good exercise. So, for the exercise - open your arms and keep uke inside-ish. Pick a spot on the edge of the mat and try to direct uke towards it. Uke tries to get out of your arms (not too fast as it is too easy to escape - the purpose is to learn centre). To escape uke has to move backwards and sideways but it is not too difficult to track him to your spot since you are only moving forwards. As uke moves say left, so you move left and refocus him on that original spot and push. As he moves right do likewise and you shuffle/guide him to the edge. There is no need to wrestle - this exercise simply allows you to line your centre up with uke's and the spot at the edge - and push, and the result is you become a little more aware of what 'keep centre' means. Here, you are focusing on irimi, there is no tenkan in the mind of tori. On the other hand, all uke can think of is tenkan. What I also find from this is that good irimi can track and follow tenkan (what I mean is, once you have him on the run, you have him). It is also fun to push a bit harder.

  Fifth, being good at ukemi is very important. Ukemi is Aikido's main advantage in pursuit of aiki. With ukemi we learn to respond to tori either lightly or heavily, depending upon how we wish to train in a particular moment. Both the light and the heavy are important. But being light is more important. The more responsive we become, the better a feel we get for our partner's energy/intention and the better we become placed to deal with it should we wish to 'turn the advantage around' and take out tori with subtle movement = moving towards understanding of aiki. We need more and more of this training/thinking in order to move in this direction. Just doing is not enough ; one has to think it too. The mind directs the body to do its will, so to speak.

(f) Encompass all

Aiki can not be found by practising external technique alone. In the broad sense, one has to collect together and develop all the principles of Aikido. Aiki, in essence, is the flow of energy, thus tori has to learn to flow with, and to take control of, uke’s energy. And the purpose of doing this is to defeat uke in a martial sense – it is not a dance, nor is it peaceful. Aikido uses the tegatana and as such, various hand positions become very important. However, while the tegatana is a useful tool for learning to understand aiki, it is not the be all and end all of technique. Those who understand aiki do not need a strong tegatana to demonstrate it. The most common method of learning aiki is in terms of physical hand-to-hand contact, but this is only one of several means available to redirect uke’s energy; patience brings solution, calmness dissipates anger, confidence instils doubt, kiai shocks, atemi, real or feint, causes reaction – all need consideration.

Regardless of the Way one is following, the key to arriving at the destination is planning one’s own journey. One needs to know where one is at, where one is going, what one needs to continue, and how to get it. It is not good enough to rely on others. It is important to realise that there are no shortcuts, no magic grips or hand positions, and no secret escapes; the only real way is through consistent hard training while consciously incorporating and unifying all the aspects of Aikido over an extended period of time.