Peter Shapiro

Spanish Budo Magazine (SM): And what do you think about Aikido nowadays, in general, are there any true research (in the world  generally) or are the people just doing gymnastic?

Peter Shapiro Sensei (PS): There is a problem in Aikido, which is that the integration of Aikido with the  spiritual teaching of O Sensei was never done, so there is a separation in terms of practice from the spiritual teachings; the spiritual teachings do not lead the practice, they are kept separate from it.  This reminds me about something Hikitsuchi Sensei used to say: ” True progress in Aikido does not come from concentration on technique, but as the heart opens the technique changes as a result. This cannot happen through making technique the most important thing in your practice. Budo is not technique.”, Opening of heart can be helped through the practice of technique, but there has to be an intent or movement in that direction (opening of the heart) on the part of the practitioner and also the teacher for that to happen.  And It is not able to happen as long as Aikido is practiced dualistically,- that is in terms of succeeding in technique against someone, or over someone, as in the concept of self-defense or in sports.  The Aikido of O Sensei is not done as a reaction to an attack. The seeming attack is called forth, is actually initiated by the tori as an expression of inryoku.  To really explain this it is necessary to demonstrate it with the movements because it seems contradictory or not logical,–but in Aikido it is not that someone attacks and then you do the technique, you enter in advance of the attack, not only physically but spiritually to a point just before the partner or opponent thinks/decides to make the attacking movement, and then the person is led through the move through the activity of ki-no-nagare and the movement/relation of aiki. So that in no case are you doing the move to someone. There is just one movement that happens through the two bodies.

SM: How about Ki in Aikido? I think you have answer already..

PS: Well,  there are different issues around that question:  Ki in Aikido…Aikido,-that is its  name, so Ki,– how can there be a question around Ki…it´s a part of the name?…However, originally, in the sixties there were many teachers in Japan and in Hombu Dojo, who did not accept the teaching of Tohei, ( Koichi Tohei) and Tohei called his style of Aikido Ki-Aikido. So in reaction to Tohei, many teachers who would not follow him began to say that the success of a technique in Aikido has nothing to do with Ki. So that is a problem which is really a problem of unknown aikido history that has led to a certain kind of confusion.

Another issue that most people are not aware of, is that  O Sensei…when O Sensei first started to teach in his first dojo in Ayabe, it was not an Aikido-dojo, it was a Daito-ryu Aiki-Jiu-Jitsu dojo. But after his enlightenment, as he began to develop what we call Aikido today, everything changed. To explain the word aiki or ki in Aiki-Jiu-jitsu:– For instance, if we take the word Judo, or we take the words Karate-Do, what is said or what is implied by those names is that through the use of  “ju” which would be softness or suppleness, you can win, you can defeat your opponent. In Karate it is “with the open hand” that you can defeat someone armed,-that is what the words judo and karate-do imply. So we can define judo or karate as ways of  beating someone or winning by either suppleness or the open hand. In Daito ryu Aiki-Jiu-jitsu it is the same thing, by using the Aiki principles of Daito-ryu Aiki-Jiu-jitsu you can defeat your opponent the same way that you can with judo or karate; However, this is not the meaning of Ki, of Aiki in Aikido, Take-musu Aiki.  So the question becomes: what does O Sensei mean when he uses the words Aiki, Aikido?

Well, first, we must look at the name, Aikido. We have three characters: AI, KI, and DO.

Now as O Sensei explained, and as Hikitsuchi Sensei explained O Sensei’s teachings, the word AI does not mean harmony. It means connection or union, It absolutely does not mean harmony. This is very important. It has nothing to do with an idea of winning or succeeding by harmonizing with the ki of an opponent.  What is more, O Sensei said always that AI has another meaning as well, which is that of love. The word AI when written with a different  Chinese character means love. And O Sensei said clearly that he wished AI to have both meanings, connection-union-with, and love.  Furthermore, when O Sensei talked about Ki, he made clear that he was not talking about Ki as something to use in terms of technique for winning, he said that the Ki of Aikido is the Ki which is the fundamental energy which holds the entire Universe together. And when he spoke about love, he spoke about it in the same large sense.  Hikitsuchi Sensei, explaining the meaning of love in aikido, used a very simple Japanese word, Dai. Dai-Ai. That is, Great Love, in the sense of Divine Love or Universal Love. So taking this as a base, the translation we arrive at, is: “The Way of Union with the Love and Original Energy that sustain the entire Universe. This  is not saying Aiki is a way to win over someone. In fact, O Sensei said that we should not use the word or think the word win in Aikido…

So the Ki of Aikido which we begin to feel and becomes a reality for us through practice,- when that Ki is unified with the natural movement of Aikido, it has the resonance of  Universal Ki. It´s not at all dualistic.

Dr. Masaru Emoto’s Healing Prayer for the Gulf
Focusing our energies in response to the Gulf tragedy and for healing the waters and its inhabitants -  Yesterday at our spiritual center we read a letter from Dr. Masaru Emoto who many of you will recognize as the scientist from Japan who has done all the research and publications about the characteristics of water.   Among other things, his research reveals that water physically responds to emotions.   Right now, most of us have the predominantly angry emotion when we  consider what is happening in the Gulf.  And while certainly we are justified in that emotion, we may be of greater assistance to our planet and its life forms, if we sincerely, powerfully and humbly pray the prayer that Dr Emoto, himself, has proposed.
“I send the energy of love and gratitude to the water and all the living creatures in the Gulf of Mexico and its surroundings.
To the whales, dolphins, pelicans, fish, shellfish, plankton, coral, algae, and all living creatures . . . I am sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you. ”
We are passing this request to people who we believe might be willing to participate in this prayer, to set an intention of love and healing that is so large, so overwhelming that we can perform a miracle in the Gulf of Mexico . We are not powerless. We are powerful.  Our united energy, speaking this prayer daily…multiple times daily….can literally shift the balance of destruction that is happening.
We don’t have to know how……we just have to recognize that the power of love is greater than any power active in the Universe today.  If moved to do so, join in repeating this healing prayer of of Dr. Emoto’s.  Feel free to copy and paste this to send it around the planet.
Let’s take charge, and do our own clean up!

June 2010 Promotions

On Saturday, June 26th, 2010 the Aikido Center held a special class for those of our students who were being promoted to their next kyu, (belt rank).  After class we had a potluck bbq to celebrate the day.

Class was amazing, connected and flowing from a deep Ki source.  All 40 of us were catching the wave of Aikido.  Simply remembering class to write this I feel again that tumbling of my belly, the earth in my legs, expansion of awareness, connected with my partners in technique, allowing myself to be moved by Ki.  I saw these same qualities in every student that day, it’s certainly reflected in the photography. slideshow

There are set places in our structure of kyu promoting that we ask the student to give a 5 minute report to express their relationship with Aikido.  Each student who gave a report shared their unique relationship with Aikido in a real way, allowing themselves the vulnerability to be seen and celebrated.  A person taps both confidence and courage to be able to share the way they did.

Congratulations to those students who were recently promoted.

Theresa Fluty

Peter Shapiro Sensei

These 11 Guidelines for Aikido practice were offered by Peter Shapiro Sensei of Ki No Nagare Aikido.

1)     Fill yourself with ki before the move and extend that ki during the move, including the moment after the uke has been thrown or pinned. The more ki there is from both tori and uke, the better and more complete the technique will be –  According to O-Sensei the technique is actually created by ki.

2)     A basic principle about practice that has been largely forgotten is that each technique is repeated four times without stopping, without stepping back, and without breaking the ki-connection between the partners. An important result of this way of practicing is the appearance of a rhythm during the four moves. It is also important to let the partner complete their move. They should not be stopped or struck even if the move is incorrect or there is a suki.

3)     During the move always maintain equal awareness of the partner’s body from the tips of the toes to the top of the head. Pay attention to not to concentrate only on that part of the body, the fist or hand which is attacking or defending.

4)     Try to move your awareness and your mind to the hara; as though your eyes were in your hara.

5)     The practice of Aikido is about ending the illusion of separation which we all have from the sense of limit and vulnerability that comes with the awareness of our body.. Competition and comparison increase the sense of separation. Aikido is about connection (musubu, tama-no-o, aiki).

6)     We should be aware of the special concentration needed for each of the three parts of each technique: the beginning, the middle, the end, which generally correspond to the triangle, the circle and the square.

7)     Aikido-techniques are designed not to injure. Atemi is not meant to actually strike the partner, so we should not be afraid to do the techniques with our full energy. According to Hikitsuchi-Sensei in the purest form of Aikido one is never touched, so techniques should not become anything resembling tests of power or strength. There is no winning in Aikido. The phrase in Japanese that O-Sensei used in this respect is: Masakatsu (true victory) Agatsu (is victory over the self) Katsu-Hayaibi (leading us to be able to enter the state where there is no time and no space).

8)    We must remember that the Ai of Aikido also means love; that Aikido reveals the unconditional love which exists throughout the universe, bringing us to the state of mind which O-sensei called  “the spirit of loving protection of all that exists“ (Ban-yu-ai-go), and to the knowledge that mankind is one great family within the greater family of pure principle and love which is the universe.

9)     we must always remember that according to O-sensei, the success of the Aikido technique comes from the principle saki-no-saki-no-saki. Even during the period before the war, the tori called forth the attacking movement of the uke. He did not wait for and then react to it. Even before the war, O-sensei had already defined Aikido as a Budo of oneness..

10) Aikido is 50% bun and 50% bu,

11) We must try to always be aware of the wave aspect of every move.

I would like to thank Josh R. for setting Notes up, linking it to our website and giving me hands on lessons on how to use the different features of the program I’ve named, Notes.

Theresa