Translator Gulizat Bekmurzaeva

Cover designer Tatiana Mihnevich

Editor Oksana Denisova

© Angelina Demilkhanova, 2020

© Nurzhanbek Akmatov, 2020

© Gulizat Bekmurzaeva, translation, 2020

© Tatiana Mihnevich, cover design, 2020

ISBN 978-5-0051-7144-3

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

AIKIDO: THEORY AND PRACTISE

 
Manual for instructors
 
 
Nurzhanbek Akmatov
Angelina Demilkhanova
 
 
translated into english by Gulizat Bekmurzaeva
 

When a person walks along the Samurai Path, he should not look for other ideals. The same goes for the Path itself. Therefore, it is wrong to study the Way of Confucius or the Way of Buddha and say that this is the Way of the Samurai. If a person understands this, he will listen to sermons about other Ways, but at the same time, more and more will learn his own.

Yamamoto Tsunetomo (Book One)

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF AIKIDO. introduction

One acquaintance asked me: «What do you feel when practicing aikido?» And I replied: «I feel spontaneity, creativity, freedom. I feel that I am a person, a living real person»

The main difference between sporting activity and martial arts roots in the principles – fundamental principles of life. Inasmuch that the martial art – is a science of life, which has a centuries-long history.

Any martial art is based on the fact that it has several components – physical exercises (kata, techniques, muscle development, reaction speed, training of attention, etc.), the psychological component – to know yourself, and then learn to control yourself (achieved by physical training, practicing with partners or a sparring system, breathing exercises, various forms of meditative techniques, etc.), and the spiritual component, which is based on understanding of the very essence of a human nature, his existence in his own world, the world with other people and the world of surrounding nature (this component is mainly based on the philosophical principles of the foundation of martial arts, which, depending on the country and continent, may be represented by Zen Buddhism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism, etc.).

When creating aikido, the founder Morihei Ueshiba focused on harmonizing the spirit and merging with vital energy («Ki», «Chi» or «Qi» in the Chinese tradition). In this regard, great importance in aikido is given to working with Ki energy, breathing, the ability to control not only your body and yourself, use the energy of its movements against it, but also to complete the technique so as not to harm your opponent (partner).

«Genuine martial art should have nothing to do with either brute physical force, which is necessary only to overthrow the enemy, and even more than with any deadly weapon that lead the world to destruction. Genuine martial art is called upon by avoiding a fierce struggle to regulate universal Ki, preserving peace, and allowing everything to grow and develop in nature. Thus, exercises in any form of martial arts should not be a goal in itself for the destruction of the enemy, but, on the contrary, should develop a sense of love and respect for others.»¹

Angelina Demilkhanova.

chapter 1. theoretical aspects of aikido

From the history of aikido

After a period of feudal disunity and civil wars between different principalities, known as the Sengoku Jidai Period («The Age of Warring Provinces»), Japan was reunited into a single state. At this time, the arts of wrestling (bugei), initially aimed at defeat and destruction on the battlefield, switched to the Path of martial arts (budo), aimed at improving the person’s personality through connecting mind, body and spirit. From the beginning of the 17th century, martial arts began to transform into «Paths» of martial arts, which, in fact, were similar to the Way of the Tea Ceremony, the Way of Versification, the Way of Calligraphy, the Way of Buddha and countless other Ways, which in their pure form constitute the basis of the spiritual development of the Japanese people and are closely related to Zen Buddhism.

Under the influence of Buddhist concepts the martial arts transformed from the simple combination of techniques into philosophical «paths». Their areas of application improved from the simple goal to kill the enemy into the combination of elements related to everyday life. In other words, the paths of murder were replaced by the paths of life².

Religion in Japan is represented mainly by Buddhism and Shintoism. It is believed that Zen Buddhism, which came from China at the end of the 12th century, is becoming the most influential school of Buddhism in Japan. It was with Zen Buddhism that a radical rethinking of the martial arts of the East was associated as one of the ways of a person’s spiritual development. It was peaceful Zen (from Japanese; Skt.– dhyana – «contemplation», Chinese- chan, corean. – sleep, vietnamese. thiền thien) that managed in its conceptual approach to solve the most complex moral problems associated with the violent nature of hostilities.

There are some of the most attractive moments for the followers of practical Zen in martial arts. Firstly, Zen meditation (as well as yogic methods of psycho regulation) is passively contemplative in nature. At the same time, Zen declares the universality of its principles, the possibility to experience satori (Jap. – satori; Sanskr. sambodhi – «enlightenment») in any act of everyday life. In martial arts an activity is expressed in the most concentrated form. Mastering this field allowed Zen to create a kind of an active form of yoga, opening the way to master the practical spheres of human activity. Secondly, traditional practice of Zen required not a simple intellectual perfection, but unity of spirit and body. Strict discipline and the need for perfect mastery of the body and martial arts fighting techniques were a matter of life and death, which opened up maximum opportunities for Zen in this regard. In addition, regular and organized physical activity helped to relieve stress arising from exhausting «psychological experiences», and prevented the emergence of mental disorders called «Zen disease». Third, and perhaps most importantly, the practice of martial arts was extremely far from routine, and thus particularly prone to transition of consciousness in those states to which Zen aspired.

The requirements to consciousness in «Zen types of art» have a peculiar continuation in the characteristics of tactical and technical features of certain species. They are united by the principle of flexibility common to the Far Eastern culture. It has found physical embodiment in light, flexible and very strong armament of Japanese samurai and is reflected in the so-called «bamboo commandments». Aikido brings the «principles of bamboo» to their quintessence. As a tumbleweed is carried away in the wind, ahead of any object rushing towards it, master aikido does not destroy the inertia of the attack, but allows it to «get out of control until it is completely self-destructible». He doesn’t punish the enemy, but forces them to see for themselves that they’re helpless. (Note that everywhere the Master acts spontaneously and unconsciously, like a bamboo that naturally restores the disturbed balance).

Morihei Ueshiba

Founder of aikido, Guru Ueshiba Morihei, born December 14, 1883. Living in a turbulent time of modernizing Japan, he dedicated himself to creating martial arts that would meet the needs of ordinary people, but would not be anachronistic. Teacher Ueshiba’s foundations were based on the following principles: a great love for traditional martial arts, care that they are not misunderstood, and a deep desire to give new life to the spiritual quality of Budo. He took long path, based on constant martial arts training, to bring the truth of Budo through the events of modern Japanese history. Master Ueshiba certainly believed that the true Budo spirit could not be associated with an atmosphere of competition and struggle where brute force prevailed and the primary goal was to win at all costs. He believed that this spirit should be comprehended in the process of human perfection, both bodily and spiritual, through the accumulation of experience and training based on the spirit of martial arts. For him, only such a true manifestation of Budo had the right to exist in the modern world, beyond a particular culture or era. His purpose, deeply religious in essence, is reduced to one position: to connection of fundamental creative power of Ki permeating the universe, and individual Ki, inseparable from energy of breath of each separate person. Trough constant training of a body and a mind the condition of harmony of individual and universal Ki is reached, which is shown in dynamic movement of a stream of Ki energy, free and flowing, indestructible and invulnerable. This essence of Japanese martial arts included in aikido.

Ueshiba synthesized the ideas of aikido from the many martial arts he studied and from his mentors he met in his life. One of them was Takagi Kiathi’s ju-jutsu mentor, who would later introduce him to Taeda Sokaku, the great teacher of the Daito Ryu Aiki Ju-su school. At this school Ueshiba learned the idea of harmony of the world, the balance that underlies such cruel and dangerous martial arts, learned the mystical concept of «aiki», which later became the basis of his own martial arts system. Another meeting, which undoubtedly lies in the philosophy of aikido, was with Shintoist Deguti Onisaburo, leader of the Omoto-kyo sect («teaching the great beginning» – one of the Shinto schools). Deguti taught that a warrior’s answer must always be proportionate to the attack. In ancient times, a samurai could kill a samurai like him for a careless nod, for a sword improperly placed in the sheath, and a commoner could lose his head for no reason at all. Deguichi Onisaburo instilled a different approach to Weshiba: resistance to evil must be adequate to the attack. This idea became a basic one in aikido ideology.

In 1939 Ueshiba opened the first official aikido school at the small Shinto temple of Ivami. In 1948 he founded the Aikikai Association. The greatest growth in popularity of aikido was in the 50—60s of the 20th century.

Thus, aikido expresses the traditional culture of Japan, where it combines the so-called peaceful practices of Zen (calligraphy, tea ceremony, etc.), the principles of traditional Japanese arts of fighting, and also combines the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, Confucianism and Shintoism simultaneously.

One of the main notions of Zen Buddhism is the concept of Satori: in meditative practice, Zen is an internal personal experience of comprehending the true nature (of human) through achieving «the state of one thought».

Here is how Professor Ueshiba describes the satori which befell him after many years of rejoicing, self-mortification, fasting and meditation under the cascades. The event dates back to 1925, i.e. the time of the end of asceticism, when the ascetic moved to the village of Ayabe: «One day, walking in the yard, I suddenly felt a strange feeling, as if the earth trembled under my feet. Some golden mist began to rise from the ground, enveloping me. At the same second I felt the light in my mind and body, and it seemed to me that I could understand the language of the birds chirping around me. Suddenly, I felt close to me the presence of a great Creator in a spiritual form. A thought dawned on me: the basis of all martial arts should be the love for everything that exists on earth. From that moment on, and for the rest of my life, I understood that the whole world is now my home, that the sun and stars belong to me. High position in society, fame, honor, wealth – all this has for ever lost its significance for me».