I have tried to broach this subject before, and I will probably fall short now, but in every core theory to a higher level of martial arts we are told to check our our emotions, but .. how can anyone control the emotional mind?

I was watching The History Channel’s special programs about the Seven Deadly Sins and when the program on Anger came along, there was an interesting note about anger.

As 2008 draws rapidly to a close, it is time again to reflect on this year filled with many events, not only in the world, but also at the Yoseikan. Some of those events are Mochizuki Sensei’s remains being returned from France to Japan and Tezuka Akira Sensei’s recent passing.

This year we celebrated Mochizuki Sensei’s fifth memorial and the repose of his bones next to his wife as per his wishes. Twenty-three years ago, while staying together in a hotel, I had asked him how he wanted to have his funeral. “Hold it at the dojo, wear dogi (practice uniform), have a good practice, then enjoy food and drink together,” he had replied.

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Click here to read French version of article.

Website of International Yoseikan Budo Federation

“Keeping it with you; now that’s the hardest part of training. Not losing it. Having it there when you have to use it.”

This was the response from life-long martial artist Norman Carr (Shotokan and Doshinkan Aikido(1).) We were discussing the benefits of physically “hard” training, sort of reminiscently. The normative age of this Black Belt class was around sixty years old. Realistically speaking, throws and breakfalls are now a long-term disability should anything go wrong. (Plus, it seems to take quite a long time just to get back up!) As martial artists an injury directly jeopardizes our ability to protect ourselves and loved ones. We will have defeated ourselves in this primary aspect of martial art training. As advanced Black Belts we really don’t need to do the breakfalls, or the throws, whether practically speaking or symbolically.

The Human body-mind, the Hito Jinja contains all the forces of the universe whether we are conscious of this or not. Most will remain latent throughout a life.

Existence is a matrix of sorts but much more. Whatever the activity we are required to master the skill of it will enable us to navigate well.

There are some great budoka out there, don’t get me wrong. Articulating what I want to say in words is no small task. I recently got reproached by one such individual I had praised in my writing but apparently, he and his associates had understood it as badmouthing.

What are you doing! That is NOT Aikido!

I am sure somewhere, someplace, sometime you will either hear that phrase or read that phrase in some article or blog and wonder …. what the hell was going on that made it necessary to say those words.

Ya know, if you practice Aikido then go try Brazilian Jujitsu, which is more often wrestling and grappling than what you do as a practice of Aikido, you wonder … what good is this if a group of people attack, or someone is shooting at me with a gun? And then the people who practice striking arts wonder what the hell aikido people are doing with all that falling, throwing, and letting people use you as a human crash-test dummy for their practice, why aren’t there any kicks, strikes, or more violent techniques applied?

“The actual term “self-defence” begs consideration that O-Sensei may not have developed Aikido for this purpose in the first place. After all, he speaks of self cultivation, peace on Earth and touching the Divine. In his younger day he was almost definitely motivated by the desire to be stronger, but in his later years when he was refining his art the importance of self defence was probably reduced. Self-defence is after all a selfish concept and not in line with the higher values of Aiki.”

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I remember as clearly as if it were yesterday. It was at the West Ryde Gym Dojo in 1970. We were practicing multiple attacks. All young men. Sensei would exemplify and then we would attempt to match his example. He had gone first and there were at least eight, maybe ten attacking him. Because we thought Sensei was invincible, we would go all out and as hard as we could, trying to plant a strike.

He didn’t mess around either. It was like being hit with a Mac truck padded with cotton wool or the wind at the edge of a cyclone. But we’d get up as he’d taught us to, and re-attack again and again.

Recently I was introduced to a gentleman interested in martial arts training. He was not really aware of what I teach or of what constitutes Nihon Koryu Jujutsu. He just assumed that because I taught it, that I must believe it to be “the best”. When I told him I did not believe the art I taught to be “the best”, an uncomfortable silence ensued. I finally broke this taciturn moment by explaining that there is actually no such thing as a “best” martial art. Despite a noble effort to grasp what I was talking about, the gentleman in question eventually regressed, unable to shake the impression that if I was not convinced that what I taught was superior to all other forms of martial arts, that I was somehow unworthy of teaching him. I politely encouraged him to look around, consider what I had said and contact me again if he had any further questions. A few days later I received an e-mail from this gentleman in which he explained that he had indeed found someone convinced that they taught the ultimate style of martial arts. It was called “mixed martial arts” because it embodied only best of all the styles. I just smiled to myself as I politely responded, congratulating him on his fortuitous discovery.

Fred Hollows, a foremost eye surgeon, in treating people for eye disease and restoring sight, had an attitude of treating everyone, irrespective of class, caste, race, gender or financial status as if he were treating the king or queen.

That was his standard of excellence and human empathy.

In any career, unless the service to the greater good is at that standard, both in spirit and in practice, you are claiming your wages under false pretenses. Don’t argue. It’s a fact. Laggards serve only themselves because they have not grown beyond the animal stage and the gift of human intellect and other faculties is wasted on them.

“Martial Power, or Jin, can generally be divided into three categories: Hard Jin, Soft-Hard Jin and Soft Jin. Among these, Hard Jin uses the most muscular power, followed by Soft-Hard Jin and finally Soft Jin. But no matter which Jin, in order to manifest maximum power you must have both the strength of the physical body (Yang) and a sufficient supply of smoothly circulating Qi (Yin). “Qi”, which is pronounced Ki in the Japanese arts, is the Chinese word for “energy”, and pertains to all forms of energy in the universe. In martial arts and qigong, it specifically refers to human Qi, the bioenergy or lifeforce within every cell of the human body.”

In the martial arts we all strive for a purpose. Some of us may have multiple purposes, but in general most of us strive for physical and mental development through shugyo. Some individuals might want to develop a certain skill level; others are more concerned with rank - especially the untrained newcomer. In a recent situation that I’m sure many will recognize, an individual walked into our dojo after contacting me previously on numerous occasions. Almost immediately on arriving, he asked me, “how long would it take me to get a black belt?”. I chuckled and replied, “Oh… around 2-3 days for an average one and about 7-10 days for a really nice one from Japan”. After he looked at me quizzically for a few moments, I explained the joke to him. Fortunately he chuckled and the ice was broken.

“Why aren’t Aikidoka winning the UFC? You know it only takes 3 generations to completely eliminate just about anything. Is Aikido losing ground with each generation? Everyone knows in order for something to survive, you have to get more of the next generation involved. Yes, maybe Aikido is gonna have to change to survive, or else go back into the shadows and become a forgotten art.”

Brian Kagen is an avid web researcher with a particular interest in martial arts. His training background includes both judo and aikido. He has contributed hundreds of article links over the years for AJ readers.