Aikido: metaphor or not? when is your cut 'clean'?

(cut out from an email conversation)

I do not think Aikido is a metaphor, just as I think life is not a metaphor. But Aikido, or anything else for that matter, can be used as a metaphor to help us understand what is happening or what could be happening.

I agree with the person who said, “The best and truest are those things that cannot be said.”, though we keep trying and I think using metaphor is one attempt to say things that we don’t have words for. I remember reading a quote attributed to O’Sensei, the founder of Aikido, that goes something like this, “I show them martial techniques so they will listen to me” [when I teach them the important things].

What I have been taught and what I have come to know deeply myself is that these Aikido martial techniques are to be honored and respected but are ultimately only a means to something deeper. I equate this to being able to thrive, not just survive in life’s situations. This is why I continue to stay fascinated and engaged with my own Aikido and Warrior of the Heart practices. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy being skilled in the strictly martial application of Aikido, but this is not why I stay engaged with teaching and studying it. I do love Aikido, and I found that my deep respect for the form that I learned Aikido in was getting in the way of my being able to communicate and express what I had learned, to people other than those who were already familiar with the usual form of Aikido.

One of the important things that I was taught, by all of my close teachers, was that the essence of Aikido was for the whole world to share. This is why I have come to leading/teaching Warrior of the Heart instead of strictly teaching Aikido. The application of this beautiful art is so much more than throwing someone across the room (which I do enjoy very much to do) or learning to defend yourself on the street (which I don’t enjoy). I think most Aikidoka (Aikido practitioners) feel this same way.  This is a long story, but I felt a need to express, “Where I was coming from.” before going on.

I do believe that the application of Aikido [I’ll just call it WotH (Warrior of the Heart) from now on to avoid confusion] can be used in any situation in life, from the board room to the street. I agree with Bill that how it applies to organizations is an exciting area to delve into. I think that there is much to be explored there and in other areas. If we knew it all already, I think I would be doing something else.

I would like to get to your interesting and important question, George, about how do you know when your cut is from ego or from a truer source. My first thought was that you can’t really know, but I don’t think that is entirely true. It may come from a different way of knowing than we are used to. I think continuing to practice “sword cuts” from a place other than ego is one of the keys. Even if you only make it 10% of the time, that’s great, and the next time it will be 11% of the time. I was told by a teacher that the way to learn was to practice. When I asked him how I could learn faster, he just looked at me and said, “practice practice practice”. This seems obvious but I need to be reminded of this every once in a while.

I also think that the results of your cut will reveal its source; “You will know them by their works”. So it may be a matter of staying very aware and checking in with others, whose wisdom you respect. 

Your question also brought to mind a story that I use once in a while in teaching but have never written down before now. I took this opportunity and am sending it along to you. I’m not sure exactly how it relates to your question, it just came to mind. 

Thanks, George and Bill, and all you other heart-full warriors out there. 

Bob