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

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.

(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.

(a)   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, merging with uke’s strike or grip and general body movement to the extent that uke actually feels comfortable while being 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 can be broadened to include any means whereby uke is 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.

(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.

(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.