The Mirror of the Soul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=FLep9C4PTZ3iyydtH8oQcc4Q&v=i-Ej7YyQEAI

This is a rather unusual start to a blog about aikido but I would like you to watch and listen to the words of a music video from Chris de Burgh entitled The Mirror of the Soul (just click on the link).

I have often been told and indeed personally believe that to fully understand aikido you need to 'look in the mirror' ie look inside yourself, your very soul, and be comfortable and at one with yourself. This is a frightening and difficult thing for people to do and aikido has a way of laying bare all that people find uncomfortable about themselves. Often when they discover or realise those discomforts staring back at them in the reflection, they have a choice; they can grow, learn about themselves and deal with these feelings or turn away and leave them hidden.

In the dojo I have a kanji hanging innocuously to the right of O-Sensei on the kamiza, opposite the one that spells Ai-Ki-Do. In japanese the kanji spells out 'masakatsu agatsu' which has the meaning 'true victory is victory of oneself' or 'the only true victory is self mastery'.

On a personal level, this resonates with me 100%, as the last two years have been an intense and extremely painful journey, one which I felt had to be made if I was to feel 'at one with myself' and comfortable with my very existance. Although over the last thirty years I felt that I had developed well as a dedicated and competent aikido student, there was always something I felt was missing in me as an aikiodoka and as a person.

Now that I am content and at one with myself, I have found that my aikido has become more powerful and internal, like a flame has been re-ignited from the embers. I am finally at peace with myself and my aikido has developed accordingly. This is a wonderful revelation for me and means that I can look forward to the future with renewed optimism.

Returning to the Chris de Burgh track; the story centres around an Abbey (Abbe St Pierre) visited by a traveller who had a wondrous diamond that he believed was a gift from God. The monks saw an opportunity to engineer absolute power over the villagers and surrounding areas and relieved the traveller of the diamond and his life. However, although the diamond shone brightly in the hands of the traveller, it did not shine for the monks or the Abbott. Using subterfuge and the sun's rays, they tricked the visitors to the Abbey into believing that the stone had magical powers and they 'sold' absolution to the ordinary people who would come to marvel at this dazzling stone for a price.

When a young child, pure of heart and deed, was encouraged by friends to touch the diamond at night when the sun was gone, it shone brightly in his hands and it was then that the people realised that the monks were tricking them as it would remain dull in the monks' hands.

What has this got to do with aikido you may ask?

It is my view that the majority of people who study aikido and become instructors in the art do so because they wish to give something back to aikido and to follow their teachers who continue to tread the path ahead of them. In essence they teach aikido with the purest of intentions.

However, there are some who use the martial arts as a personal fiefdom, creating a cocooned life of unquestioning subservience from their 'followers'. While the sensei is in charge of the dojo and what is taught therein, they should not blur the lines between their roles on the tatame and off it. A person's private life is just that, private. It is not the role of the sensei to manipulate and control a person in their everyday life. Unfortunately, some people engage in such activities and often pray on the vulnerable and easily led. Once they have engineered total devotion from their students they can increase the amount of control they exert. Before they know it, students are blindly agreeing to almost everything that is asked of them whether morally acceptable or not. This is a form of abuse in my opinion; taking advantage of uncertainty and vulnerability to exert control over another human being.

My message is simple; come to a safe environment, the dojo, enjoy a shared experience, aikido, develop the mental and physical benefits that come with that experience, and allow it to enhance and become part of the fabric of your daily life.

Aikido; truly the Mirror of the Soul.