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SHISEI
Shisei
is translated into English as: “position”, “attitude” or “posture”. Sugata (Shi)
means the “form”, “figure” or “stature”. Ikioi (Sei) signifies energy,
vigour and vivacity. Shisei combines these meanings.
But the meaning of
shisei not only describes an exterior attitude, good form, deportment and
bearing, but also an interior force visible from the outside in its external
manifestation. For example, the vitality of a child is apparent from its
vivacity, bright eyes and active movement.
How do we reach
this shisei? First, we must re-order the body which is like a vase
containing ki. To do this, the spinal column is extended and straight.
If you feel that you are pushing the sky with your head, your spinal column will
extend naturally. Be careful not to puff out your chest in a military manner.
The shoulders should be relaxed, falling smoothly, the anus is closed, the small
of the back is not bent, the ki is comfortably positioned in the seika
tanden and the whole body is comfortably relaxed.
The great exponent
of the sword, Miyamoto Musashi, says on the subject of martial shisei:
“The face is calm,
neither turned upwards, downwards or to the side; the eyes slightly closed
without movement of the eyeballs; the brow unwrinkled; the eyebrows slightly
gathered; the bridge of the nose straight; the chin neither stuck out or drawn
in too much; the nape of the neck equally straight and the spinal column full of
energy. Below the dropped shoulders the body is perfectly relaxed; the spinal
column is in place; the buttocks drawn in; the legs, from the knees to the
ankles are firmly set on the ground; the hips are not twisted; the stomach is
firmly shaped”.
In Aikido this is
called “Sankakutai”, a supple, balanced posture allowing free movement; a
regular tetrahedron which is a cone from the side.
KOKYU
When shisei
has been attained and the attitude is good, the next element to practice is
kokyu.
Haku (Ko)
means to breathe in, Suu (Kyo) to breathe out.
All living beings
take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. This process is called kokyu.
A good kokyu is slow, deep, long and is performed naturally, and is
therefore abdominal breathing.
At the beginning
of practice it is a good idea to concentrate first on inhalation and then
exhalation, breathing through the nose. If the rhythm of breathing is
disturbed, then use the mouth to re-establish it. When breathing in, keep the
anus closed, imagining that the air descends to a level lower than the navel.
Sometimes in the
practice of Budo inhalation should be rapid, the air should be retained longer
in the lungs, and exhalation should be more rapid or alternatively softer.
During exercise it
is necessary to pay great attention to mastering kokyu. Kokyu
does not only consist of replacing air in the lungs and expelling the impurities
and while practising it you should have the feeling of filling yourself anew
with pure ki. The accumulated ki is forced out when you feel the
need to do so. The effect of this ki is correct shisei.
In your daily life
when standing, walking, working or even when sleeping, exercise with
enthusiasm. If an emergency arises your kokyu will always be there, but
to reach this state, daily practice is necessary.
A person normally
forgets that he breathes, but certainly never forgets to breathe. In the same
way, it is necessary to penetrate your body and acquire a proper kokyu, a
proper shisei and external consciousness. You must train without end to
achieve this result.
The body having
been filled in this way with a vigorous ki, the energy of ki will
invade the body. When you reach unity with nature it becomes possible for a
power to surge from you which surpasses imagination. This breathing energy (kokyu
ryoku) which has been described does not just belong to you, it is the
breathing energy of Heaven and Earth.
KAMAE
In Budo is often
said: “It is Kamae that is important”.
Kamae is not the
sole property of Budo but also belongs to other arts: flowers, calligraphy and
tea. In football, boxing and tennis kamae is equally important. In the
Japanese language kamae means “to prepare oneself” or “to put oneself on
guard”. The verb “Kamaeru” is translated as “to build”, “to construct”, “to
prepare”, “to learn intensively” and “to be on the alert”. The Chinese
character of kamae is comprised of the radical “wood” followed by an element
representing a mortise and tenon signifying the indissoluble structure of
carpentry. Kamae in Budo is to take the most advantageous position
possible in relation to aite. When armed one finds oneself against an adversary
or when two armies are face to face, in all, kamae is important.
However, kamae is
only translated in this form. It consists simultaneously of the power of ki
and the ability to perceive every detail. In Kendo the kamae of Kendo;
in Judo the kamae of Judo; in tennis the kamae of tennis, and in Aikido
hanmi no kamae (profile guard) is used.
Begin in a good,
natural standing position (shizentai), legs apart at the same width as
the shoulders and the left foot forward of the right foot which can pivot. We
now have guard of the left, hidari hanmi. Alternatively, we have guard on the
right, migi hanmi.
If the two
adversaries take the same guard, the right or left foot in front, we obtain ai
hanmi no kamae. If, on the contrary, the two adversaries have an opposite
guard, the right foot of one and the left foot of the other forward, it is
gyaku hanmi no kamae. Now, if in hidari (or migi) hanmi, the left foot (or
the right) advances a pace as in irimi and the back foot follows, the big
toe in line with the heel and the thumb of the left hand (or right hand
forward), we are in the posture or guard called “hitoemi” or “ura
sankaku”.
With a sword, migi
hanmi is used. With the jo or bare hands the left hand guard (hidari hanmi) is
the basic guard.
Why is hitoemi the
fundamental guard of Aikido? Because hitoemi allows easy movement to face any
attack and the assimilation of any technique. However, it is necessary to
surpass kamae, true kamae is no kamae, to be able to
respond to any attack whatever your position.
O Sensei says: “Do
not look at the eyes of aite, the heart is weakened by the eyes of aite. Do not
look at the sword of aite, the spirit is weakened by the sword of aite. Do not
look at aite, you absorb the ki of aite.”
The bu of truth is
the practice seeking to absorb aite in his totality. “I stand simply.” I leave
this to your thought, keep it within you.
MA AI
In Budo it is said
that Ma Ai is important. This word is defined as the spatial
relationship between Aite and oneself, the position from which it is easy to
attack and defend. Ma Ai is not therefore just a notion of distance; it
should also include a notion of the movement of the heart in space. If I am
afraid the distance seems too little, if I am over-confident then the distance
seems too great.
The character of
Ma is made up of a “door” and “the moon”, i.e. the moon seen through the
cracks of a closed door. We say that even though something may be shut behind a
door, there is always a crack through which the light of the moon can filter.
Why is there energy in this crack? It is simply because this fissure, however
small, consists entirely of empty space.
Against the “wall
of honour” in a Japanese living room there is the “Tokonoma”, a space in which a
picture or vase of flowers can be placed. The space gives life to the picture
and the flowers.
In paintings as in
music everything comes to life because there is empty space. It is the
emptiness of the glass which allows it to be filled. It is the space in a room
which allows people to live and it is the emptiness of the space which is
important. When one sees nothing and thinks that there is nothing there, there
is in fact, always something there. It can be said that Oriental civilisation
is one civilisation that attaches importance to emptiness.
The “Ai” of
Ma Ai is the same “Ai” of Aikido, meaning to unify, to put in
order and to harmonise. It can be deduced from what has been said that Ma Ai
is the space formed between the heart and mind, encompassing both in a constant
evolution towards the most advantageous situation.
I have now
explained Shisei, Kokyu, Kamae and Ma Ai which are
the precious basics to cultivate, to repeat unceasingly and to hammer into
shape. There four terms are not only relevant to Budo, they have the same
importance in all the arts: Kado, the way of flowers; Shodo, the way of
calligraphy; painting, music, dance, in study or in daily life. You should
impregnate yourself with these words. I am now going to explain words which are
not part of general Japanese vocabulary.
IRIMI
The irimi
used in Aikido, the law of irimi, is the root of Aikido. It will be
recalled that O’Sensei transferred into Aikido the law of irimi which he
learned by the profound study of the Art of the Spear.
The character Iri
describes the idea of passing the entrance to a house, to enter it or to be
invited into it. The character Mi gives the idea of a child in its mother’s
womb with the sense of completeness of flesh, bone and blood. Therefore Mi
equals body and Irimi, to put ones own body in the body of the opponent.
Following the method of the spear, the word Irimi is used to describe the
action of penetrating victoriously to the interior of the guard of an adversary
armed with a weapon longer than your own when you are armed with a sword or a
dagger or even when one is unarmed. When two forces move in an opposite
direction, the force which results is the sum of the two forces. Irimi
is the use of this result and its relation to ones own position at the moment of
meeting.
We call Irimi
Issoku the entry of a step to the side of an adversary. With a profile
guard, you are in the position to allow Irimi, attacking the adversary by
sending back the force of his attack without using your own force. Explained
mechanically, it is very easy to understand. Do not forget, however, that in
reality Aite is living and that everything does not work according to theory,
especially when he is better armed than you.
With ones bare
hands or with a weapon shorter than your opponents, to enter the interior of
your opponent’s guard or to oppose him with force, you must judge exactly the
Ma Ai despite the changing position of Aite. This is normal and needs no
further explanation. More important is to forget his body, to enter and pierce
and be pierced, to enter without the slightest hesitation.
You press Aite
with your mental power to the point where you can contain the attack, taking his
attack, using it, you enter! Accordingly, you will have the feeling of
enveloping the adversary, becoming at one with him. He himself will come into
your interior. This is the Irimi of Aikido.
TENKAN
Ten
means to “transpose”, “transfer” or “evolve”. The character Ten is
composed of two elements, one meaning “wheel” and the other evoking a circular
turning movement. Kan means to change. Tenkan is used with the
meaning of changing direction, line of movement or the condition of the spirit.
In Aikido, I
believe that this word is used because often, to make a movement one pivots and
in making this movement, in changing direction, the gesture is round and
suggests the image of a turning wheel.
Consider your
situation. In rotating you have changed place and direction. All change of
place and position is Tenkan. This is why Irimi and Tenkan
are two sides of the same coin.
URA and OMOTE
Any technique in
Aikido has two aspects: Ura wasa and omote wasa.
Ura
represents the reverse, the back, the hidden side of things.
Omote
represents the front, the surface, exterior, the apparent side of things.
In everything
there is Ura and Omote. Man himself has a front and back.
Ura
and Omote can equally be used to mean exterior and interior. One can,
for example have a smiling face and feel pain in the heart or even have the
appearance of the Buddha while lacking emotion.
Explaining in
simple terms, techniques carried out in front of the adversary are called Omote
Wasa and those from behind, Ura Wasa. Certain techniques are possible in
Omote Wasa and Ura Wasa, others in one of the two.
In reality the
techniques do not exist in these forms and the distinction does not have a
practical application.
The Omote
Wasa and Ura Wasa classification was probably introduced to facilitate
training and an essential part of the learning process is to reject this
classification and not to let yourself be narrow-minded.
TAI SABAKI
It seems that in
Europe, Tai Sabaki is generally translated as “movement”. I do not think
that this transmits a very accurate meaning of what we use in Aikido.
I am going to try
to give an explanation.
The character
Sabaki is comprised of two elements: “the hand” and the word “to separate”
(which contains the idea of dislocating a joint with a knife). By extension,
the verb Sabaki is used in this expression to describe the various
actions of “to sell”, “to distribute”, “to file”, “to regulate” and “to sort out
a business”. A homophone of Sabaki, which is written with another character, is
translated by “to cut a piece of clothing” and, “to judge”. Sabaki means
to put right disorder, to decide what is right and wrong, to distribute goods
and to do ones duty.
Tai means the
body. Therefore Tai Sabaki means that at the moment when an object or a
person tries to reach you, at the moment when the enemy attacks you, judging
your position you simply displace yourself, you simply move your body putting
yourself in a position to your advantage.
To re-establish
the situation to your advantage is not only to keep your equilibrium and to
protect yourself, it is also to put yourself in a situation from which you can
attack.
Thus, Tai
Sabaki demands further, to disturb Aite’s equilibrium, at the very instant
of the attack to put him in a position from which he can no longer move.
Therefore, Aite
having had an overwhelming advantage, your Tai Sabaki has reversed the
situation. This is Tai Sabaki.
ATEMI
For many people
today, the word Atemi describes the punch of Karate, because in Karate
the object of training is to destroy the adversary with a punch or a kick.
Certainly in
actual practice, Atemi has been eliminated in order to avoid the risk of
injuring the beginner, to prevent reliance on the Atemi to the detriment of the
technique and to prevent students with the wrong idea misusing it when they have
progressed with the technique.
Therefore those
who claim that there is no Atemi in Aikido know nothing about Aikido.
O’Sensei, defining
Aikido says:
‘Aikido is
Irimi and Atemi’.
All Aikido
techniques include Atemi.
Etymologically,
Ateru expresses the idea of estimating and evaluating with precision the area
and value of a field. By extension it means: “to place exactly”, “to fall
exactly on the desired spot”, to the centre of the target for example. To the
notion of estimating and evaluating is added the idea of success.
Mi means the
body. In ancient Budo, Atemi consisted of striking the adversary’s vital
points to cause loss of consciousness or death. To wound superficially or to
break a bone was not Atemi.
In Aikido Atemi
is used to dominate the will of the attacker, to cause a softening of his vital
points, to disturb his concentration and to stop his intended action.
From this soft
Atemi we pass to an Atemi that causes unconsciousness or death. It
is good to study with an idea of using such techniques against a knife attack.
Obviously the work must include study of the point of re-animation. If you
study acupuncture in the form which has recently been developed I hope that you
will understand that the points that can bring about healing can also cause
death. This is a good example that shows that in everything there is Ura
and Omote.
When you have
reached a high level of study it will be good for you to discover where you can
place Atemi during your practice of different techniques.
KOKYU RYOKU
“You can practice
Aikido if you can lift three ounces of bran”.
This indicates
that Aikido is not an art of combat based on the use of physical and muscular
force, of one body against another.
The execution of a
technique in Aikido is achieved by using mental energy and physical force
naturally. If you can use this method it is possible to develop a strength
superior to any that you believe you may have. When we say that old people,
women and children can practice, this not only means that they can learn, but
that can apply this way of combat once they have fully understood it. I have
touched on Kokyu earlier. We now pass onto the stage of physiological
respiration by which we can absorb within ourselves the energy of the Universe.
We can go further still and say that we become part of the one body of the
Universe. The energy that flows from this is ours without being ours. It is,
in reality, the energy of the Universe which surges. This force, concentrated
in the Seika Tanden and filling all parts of our body, is like water that gushes
forth and never stops. This energy which emanates from the body and mind is
always calm, serene and relaxed, that can respond at any time and in any
direction required, is call Kokyu Ryoku.
This energy, which
is a gift from Heaven, cannot be expressed if your neck, shoulders or arms are
unnecessarily tense or if you imagine yourself strong or weak or if you believe
that this force does not exist. All these impure thoughts are barriers to the
passage of Ki. It is like a hose pipe that is constricted by someone treading
on it or if it is blocked and water cannot flow.
O’Sensei
said many times: “Aikido is a purification of the body and soul and it is to
clean out the body and soul”.
If this exterior
and interior cleansing is carried the soul will be radiant, the circulation of
the blood will improve and so will the mind and body. Kokyu Ryoku is
brought to life in the practice of Aikido by a simple gesture such as raising an
arm or advancing a foot. An Aikido technique executed without employing
Kokyu Ryoku is not an Aikido technique. It is champagne without the bubbles
or beer that is flat.
Kokyu Ryoku
learned intellectually is useless. It is necessary to learn it physically in
daily exercise. It is only assimilated by contained accumulation.
O’Sensei said on
the subject: “Three days work is not only three days work; a year’s work is not
only a year’s work; Ten years work stores up the energy of ten years”.
Without Kokyu
Ryoku, the form of a technique can exist but it is an empty form. It is
impossible to impregnate yourself without practising the techniques. Whatever
happens, the result will be different according to whether you believe this or
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