Aikido and Words of Power By William Gleason

Contents
SHOBU GOHO: THE FIVE PRINCIpLEs Of AIKIDO AaMatsU SYLLaBaRIEs FOREWORD BY HIROsHI IKEDa SHIHaN INtRODUCtION

1. AIKItaMa: THE SpIRIt Of UNIVERsaL HaRMONY

One Spirit Four Souls Classification of the Vowel Dimensions The Eight Powers

2. SaNgEN: THE UNIQUE PRINCIpLE Of DYNaMIC MONIsM

Dynamic Monism The Function of Ki The Spirit and Form of Principle Tate-Yoko of Hachiriki

3. IKI: THE BREatH Of LIfE

The Breath of Heaven, Earth, and Man Three Stages of Kokyu Kokyu as Power and Timing What Is Ki? Buddhist vs. Taoist Breathing Breath as Spiritual Purification: The Forms of Misogi

Fire, Water, and Earth Ki Kokyu Ho Kokyu Nage

4. SHUgYO: THE SpIRItUaL TRaININg Of TECHNIQUE

The Ranking System of Aikido The Levels of Training Body Movement Ukemi The Spirit of Ikkyo The Spirit of Irimi Nage The Spirit of Shiho Nage Ryote Tori Shiho Nage Kote Gaeshi and Kaiten Nage

5. INOCHI: AIKIDO As a SpIRItUaL PatH

Mechanical Judgment: Realm of the Insentient First Three Instincts: The Animal World Birth of the Islands: The Potential of Higher Judgment Inochi: The Path of a Human Being Returning to the Origin

AppENDIX. ItsuraTHE FIftY SOUNDs Of tHE KOtOtaMa

NOtEs BIBLIOgRapHY GLOssaRY INDEX

BREatH as SpIRItUaL PURIfICatION: THE FORMs Of MIsOgI

Although many of the basic techniques of aikido have their roots in older martial arts, some of the most important movements are derived from the misogi exercises of Japanese Shinto. These exercises are often used to warm up for practice, yet they were originally spiritual practices in and of themselves. They were used for the purpose of misogi, or spiritual purification. The first of these are funakogi and furitama.

Funakogi and Furutama

Deguchi Wanisaburo spoke of the significance of funakogi in this way:
Within the great dryness of spiritual expanse, the mist of the ki of Su reaching outward infinitely, extend both arms equally, the power of contrast (tata no chikara) is born. Both arms reach out as one, yet contrast each other. This is the mind of Makoto, extending through and preserving the infinite space of the universe. At this moment the six planes of meeting and the eight directions are established and the power of contrast expands to its limits.

Funakogi, or boat rowing, imitates the motion of rowing a boat exactly. Standing in hanmi with the left foot forward, the hands are placed against the body so that they conform perfectly to the hips (1). Leaning the body forward, yet remaining naturally balanced, the arms reach out and downward meeting in front of the body. This movement is led with the index fingers and is accompanied by the kiai of IEt . In order to finish in the proper position, both hands rotate inward as they extend (2). Shifting the weight onto the back foot the arms rotate outward, drawing in ki with the little fingers. It is important both in extending
Iki: The Breath of Life

Fig. 3.1. Funakogi, or boat rowing, generates ki.

and drawing back to imagine actually moving something very heavy. This creates a kind of dynamic tension. Pulling back is accompanied by the ki-ai of Sa. Shifting to the opposite side with the right foot forward the ki-ai becomes IEt and Ho (3).
Iki: The Breath of Life

Fig. 3.2 Handblade against partners body in yokomen kokyu nage

Aikido Mudras: The Hand Forms of Aikido

Kokyu Undo

The palm is the hara, or heart, of the hand. It is called tanagokoro. The thumb is the ruler of the fingers. It is also earth ki, the kototama of U dimension . It comfortably closes into the center of the palm. The palm should never be placed too firmly against your partners body as this cuts off the source of earth ki and makes unity impossible. In most cases, therefore, the handblade precedes the palm in making contact with the body of your opponent (uke). The ki of the palm, when placed directly on your partners body, should be given direction through the fingers rather than pushing against your partners body. The middle finger is the center of the center. Following the direction of this finger, go around direct contact with your partners body such as in this kokyu osae movement (see fig. 3.3). The ki of fire is most commonly seen in the use of the handblade when cutting through ukes resistance (fig. 3.4). In this case your concentration should be on cutting through ukes hara rather than on moving his arm. If your feeling is correct uke can be thrown without moving his arm at all.
Iki: The Breath of Life

Fig 3.3. Going around partners shoulder in kokyu osae

Fig 3.4. Handblade cutting through ukes arm defense

Iki: The Breath of Life

Fig. 3.5. Establishing the vertical connection between uke and nage

Kokyu Ho

Sitting in the formal position of seiza, your knees and those of your partner form a square. In order to avoid the mindset of direct opposition the direction of your ki should cut diagonally through the square (fig. 3.6). In other words the ki of your right hip should enter directly into the ki of your partners right hip. The first relationship to consider in aikido is always the vertical connection between uke and nage (fig. 3.5). When your wrists are grasped, you should thrust forward straight into ukes center with the water mudra as you draw breath inward (fire). This will cause ukes ki to rise upward allowing your hands to gradually shift into the fire mudra. Having established a vertical unity with uke it should then be maintained and distributed horizontally as you move through the technique. Moving through ukes resistance is circular. In order to see this clearly, connect the four corners of the square with a circle (fig. 3.7). This is the pattern that your body will follow as you move through ukes resistance. When your hips meet those of your partner the focus of your

Fig. 3.6. Square becomes two triangles.

Fig. 3.7. Circle over square

Iki: The Breath of Life

Fig 3.8. Moving through ukes resistance is circular.

Fig. 3.9. The pelvic cage forms an incomplete circle.

Iki: The Breath of Life

ki should be on entering your partners hips diagonally and passing through his one point to exit on the opposite side (fig. 3.8). In order to see this more clearly, observe the shape of the pelvic cage. Seen from above it is an incomplete circle (fig. 3.9).