Wax On, Wax Off (Aikido Training Days 1 & 2)

May 19 & 20, 2014

Hello from Ki No Sato Headquarters, Tochigi! 

Since you last heard from me I've been here, practicing aikido and training with my classmates.

me in my dogi- the outfit I wear every day for training 

I will be completely honest: before today, I was not very interested in aikido. I knew it'd be a part of the trip (a big part; we're staying at Headquarters for two weeks and training for 9 days), but I figured I'd sort of have to push through it if I wanted to go to Japan. That being said, I've been so surprised by how genuinely interested in aikido I've become! Let me explain what it's all about...

Aikido is a Japanese martial art. When you hear "martial art", you may picture Jackie Chan busting someone's face or something out of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I know that's what I thought of just a few days ago! However, that's not what aikido is about at all. 
The purpose of aikido is to unify one's mind and body. You do this by learning about proper posture, finding the center point of your body, relaxing, extending positive energy, and thinking of your body as one tool, not as a bunch of pieces stuck together. 
It's really incredibly practical! I know that I will probably never be a black belt, but I can definitely benefit from understanding my body and practicing good posture, relaxing, staying positive... etc. 

It probably sounds hokey to talk about "positive energy" and "oneness", but seeing these principles put into practice in the dojo is incredibly powerful! For instance, for the past couple of days we've worked on something called "unbendable arm". It's really insane! When someone grab your arm and tries to bend it, your natural response is to furrow your brow, tense up, and fight them. If you do this, your arm will bend. Especially if you are a naturally weak/small person like me! But if you stand with good posture- weight on your toes, shoulders relaxed, mind on your center point (a few inches below your tummy)- and think positively (the little Japanese sensei will literally poke your cheeks and say "smile! smile!"), visualizing the energy coming out of your fingertips, you will have no trouble at all keeping your arm straight. It's all about focusing on the parts of your body that aren't being held instead of fighting the person that is holding you. 
The other day we did a really cool exercise where five different people held someone down with all their force, and that person was about to sit up and even throw someone else with little effort (I was even able to do this after several tries and lots of encouragement!) 

In the same way, you don't really fight in aikido. Instead, you lead your attacker. 
If someone grabs your arms, you can try pushing against them, but you'll find it's really difficult (again, this is especially difficult if you are me and everyone is bigger/stronger than you). So, instead of pushing against them, you respect them and the way they're directing their energy, and you can use that energy to lead them to the ground or away from you. 

It sounds silly and confusing, but if you ever get the chance to try it out, you really should. It's incredible. Some of the exercises look more like dances or even magic tricks than martial arts! 

It's so cool to think about what a complete 180 the aikido way of thinking is from a western viewpoint. In American culture, we've all been trained to believe that the biggest, strongest, fastest people are the winners. But today I watched a 70 year old sensei flipping a 20-something, super fit young woman and rolling around the dojo. Such an unbelievable sight! 

What's even more awesome is that I'm getting to learn about this art in the biggest dojo in the world! And I'm training with the greatest aikido sensei in the world (sensei who trained directly under the founder of aikido)!  

where the magic happens

Despite all that I've said about peace and relaxing, aikido is a super workout. I am sore after two days of this (12 hours total of training now). 

The accommodations are definitely an adjustment after getting used to the Keio Plaza... but, after a long day in the dojo, I can comfortably crash pretty much anywhere! 

Oh and I am definitely the worst in my class. I am. The. Worst. (In my defense, most of the people on this trip have done aikido before.) But I've learned a lot and am working hard! So, despite the fact that I majorly struggle every day (and I don't even have the "I'm short"/"I'm weak!" excuse I normally use when I'm doing something physical!) and it gets frustrating at times, I'm really enjoying my training and look forward to learning more about this art form. 

oh and the food here is fantastic