Aikido - the teaching of wisdom. If you do not have feelings of self-control and trust in yourself, if you cannot see yourself clearly, then you will never acquire knowledge, you will never be able to trust other people, and, naturally, you will never be able to control them. The aim of Aikido is not to create aggressive fighters, but to Polish wisdom and self-control. As Aikido practitioners, you must learn to improve and Polish yourself, not fight other people.

 

The key to this process is the heart of Aikido - musubi. This word can be roughly translated as" unity "or"harmonious interaction". In practice, musubi means the possibility of merging-both physical and mental - with the movement and energy of your partner. Musubi is the teaching of good communication. In any interaction between people there is a connection, noticeable or not. For those who come into contact it is very important to determine whether the relationship will be productive or useless, friendly or hostile, open or not. Musubi, in a deeper sense, can mean the ability to control and influence contact, altering hostile attacks on a peaceful encounter and an attack on a friendly handshake.

 

Musubi is both a way of learning and a goal of learning itself. Musubi in his highest understanding is associated with the achievement of a sense of harmony of the Universe, and in technology - with the ability to turn the collision in a positive way. But can such an ability be achieved through violence, pressure, or intimidation of a person in the learning process? No. Musubi must be taught and studied in accordance with the principles that would demonstrate it so that the consciousness of Aikido learners is purified along with their physical movement. Musubi should be taught through good relationships and under strict but friendly guidance.

 

Learning to respond to attacks using musubi is a long and difficult process. You can not put pressure on a beginner and tell him :" do not fight! Connect with your partner, connect!"The beginner will not unite, his reaction will be fear and aggression - instinctive reactions to the attack. A beginner will try to defend himself by fighting or hurting an attacker.

The aim of Aikido is to tame and control these animal instincts, not to stimulate them. Therefore, especially for beginners, as an attack, we often use different types of captures. A beginner is not ready to face a real attack - punches and kicks - with complete peace of mind or the right physical movement.

 

Grips allow the novice to learn the tricks without fearing for their safety, which prevents the training of a proper response. Instead of engaging in struggle and competition, the student grinds movement and consciousness. The student learns to control himself, the partner and the relationship between himself and the partner. Captures are of great benefit in that they are used to make physical contact between the students as much as both can feel that makes the movement work. If there is no physical contact, it will be difficult for beginners to learn the mechanism of the reception.

Classes for beginners can often begin with grabs of static, without movement. This allows you to learn correct posture, footwork and body position. Students can then move on to the grips in motion, which will allow them to develop a sense of time and distance and explore the spatial connection between them and their partners. Students can start training by establishing different degrees of strength, speed, and direction of attack. They will begin to feel confident in their ability to work with a partner and develop a sense of intuition to the movements and intentions of the partner.

Cooperation is a very important element in Aikido classes. Almost all exercises are done with a partner, and the relationship between partners should be a manifestation of musubi. Both Naga and uke share this responsibility. While the Naga should probably train in the Union, not to fight against the attack, uke must learn to carry out the attack so that the technique could be studied, and to provide the conditions necessary for the exercise.

 

A simple example: if the teacher demonstrated the technique, using a jump forward, uke, consequently, need to push forward. If instead uke pulls back, trying to prevent the implementation of the technique, it will only turn the occupation into a struggle, and none of the students will not know how this technique works. Higher-level students will undoubtedly benefit from working against surprise attacks, in free work, and in abrupt transitions in attack, but only after years of learning the basic techniques and conditions necessary for such actions.

 

The study of Aikido is the teaching of wisdom, and wisdom, for the most part, is the possession of a common sense. The General feeling, unfortunately, is so rare that the name itself is only a hint of its true essence. In this world it is either lost or never studied. Training in musubi and the basic principles of Aikido entail learning the General feeling. We will find evidence of his existence in basic protective movements-irimi and Tenkan. These two movements can also be described as one-irimi-Tenkan; just as Yin and Yang are parts of the same whole.

 

Irimi and Tenkan are movements that people use in everyday life without thinking. Imagine that you are driving on a crowded city street in a stream of other pedestrians and you see that someone is walking right on you, moving in the opposite direction. Will you jump back at the people behind you to give way? No, you will keep moving forward and when you get close to that person, you will slightly step aside to miss him. This is an example of irimi. And now imagine that someone pushed you at the moment when you missed it. Will you grab it and cling to keep your balance? No, you can just turn around, while maintaining balance and continue your journey. It's Tenkan. Both movements are very simple and are natural examples of a common feeling. Anyone can make them, and their simplicity and versatility only confirm their truth.

However, a person who has not been engaged in Aikido, seeing that someone attacks him or her, automatically does what he or she would have seemed stupid on a crowded street - trying to jump back. When the push is a hostile gesture, the person either stops in place or grabs the attacker to keep his balance.

 

This person loses the General feeling and the ability to react naturally. On a crowded street, a person demonstrates an understanding of musubi; when faced with an attack, the mind turns to fear and aggression, and the body can not react quickly and effectively.

Aikido lessons through a gradual and interrelated process teach how to apply the principles of musubi in difficult situations. They teach your consciousness to remain calm, and your eyes to remain clear, so that fear, anger or lack of confidence does not prevent your body from moving. They teach your body to be flexible and receptive; constant practice gives the body experience. And thus, the body becomes a reflex and physical manifestation of your consciousness, the Body and consciousness work together - again in the interaction of musubi, allowing you to simply, effectively and sensitively respond to pressure from outside, rather than being suppressed and controlled by circumstances.

 

From the side you can see how engaged in Aikido already at a higher level attack and throw each other very hard. But they came to it through the initial, safe stages that taught mind and body. Thus, a powerful attack becomes a challenge rather than an attack. The purpose of punches and kicks in practice is not an attempt to destroy the enemy, but a test of strength, balance, intuition and mental stability - your and your partner. Instead of meeting each other with distrust, fear and challenge, you meet your partner with feelings of concentration, sincerity and anticipation of pleasure.

Please be aware of the examples of automatic use of irimi and Tenkan that I have given as part of your reaction to situations arising in everyday life. Another important feature of musubi is working inside the person you meet on the street. When you meet a pedestrian walking on you, your feelings react and connect with that person's feelings, but don't conflict with them. Your unity with another pedestrian is a temporary and smooth flow of energy, reception and return of strength and direction. This is another - and perhaps the most important - element of musubi, the one that teaches you to feel and use the concentration of energy.

 

That is why kokyu tanden Ho, as Sensei said, is the most fundamental exercise in musubi. Kokyu tanden Ho is not exactly a military technique, but training in physical communication and movement. In this exercise, both partners are in sejdza's position, opposite each other, and uke holds a Naga grip. Naga, using the whole body as a single unit trying to take uke off balance. The goal of kokyu tanden Ho is to reveal the principle of circular energy. When uke holds nage tightly by the wrists and exerts pressure, nage gains the energy that uke gives him and returns it through the center of gravity of uke.

 

All parts of the body it should work as a single unit. Naga has to meet uke's grip open, his hands work like a spring, giving in and then opening up again. He has to take a breath when uke holds the grip and exhale when he returns the power to uke. His mind must remain flexible and receptive.