Perhaps there is no more real action than holding something firmly in your hands. But for this action to become truly real, it is necessary to use Hara. An action that involves holding an object in the hand (hands) has two different aspects: one, of course, is the intention to take possession of something, to make the object its property, and the expression "to gain power over something to seize something" in this case clearly shows its semantic background; another meaning is a reaction to the probability of the object slipping out of hands. In the latter case, the stronger the hand is squeezed, the more obvious is the Declaration that the object compressed in it is something alien to it, that it does not belong to it.

 

Thus, the hand, or, in General, the body comes into contact with any object, completely alien to him. In this case objectification is inevitable. There is no identification. Identification is possible only on an emotional level. However, this kind of identification is only good for the world of poetry, music, or sentimental memories; it is not effective for the world of action.
 

Everything that has been said so far about the body can also be said about vision and mind. The eyes focus on the object, which they not only perceive as an object, but the perception occurs from a certain distance. Their effect is to deny the initial obscure identification and the subsequent differentiation, which is gradually becoming increasingly clear. The same can be said of the mind. A thinking person clearly knows that he is thinking about something. However, thought acquires a clear form immediately after its objectification. Until objectification or conceptual representation is sufficiently clear, in other words, until the idea is sufficiently "clear" and "distinct", the mental task is not complete, and the person should continue to search for clearer ideas.

On the other hand, the thinking subject itself never manifests itself, never reveals its face even to itself. If it manifests itself, it will immediately be embodied, cease to be a subject I think, whose existence we can not prove, despite the theory of Descartes, in a direct direct way. We can have a clear and distinct view only of the object I think, the results of the action, the traces of its movement.

 

In short, the body, vision, and mind hold each other in their own way, but the object always remains the object. All of them, without exception, act as a subject in relation to an object alien to them.

Unlike them, Hara comes into contact with another object through internal identification. Hara can't act otherwise. Only with the help of identification can she hold another object, feel its existence. Until identification occurs, another object does not exist for Hara. However paradoxical it may sound, another object identified by Hara is at the same time clearly detectable and recognizable. The clarity of Hara in this action is significantly different from the vagueness of the emotional action of identification. Therefore, the present Union, or the formation of a unified whole can only be achieved at the expense of this feature'hara. One of the most real actions, namely, the holding of an object in the hands, in fact, is based on such an abstract concept as Hara.

 

Hara, which is believed to be in the abdominal area, is not, however, an organ or part of the body; its existence is illusory in terms of anatomy. However, for the Commission of any action, for a sense of life and existence, it is not only real, it is very important and vital. With the help of Hara, the center of our existence, we can sit, stand, move in the living space, we can exist harmoniously in our universe, without the risk of being excluded from its limits. In addition, as I have just observed, with the help of Hara, we can enter into real contact with another object that is impossible by other means.

 

Although Hara originates in the body, it is not part of the body, so it holds the object without muscle and bone contraction, unlike the hands. Instead, it is combined with the object by absorption or penetration. In this way, Hara can hold another subject with the hand captured by that subject and change the whole situation. However, unlike sight and mind, Hara does not fix the subject does not perceive it as something static.

 

Contrary, Hara engulfs subject in his free oscillation, in constant movement, because itself Hara is in constant movement and dynamics. In contrast with the body and sight, but like the mind, Hara can destroy distance and make contact with the remote from her subject. Haru, which originates in the center of the abdomen, is also called kikaytanden, which means the vast sea of Ki, nesting in the center of the abdomen, whose pulsation, breathing and communication with the outside world, as well as the animate and inanimate inhabitants of this sea and make up our lives in its many manifestations.

 

In my opinion, one of the most attractive and interesting aspects of Aikido is the fact that we can personally experience, realize and improve this seemingly completely irrational and unrealizable idea in a variety of ways, but it is quite specific and clear, using our own body and the body of the one who also performs any action in the real, present, and not just a geometric learning space. We can carry out an infinite number of repetitions, constantly make the necessary adjustments, and from time to time the method of execution will be less noticeable and more effective.

 

Madrid, April 2006