This month I’d like to discuss the Aikido principle of chudo, which means the middle path. In other words, not too much and not too little. This can be applied to so many areas of our lives, but with summer here what better time to remind ourselves of just a few, like…
- how much time you spend out in the sun.
- how much water you drink each day.
- applying and reapplying sunscreen.
- getting enough exercise as well as sleep each day.
- keeping ourselves clean and healthy by washing our hands frequently.
Chudo can be applied in all these areas. You don’t want to spend too much time out in the sun or you‘ll get burned, but not enough time and you don‘t get the benefits of vitamin D. You need to drink plenty of water every day in order for your body to function properly. Too much, however, and you get bloated. Not enough water and you get dehydrated which can lead to headaches and sluggishness.
These are just a couple of ways to apply the principle of chudo. Take the concept of “not too much and not too little” and apply it to almost anything in your life and it will help you maintain a level of consistency as well as conserve your resources. Chudo can save you from injury as well as destroying things. I once was trying so hard to open a jar of pickles that when it finally gave way the jar flew out of my hands, landed on the floor and broke. Glass, juice and pickles everywhere! Not only did I not get to enjoy any pickles, I had quite a mess to clean up too. At least I didn’t cut myself, but I sure could have with all that glass. What I should have done was ask for help or found another way to safely open the jar or at least opened it over the sink. This is the kind of thing I’m talking about. By thinking back on things (they may have happened long ago or just moments ago) and evaluating whether or not our choice was a good one helps us learn. And if we’re smart, we’ll apply our new knowledge to the next situation.
Watch for opportunities that you can apply chudo and come to class ready to share. I’d like to know what you did and what you thought about as you were doing it and thinking about chudo. Did it help you? In what ways? Looking back on some other things could you have used chudo but didn’t?
These are just some things to think about. I love to hear how you use Aikido in your everyday life and I‘d really love to hear how you apply chudo. Be aware and share what you discover with me.
Remember the middle path and apply chudo whenever you can!
Teresa Mastison Sensei
“There are many paths leading to the top of Mt. Fuji, but there is only one summit – love.” O’Sensei
All martial arts have some basic principles in common like discipline, self-control, and focus. But what I think makes Aikido special is what O’Sensei is saying in the quote above. Aikido is rooted in harmony and that holds us to a higher standard. It gives your training a purpose other than selfdefense for you are striving to become a better person.
I love that while I know I can defend myself physically I can also use my Aikido knowledge to help me deal with other things in life that are a lot more common than a physical attack. Sometimes my “attackers” take the shape of problems and worries that need to be dealt with or tasks that need to be completed. The principles of shugyo or irimi nage help me do just that. Other times I’m “attacked” by words that can cut deep like a sword. Here the principles of ai and dochu no sei help me blend and stay calm. The principle of shodo o seisu helps me avoid trouble in the first place by being aware of what’s going on around me. Reading body language, facial expressions and listening to the tone of voice are all clues as to the state of the situation. If I practice Aikido in my daily life I can utilize these principles and be more harmonious with those around me.
This brings me to a point about the reason we do things for others. When we do things for others because we want something in return or we expect something in like we are missing O’Sensei’s point and that is there is only one summit – love. Do for others because it is the right thing to do or because it would make their load lighter or just because it would make them smile. I believe in karma, but you can’t do good deeds in hopes that you’ll get good deeds done for you. Your heart and intent need to be pure and sincere. To bless others with your service, talents or goods without wanting anything in return is honorable indeed.
I believe this is foundational to our Aikido training. It is an ongoing challenge to do things out of love for your fellow man, but it is what is needed.
May we all strive to achieve harmony in our lives.
Teresa Mastison Sensei
This month I’d like you to consider how Aikido affects your daily life. It’s pretty obvious that you are doing Aikido when you are on the mat training. But, are there other times you use Aikido? Do you see other people using Aikido? What about the principles of Aikido? Your challenge this month is to watch for any evidence of you or anyone else doing Aikido. It can be actual techniques or it can be a demonstration of an Aikido principle.
There is so much more to Aikido than techniques. It can be fun and interesting to consciously look for Aikido outside the dojo. Here are some examples of Aikido happening outside the dojo:
- You are watching football and a player drops at the feet of another player to trip him. This is like the technique Tai Otoshi (drop like a rock and the other person tumbles over the top of you).
- You’re at recess playing soccer and you trip and begin falling. You turn your fall into a tumble and roll right over your shoulder. This is practicing ukemi.
- You have a dentist appointment and even though you are scared you swallow your fear and you go without complaining. This demonstrates the principle of irimi nage (enter without fear).
Following is a list of some of the most popular Aikido principles that you may be able to realize you or others use:
- Shodo o seisu means to control the first move. This means to always be ready to act.
- Dochu no sei means calmness in action. How do people demonstrate being calm during stressful times?
- Aikido means the way of blending with energy. What are some ways people blend with what’s happening around them?
- Irimi nage means to enter without fear. Take control and just do it.
There are so many examples of Aikido outside the dojo, but you have to get used to looking for and seeing them. For the month of May I will be asking you to report on your findings. Let’s see how many different ways Aikido can be used in our daily lives. Good luck in your search. I can’t wait to hear what you discover.
Teresa Mastison Sensei
“As soon as you concern youself with the “good” and “bad” of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weaken and defeat you.”
- O’Sensei, The Art of Peace
Your training in Aikido really is a very personal endeavor. There are a lot of tangible and practical benefits to training, but other benefits are not seen or felt for years. It is only through consistent and diligent training that one will reap the benefits of following the way of Aikido. Aikido can be a way of life if you so choose. O’Sensei believed that through Aikido we can create peace on Earth. This makes me think of what happens when you drop a pebble in water. You see where the pebble was dropped and then you see concentric circles emanating from that point. It’s like when you make someone’s day by being nice to them. They feel better because of what you did and now they will treat others better, which will encourage them to treat others around them better and so on and so on. Imagine if everyone strove to do this. There would be no room for “maliciousness to enter”.
By it’s very nature Aikido forces one to focus on yourself. Not in a greedy, self-centered way, but in a self-improvement kind of way. This is the principle masakatsu agatsu – true victory is victory over yourself. When you concern yourself with your own performance and achievments and not compare them to others you free yourself to making progress that is right for you. When you realize that you can not control anyone but yourself you will stop trying to change those around you. This can be applied on the mat as well as in every day life. Controlling oneself is hard enough at times let alone trying to control others. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but one that is imperative that you do.
On the mat, when you try to force a technique it doesn’t work, but once you refocus on your own movements and quit trying to make it happen the technique flows more easily. This is vital in all aspects of Aikido, whether it’s technique or principle – you have to move and control only yourself.
Good luck in letting go of the urge to try to control others. It’s an ongoing lesson. One with which I hope your Aikido training can help.
Teresa Mastison Sensei
“Do not fail to learn from the pure voice of an ever-flowing mountain stream splashing over the rocks.”
O’Sensei – The Art of Peace
Do not try to control anything or anyone except yourself. Like the water in the mountain stream, when you come to a troublesome situation or against a formidable opponent, your goal should be to blend, redirect or go around it. The water can not move the rocks, but it can go over and around them and over time wear them down.
Training in Aikido helps you learn how to blend, redirect or go around obstacles. It is not easy because many of those obstacles are mental. We have preconceived ideas to overcome. We have past experiences that haunt us and create doubt, hesitation or the false belief that strength is might. These things prevent us from achieving our true potential. Therein lies the challenge and the reason we train – to better ourselves.
To better yourself is a life journey, but one step at a time and you will get there.
Good luck on your journey.
Teresa Mastison Sensei
What is an aiki taiso? An aiki taiso is an exercise that you do by yourself that is directly related to Aikido techniques. We do aiki taiso for several reasons and I think it’s important that you know why.
First, the motions involved in doing the aiki taiso makes the Aikido techniques a little easier because you know how your body is supposed to move when doing that technique. Second, when you are practicing the aiki taiso correctly and in the right frame of mind, you are practicing extending your energy throughout your entire body. This makes your ki flow and you and your uke (partner) will feel the difference.
I present you a challenge. Practice your aiki taiso at home. Even if it’s just one aiki taiso that you remember, practice that one with a focused mind slowly and with intensity. This means that you think about the movement as you do it, slowly and methodically. Picture your ki (energy) flowing through your body as you do the exercise and feel the difference.
I say this is a challenge, because you have to make yourself think while you do the aiki taiso. You can make your body go through the motions, but to gain the benefits you have to engage your mind. This is not easy. It takes real focus and you have to decide to do it. That’s why it’s a challenge. I can’t make you do it, but if you want to improve you should make yourself do it.
The two aiki taiso that we do most often in the kids’ classes are udefuri chayoko undo, the spinning exercise and tenkan undo, the handshake exercise. Practice these slowly like in slow motion thinking about your ki flowing through your arms, legs and body. I visualize my ki as water so when I do these water is spraying out of my hands as I go through the motions. What does your ki look like? Imagine it flowing throughout your body as you do the exercise. Your muscles will naturally contract when you do aiki taiso this way and your muscles will tire a bit, but eventually you will do it naturally and you won’t muscles won‘t be as involved.
I hope you take the challenge. Practice a different aiki taiso each day. You only need to practice a few minutes at a time especially if you are focused and do them slowly. If you need to see other aiki taiso besides the ones I mentioned above I’d be happy to show you. All you have to do is ask.
I wish you well as you challenge yourself!
Teresa Mastison Sensei
A Sempai is a student who acts as a liaison between the Sensei and the students. It is a student who understands the functions and protocols of the dojo and helps the Sensei teach others how things work in the dojo . We are not Japanese, but we strive to run our dojos in a traditional manner. This means our dojos are not democracies. There is a strict hierarchy to the structure of a dojo. The Kancho is the founder and head of a school. The Chief Instructor is in charge of the school’s instructors as well as running the school. The Sensei at each dojo is in charge of that particular dojo and the Sempai assists the Sensei.
A Sempai is a leader in the dojo because they have demonstrated leadership skills and have enough experience to know what is expected of students. Their main job is to help students learn dojo etiquette and to follow proper protocol of the dojo. They also occasionally hold meetings to review and/or explain things that need to be addressed. The Senseis that teach for Aikido of Phoenix are friendly, open and approachable people, but if there is ever a time when they are not available or if you are unsure if it’s appropriate to ask the Sensei, the Sempai is the person to ask. Lucy, John and myself encourage students to ask questions and we love to discuss Aikido with anyone willing to listen, but generally, if it’s related to the function or business of the dojo the Sempai is the person to go to. A dojo may have a Dojo Cho as well, who is the business manager. The Dojo Cho handles things like registration issues, orders and anything else related to the business of the dojo. If there is no Dojo Cho the Sempai will often take on those responsibilities as well, although it is not expected. The Sensei is always available to help the dojo run smoothly and to answer any questions. But, in the traditional dojo the roles of Sempai and Dojo Cho were created to help run the dojo which allowed the Sensei to soley focus on teaching.
I would like to take this opportunity to formally announce that Jim Magda has been selected to be the Sempai for the Mesa dojo. Jim has been training with Aikido of Phoenix for almost a year and was just recently promoted to the rank of Gokyu (blue belt).
For your information, following is the hierarchy of Aikido of Phoenix:
- Kancho – Fred Mastison Sensei (retired 9-09)
- Chief Instructor; Children’s Instructor – Teresa Mastison Sensei
- Instructor for Chandler – John Scanlin Sensei
- Instructor for S. Chandler – Lucy Mailloux Sensei
- Instructor for Mesa – Teresa Mastison Sensei
- Sempai for Chandler – Daniel Horn
- Sempai for S. Chandler – Thor Mailloux
- Sempai for Mesa – Jim Magda
- Dojo Cho for Chandler and Mesa – Teresa Mastison Sensei
- Dojo Cho for S. Chandler – Amanda Redington
I hope this helps you understand to some degree how our dojo is structured. I know it always helps me to have background information and that was my intent with this article. If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
Teresa Mastison Sensei
(Cue “Mission Impossible” them music)
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to practice using your peripheral vision, act on any information you gather from your eyes, ears, nose or sense of ki, and to be persistent in discovering the source.
So, what does this mean? It means as you go about your daily business pay attention to what you see, hear, smell and sense. If you see something move out of the corner of your eye (peripheral vision) turn to see what it is. If you hear something, find the source of what is making the noise. If you smell something that you don’t recognize search for what is creating it. If you sense something out of the ordinary don’t dismiss it, find out what is causing it and don‘t stop until you discover what it is. If you can’t determine the source just by looking, tell an adult and let them help you. By paying attention and locating the sources of what you see, hear, smell or sense it gives you the advantage of extra time. For example, you’re walking down your neighborhood street when you hear a dog barking wildly. You turn to see where the dog is and notice that he is behind a fence, but jumping up and down aggressively and getting close to jumping over the fence. Because you noticed this you increase your speed in order to get home before the dog gets over the fence. Had you not noticed the dog’s aggressive behavior and how close he was to jumping the fence, you may not have walked any faster. This could have been quite a surprise if the dog got over the fence and came after you. This is just a made up example, but I hope you can see the usefulness of paying attention. What kind of examples can you come up with, real or made up, where paying attention to your surroundings would give you extra time to react and/or avoid a dangerous situation?
Now, here’s an important point for all kids concerning finding the source of what you see, hear, smell or sense. DO NOT GO LOOKING FOR THE SOURCE BY YOURSELF! If you notice something out of the ordinary you might be able to just turn your head and see what it is, but if you can’t identify it immediately tell an adult and let them locate the source. This is especially true if the noise, smell or whatever is outside or in another part of the house. You can be an invaluable help in alerting your parents when you notice something that is not normal. Don’t dismiss those “weird” feelings. Be persistent (don’t give up) in identifying the source or having someone else find the source. Even if it turns out to be nothing, you have to practice paying attention to your senses and it is ALWAYS better to be safe rather than sorry.
Now, go about your business and pay attention!
Teresa Mastison Sensei
“The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that you encounter.”
-a quote by O’Sensei from the Art of Peace
What more is there to say? Except that this little book (which could fit into your pocket) is full of the thoughts and sayings of O’Sensei. It is truly worth a read and one you’ll find draws you back again and again. When you look at your training in Aikido from this perspective, then there is no doubt what you must do. Train every day, train everywhere, and train in everything you do. You must constantly strive to improve yourself no matter what it is. Every day make a difference no matter how small the task or effort.
Simply put, train hard and always do your best. Good luck in everything you do!
Teresa Mastison Sensei
Ki (energy) is the cornerstone of Aikido. But, how do you practice ki? Following are some fun and simple ways you can practice extending your ki or becoming sensitive to the ki around you:
Mentally extend your energy (ki) towards someone who‘s not looking at you. As you extend your energy just engulf (surround) them with your energy and see if they fidget or turn to look at you. Your energy being directed at them may cause them to feel something. Try this with your pets too and see if they react. This also works in reverse. Have you ever felt like someone was watching you and when you looked around someone was? Start paying attention to how you feel around others.
Another way to practice extending your ki is to make eye contact and to verbally greet people. It can have a dramatic affect on the people you meet. Even if you are just passing by, look at them and say “hello”. Your “hello” or smile you give can change their day. Once their day has been affected by your warm greeting and smile, they are more likely to be in a better mood, which then affects how they interact with others. Eye contact does amazing things too. Look at people in the eyes when you are talking to them or just saying hi and watch their response. If you smile at the same time you usually get an even bigger response. It doesn’t cost anything and it makes people feel special to be looked at and smiled at. In these cases, I like to think of my energy as a warm ray of sunshine (even though I usually think of my energy as water) that is going to make this person feel warm and cozy.
Practice extending your energy everywhere you go – at school, on the playground, at the store, with your family and pets, with your teachers. Also, watch how other people greet each other or what they do when they pass by someone. When you’re standing in the checkout lane, watch how the other people interact with the clerk or the other people in line. Once again, people watching can provide a lot of entertainment as well as training opportunities. Have fun!
Teresa Mastison Sensei
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