Muladhara

The April/May 2010 edition of Natural Health magazine cites Wheels of Life: A User's Guide to the Chakra System by Anodea Judith, Ph.D. of the term:

Muladhara (Sanskrit: मूलाधार), meaning "root support." She describes the meditation as to "breathe slowly and calmly as you visualize a system of roots growing out of the base of your spine and down to the center of the Earth.

In our study of Aikido, the foundation of Yoshinkan is in the development of a strong posture or stance, known as Kamae. So many traditions are interrelated or share great commonalities.

Kenshu: Chushin Ryoku

The outline below is the basis for the class I taught on March 1, as part of the Kenshu series: Kihon and Beyond.

Opening idea: “If you don’t believe that the martial arts have anything to do with American Indian rituals, surfing, globalization, Tom Robbins’ novels, the destiny of the world, the beauty of nature, and our way of perceiving reality, call my bluff-read on.”
On the Warrior’s Path: Philosophy, Fighting, and Martial Arts Mythology by Daniele Bolelli

A. Lecture component: Chushin-Ryoku (The Power of the Center Line)
1. Fundamental principle of Aikido – all by Gozo Shioda

• Keeping your center line straight
• If we are able to maintain a strong center line whatever direction we move in, we have focused power. By forging this focused power, we are also promoting strong posture, concentration, and breath power.
• Real strength consists of a straight but flexible mind and a body tempered by hard practice.

2. What is center?

• the middle of something; the place in the middle; a place that is the main point

3. What is a line?

• an infinitely-extending one-dimensional figure that has no curvature

4. What is center line?

• a real or imaginary line passing through the center of something and dividing it into two equal parts
• a line that bisects a plane figure

5. What is a Straight Line?

• a line which lies evenly with the points on itself

6. What is a Curved Line?

• a line that deviates from straightness in a smooth, continuous fashion

7. Boy Scout Oath or Promise

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

• What does “morally straight” mean?
BSA defines it as:
"To be a person of strong character, your relationships with others should be honest and open. You should respect and defend the rights of all people. Be clean in your speech and actions, and remain faithful in your religious beliefs. The values you practice as a Scout will help you shape a life of virtue and self-reliance."

[Question: How is this similar in ideals to the pleats of a hakama?]

8. Aldo Nadi: Fencing Academy

• “ A Salle d’Armes is always noisy: do not make it noisier with useless talk. If you must talk, do so sotto voce. Except for calling the touches you receive from your opponents in combat – and these must be called – do not talk under the mask. Loud talk shall not be tolerated, let alone shouting and yelling under the mask. If you cannot control yourself, baseball bleachers are suggested. It shall be clearly understood that Fencing is the sport of gentlemen…and that the fencing strip has its own ethics…Any offender of such ethics shall be called to order – repeatedly, if necessary. But if the recidivist is unable to mend his or her ways, he or she shall be temporarily suspended from the Academy; or even, in cases of grave offenses, such as want of respect towards the Fencing Master, expelled altogether. It is the Fencing Master’s strict moral duty towards his artistic ancestors to see it that centuries-old traditions are respected, honored, and enforced."

(Nadi, Aldo (1995). The Living Sword: A Fencer’s Autobiography. Laureate Press: Sunrise, Florida)

[Question: How does this concept of centerline relate to ‘centuries-old traditions?']

9. Yamada Jirokichi: technique and spirit

• Sword and mind must be united. Technique by itself is insufficient, and spirit alone is not enough.

10. Ed Parker: Improve and strengthen your own line

• “It is always better to improve and strengthen your own line or knowledge than to try and cut your opponent’s line.”

11. Iru: Entering by Dave Lowry, Sword and Brush: The Spirit of the Martial Arts

• “The bugeisha begins to learn technique typically as a solo exercise. When he has familiarized himself with various movements, he commences exercising them against [or with] a partner. At this point, he may be frustrated to find that the techniques he thought he’d learned well by himself are, when performed against another, weak and ineffective, even when his partner is cooperating.”
• “Often the problem is that the methods the bugeisha has learned are directed against specific targets, with no attention given to controlling the opponent’s center, his core of stability.”

[Question: How does this relate to ri-ai or Jushin-no-ido?]

12. Kukei, 8th century Zen Master, Poem “Singing Images of Fire”

A hand moves, and the fire’s whirling takes different shapes.
…all things change when we do.
The first word, Ah, blossomed into all others.
Each of them is true.
• “'Just move your hand and fan the flames; with this one movement the whole universe moves with you.' This may sound all too simple to our ears, but it is an assertion that the modern science of complexity would gladly second. Scientists now know that tiny movements have large cumulative effects on even vast systems.”
–Jane Hirschfield translation, pg. 93, insight from David Whyte, The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America

13. The Four Spatial Dimensions

• Classical physics theories describe three physical dimensions: from a particular point in space, the basic directions in which we can move are (1) up/down, (2) left/right, and (3) forward/backward. Movement in any other direction can be expressed in terms of just these three. Moving down is the same as moving up a negative distance. (4) Moving diagonally upward and forward is just as the name of the direction implies; i.e., moving in a linear combination of up and forward.
• In its simplest form: a line describes one dimension, a plane describes two dimensions, and a cube describes three dimensions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial_dimensions

14. Question: why do you need technique and spirit together?

B. Kihon component
1. Stationary Kamae

• “Through training in kamae, we learn to maintain a straight balance, keep our hands, feet and hips on a center line of the body, maintain correct posture without having to make an effort and extend our spirit forward. In Yoshinkan, in order to learn the stance that is necessary to develop breath power, we introduce kamae as the most ‘BASIC’ part of our training.” -Gozo Shioda

2. Heavy Power Kamae

• “…to develop strong ‘center power’…the key lies in the big toe of the back foot. The power comes up from the big toe of the back foot and is transmitted into the hips and lower back.” -Gozo Shioda

3. Kamae in basic movements

• “Once you have attained a stable center in your kamae, you will be able to maintain it in your techniques.” -Gozo Shioda
• “…learn how to maintain a stable posture…develop a sense of connecting with the partner’s energy…learn how to use a partner’s weak line in order to unbalance him.” -Gozo Shioda

4. Suri-ashi

• Training “tool”
 Toes, feet and ankles
 Knees
 Hips
 Body core/trunk
 Arms
 Head and eyes

5. Tai No Henko Ichi (Cross Step in Body Change or Body Change Movement I)

• Review the foot positionings

6. Katate-mochi Sokumen Irimi Nage Ichi (One Wrist Grasp Side Step In Throw #1)

• Think about your body positioning

C. Beyond-Kihon component
1. Side Strike (Arm Raise) Side Step In Throw #1
2. Side Strike (Arm Raise) Side Step In Throw (Leg Sweep) #1

Closing idea: Ken to kento fumu (step into the sword) – meet challenges head-on, don’t make excuses and never turn away from an attack.