The Collaborative Habit and Dancing

And some people only think Aikido is hard on the feet! What a great photo!

Twyla Tharp's book The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together includes excellent quotes one can apply to their Aikido training, work, or family.

I define collaboration as people working together-sometimes by choice, sometimes not. Sometimes we collaborate to jump-start creativity; other times the focus is simply on getting things done. (pg. 4)

Collaborators aren't born, they're made. Or, to be more precise, built, a day at a time, through practice, through attention, through discipline, through passion and commitment-and, most of all, through habit. (pg. 12)

Watch them, learn from them. And see if you don't soon feel that, far from being burdened with a partner, you're beginning to find new options and new ways of thinking. Thinking? Collaboration may be a practice-a way of working in harmony with others-but it begins as a point of view. (pgs. 13-14)

The sooner you establish a routine, the more smoothly your collaboration will advance. The first requirement of collaboration is commitment. (pgs. 26-27)

The root of any collaboration is interchange-literally, change. Nothing forces change more dramatically than a new partnership. Collaboration guarantees change because it makes us accommodate the reality of our partners-and accept all the ways they're not like us. And those differences are important. The more we can draw upon our partner's strengths and avoid approving our partner's weaknesses, the better that partnership will be. (pg. 36)

You need a challenging partner. In a good collaboration, differences between partners mean that one plus one will always equal more than two. (pg. 36)

As for me, I learned ways of extending movement from one place to another that would never have occurred to me had I not been able to transpose myself into this amazing artist, to feel the innumerable hours he trained, drilled, and practiced from one inside edge to the other outside edge and back, carefully tracing his patterns into the ice. (pg. 43)

Collaborative projects offer tutorials in reality. And that tutorial always presents the unexpected. (pg. 63)

Crisis focuses energy. When it really matters, people rise to the occasion. (pg. 86)

Richard Avedon taught me what Keats called "negative capability"-a willingness to suspend judgement and see reality as another might. That's creativity at its most openhearted. Those pictures of the two of us remind me that the ultimate best result of any collaboration is learning to look through your collaborator's eye. (pg. 117)

But beyond the scoring of your collaboration lies the real gain-the chance to interface with others and to develop a whole new tool kit of values. Our lives are performances-each of us starring in a play we come to know as our own. Essence isn't just who you are. It's who you are with other people. (pg. 143)

Peel an onion and country cooking

A number of years ago I had the great opportunity to train with Gaku Homma Sensei, Nippon Kan, when he gave a clinic and lecture here in Minnesota.

The technical training was wonderful, but the things I best recall were some of his interpretations of Aikido. One was that there is no right or wrong way to do Aikido, just different variations. He noted this idea came from the many individuals who trained with O'Sensei. They trained with him during different periods of his life; thus bringing about different focuses or points of view. The description was that you should liken this to an "Aikido globe" and it is all Aikido.

The second was we should appreciate the change of seasons or periods of the year in which we train and the evolution our bodies go through. These changes are also reflected in and tied to the foods we eat during the respective seasons. He noted many of the first classes he taught in Denver were followed by gatherings where he cooked for the students.

Some of these ideas are found his book The Folk Art of Japanese Country Cooking: A Traditional Diet for Today’s World by Gaku Homma:

To balance mind and body, we need to refocus and appreciate the season-to-season gifts we receive from nature. If we eat what is given to us naturally, we can find truer nutritional fulfillment, as well as a truer understanding. (p. 22)

Part of the true essence of Japanese country cooking was carried in the hearts of the people who first created the foods. By experiencing their creativity in arranging these ingredients, we can truly enjoy the richness of these foods, emotionally as well as physically. (p. 18)

Early this spring I came across the book Chef: A Novel by Jaspreet Singh.

The gastronomic writings brought me back to the descriptions Homma Sensei used and to the many layers of learning one goes through during their study and training in Aikido.

These are some of the "tasty" samplings - enjoy!:

'Pay attention to simple things, Kip. If one cannot deal with a simple dish properly, there is no way one will be able to handle the more sophisticated. Take a tomato, for instance. What is the taste of this tomato? There is no such thing as the set taste of a tomato. Taste lies in the surface, the way you cut it...
'Before cutting a tomato, give it the reverence it deserves and ask: Tomato, what would you like to become? Do you want to be alone? Or do you prefer company? Apricot, what would you like to become? Would you like to become more than yourself in the company of saffron?
'Saffron, who are you?'(p. 27)

'Kashmiri is the language of poetry,' he said.
'There is no such thing as the language of poetry,' I corrected him. 'Poetry can be written in all languages. No language is inferior. When I peel an onion in the kitchen there is poetry in it.'
'You are not entirely wrong,' he said. (pgs. 37-38)

...Chilies are South American. Coffee, Arabian. "Curry powder" is a British invention. There is no such thing as Indian food, Kip. But there are Indian methods (Punjabi-Kashmiri-Tamil-Goan-Bengali-Hyderabadi). Allow a dialogue between our methods and the ingredients from the rest of the world. Japan, Italy, Afghanistan. Make something new. Channa goes well with artichokes. Rajmah with brie and parsley. Don't get stuck inside nationalities.' I would watch the movement of his hands for hours on end. Once the materials stripped themselves bare, Chef mixed them with all that he remembered, and all that he had forgotten. Sometimes he would contradict himself, and that was the toughest thing to master in the kitchen. (p.88)

Peripheral Vision, Metsuke and Shuchu-Ryoku

My mentor and friend, Mary Texer, shared a wonderful book with me: Peripheral Vision: Detecting the Weak Signals that Will Make or Break Your Company by George S. Day and Paul J. H. Schoemaker.

The business principles in the book are directly applicable to one's study of Aikido.

A concept in the martial arts is Metsuke or "soft-focus;" and is sometimes referred to as "seeing-eye" or the "mind's-eye." It is seeing without focusing on a single point and yet permits awareness of the total field of vision or peripheral vision.

In Yoshinkan Aikido a key principle is "Shuchu-Ryoku" or focused or concentrated power. The development of this power is done through the training and alignment of the body.

Some high-lights below from the book wonderful describe Metsuke and Shuchin-Ryoku in practical real-world examples.

Splatter Vision: Seeing the Forest and the Trees

Some combination of directed and undirected search may be ideal. The FBI, for example, trains its agents to use a scanning approach called “splatter vision.” This involves scanning a crowd for would-be assassins by looking into the distance and not focusing on anyone in particular. Once the agent fixes a general gaze, he or she looks for deviation or change. Is someone restless, looking around too much, slowly putting a hand into a coat pocket? From among hundreds of faces, the agent seeks a lone assassin; suspicious activity then triggers a more intense focus. By balancing directed and undirected scanning, a single agent can spot signs of trouble across a fairly large area. (p. 52)

Guidelines for Scanning
Many parts of the periphery may be important to scan. Once you have identified an area as important, you can then choose among approaches to investigate that zone.

A few general principles can guide this process:
• Actively manage the process. This can help to focus attention and resources on those areas of the periphery that are most important.
• Use multiple methods. The key to active scanning is to avoid overreliance on the methods and information sources that everyone else uses. To gain fresh insights, we must go beyond seeing what others see.
• Treat scanning as an iterative process. The results of your scanning may suggest a larger or lesser scope. Each scan offers new insights that inform the next scan.
The meaning of any weak signal detected at the periphery will depend on the position and strategy of the company viewing it. The diverse signals identified through scanning might fit together into many different coherent pictures. (pgs. 70-72)
The process of making sense is even more complex when it relates to peripheral vision. The images are, by definition, muddied and imprecise. They are distorted like the edges of a fish-eye lens, and there is a high noise-to-signal ratio. In human vision, the periphery lacks detail and color. The mind can easily jump to the wrong conclusions about something that is seen out of the “corner of one’s eye.”
Many times, when it relates to the periphery, we jump to the wrong conclusions about what we are seeing. In other cases, we fail to understand a real threat or opportunity and don’t see it until too late. (p.74)

Conclusion: The Quick and the Dead
Learning quickly and efficiently is vital in responding to the periphery. Organizations [or individuals] that can gain clarity about what is happening before their rivals will be in a better position to act on opportunities in the periphery or respond to threats.

…learning can be improved and accelerated by the following approaches:
• Use scenarios to learn. Scenarios not only help interpret the future but they can also help in probing and learning. They organize signals that may seem to be random noise into a pattern. They show where knowledge and insights are needed…
• Fail fast and cheap to accelerate learning. Experiments can be the best way to learn about the periphery. Keep them as small as possible to extract the most learning with the least risk. While good peripheral vision is important peripheral vision is important in identifying opportunities, the real value of the periphery is to explore mistakes.
• Use real options. One of the best ways to increase the learning-to-risk ratio is to use real options. Options can turn small investments into powerful learning opportunities. They can help to reduce uncertainty before major investments are required. The idea is to keep the upfront investment low while learning and preserving the upside potential. (p. 116)

Focus Attention on Specific Challenges

The problem with a broad periphery is that the organization [or individual] can easily become overwhelmed and its attention can become diffuse. There is a vital need for prioritization and focus to direct attention to specific areas while continuing to promote a broad awareness. (p. 165)

Six Lessons from the Periphery

Lesson 1: Peripheral vision is more about anticipation and alertness than prediction.
One of the overriding principles of effective peripheral vision is that it will always be less clear than focal vision. The periphery is blurry; it is not in color. Weak signals are by definition faint. The future is basically unknowable. Even with these limitations, however, peripheral vision enables two kinds of anticipation: preparing in the face of uncertainty and acting before anyone else can. By the time a clear prediction or forecast can be made, it is probably too late.
Lesson 2: The problem is not a lack of data but a lack of good questions.
…unless one focuses this [information] gathering on expanding the field of vision, no matter how carefully they look, they won’t see opportunities and threats unless their scope is broad enough.
Lesson 3: Scan actively but with an open mind because the periphery won’t always come to you.
Don’t wait for the periphery to come to you; often, you must explore it. While passive scanning plays an important role in peripheral vision, you also must explore the periphery actively through directed hypotheses and undirected journeys into the unknown. Active scanning is not a one-time or annual event. It must be a real-time process that draws on a broad repertoire of techniques and approaches.
Lesson 4: Use triangulation to better understand the periphery.
Just as the eye uses triangulation to provide depth and meaning, multiple perspectives on the periphery are needed to comprehend it. If the periphery is confusing, look at it from different angles. This is most easily done by bringing different people with diverse views into the process and by using multiple methods or techniques. This is especially important because the periphery is inherently blurry and incomplete. The conflicts and differences in viewpoints, as well as multiple hypotheses, can help illuminate different parts of the picture.
Lesson 5: When catching glimpses from the periphery, it is wise to probe before jumping.
Don't always trust what you see out of the corner of eye. It is important not to jump to conclusions but to take time to learn more about the periphery. We must amplify the weak signals with directed probes. We also must act prudently through a portfolio of real options and experiments to maintain flexibility until the uncertainty is more tolerable.
Lesson 6: Balancing peripheral and focal vision is a central leadership challenge.
The resources and attention devoted to the periphery are often taken away from investments in the focal area. Organizations [and individuals] must strike the right balance between focal and peripheral vision. The eye works its wondrous way by combining inputs from the rod cells that are scanning the periphery and the cone cells that are used for focal vision in good lighting conditions. (pgs. 168-170)

Survival of the Most Responsive

All of us have limits-individually and in our organizations-in how far we can see and in our ability to detect and act on weak signals at the periphery. We also must recognize that peripheral vision is different than focal vision. The process of peripheral vision requires different capabilities and approaches than focal vision. Like being aware that a sudden outflow of the tide is a sign of a coming tsunami, recognizing these warning signs early can mean life or death. [Individuals] can recognize and act on opportunities more quickly. [Individuals] can avoid being blindsided by the market, technology, regulations, and competitors. It takes skill to do this well, but as the environment moves more quickly and becomes more uncertain, the payoffs from strong peripheral vision will be greater than ever. As Charles Darwin observed, "It's not the strongest of the species who survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change." (p. 179)

Aiki Soku Seikatsu

The first time I really thought about and spoke about "aiki soku seikatsu" was during a January Kan Geiko (Winter Training) training in the early 1990's when I was either a brown belt or shodan, at the Shindokan Dojo in Huntington Beach, California with Geordan Reynolds sensei.

You have to remember, January in California is great compared to Minnesota, temperature wise that is. A nice 60 to 80 degree difference will cause one to break out t-shirts and shorts any day!

After training one morning we went to a nearby park with a little restaurant and enjoyed breakfast with a great Aikido conversation.

Geordan sensei shared his 'philo-fuel' thoughts of training with Kancho sensei in Tokyo and Kushida sensei in Ann Arbor.

The notes I captured can't do justice to the energy that he exuded of the trainings, learnings (some of which I cannot share!) and general friendship building he went through and anyone who has had the great opportunity of training or enjoying a beverage with him knows what I mean!

My notebook says:
"'soku' = 'equals,' 'seikatsu' = 'life' such that 'so for aiki, so is life.' This of course means that in terms of the human condition, all that we suffer or enjoy in the dojo and on the mat can be found reciprocally in daily life. Bumping into things we can't change: trauma, drama or joy!

He concluded with the thought "as one trains regularly and performs shugyo, one forges their spirit and come to realize THEY CAN DO ANYTHING!"

To me the quote “aiki soku seikatsu = Aikido and life are one” really means that I have met wonderful friends, gone on many trips around the world, trained with some of the most famous Aikidoka to ever step foot onto a mat and after class, sat down and had something to eat and drink with them and learned about their families and lives, that is the true treasure!

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.

Lagom

Lagom is a Swedish word with no direct English translation, but loosely translates to mean "just the right amount."

Wikipedia has great background including:

The Lexin-Swedish-English Dictionary defines Lagom as "enough, sufficient, adequate, just right."

It is also widely used as a state of living that is "in moderation, in balance, optimal, suitable and average."

When I came across this word it reminded me of the ideal of Fudo Shin. This is often used in martial arts training as the state of stable or unmoving mind" or unmoving heart."

An old definition that I have in my training notebooks of Fudoshin is:

A spirit of unshakable calm and determination, courage without recklessness, rooted stability in both mental and physical realms.
Like a willow tree, powerful roots deep in the ground and a soft, yielding resistance against the winds that blow through it.

Stan Wrobel, Ph.D. wrote in Aikido for Self Discovery: Blueprint for an Enlightened Life

"Too often we try to hard or do too much. There is little trust in riding the flow, in effortlessly staying in touch and on top of the situation. Without effort it seems like we're not participating, we're not doing, and we're without self-image that we can relate to. Effort, tensions, and impatience characterize our being."