The 5 Things I Have Learnt from Aikido

A number of years ago I was being interviewed for a job when one of the interviewers asked me “how has my martial arts experience shaped me professionally?”[1]

For over two decades I have been diligently training in the traditional Japanese martial art of Aikido. I have a fourth degree black-belt awarded from the Tokyo headquarters and associated coaching qualifications in the art. For a period of time I even ran a small suburban dojo before the globe-hopping of my career made it unfeasible to maintain. 

Aikido is still something that, along with my joy of distance running [2], is exercise that keeps me physically active. However over the years it has become more than just a recreational activity, with a number of lessons from Aikido (and my general martial arts training) naturally flowing into my professional life:

1. There are no weight classes in the real world

In many traditional martial arts you are expected to train with everyone; no weight classes, no separation of boys from girls, no older age ‘masters’ brackets. In fact, the more proficient you get at Aikido you actually start yourself from positions of more and more disadvantage. This could be set constraints (attacker starts from your rear; defender restricted to a kneeling position; blindfolded) to just upping the odds (multiple attackers; attackers wielding sticks and knives). One of my most memorable moments of feeling such proficiency firsthand in my early training days was, as a young man, being effortlessly tossed about in the dojo as if I was a mere rag-doll by small, old guys well into their seventies!

The lesson learnt is acknowledgement that the real world is not fair gives one a professional peace of mind, as gone is any expectation of a level playing field. It may be that competitors have more resources/dominant market position or from having to go up against unconscious biases in the workplace. Irrespective, just go about improving what is in your sphere of control with the ultimate aim to become skilled enough to overcome not just equal challenges but those of greater and greater odds.

2. Expect to fall often; it's how one grows

Aikido is a martial art that will certainly take away your fear of falling! A typical Aikido class will see one slamming into the dojo mats or tapping out from a painful joint lock around a hundred times. The Japanese term for this way of learning is called ukemi (lit. receiving in one’s body). One embraces failure and falling as an essential part of learning, necessary to become proficient in Aikido. This is an important lesson for any professional endeavour – do not be afraid to fall (repeatedly) as it is something often necessary in order to grow in the long term.

3. Continually polish the basics

Kihon is the Japanese term that refers to the basics or fundamentals. Regardless of rank and years of experience, regardless of the number of variations or flashy techniques one knows, all sensei’s (myself included) will dedicate time to practice and polish the basics. So much importance is put on kihon training that the very first white-belt test will require a demonstration of ikkyo (lit. the first teaching) as will your black-belt test many years later to show your continued proficiency of the basics. 

There are foundational building blocks regardless of what you do professionally. It could be underlying technical skills, interpersonal dynamics, reading and writing, etc. Never stop working on one’s basics, no matter how high a standing you may have in your profession.

4. Learning from a global community

I often take my dogi (lit. training uniform, i.e. the white pajamas!) when I travel. The welcoming nature of the global Aikido community has meant I have been fortunate enough to have trained in almost a dozen countries around the world. This includes numerous trips back to Japan, i.e. the source, in order to be embedded in the culture and traditions of those who have been training for most of their lives.

From very early on in my career I have been fortunate to have been offered opportunities to work around the world. Indeed at a number of life stages I have actively sought such opportunities. I feel that growth from such immersion experiences can not be replicated in any other way. Nothing compares to living in an area where innovation is part of the DNA of how everything is done - such as Silicon Valley - no matter how many innovation books one reads. Same for understanding the scale of business without having experienced some of the giant commercial centres of the world. Grab hold of opportunities to ‘drink directly from the source’; travel and learn from those who live and breathe the skills you seek.

5. Stay grounded

My final lesson is mostly a metaphor of a physical action that is important to the martial arts. The secret to how these above-mentioned small, old men are able to effortlessly toss larger opponents is that they don’t use brute force against force. Instead a proficient Aikido practitioner is able to use an opponent’s strength against them thanks to bracing on the solid platform provided by the ground. I am often the smallest person in the dojo yet I am happily training with opponents twice my weight.

The phrase “stay grounded” also can mean ensuring what you do is directly connected to (the betterment of) a larger whole which then acts as that solid platform to leverage upon. My career as a banker never lost sight of the important societal function that I was serving to empower economic growth, i.e. helping a young family buy their home, providing capital for a small business to expand, funding the infrastructure development to help a community. My career as an engineer might have had a day-to-day activity to solve complex math problems, but it was grounded with societal aim of cleaning up the environment. Finally my career as a university academic was there to train the next generation of professionals and advance humankind's pool of knowledge. Staying grounded gives meaning to the reason why one does what they do. I feel that knowing this direct connection has the effect of being able to multiply the impact of one's actions in the same manner as grounding in martial arts, consequently making these actions full of meaning and intent.

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[1] The interviewer, a senior executive for a large global bank, had a second degree black-belt in Karate. I don’t recall exactly how I responded, but I did think it would be a great LinkedIn article to write one day.

[2] See my dear friend and colleague, Lauriane Le Berre’s personal lessons from recently running the NYC marathon: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/running-life-sanity-behind-neurotic-marathon-runner-le-berre/