Aikido: The Martial Art. The Martial Process: A Leader’s Paradigm

The article will appeal to Aikido Practitioners, open-minded Martial Artists, Leaders in Business and Society as well as Coaches and Leadership Consultants who have the capacity, resilience and pace to look for secrets behind things they don’t initially understand.

Back in the day, during my time in London, when everything was simple and more confused, I decided that I had enough of weight lifting at the gym and that resorting back to Tae-Kwon-Do to secure my fitness level, was simply not interesting enough for a Psychotherapist in his mid 20s. It had to be something that would stem beyond increasing my muscle mass or conditioning me –yet again- to punch-kick-punch-knee-defend-kick-elbow-knee-punch-kick-defend. 

The year was 2000 and the road as well as extensive research led me to Andy Hathaway’s London Aikido Club in Stoke Newington. I spent the next 6 years there, in what was a fairly disciplined, reclusive and reserved environment, which however laid solid foundations for precision, power and meticulousness in the practice of the art. My return to Greece in 2006 saw me continuing my studies under Tony Sargeant (which entailed a 6 hour trip from my home in Athens to his camp on the island of Kefalonia), whilst also practicing with profound Greek Aikido practitioners such as the late Yiannis Tsorotiotis and Yiannis Michailos. 

Nowadays, 20 years on, my partner in crime, Angelos Skembris and I can be found tormenting young and not so young students at our very own Evolution Dojo in Athens (www.evolution-dojo.com) , under the direction of Urban Aldenklint; who travels all the way from Sweden to put us back in the straight and narrow a few times a year.

It’s been an Odyssey. And for a guy who actually makes a living as a Leadership Consultant and Executive Coach, by optimising people and processes until they reach excellence, it is also a paradox: regardless of how much work I put in, regardless of the attention to detail and repetition, I rarely feel like I get it just right or reach the destination. The demands it places on my mind first and foremost as well as my body secondly are simply colossal. The dedication required is obdurate. Still, come rain (especially) or shine, I am there practically every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, moaning and groaning and protesting yet seeing myself through the 90 minutes of practice.

Why, you may ask? 

Aikido was developed by Morihei Ueshibain Japan, in the early 20thcentury and was the natural evolution of Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu. Partly martial art and partly martial process, Aikido consists of locks, throws, pinsand on occasion strikes, which either utilise the opponent’s force of attack, to facilitate them in continuing their way; or stop them dead in their tracks. It also encompasses weapon’s practice with the Bokken(Japanese sword), theJo(Japanese staff) and the tanto(Japanese knife). It is beautiful to watch and even more beautiful to experience, especially when conducted at high level by skilled practitioners. For those of you completely unfamiliar with it, think Stephen Seagal. The stuff he does, throwing everyone around? That’s Aikido.

Aikido is a principle-based martial art. I like principles. They make for clear thinking, narrow down your choices and frequently eliminate dilemmas. Whenever I teach Aikido, these are the principles I insist on:

1)  The Feet Position: Hamni: Unlike most martial arts, which make the assumption that you are fighting one opponent at a time, Aikido makes the assumption that there may be more than one assailants, as was the case back during the times of the Samurai (or life for that matter). This requires the capacity to change the direction towards which the body is facing as quickly as possible. In order to achieve this, the feet need to be in a “T” position, rather than a ?Γ? position, as is the case with most martial arts. This is initially a very inconvenient stance and even to the day I find myself falling over (which experience has of course helped me disguise as a natural part of my movement sequence, however I know exactly what has happened). The advantage of the Hamniposition is that you can actually change direction at any given point, without actually having to readjust your feet’s “orientational” relation; which of course adds immense agility, stability and speed. The disadvantage is that it is hard to master and requires discipline and focus to maintain.

2)  Your Body’s Position in Relation to the Opponent’s Position: 45 Degrees. I have, more than once, spent an entire lesson talking about 45 degrees and repeating the number so many times that in the end it makes up for approximately 90% of the content that comes out of my mouth. The Aikidoka’s body needs to be positioned at a 45 degree angle in relation to the assailants body, as if their whole existence is a spear that will drive through the opponent’s rib cage entering from one side of the ribs and exiting from the other: This serves two purposes: First and foremost it places the Aikidoka out of the line of the assailant’s attack. Secondly it positions the Aikidoka, by this stage fully protected, directly in line with the attacker’s unprotected flank. This is not negotiable. Unless one can master 42 degrees. 42 is acceptable. Since it is the answer to life, the universe and everything.

3)  Your Body’s Height: You are not a springboard, you are a Muppet: The knees are bent, the feet are strictly in Hamni position and the back is straight. Most martial arts, will coach participants to engage in little jumping motions and alter their body’s height (up and down) as well as weight distribution (back and forth), thus producing plenty of mobility on the vertical and horizontal axis. We don’t do this in Aikido. First and foremost because it is undignified. Secondly because we want to maintain our gravitational relation to the ground and produce “mass”; as if our feet are screwed to the floor (including our heels, which must remain in contact with the ground at all times) and as if a giant metal rod runs on our vertical axis and we rotate around it. This makes for stability, consistency and power.

4)  The Center of Mobility: It’s in the hips, baby: The hips move first. It is after all the strongest and biggest muscle, strategically placed bang right in the middle. There is no arguing with hip movement. It is by far the strongest one. Boxers know it, hence every punch thrown, is thrown from the hip. In Aikido, whereby changing direction is vital, this is of the essence. If the center moves, the legs, the arms and the head will follow.

5)  Your Body’s Weight Distribution and Disposition: Even when moving backwards, the weight and momentum stay forward. Weight is distributed 60% to the front leg and 40% to the back leg. This means you are always ready to move forward as opposed to being held captive by an invisible anchor. Think about it.

6)  Attacking and Defending: Forget these concepts. They do not exist. Neither do triumph and disaster; neither does winning or losing. From a technical standpoint, practically every attack can be countered or reversed and every time we lift our hand to “block” a strike (again a non-applicable concept, since blocking stops flow and in Aikido the flow never stops), we may find opportunity to convert a defensive position to a blow. It ‘s a fluid situation. Remind you of anything?

7)  Contact with the Opponent: keep your friends close and your enemies closer: If you want to know what’s going on with your “opponent’s” movement and intention, you need to stick your body onto theirs, to collect this information and stay connected with them in total unison from the beginning to the end of the technique. It also makes for better leverage. After all, the word “conflict” starts with “con”, which is latin for together.

8)  The Nature of the Movement: Kokyu: Life is a Circle: Even though a straight line is usually the quickest way from A to B, it is also the most boring. More ever, if you want to move someone, it is much easier if you unbalance them first, with a circular movement. This circular movement is called Kokyuand it is based on the physiology and nature of the breathing movement.

9)  Breaking your Body into Position: The use of Weapons in Aikido. One might think that you are very unlikely to engage in a fight using swords and staffs (never mind wooden ones), though you can never be too sure. Nonetheless, they form the basis of Aikido. The reason is that by committing your hands on a sword or staff grip and assuming the hamni position, you have automatically achieved the correct posture to execute most movements and techniques. What’s more, all unarmed Aikido is actually based on weapon forms and the processof practicing weapons actually reveals the content of Aikido techniques. This is indeed one of the most exciting secrets in Aikido, waiting to be discovered. 

10)  The Floor is your Friend: You spend most of your time kneeling on the floor, falling on the floor, rolling on the floor, break falling on the floor…the list goes on. It looks ridiculous in the beginning. It gets better with time and perhaps even graceful. You never fully get used to it, though you may come to convince yourself that facing the floor is a natural position, after a decade or two. The point is to get back up.

It’s a strange thing Aikido. Recently I was watching a couple of what must have been very experienced martial artists trashing it on you tube. They pointed out how it is ineffective, choreographed and overall the last thing you would like to resort to during a combat situation. A close friend, who practiced it for a decade, reaching black belt and eventually migrated to boxing in a feat of disillusion, recently pointed out how an Aikido Master stepped into an MMA ring (that cage where two people meet and anything goes) and got his back side handed to him. It is probably all true. 

At the same time, what you see is not what you get: To the untrained eye, Aikido is a staged series of partner practices, which require the collaboration of everyone involved and offers absolutely little or no value in actual combat situations, in the same way that Kickboxing or MMA would. There are fundamental reasons for this: 

First and foremost, if the “attacking” party does not collaborate by “going down”, then they will need to say good bye to vital parts of their anatomy, such as their wrist, their, elbow, their neck, their back…the list goes on.  Therefore not only is choreography useful; it is vital, if one wants a partner to practice with the day after.

Secondly, Aikido is not actually a Martial Art. It is a Martial Process. This means that rather than entering a punching, kicking and choking contest in a head to head situation, the preference is to find ourselves in the right location, which will then give us the option to strike, lock, throw or simply walk away. The truth is indeed, that the average Aikidoka does not practice punching and kicking and even though I firmly believe they should, anyone who thinks that this renders this a less effective combat method, can simply not decipher the immensity and superiority that being in the right place at the right time provides over a strong punch or a fast kick. 

Thirdly, there appear to be 3 categories of Aikido practitioners: Those who believe that it will work on the street in the same way it works in the dojo, even if they have not got the slightest idea of how to hurt an uncooperative opponent (i.e by practicing their strikes, punches and kicks, especially in vital places, given that they can assume an advantageous position in relation to the challenger). The second category (which probably constitutes the majority) comprises those that don’t actually consider Aikido a method of self defense and therefore don’t care about its street application. The third category is the Senior Practitioners, who in their turn fall under two categories: those who comprehend and can actually decipher how a martial process is superior to a martial art and can put this to practice; and those that can’t.

My assumption and hope is that if you are an Aikido practitioner, regardless of experience and rank, this article will stimulate your curiosity, or confirm some of what you already know; if you are a Senior Leader, you can pick up the Leadership applications in points 1 to 10; and if you are a Leadership Consultant, you will consider finding out more about this fascinating art and the ways it can empower your practice with its demand for dedication, resilience and pace.

Bibliography:

Budo: Teachings of the Founder of Aikido: Morihei Ueshiba 

Traditional Aikido & Takemusu Aikido (Volumes 1 to 4): Morihiro Saito

Mutual Mindfulness: Nlp & Aikido, the Study of the Universal Principles of Excellence: Paddy Bergin (Foreward: Andy Hathaway)

Takemusu Aikido: A Martial Artist's Journey of Discovery in Aikido: Tony Sargeant

Dynamic Aikido: Gozo Shioda

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Douglas Adams

Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle: Carl G. Jung

https://evolution-dojo.com/blog: Angelos Skembris

Coaching for Impact: The Evolution of Leadership: Vassilis Antonas