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LEARNING
HOW TO LEARN
Aikido takes years
and years to master. People wonder how long it will take to learn to ''defend
themselves'' using Aikido. What can students learn in the dojo that they can
apply immediately to daily life?
The fundamental purpose of Aikido is not to learn techniques, but to learn
how to unify mind and body. If cannot control your mind, how can you control
your body? If you apply Ki principles correctly you can easily do Aikido. The
reason that Aikido takes time to learn is that we forget to apply the
principles. We also have bad habits to overcome. I don't easily give out
black belts because people must learn to unify mind and body to some extent
before they are ready for a promotion. You might be able to fool other
people, but you know what you have and have not done. There is no such thing
as a perfect crime because you cannot fool the universe. People think they
can get away with violating the laws of nature, but as you say, ''what goes
around comes around.'' One of the bad habits of my youth was heavy drinking.
I was young and strong enough that I thought I could get away with it, but
the excesses eventually catch up with you. My doctor says a glass of wine a
day is good for health, so I still enjoy that, but excessive alcohol can ruin
your health. Many young people today think they can abuse or neglect their
body without any consequences. Time will always tell.
Lack of respect is a big
problem in schools and families today.
Can you explain
the term ma-ai, and how it relates to respect in human relations?
In martial arts, ma-ai is a safe distance at which an attacker cannot easily
reach you with hand or foot. I found that many people too easily enter into
another's space, putting themselves at risk, even policemen who should know
better. If you stand at the proper distance, you still have time to avoid an
attack or disarm the attacker. But if you stand too close you cannot even
defend yourself from a baby scratching your face. In daily life, maintaining
ma-ai means not to wound or injure another person, in word or deed. Though
you might be on good terms with your neighbor now, if you remove the fence
between you it can cause conflicts. Good fences make good neighbors. Ma-ai
means respecting the space and property of others. However, if you forget the
mind and only follow form, all you have is an empty ritual. Students should
show respect to teachers by looking for the best thing they can learn from
that person. Everyone has something to offer. However, most people tend to
look for the negative points and are quick to criticize, showing no respect.
People today think ME first, and forget the other person. This is a
fundamental mistake. Mutual respect is the only way.
You say that
Americans are very good at asking why, yet don't practice; and Japanese are
very good at practicing, yet don't question. How can we have the best of
both?
I haven't spent much time in America
recently so I can't say if it has changed, but Japanese have definitely
gotten worse. They still don't ask why, but now they don't practice either.
In the past they worked very hard, but now Japanese have become very lazy.
They expect to have things done for them. There was a book published years
ago comparing the Japanese and the Jews, because of how hard they worked and
their success in business. In Europe I was
told that there was one group in the world that was widely disliked. Who? The
Japanese! Not surprising when you look at the remarks of our politicians, who
seem to be working more for themselves than for the people they are supposed
to represent.
Many things today
are impossible to understand or operate without a manual, however many young
Japanese are so dependent on manuals that they cannot think or make decisions
without them. How do you teach people to apply rules flexibly?
Only the fundamentals should be written in a manual. You don't need too much
explanation, just clear directions on how to do something. People who are
more interested in explaining than doing are often unable to teach someone
how to do a simple task. I heard a story of some people in Maui
who were told to drive some nails into the supports to anchor a pillar in
place. They did as they were told, but as no one had showed them how, the
pillar fell right over after they were finished. The nails hadn't reached the
other side! The most important thing in training is to make people do it. We
learn best by doing, not by the book.
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INTERVIEW
with Master Koichi Tohei & Waka Sensei
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5 of 9
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