Ki is not Magic
Friday afternoon I left work at noon, picked my dog Casie, and then drove to the dojo to pick-up Jack for the drive up to Boulder with a stop-off at my sister's house in Broomfield to drop-off Casie. We left at 3:30 which I thought would give us enough cushion to make to class in time. When driving on I-25 North at the outskirts of Denver, we hit stop-and-go traffic and it took us over an hour and half to get to my sister's house. It takes at least twenty minutes from my sister's place so it was six o'clock when we arrived at Boulder Aikikai.
After paying the seminar fee, I rushed into the dressing room, put on my gi and hakama as fast as I could (you can't go too fast with all of the strap tieing, if you don't do it right, you'll spend the entire class fussing and adjusting which distracts from the Aikido). Warm-ups had just finished and Saotome Sensei was demonstrating the first technique, an irimi-entry kokyu-ho. As the class progressed, we worked on this and other related kokyunages for the rest of the class but what was more enlightening and meaningful for me was Saotome's lectures during the technique demonstrations. Saotome Sensei talked more about ki, and how ki is not magic but just the energy that exists in all living things. Our individual ki is courage, wisdom, and when we communicate and connect with another being, that is aiki. During on technique training, I was working with Jun from Boulder and she pointed out that I was moving to the side instead of a more direct throat atemi. This was one example of why it is so valuable to train at seminar's because you get the opportunity to learn from much more experienced sempi who notice often small details in your own technique and movement that you may not recognize.
His humor combined with excellent Aikido and presence is really an honor and a privilege to be on the mat with Saotome Sensei.
No comments:
Post a Comment