Linda Eskin Writes About Aikido, Learning, Training, Discovery, and Connection
It was like a lighted match had been tossed into my soul.
It was like a dam had broken in my heart.
From The Song Remembers When
Trisha Yearwood
The lyric is about a song unexpectedly bringing back long-forgotten memories of someone. But these lines really capture for me the experience of discovering Aikido. Something clicked internally. Perhaps, like the song, it is a kind of remembering, too. Not memories of another, but of who I am.
This excerpt from The Book of Five Rings reminded me of something Sensei said in class recently, in the context of techniques versus principles. My … Read more …
[An introduction to my Words posts, if you haven’t read it yet.] Everyone’s first few days (weeks? months?) of training can be disorienting and overwhelming. You need … Read more …
Several people have asked me recently about some of the words we use at the dojo. I’ve sent them some info privately, but what the … Read more …
Someone on Facebook recently asked what your sensei says regularly that sticks in your mind & helps inform your Aikido or other Martial Arts practice … Read more …
Before & After
We did a simple little cleaning project today at the dojo. The bamboo around the garden had gotten mildewy with the recent rains. It had become worn and mottled, attacked by the elements. It took only a little time and elbow grease to reveal the warm natural color and solid structure that was still there under the grime. It’s beautiful again.
Afterward a few of us went out for lunch. We were talking about how we got started in Aikido, and how we’d changed because of it. Our Befores and Afters.
It wasn’t until I thought about the photos I’d taken that the parallels came to mind. The bamboo started out shiny and fresh, as we all do. The seasons took their toll. Ugliness and disease were winning out. It had started to look like maybe we should give up, and pitch it in the dumpster. But Sensei knew what was underneath all the crud. So we worked together, put in a little effort, and brought it back.
That knowing what’s under the crud that’s built up, that working together, that little effort and elbow grease… That’s what we do, with Sensei’s guidance, in Aikido. We bring each other back.
