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Ki power and Sensei Power
Reflections from St. Andrews Scotland 2001
By Gaku Homma Sensei, Nippon Kan Kancho
One can never tire of visiting St. Andrews, so
rich in its history, so picturesque in its setting. This visit was no
exception, as upon my arrival, I was greeted with a warm and friendly
welcome from the St. Andrews University Aikido Club.
I
have always been impressed with the high level of intelligence and general
curiosity of St. Andrews students, so I was looking forward to teaching
my third seminar in St. Andrews, Scotland. I arrived just in time for
the annual shaving cream festival, which reminded me that even the most
diligent students also need time to let off a little steam!
At this year’s seminar, I worked diligently at communicating my ideas
on both Aikido technique and Aikido philosophy. My command of the English
language however is not perfect, and I am concerned 
that
students at the seminar were not able to understand me completely. To
clarify, I wanted to follow up with this article not only to outline the
ideas I presented during the seminar, but to also add additional thoughts
I had on my return home.
The following article pertains not only to students of St Andrews University,
but is a message to all aikidoka, especially younger Aikidoists who are
serious about their practice.
Now that I am beginning to understand the changes that age has brought
to my body and my life, I can look back fondly on my younger days. Although
the concept of the “innocence of youth” is over-used, it does
hold some truth, even when applied to the practice of Aikido. There are
dangers that lie in the vulnerability of youth and the impressionable
minds of eager young students when exposed to different methods and concepts
of Aikido instruction. I become concerned if I see instructors limiting
student’s movements to “cookie cutter” kata or cornering
their minds into limited concepts. This is a trap that is easy for the
innocent and even the well educated to fall prey to.
There are of course many different philosophies and ideas about the practice
of Aikido and many methods instruction. This diversity is natural and
I believe it is important to weight the merits of many forms of Aikido
instruction. There is one method however that I very much disagree with
and I wish to warn students of all ages not to fall prey to.
The practice of Aikido is the practice of martial art techniques or waza.
In the word A-I-K-I-D-O, the letters themselves individually do not spell
the word Aikido, the whole of the letters combined spells the word Aikido.
You cannot take only parts; select only a few of the letters for instance,
like the A, and the D and the O, and still spell the word Aikido. The
essence is also the whole. You have to experience all aspects and metaphorically
to use all of the letters to fully understand Aikido.
One example on encompassing the whole to obtain the essence might be on
how a person might approach nutrition. One method might be to reduce ones
diet to particular vitamins and minerals, extracting and consuming them
individually for nourishment. Another way that embraces the total concept
of balanced nutrition h is to enjoy healthy, balanced delicious meals
cooked and eaten with enjoyment. In this way the meal is part of an over-all
balance of living and the result is a body nourished and energy created.
Deceptive
teaching methods are not the responsibility of students. All students
begin their practice as innocent beginners; especially younger students
just beginning their own life journey. Instructors who prey on young minds
with promises of magic “Ki” powers exploit this innocence. Instructors
who use this method seem to be experts in their field, seem to have discovered
the “essence” of Aikido through years of research and study.
As I mentioned previously, “Ki” is only a part of the word Aikido,
and cannot be extracted individually. Only by practicing Aikido techniques
as a whole do aspects of “Ki” become absorbed into our mind
and body consciousness, not the other way around.
Instructors that use “Ki” power as the basis for their teaching
methods, have a variety of demonstrations they use to influence the innocent.
“The unbendable arm” and “the unliftable body” are
two examples widely used to demonstrate the “power of “Ki”.
Both of these demonstrations, I have discovered in my research, originated
as side show tricks dating back in Japan to the days of the Samurai. While
entertaining, they can easily be explained by physics.
“Ki” demonstrations were first introduced to the Aikido world
by Mr. Koichi Tohei. Mr. Tohei’s teaching method, a combination of
“Ki” power demonstrations and a delivery technique resembling
American television evangelist ministers, was unique to Aikido at the
time of its introduction. Mr. Tohei was the first Aikido instructor to
offer promises through the practice of Aikido, promises of improved health,
better relationships, financial gains and even an improved golf game!
This can be a marketable approach to students who can sometimes be lured
by instant gratification. The debut of these theories coincided with the
tumultuous cultural upheaval in the United States in the early 1970’s.
This was an era marked by resistant to establishment ideologies and experimentation.
In an era of experimentation, the concepts of magical powers from the
Far East were seductive. As early as 1986, in my first book “Aikido
for Life”, I clearly stated my objection to this approach to the
teaching of Aikido, and explained the physics behind these “magic
apparitions”. In a subsequent publication of mine, “Aikido Sketch
Diary, Dojo 365 Days”, I further developed my theories on applicable
differences between an Eastern and Western approach toward learning, and
how the introduction of “Ki” could be interpreted very differently
depending on cultural background.
As I have been writing in my books for almost two decades, “Ki”
demonstrations used as marketing tools are not true martial art techniques.
Years ago, a senior student of Mr. Tohei asked if he could come to Denver
to teach a seminar at my dojo. In a spirit of openness and also for a
chance to study different teaching methods, I agreed. For two days this
instructor demonstrated the magic of “Ki” power. His demonstrations
were convincing, and many of my beginning students were dazzled. He promoted
Aikido as a cure for cancer, a better sex life, and a new and better job.
It concerned me when he warned my students that if they were unable to
resist his “Ki” power, it meant that they were somehow inadequate,
and lacked sufficient ability to receive his “Ki”. I find this
to be an intimidation through negative reinforcement. It is a guilt trip
that can be an effective psychological trap for the uninitiated. After
his departure at the closing of the second day of practice, I instructed
the final day of the seminar. I did not have to spend a great deal of
time dispelling the illusion behind his demonstrations of “Ki”
power. In fact after only a few minutes, every one of my students was
able to perform all of the same demonstrations. There is a value in being
able to perform these demonstrations, but only if one understands them
in relation to their orientation with physics. It took less than an hour
to unravel the mysteries present by this “Ki master!”
As an Aikido instructor I cannot imagine telling a student that they were
unable to understand the powers of “Ki” because they were lacking
in someway. This is however a technique used by some instructors to make
students feel inferior, and feel that they must join so that they too
can “receive Ki”. I invite anyone to come to my dojo, and I
will be able to show you in about ten minutes how typical “Ki”
demonstrations are done. Preying on a student self image and sense of
guilt is an underhanded manipulation, not a teaching technique.
Real “Sensei power” is a culmination of a lifetime of learning.
Imitation “Sensei power” can be seen in choreographed demonstrations
where students fly through the air without being touched. This is of course
not real. Remember that the “magic” you are seeing in these
kinds of demonstrations is the skill of the ukes and their ability to
take high flying rolls.
Interestingly, audiences also bring a psychological component to the dynamics
of a demonstration. At a demonstration, let’s say an instructor fairly
slight in build, chooses a volunteer from the audience. One technique
is to choose a volunteer who is much larger in stature than the demonstrator.
The volunteer is naturally self-conscious and wants to do a good job.
Usually these volunteers also have good hearts, therefore they do not
try as hard as they can when asked to bend the arm of the demonstrator.
What is disconcerting is if the instructor demonstrating these “Ki”
techniques begins to believe in his or her own illusion of power, forgetting
the other human dynamics involved. It reminds me of the old fable “The
Emperors New Clothes”. It is actually relatively easy to resist “Ki”
demonstration techniques. For example, to be able to lift up a demonstrator
who claims he can’t be lifted, one just needs to bend his knees and
get under the center of gravity of the demonstrator. From that position
it is easy to lift anyone up. When these demonstrations are exposed, the
power of these imitation Sensei disappears as well.
If you watch a thin elderly instructor that seems to be able to defy anyone
to bend his arm, it looks like magic. But there is another factor to examine
in these demonstrations; that being the relationship between Sensei and
student.
Speaking from experience, I can relate my feelings about being an uchideshi
and uke to the Founder, Morihei Ueshiba. Perhaps only those students who
actually practiced with the Founder will truly understand my feelings.
As full-time students of the Founder, our respect for him was of course
paramount. Especially towards the end of his life, if the Founder asked
his students to “push against him as hard as they could”, there
was not one student among us who could do that. It was not that we were
not able to physically push him, it was that we couldn’t.
At the age of eighty-six, the Founder commanded so much respect for his
life and accomplishments, that no student of any rank, even 7th or 8th
dan, were able to breach this level of respect. Beyond the obvious differences
in rank and experience, I feel this was part of the true “Ki”
power the Founder possessed. It is understandable when looking at old
photos of the Founder resisting the efforts of ten students pushing on
his body to think it looks like magic. As one who was there, his power
was derived from his presence, not from magic. At the height of his physical
prowess, I have no doubt that he used technique to keep students from
overpowering him. I attribute his powers at the age of 86 to real “Sensei
power”, the personal power he possessed after a life time of hardships
and accomplishments. Not only in the world of Martial arts, leaders world
–wide who have reached this level command this type of respect from
those around them.
For the past ten years, I have been personally researching the life of
my teacher, Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba. I have followed his footsteps,
traveling to Hokkaido and even Mongolia in order to understand the life
that he led. I have conducted countless interviews, and collected volumes
of information on the political and social conditions of the times of
his youth, including who the Founder associated with, family histories,
data on climate and geographical point of references. I have also collected
artifacts from the same era and locations, including tools, clothing and
utensils.
I have conducted this research not to write a book, but to discover for
myself what happened in the Founders life to give him the personal presence
he possessed as I knew him later in his life. What gave him the powers
that made it impossible to push him over when asked? I wanted proof for
the real ‘”Sensei power” he possessed. For me personally,
it is important to have correct historical information about the Founder.
If not, it is very difficult for me to teach with whole- hearted conviction.
If an instructor misunderstands this, then of course so will his students.
I wish to know and teach the truth.
The art of Aikido was developed by Morihei Ueshiba. This of course we
know. What happened in the Founders life before he became the Founder
of Aikido had a direct influence on his character. During my research,
I discovered that the events that shaped the Founders life did not just
happen to him... he made them happen.
The Founder began his study of the martial arts under Daito Ryu Aikijujitsu
Founder Sokaku Takeda Sensei. This is a fact that has been proven through
many different sources. Throughout his life, I have discovered, the Founder
experienced many trials and hardships. At twenty-eight he led a colony
of settlers into the mountains of Hokkaido. Before and during WW II, the
Founder Ueshiba risked everything to become a religious activist, gambling
with his life to venture to Mongolia in search of a utopian society. In
1945 after WWII, the Founder changed his philosophies from right wing
militarism; becoming an activist for peace. It was at this time that the
Founder began to teach Aikido as the art of love and harmony.
The Founder was naturally gifted when it came to insight and intuition.
He knew when and how to stay ahead of shifting political and social realities.
With WWII drawing to a close, the Founder, based on inside knowledge he
had gathered from his former military connections, made his own political
move. He moved to the rural town of Iwama, becoming a farmer. The end
of the war brought hunger, and to survive, people first needed food. At
Iwama the Founder fill two purposes, feeding the growing number of students
returning from the war, and creating a new life for the art of Aikido.
This was not the first time the Founder had established a new settlement.
The Founders experiences in Hokkaido facing starvation and his experiences
in Mongolia facing a firing squad, gave him the inner resources to be
able to adapt to new crisis effectively.
In closing, searching for Ki Power does not help your practice of Aikido.
Becoming consumed with finding “Ki” will not lead you any closer
to finding it. Work hard to break free from limiting concepts and illusions.
The goal of all young Aikidoists should be a healthy active physical practice
based in reality. “Motion and Sweat”, and “Beyond Ki”
are themes that can be practiced diligently. As Aikidoists, first we must
continue to practice techniques. There is no instant understanding; there
is no miracle Aikido pill. If we continue our practice, by the time we
reach the age of 86 maybe we will be able to understand true “Ki”
and “Real Sensei Power”. I wish for all young people a future
of Aikido practice filled with the challenges and rewards of “Motion
and Sweat”.
Written by Gaku Homma Sensei
December 12, 2001