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The Journey to
the Aikido Humanitarian Active Network
By Gaku Homma Sensei
Nippon Kan Founder
I have been practicing Aikido for more than 40
years, and I am still pondering what it is that I have learned. I have
seen the different ways Aikido is portrayed and perceived externally,
and the behind-the-scenes problems the major Aikido organizations have
faced.
I wonder if we as a society of Aikidoists are really practicing what the
Founder taught us. It seems to me that we may be missing his message of
humanity and love. I have watched instructors and students who seem to
be self-absorbed and isolated in their practice. They seem to concentrate
primarily on their own development and promotion. I am afraid that this
is a very narrow and limiting understanding of what Aikido can be and
can give others the wrong impression about the true nature of Aikido.
The world of Aikido is not governed like other martial arts by tournaments
that determine who are the most skilled or powerful. Therefore anyone
can claim to be an instructor and justify his or her own personal interpretations.
I have watched amateur “Aikido analysts” portray Aikido with
words instead of practice, whose primary format of Aikido experience has
been discussions on the Internet. (This is not in reference to Aikido
Journal or other major professional on-line publications). Many instructors
make wonderful speeches about Aikido and the art of peace, but not many
are active leaders, who lead by doing, not by what they say we
are to do. To me, to retreat from the world and build an Aikido commune
and Aiki shrine deep in the mountains is more indicative of self-glorification
than true understanding of Aikido. Instructors who preach flowery concepts
not based in reality, do not lead others to understand themselves or the
world. Using the words of the Founder as a shroud to hide behind reveals
a basic lack of understanding.
By simply practicing Aikido in a dojo, are we changing or improving the
world around us? Just one step outside the dojo, you can find homelessness,
poverty, drugs, unemployment and crime. Merely practicing Aikido by itself
does not change this.
Every time we step outside, we are in contact with real life. We can’t
forget that Aikido is only a small part of a big world. I always make
the point to my students that true understanding does not come from the
practice of martial arts only. We need to widen our scope of study to
truly understand the role martial arts play in human development.
Where do martial arts come from? Human beings make martial arts. Martial
arts do not make human beings. This is a very basic point that needs
to be understood. It is very important to study how history, political
climates and ideologies have affected the development of martial arts.
Without understanding these greater issues and their application, it is
impossible to understand the purpose of the Aikido we all practice.
We now live in a time of relative peace in the United States and Japan,
therefore, we speak of Aikido in terms of love and peace. However, throughout
the history of Japan and other countries whose political realities have
not been as stable, martial arts have been studied as a means to control
others or as a means of survival. There is evidence of this in the history
of all martial arts, including the history of Aikido. In Korea and China
especially, the role Aikido has played in history has had its regrettable
aspects.
There are more current examples of applications of Aikido that are not
based in “love and harmony”. In an era where the basis of Aikido
philosophy is one of peace, Aikido is taught and used by the Myanmar (Burmese)
military and government law enforcement to suppress democratic reform
activities in that country. Myanmar activist Tsu Yan Chi, through Japanese
support organizations, petitioned Hombu Doshu Ueshiba to stop sending
Japanese Aikido instructors to Myanmar. To date this situation still has
not been remedied, and Aikido is being taught as a means of suppression.
There are very interesting experiences in the life of Founder Morihei
Ueshiba that need to be examined and understood to appreciate his ultimate
accomplishments. Their importance is mainly historical, but it is essential
to understand the Founder as a man, a man of many dreams, but also of
many trials and tribulations.
In 1905, Japan had colonized Korea, and in 1906 invaded and colonized
parts of what now lie in the northern Manchurian region of China. Mongolia
lay north of these provinces between what is now China to the south and
Russia to the north. Koulong (present day Ulaanbaatar), the capitol city
of Mongolia, during this era, had more than 800 Tibetan Buddhist temples
and monasteries with thousands of monks living in them. Tibetan Buddhism
was flourishing, and the monks wielded political power in the region while
maintaining their spiritual ties to the people of Mongolia.
To keep a strong hold in these territories, the Japanese needed to increase
their military presence. They needed natural resources and strategic positioning,
and they looked toward Mongolia. Russia, as well, had its eye on Mongolia
and had begun to form ties with the Mongolian government. The Japanese
were well aware that the Russians would not be kind to the Buddhist Monks
if they gained control of Mongolia. This was an opening that the Japanese
government thought it could use.
In the world’s political arena in the very early 1900s, the United
States and Europe had condemned Japan for overt military actions in the
region, so Japan resorted to more covert forms of maneuvering in these
new territories.
At this time, China was not nationalized, and there were many power struggles
between rival factions and clans. The Japanese Kanto Tokumukikan (covert
branch of the Japanese government) supported Chinese revolutionary groups.
One group in northern Manchurian was headed by a political leader named
Cho, whose ultimate goal was to conquer all of China. In his service was
a special agent named Ro who had experience in Mongolian affairs.
Covertly through the Japanese Kanto Tokomukikan, one strategy was to send
Onisaburo Deguchi, the leader of the Omoto Kyo religion along with members
of elite northern Chinese revolutionary groups to Mongolia to try to influence
the religious leaders to join the Japanese. Strategically for the Japanese
military, one way of taking control of the country was to take control
of the Buddhist priests and the influence they held in Mongolia. In 1924
Founder Morihei Ueshiba left for Mongolia with Onisaburo Deguchi, the
leader of the Omoto Kyo religion. The Founder had been teaching martial
arts to members of the Omoto Kyo religion at the time. It was a time of
unrest for the Omoto Kyo religion clan and they were faced with tremendous
government persecution for their popular yet radical ideologies. One of
Deguchi’s biographies says that he went to Mongolia after a divine
inspiration to find and build a religious utopia. It is said that he left
in the dark of night to escape religious persecution. Another possibility
was that he knew of the military strategy at hand and had negotiated his
release from probation.
It is written that Onisaburo Deguchi and his entourage, including Founder
Ueshiba, set out for Mongolia in pursuit of a dream. One question is whose
dream was it? Onisaburo Deguchi attempted to enter Mongolia under the
guise of being the reincarnated Dalai Lama Suzun Khan. The Founder Ueshiba
had also changed his name and identity. In their entourage were members
of the Chinese revolutionaries supported by the Japanese Kanto Tokumukikan.
Their mission was not successful however, and they never reached Mongolia.
Had they been successful, would the Japanese military have been far behind?
Countries, even continents, all over the world have been conquered first
by religious missionaries followed by military rule. Throughout history,
religion and politics have in many instances gone hand in hand.
This correlation is not mentioned in biographies on the Founder. This
period in his history has simply been recorded as an “ordeal.”
I have trouble believing that the Founder Ueshiba, then a man in his forties,
truly believed he was looking for Utopia when he went to Mongolia. In
an era of wartime ideology and political strategy he must have been aware
of other reasons he could be sent to Mongolia. If he truly believed that
he could build a utopian society in someone else’s country, this
shows a bit of arrogance towards the peoples and cultures of the country
he attempted to reach.
Fortunately for the development of Aikido, the entourage was arrested
by the Chinese (who had previously supported them), before they reached
the Mongolian border. Out of fear of repercussions by the Japanese military,
the Chinese led by Mr. Cho, spared Onisaburo Deguchi and his party and
sent them back to Japan. Ironically, a few years later in 1928, Mr. Cho
himself was killed by the Japanese military. After his return to Japan
however, the Founders relationship with Manchuria was not over.
Tensions continued to mount in the region and in 1931 the Japanese military
covertly through the Kanto Tokumukikan, executed one of their own Japanese
high ranking military officers and blamed the Chinese. This was an excuse
for an out-right invasion and with the help of Chinese Emperor Fugi of
the Shin dynasty, the Japanese invaded and declared the country of Manchuria
under Japanese rule. Setting up their own government in Manchuria, the
Japanese began the task of converting Manchuria into a Japanese state.
In 1939, Kenkoku University was built in Manchuria as a demonstration
of the solidarity and strength of Japanese rule. At that time, Aikido
was taught as a major field at the Kenkoku University in Manchuria. The
Founder, Morihei Ueshiba while remaining in Japan, was an advisory director
to the Kenkoku University in Manchuria. In 1941 the Founder also became
an advisory director of the Manchurian Shin Buden Martial Art Association.
As part of the Japanese effort to maintain control in Manchuria, martial
arts including Aikido were presented as a show of domination; not as arts
of peace and harmony. This image of cruelty of the Japanese military leaders
during WWII has been a legacy that Japan still suffers from today in many
parts of the world.
As the war continued, the Founder Ueshiba, being a very intelligent man
and also being very involved with the Japanese military, could see the
tide turning against Japan. He began to take actions to protect himself
and those around him. In 1940, five years before the end of the war, the
Founder established the Yagai dojo (an outside practice area) in the small
country town of Iwama, east of Tokyo. Three years before the end of the
war in 1943, the Founder, proclaiming enlightenment, left Tokyo headquarters
and retreated to Iwama, where he built the Iwama dojo and Aiki shrine.
It was then that he began to talk of Aikido as the art of love and peace.
After the end of the war, during GHQ occupation of Japan, the military
police could find little to complain about during a visit to Iwama. Deep
in the countryside, surrounded by chestnut trees, suwariwaza (kneeling
techniques) was practiced at the Iwama dojo. If anything, to the GHQ it
looked like a strange local dance more than it did a martial art form.
Secretly Ueshiba and his students practiced suburi (weapons training)
using hoe handles for bokken and ladle handles for jos. Stored in the
farming tool sheds, the handles did not look like anything used for the
practice of a martial art. This practice became the origin of Iwama style
Aikido. During this time at Iwama, the Founder’s open-hand Aikido
practice was always a silent practice. Usually the practice was held on
wooden floors, which were too hard to hit or land hard on. Even if practicing
on tatami, no kiai were allowed. For the rest of his life, the Founder
continued practice at Iwama in this fashion.
It is at this point in history that we begin to see a split in styles
between the Aikido practiced at Tokyo Headquarters and the Aikido practiced
at Iwama. At Tokyo Headquarters after WWII and in my memory in 1967, bokken
and jo were not used for public practice. The Aikido style practiced at
Hombu looked very mild to keep a peaceful image; it was not martial at
all in appearance. This was an intentional deception to quiet any suspicions
by GHQ, but in my opinion was also a deliberate act on the part of the
Founder. Remembering that it is people that make martial arts, I believe
the Founder at this point planted two seeds, each sprouting into two different
styles of Aikido. In diversification, there is strength.
Jumping forward in time to 1964, demonstrations at the Tokyo Olympics
had made the practice of Aikido famous, and its popularity was spreading
quickly, especially in the United States and Europe. Bruce Lee was making
his debut on the movie screen and had started a martial arts boom that
would last for decades. In the 1970s while still enjoying a surge of growth,
there was little organization, structure or standards for teaching Aikido.
Techniques were called by different names depending on where they were
being taught, and everyone was teaching independently. In the United States
the demand for Japanese instructors was high, and rank or qualification
was not a major issue. Anyone who was Japanese could teach Aikido in the
United States. Obviously the quality of instruction went down.
The realization was made that a unifying structure was needed and an organization
was created. Unfortunately, by the time this structure was put into place,
instructors had already established territories on their own. Especially
in the United States, when the new organizational body drew new territorial
lines, infighting began over territory, money and students. The original
goals of practicing Aikido and trying to discover its meaning and application
were lost in a fight over money and power.
I have said that human beings make Aikido. Aikido does not make human
beings. The Founder Ueshiba’s contributed greatly to our world, but
his life too had its twists and turns. His journey was filled with many
travels, many trials and many tribulations, but it is through a life filled
with hardship that one can find the most meaning. There is a famous story
about a Zen Roshi who had spent years in the practice of meditation and
dedication to others. One evening while taking a stroll in the temple
garden he hit his shinbone on a rock. At that very instant he achieved
enlightenment and retold his experience to the young monks at the temple.
The next evening all of the young monks hurried to the garden and began
hitting their shinbones on the rock.
For us to try to understand the Founders message without understanding
his journey is like the young monks trying to find enlightenment by hitting
their shinbones on a rock.
The Founders final message was that “Budo (Martial Arts) is Love”.
In a way, he left a labeled package for us but never truly revealed its
meaning or the contents of this package. He left many poems, and many
have tried to interpret them, but these interpretations remind me of the
young monks and the rock in the garden.
For example, I remember a photo that used to be popular entitled “Peace,”
that showed a close-up view of two men, arms and hands outstretched towards
one another about to engage in kokyudosa. Looking at it with a literal
eye, I find the photo a little scary. If you think about it, one second
after that photo was taken, the two wrestled each other until one had
a dominant position over the other on the mat. I really don’t find
that very peaceful. The focus of the photo is too narrow to fully understand
the concept of “Peace” as the Founder saw it.
To truly understand the meaning of “Budo is Love,” I believe
we need to look at these words in a wider context. To accept the words
without further, wider reflection is to miss the meaning of these words.
We need to study what might be inside the package and how we can apply
it to our lives. This is the purpose of our practice. Recanting the “label”
does not accomplish this.
In the package is another hint from the Founder about the origin of Aikido:
that Aikido is derived from bokken and jo movements. He did not leave
us clear relationships between these two forms or weapons katas for practice.
The bokken and jo katas now practiced in Iwama ryu were created from his
memory of the Founder by Morihiro Saito Shihan, 9th dan.
As Aikidoists there are two subjects of study and discovery in the package
the Founder left for us. One is philosophical, and the other is physical.
“Budo is Love” is a very large package. The fact that martial
arts have been used to dominate others like the monks in Mongolia is not
love. Or is it? It is the discrepancies that we need to investigate and
think about. We must discover these for ourselves, not just accept slogans
blindly. The photo of the two men practicing kokyudosa is nice, but it
is important to look outside the lines of the image. Blind acceptance
is not understanding.
Like a koan in the practice of Zen, it is important to question for yourself.
This type of training and self-discovery may sound difficult, but is actually
easier because you can do it yourself. For self-discovery you don’t
always need other people.
There is a Zen story about a village looking for a lost cow. A cow wandered
from the temple in the center of town and disappeared. Search parties
were sent out, and they looked and looked for the cow. Every path they
searched branched into more paths, which branched into more paths. Finally
there were not enough villagers to search every path, and they all returned
to the temple. Outside the temple, the priest looked down on the disheartened
villagers and told them, “Don’t worry, the cow is not lost,
it was never lost. The cow is here, and has always been here.”
Applying this to the present day world of Aikido, I see instructors struggling
at times like the villagers searching for the cow. The cow in this case
being the meaning of our Aikido practice. Truly, you do not need to look
farther than yourself. Collectively, if you can understand this as a dojo,
the dojo will grow and become stronger, as will each individual inside
the dojo.
The older I become, the more I think that what is in the package we need
to discover for ourselves. Human beings make Aikido, Aikido does not make
human beings. The Founder left us the “labeled package” but
it is up to us to fill the package. The package is ourselves.
To fill the package, we first need to have a positive lifestyle and a
positive self-image. We need to listen to ourselves continuously. This
way the box will fill naturally. The Founder said that every day is misogi
waza, which translates as “ridding oneself of Jyaki,” a concept
that has passed down from ancient times in Japan. Jyaki translates, as
a negative mind that pursues material desires, the desire for fame resulting
in hatred, jealousy etc. The Shinto phrase, “Masakatsu agatsu Kachi
Hayabi” has a similar translation.
To fill the package, we start with the things we can do today. This is
the first step. Yesterday and tomorrow are not as important as what you
do today. For example, Let’s say your goal is to become a marathon
runner. This is a positive goal. You may not be ready to run a race, but
today you can stretch and walk a short distance. This is the first step,
and it is a positive step toward your goal.
In 1980, I found myself one Sunday standing in the kitchen at the Denver
Rescue Mission. Being “Sensei,” I usually find myself teaching
in front of students. But one day I asked myself, “Is it really right
to be “Sensei” all of the time?” So I put myself in a different
position and began volunteering to make meals for the homeless. This was
my first “step.”
Today, I have been cooking at the Denver Rescue Mission for 11 years,
and to date, we have served over 25,000 meals. It is much easier now.
Many of my students help prepare and serve the dinners each month, and
every year we hold a seminar to raise funds to support this project. Nippon
Kan’s volunteer efforts have expanded to include volunteer service
twice a year assisting the Denver Parks and Recreation Department. Over
the past ten years, we have saved the City of Denver over $500,000 in
labor costs and have received two Resolutions of Commendation from the
Denver City Council. All of this began with a first step.
In Denver, Nippon Kan is not known only as a martial art dojo. Nippon
Kan’s “package” has been filled with many other positive
activities. The reward for participation in positive activities is a positive
circulation of energy. Dojo members are proud of their accomplishments
and contributions to the community. Their energy attracts new students
with the same goals and ideals. The dojo grows, filling the “package”
with positive ideas. As the “package” is filled with community
exchange and communication, the size and scope of the “package”
changes as well. It is for this reason that Nippon Kan began a new project
this year, a worldwide project called AHAN. (Aikido Humanitarian Active
Network).
In July of 2000, Nippon Kan began building a bridge that reached all the
way around the globe to Mongolia. We built the foundation through cultural
exchange with a friendship tour hosted by our new Mongolian friends. This
year in July 2001, we expanded the scope of the project by searching for
a more humanitarian application. Through our contacts in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia’s
capitol city), we were able to make contact with the National Association
of Support for the Orphans of Mongolia, a government sponsored agency
of the Mongolian Department of Labor and the General Intelligence Agency.
We were touched by what we saw when we visited the orphanage school and
summer camp. We met 250 children who were living on .41 cents per day
for food, clothing, shelter, medical supplies and education. We were able
to donate children’s clothing, medical supplies and $1,500.00, which
enabled the orphanage to buy a computer. Before we left, Nippon Kan and
AHAN pledged to support this orphanage with $1,500 per month for the next
five years, which amounts to $18,000 per year. We also pledged to continue
clothing and medical supply donations. By increasing the budget for these
children by even .50 cents a day will increase their quality of life dramatically.
It will also allow the orphanage to bring more children in off the streets.
This initial donation was derived from my book and other publication sales
and private student donations.
Our goal now to honor our pledge and help our “package” grow
around the world. Many of our students have made a pledge to support AHAN
with a $10.00 monthly donation, or $120.00 per year. It is our hope that
you will join us in this fund-raising effort. (Link to how to become an
AHAN member).
Nippon Kan also has many fundraising plans ahead. This Labor Day, September
3, 2001, A taiko drumming concert will be held at Nippon Kan and Domo
Restaurant and Gardens to promote cross-cultural exchange and to support
our humanitarian efforts,. This concert will feature the internationally
renowned Kyo Gaku drummers from Matsukawa Japan. The Kyo Gaku drummers
were featured at the opening ceremony at the 1998 Winter Olympics held
in Nagano, Japan. We are expecting over 300 people to attend.
Next year Nippon Kan has other exciting events on the horizon. We will
be featuring another musical cross-cultural exchange event featuring a
well-known and talented group of Mongolian Soyol folk singers from the
National Music University in Ulaanbaatar.
Another tour is scheduled to Mongolia in July of 2002. The title for this
tour is “The Great Mongolian Caravan Tour” and the focus of
this tour is to continue the dream of the Founder Morihei Ueshiba with
an Aikido Caravan of Practice. All Aikidoists, beyond style or affiliation,
around the world are invited and welcome to join us for this special event.
This special journey will combine cross-cultural exchange, humanitarian
efforts and Aikido practice.
I believe that the key for the success of any dojo is the active combination
of Aikido practice, cross-cultural exchange and humanitarian efforts.
The benefit of this kind of individual effort cannot be realized by attending
a hundred seminars with a thousand instructors.
From its beginning in the United States, Nippon Kan has been an independent
dojo. I have had no Sensei or instructor to look to for guidance. It is
through the individual efforts of myself and my students that have made
Nippon Kan the organization it is today. One of the main purposes of training
at Nippon Kan has been the research and development of the Aikido of the
Founder. To successfully understand this has been a process in reaching
out and contributing to our surrounding community. This is truly Aikido
for Life.
It is up to all of us to choose our path of training. Whether we stay
locked inside or reach out to others is our decision to make. Locked inside
we are like the light of a small single candle. If we reach out together,
the light of one candle becomes the light of ten, then 100 until the light
is bright enough that we can truly see what can be achieved through Aikido.
I invite all Aikidoists from around the world to join together through
AHAN to shine a light for a brighter world.
I hope you will be able to understand my philosophy and point of view
on the Aikido we practice.
Thank you,
Gaku Homma Sensei
Nippon Kan Kancho
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