Center for Aikido and Tang Soo Do
Studies
February 2004 Newsletter
________________________________________
In Praise of the Ki of the
Universe
By Koichi Tohei
Vast is the Universe and
boundless with Ki!
What superb vitality it
contains . . .
Filling us full of life.
Without color or odor or form,
Mystery to our Forebearers,
Who thought it to be beyond
the grasp of Man.
At last the time has come
When here and now we can
experience
the essence of Ki
With our own minds and bodies.
Dojo
News
By Dave Margrave
By now, almost everyone has heard
that Sensei / Sa Bom got into a battle with a mechanical gate at work. The gate won, and it was not
pretty. The injury was severe.
Every tragedy contains a gift. Sensei has been succeeding in finding the
gift in this one. He has maintained an
extremely positive attitude. Two days
after the injury, he was back on the mat – one handed, but keeping active,
extending ki!
We all wish you a speedy recovery,
Sensei / Sa Bom!
Ryan and Hal did a serious upgrade
to the website. They added many photos,
and – for the first time – video clips. Check it out!
Thanks, guys!
A few weeks ago, Ryan San observed
that we more Aikido students showed up than the dojo has seen in years. It is great to have an enthusiastic showing,
even if the mat is crowded! We may also
have a record number of articles submitted for this newsletter. Thanks to all who contributed! You can email submissions for the next issue
of the newsletter to me at DMargrave@CS.com.
We welcome Mike Mark, and his sons,
Dan, David, and John. (David and I have
a deal: I am “Dave,” he is “David.”)
Welcome also to Marc Gaechter and Mark Soppe. Welcome also to
Brad Pierso, who comes to us from the Loveland Aikido dojo. It’s great to have yet another shodan to toss
Jack Hoyt and me around during testing!
Paige Lewis showed her shining face
in the dojo again after a short sabbatical.
Oldtimers have returned after years of absence. Prodigal son Allen Coons is back, after years
of absence. Even Phil Ranger stopped by
to say hi! Welcome back!
Paige introduced me to an
excellent book about ki, and the life of
Koichi Tohei Sensei, entitled, A Road That Anyone Can Walk: Ki, by William Reed. If you want to borrow it, let Paige or me
know. I also found a book entitled Ki: A Practical Guide to the Healing Principles
of Life Energy, by Mallory Fromm, which I will be glad to lend out. (Tim Speaks has first dibs.)
Belated congratulations are in order. Ryan and Debby’s baby Mason (think of the
jar) was born November 14th. And
congratulations on the wedding, Tim and Gloriana!
I will be gone on a three-week vacation, January 22nd through February 15th
(possibly longer). I will meet 6th
dan Rodney Grantham, who trained with Koichi Tohei, and in Japan, and now lives
in Scaly Mountain, North Carolina. His
wife Janet is a 3rd dan. If you are good
to me, I might share some of Rodney and Janet’s videotapes and “war stories”
with you when I return!
THE
SAMURAI
By Ryan Goettsche
The History Channel recently
broadcast an interesting program on the samurai. I found it very informative about their perceptions
about who they were and what they were about.
These are some of the points made by the program.
The samurai originally started as a
band of warriors employed by the emperor to go from village to village and
collect taxes. After they realized how
powerful they were, the samurai began to create their own pseudo-governments,
controlled by a warlord samurai. The
emperor became a figurehead with no real power over the country. With the separation of clans came civil wars,
which lasted for hundreds of years. By
no means was the civil war era a wonderful time to live. There was always a power struggle among the
clans, and the commoners paid the price.
Portuguese explorers then came to
Japan and introduced gunpowder and firearms.
Japan became the highest manufacturer of firearms for the time. At first, most samurai rejected the new
weapons, as people tend to do with any new technology. Eventually the samurai did start using
firearms.
With the civil wars continuing, one
leader finally managed to close Japan off from all outsiders, and banned the
production of firearms. Japan then
became united under one leader and moved into a time of relative peace. Since there were no more wars, the samurai
became heads of states and leaders in the community. They found it necessary to apply their
philosophies and codes of conduct toward a different purpose. The concept of Bushido was born.
This period of peace and solitude
lasted until the mid 19th century when the United States came in and
regarding-opened trading by threat of military force. The United States told Japan to open its
doors to world trade of suffer the consequences. So ended the days of the samurai.
For the samurai, everything revolved
around honor. Whenever they entered a challenge
they would state their names and their lineage.
If they were ever disgraced they would have to commit suicide to save
the honor of their lineage. The samurai
always had somebody there beside him to behead him in case he couldn’t go
through with it. During battle they
would behead their enemies to take to their lord as proof that the enemy was
dead and they would receive gifts for their work.
There was also a political game
going on between the clans, which were played out by marrying between the
clans. The marriages and alliances were
almost always shaky at best. Once a
woman entered into the samurai lineage, she was also granted the same status as
the samurai himself though for the most part never becoming a warrior. Whenever the samurai were away for battles,
the women were expected to be able to defend the home.
During the civil war era, Japan endured bloodshed and
pain with so much life wasted for the taste of power. I think that the period of time when Japan
was closed off from outsiders was when the final lesson was learned. Not to say that it became a utopian society,
but compared to where it was they made major changes. Then we entered the picture. Go figure.
The
Useless Tree
By Hal Render
[Note from Hal San: This is a chapter from Thomas Merton’s The
Way of Chuang Tzu, a translation of the writings of Chinese Taoist
philosopher Chuang Tzu. Chuang Tzu was
the second (after Lao Tzu) of the great Taoist philosophers of China. Taoism is the philosophy that studies tao,
“The Way.” Taoism influenced many
branches of Asian philosophy and religion.
Its influence on Buddhism produced the branch known in China as Ch’an
and in Japan as Zen. As such, Taoism is
one of the core philosophies that informs traditional Asian martial arts. One should note that the Japanese word for
tao is do, as in Aikido.]
Hui Tzu said to Chuang:
I have a big tree,
The kind they call a
“stinktree.”
The trunk is so distorted,
So full of knots,
No one can get a straight
plank
out of it. The branches are so crooked
You cannot cut them up
In any way that makes sense.
There it stands beside the
road.
No carpenter will even look
at it.
Such is your teaching –
Big and useless.
Chuang Tzu replied:
Have you ever watched the
wildcat
Crouching, watching his prey
–
This way it leaps, and that
way,
High and low, and at last
Lands in the trap.
But have you seen the yak?
Great as a thundercloud
He stands in his might.
Big? Sure,
He can’t catch mice!
So, for your big tree. No use?
Then plant it in the
wasteland
In emptiness.
Walk idly around,
Rest under its shadow;
No axe or bill prepares its
end.
No one will ever cut it down.
Useless? You should worry!
A
Moment in Time
By Sam George
When I bow at the door of the dojo
it centers me as to why I practice.
When I bow to Ryan San it is to say:
How are you, glad you’re here, thanks for spending your time with us.
When I bow to a beginner, it is to
say: Thank you for being here. I hope we can share this time and learn from
it.
When I bow to my partner after a
difficult time it is to say: All is
okay. We begin anew next time. Go in peace.
When I am waiting to get onto the
mat and I’m late, it is to say: I know I
am late, but I choose to train today anyway.
When bowing to O’Sensei at the
beginning of the class, it is to say:
Thank you for giving us this art to practice in this holy place.
Some things to think about when you
bow might be:
1. Take time
to bow.
2. Be centered
when you bow.
3. Be
sincere when you bow.
4. Be in
your one point.
5. Weight
underside.
6. Breathe.
7. Extend.
8. Bow four
directions at once.
9. Be
mindful of your intention when you bow.
In conclusion, I find that when I
bow to another person, time slows down.
I feel the moment, as does the other person does. It is so hard to explain what is shared that
I must assume the feeling is mutual.
That is what my intention is.
Hello from Brad Pier
By Brad Pier
I am new to the Springs area. Thank
you all for the welcome and chance to practice Aikido at your dojo.
A little background info: I started Aikido practice in the 80's at
Nippon-Kan with Gaku Homma Sensei. After
some moving around, I wound up living in Loveland, Co, And practicing Aikido
with Kent Hinesley Sensei. Recent
changes have brought me here. I am still getting settled in the area. Sensei's recent talk about beginner’s mind
struck true to me. Moving to a new practice, with new instructors and students,
reinforced this concept to me. I hope to
enter each practice with a learning attitude. This keeps practice a new and
stimulating affair.
I look forward to learning and
practicing with everyone at your [oops] our
dojo.
What
Am I Going to Say?
By Mark Crary
[WHAT AM I GOING TO
SAY? I don't really know, so I'll just
babble a little and we'll see what comes
out . . . . ]
First: Welcome to all of our new members! I hope you
all enjoy training with us. As you will
come to know, the more people you have to train with, the better. Be sure that
your presence is valued, and that the senior
members will be learning from you just as (hopefully) you'll be learning
from us. I know it might seem a little
crowded on the mat sometimes, but there has always been room for one more, and
I believe that is the way it will always be.
Try to train on a regular
basis. Twice a week is good, but for me,
I make better progress when I can train three times. Just come with an open mind and be ready to
practice, and we'll all grow in our Aikido and our lives. It might sound strange to a beginner, but for
me, Aikido has put me through more changes in my outlook on life than anything
ever before. I still cannot believe how
many lessons I learn on the mat that have practical (although I don't always
know it at the time) applications off the mat.
Along those lines: talking with Sensei after his accident, we
somehow wound up on the subject of decision-making processes. It seems many people (myself included
sometimes) tend to make decisions based on emotions instead of logic. Every time I have done that, I have been
slapped down. Sometimes very hard. (OUCH
-- another learning experience . . . .)
After hanging up, it occurred to me that
this is a lesson I have been taught on the mat more times than I could
count. Ask any Sempai – if your emotions
from a bad day come on the mat, nothing works.
If you set out to prove how well you can do a technique, your ego wrecks
it before you even have moved.
The only way Aiki happens is when
you are in the moment, with no emotions or ego involved, and with an
"empty mind." That is when the
"truth" of Aikido is found, and the "logic" of the technique
is clear to see. Is it the same as when
you consider a choice with a clear mind, and logically consider the options
(and the outcome of those options)? (Did
I say that right?)
And to Sensei: So sorry to hear about your accident. I am sure it is a major blow, and I can only
imagine what all is on your mind, what with work, guitar, training, and the
regular day to day. BUT, if I know you,
it won't be a problem for long.
Well, so now we know what's gonna
come out . . . .
We
All Make Mistakes
By Gihan Cathcart
We all make mistakes, and we’ve all
done things that we regret. Taking a
moment from our busy lives to reflect on our choices and actions helps us to
learn about ourselves. Asking an
objective person may offer some insight, but we need to do a bit of reflection
ourselves. Only we know what the truth
is.
In Tangsoology, the practitioners
learn to always do their best, to recognize falseness and to align with
truth. Truth, not the tinted version we
fool ourselves into believing.
It seems that recent situations that
members of our club find themselves in, including myself, all stem from
misguided choices. Trying to justify our
wrong choices just deludes us into thinking they were the right ones, but this
only perpetuates the circumstance. What
is worse is that if nothing is learned from our mistakes then life will
continue as it has before.
Once a mistake is recognized and the
results remedied, nothing is going to change unless effort and action is made
toward changing our thinking and toward self-improvement.
Proper etiquette and discipline go a
long way toward this goal. Practice
etiquette in class, but also carry this practice into your daily life. Properly setting the table with forks on the
left (first to be used is placed on the extreme left) and knife then spoon on
the right (knife with blade facing the plate) is a simple way to follow
etiquette at home. Being organized at
home will also carry a sense of order into your thoughts and actions in daily
life.
Try not to dwell on the mistakes that
have already been made. Learn to
recognize what can be changed and what cannot.
These are just a few things that I have learned in the past eight months
or so.
Clarity
By Langdon Foss
Our culture clamors for change. Steeping in the blame and fear that is almost
prerequisite to being an American citizen these days, a person will almost
always admit that something in the world needs to be altered. That something might be today’s rebellious
youth, or it might be the America-hating terrorists, or it might be the
parasitic welfare class, or the corporate lap-dogs of the Right, the
unpatriotic, socialist Left, or the godless homosexuals. Whatever is deemed to be the necessary
modification leading to a bright tomorrow, it is sadly unlikely that a person
will considers that factor to be himself.
How remote the possibility of
effective change can be, then, when it is difficult even to identify one’s self
as part of the problem. When that
miraculous realization has taken place, what then? Nothing can be effectively changed, no
problem solved, without clarity of understanding of the situation and our role
in the situation.
We in this culture are lost in a
storm of our own thoughts and impulses.
Like Orobouros the serpent, unknowingly consuming its own tail, we
wrestle against the forces in our lives, unaware that we are the source of
those demiurgical vectors. How can one
possibly escape the quicksand without first looking up to find the vine?
The mind can be a terrifying place,
a hall of mirrors endlessly reflecting its own warped and referential visage, a
sight most of us choose to overlook in lieu of a comforting illusion of utter
irreducibility. If one is unwilling to
observe the warp and woof of the fabric of one’s very self, one will continue
to be a tempest of uncontrollable and unpredictable forces of desire, action,
and emotion.
One way to gradually come to term with one’s
psychic topography is to identify an issue in one’s own life and explore it as completely
as one can (or at least as completely as one thinks one can at the time.) Analyzing the root of emotional reaction can
elucidate the subtle currents leading ultimately to conscious action.
Consider a person who doesn’t like
getting her feet dirty, who becomes enraged at her child for tracking dirt into
the house. She can spend hours in
psychoanalysis, dream interpretation and Rorschach testing and possibly find a
logical answer rooted in her childhood and understand her anger. It is doubtful that that would give her the
peace of mind required to put the issue behind her for good. If anything, her answer would be purely
syntactical and rational, difficult to integrate into the rich abstraction of
felt experience.
An option I would put forth is that
she purposefully dirty her own feet as mindfully and completely as she can, to
feel the invisible forces that her mind erects to keep her from that soil. To play with these forces is to be like a
child with an invisible ball, or someone with his hand out the window of a
moving car, feeling the unseen currents of the wind. It might be unpleasant to purposefully seek
out and experience the things we reject, but it can be invaluable in
understanding why we reject them to begin with.
Another possibility that does not
require so direct an approach is simply to visualize. If there’s a quality about someone in
someone’s life we can’t stand, for reasons unknown, there is the possibility of
seeing that reaction clearly. We can
imagine ourselves talking to that person, listening to his point of view,
appreciating the absurd vehicle he drives.
Eventually, by not giving in to the mental twitches and reflexes we
might be able to see that man’s life through his eyes, and ultimately
the chain of events that would lead us to lose patience with him.
Any inhibition we harbor is evidence
of a decision made without our consent, an opportunity lost to better decide
who we are. It might be by the
collective hand of culture that these obscure instructions were written on our
psyches, or it might have been an experience we had as children before it
occurred to us to look carefully at our selves.
One thing is for certain, however.
All of our decisions, emotions and desires are our own responsibility,
and we are in a culture that seeks to make it another’s.
The doorstep of Choronzon, the
keeper of the psychic abyss, is an unpleasant place for the modern ego to
haunt, but it is only within earshot of those winds stripped of linguistic
syntax that we can truly begin to understand what we are. And if we choose not to look within with the
eye of a scientist, what kind of positive change could we possibly effect? We
then run risk of seeing our problems as arising from our government, or our
neighbors, or our children. We have
5,000 years of human history to remind us where that mentality leads.
Struggles
By Jude Miller
While observing the beginner ranks
in Tang Soo Do train the other night, it truly occurred to me how far I had
developed since I first began training in martial arts. However, I have been training approximately
eleven years now and I still remember what it is like to be a beginner. The reason for this is that I still go
through the same struggles as beginners.
Front kicks are still hard for me to execute, stances are still hard to
sit in, and forms are still difficult to perform. I am referring to the very same techniques
that white belt ranks practice.
Tang Soo Do is difficult. Most anyone can train in it, but it is not
for everyone. Very few people can live
up to the task. Basics will be hard for
me to perform for a very long time to come.
Everyone in our club is still a beginner; some just have more knowledge
and experience.
I write this for beginners who may
feel overwhelmed or discouraged. Tang
Soo Do is a never-ending pursuit if you truly desire to learn the art. Train, train hard, and train regularly. That is the only secret. The art will reveal itself to you in good
time.
Have faith in what you train
in. Otherwise, you are simply being
dishonest with yourself and everyone else you train with. However, if you are up to the task and truly
desire to learn the art of Tang Soo Do, simply be genuine and patient in your
effort. Remember, masters are
self-made.
There is no one (besides you) who is
going to promote how you practice or train.
The burden first falls squarely upon you, as the practitioner. What you do with this art is up to you. So choose wisely, and have faith in all that
you do. All things develop and mature at
the correct time and for the correct reason.
Beware of Governments Bearing
Gifts
By Rob Roberts
As
some of you may know, I have been carrying two petitions. One is a petition for a tax cut, and the other
one is to protect and strengthen our right to petition. Carrying these two petitions is basically my
job now, but it is something I believe in.
(See the other article I wrote for our dojo’s last newsletter).
One
of the sponsors of the petitions I’m carrying is the same person who authored
the Taxpayer’s Bill Of Rights (TABOR).
The Taxpayer’s Bill Of Rights forbids the government from raising taxes
without asking permission from the taxpayers first. One person I encountered while carrying my
petitions told me that he wouldn’t sign my petitions because TABOR contains a
provision which will not allow government organizations to accept federal
government funds without consulting the taxpayers first.
For
example, if the federal government wanted to award a school district with a
grant, that school district would not be able to accept the funds unless it
obtained approval from the taxpayers.
I
confess that I have not read all of TABOR, so such a provision might be in the
legislation. For the sake of argument,
let’s suppose it is. Are there any
reasons why we would forbid state government organizations from accepting gifts
from the federal government?
First
of all, taking something which does not belong to you is wrong. Before the government can bestow gifts of
money on a school district, it must first take it (by force, if necessary) from
others. Using force to take something
that doesn’t belong to you is called theft.
For
example, if a robber robs you at gunpoint even if he intends to give it to
charity or feed his family with it, theft is still wrong. Does government rob at gunpoint? Try not
paying a tax because you morally object to how it is to be used, and eventually
armed workers from the government will be at your door. Theft (even through the use of a proxy) is a
violation of Aiki principles.
Secondly,
we do not have a frictionless government.
What I mean by this is that if the state government surrenders an amount
of money to the federal government (call it ‘X’) then the federal government
does not return an equal amount of value or benefits to the people of that
state. (They receive “X” minus “n,”
where “n” is a number greater than zero; usually only 25% of “X” makes it back
to the people it was intended to help.)
The
balance of the money sent off to Washington is diverted into other purposes and
lost to the bureaucracy. Disallowing the
state government to accept this pittance will encourage the state to stop
funneling our money into the federal black hole. Funding aggression is also a violation of
Aiki principles.
For
the government to give me a gift, they must first take something from someone
else. The gift I take may prevent a
borderline income family from sending a child to college. The gift that improves my life may force a
stay at home parent into the workforce, robbing valuable time that parent
should be having with his or her children.
There is no gift worth having that is taken from another against their
will. I personally choose to forsake a
stolen gift and learn to live without it or earn it through my own effort and
sacrifice.
War versus Space Exploration
By Tim Speaks
When
I look up into the clear night sky I see infinite possibilities. I see innumerable worlds apart from ours
where a word like “utopia” can become more than a silly ideology spouted by
some lunatic. I imagine that there
really is life on other planets – intelligent life, not just flesh rotting
bacteria waiting to devour us. I
maintain hope that with mankind’s continued exploration of our universe, we may
yet find other beings with whom to share our thoughts, feelings and viruses.
However,
that sugar-coated pipe dream seems highly unlikely. I hate to play devil’s advocate (I’m lying),
but we’ve got to face the facts, folks. It
seems that for every technological innovation that advances that human race
closer to the stars there are two that bring us closer to total
annihilation.
Just
do a little comparison of the amount of money being spent to blow up crap in
Iraq (and then rebuild it again) with the amount of money spent on the space
program. The current expected price tag
for the Iraqi festivities is something on the order of eighty-seven billion
dollars, compared to a little over fifteen billion dollars for NASA’s expected
2004 budget. Space exploration is only
popular if you can bring back pretty pictures to show the ignorant masses and
real estate developers. War is far more
entertaining as long as no one you know is dying in a flaming helicopter
crash.
To
me, the incomprehensible vastness of space serves as a constant reminder of the
insignificance of our struggles here on Earth.
I think all of us would do well to cultivate our connections with the
universe.
Hopefully
we’ll all live long enough to meet the little green men. Hopefully they won’t just be out to vaporize
us and steal all our gold.
Time
By Jack Hoyt
Time, that item in our lives that makes little
difference at times, but then can mean so much when we don't have it.
Time
to a child means nothing little to nothing, except that it's Time to eat, Time
to sleep, Time to play.
As
one grows older, Time is what you want to spend with your friends. Some Times there is never enough.
In
the teens and early twenties and some Times into the thirties there is always
plenty of Time. If it couldn't be done
today, there was always Time tomorrow.
As
Time passes, it's really not a thought of Time that has passed, but how much is
left to do what was put off when you had the Time. Do I still have Time or do I do it now? Some are granted more Time than others. Some are taken before their Time. You who are young more than likely have lots
of Time. Those that are older? Who knows? Tomorrow will tell the story of
your Time.
The
point is, how you spend your Time now will affect your future, and maybe your
next life, if you so believe. It's all a
matter of Time.
As I
write this, I've about run out of Time and hope to get it to the publisher in
Time. As always, I hope I can make it in
the nick of Time.
Time
can be used only if you take advantage of that . .
. Time.
–
Jack Hoyt 01/18/2004
“This Is Your Brain on Ki”
By Allen Coons
When you use your ki, you develop a little-known section of the brain. A recent scientific study of autopsy findings concerned the brain tissue of particular martial artists. The study focused upon subjects who had practiced actively and performed surprising feats which apparently required highly developed ki.
Those martial artists possessed brains which shared certain surprising characteristics. A particular section of tissue had developed very high “vascular content.” In other words, there were more and larger blood vessels in the average person. The striking part was that one ordinarily cannot detect such differences without a microscope, but here the differences were so large as to be visible to the naked eye. Further research on this is being performed.
The study suggests that a specific area of the brain is more directly associated with ki than others. Developing one’s ki promotes growth in that area. This is physical proof of something Aikido students have always known: the more ki you use, the more you have. The brain is like a muscle: work it, and it becomes stronger.
These results are similar to those found in autopsies on Alzheimer patients. People who keep their minds stimulated are less likely to develop the disease. Idle brains develop gelatinous characteristics. They actually look and feel more like Jello than the typical brain.
Take a look at your brain on idle, and your brain on ki. Any questions? The moral of the story is, keep on thinking, and extend ki!
Why People are Aggressive
By Brian Brogren
Have
you ever pondered the question why Humans are so aggressive? What I am talking
about is why do people call people names, attack and even kill people? It is something most people cannot change in
their lives, but some can control it.
One
idea that I have is that humans are just evolved primates and our instincts are
among us. Or humans have just found a
way to make people feel bad so they can feel good or just to relief stress.
Also
another reason I think people are aggressive is they cannot control it because
they are having a breakdown or they cannot think of anything better to do
instead putting people down. Also I
think guns and swords have sparked people’s aggression inside of them because
it makes them feel in control of the situation.
I
also believe that people need to be aggressive in order to live. Why I think that is not often do strangers
share with other strangers including even maybe one dollar. The things that I’ve written are my beliefs
why people or humans are so aggressive in the world today.
Knowledge Bowls
By Peter Cathcart
My school has a game called Knowledge Bowls. Knowledge Bowls are fun.
When
we have a Knowledge Bowl we are asked questions we studied. If you behave well you get points. There is also a part of the game that is
called Speed Round. In it they give you
1 minute.
Teaching Beginners as a Beginner
By Nikki Crary
On
January 13th, I got the opportunity I thought I would never have until I had my
hakama, to teach a class! It was the most exciting thing ever! The feeling of being in front of a class and
teaching them is unexplainable!
When
I realized that I helped people learn more, I wanted to tell everyone about
it. When Ryan called all of the white
belts to the high side, I was thinking "I wonder what we're going to work
on?" Then he said that I should
take over and teach some basic stuff I knew.
I was shocked! Being able to help my juniors with things was so much
fun!
I
would like to thank Ryan once again for giving me this chance, and all of my
juniorsfor being so attentive while I was teaching. THANKS!
Jump Start Your Ki
By Dave Margrave
What
do Aikido, reiki, shiatsu, kiatsu, acupuncture, acupressure, reflexology, yoga,
Chi Gung (also known as Qigong), Applied Kinesiology, Healing Touch, Touch for
Health, charismatic hands-on healing, Jesus’ miracle cures, and a few dozen
other therapies all have in common?
They
all teach us how to jump start our ki.
They all begin with the premise that health and vitality result from a
strong energy field.
The differences
between the various practices are overshadowed by their similarities. Some of them (like Aikido and Chi Gung) tend
to emphasize turning up the wattage.
Others (like acupuncture and acupressure) tend to emphasize removal of
blockages. Some of them are solo
activities; others require a partner.
Fundamentally, however, each of them strives to improve one’s strength
and health by strengthening the human energy field.
The
existence of this field is no longer controversial. Every major culture has a word for it. It is called “chi,” “ki,” “prana,” “vital
force,” the “human energy field,” the “etheric double,” the aura, and many
other names. Westerners have been slow to catch on to this concept which Easterners
take for granted.
Chiropractors
routinely deal with the human energy field using both sophisticated instruments
and low-tech physical therapies.
Researchers have measured the electromagnetic output of the heart chakra
from three feet away.
Many
American insurance companies now pay for treatment of the energy field, most
frequently in hospices (where the results appear to be most dramatic). The insurance industry created a special code
for treatments classified as “disturbed energy field intervention.”
Organizations
such as the Colorado Nurses Association certify continuing education courses in
treatment of the human energy field. A
surgeon recently conducted open heart surgery on a patient without anesthesia. Trained healers anesthetized the patient by
working on his energy field.
You
can fortify your own energy field in many ways.
You may strengthen it unconsciously when you relax, breathe deeply,
walk, meditate, or stretch. And of
course, there are always my own personal favorites energy fortifiers: eating and sleeping.
You
can jump start a friend’s ki in the same way that your jump start a car
battery. Just hook up the cables. Simply hold your friend’s hands; or place
your hands on the front and back or sides of his or her head; or place one hand
on the crown chakra and the other on any of the lower chakras. It matters little whether you hold your hands
an inch away, or make skin contact.
People
are constantly recharging one another's energy fields even when they just hug,
hold hands, or simply sit quietly together in prayer or meditation. This is a tangible change, which you can
easily sense if you pay attention. This
is one reason infants find it so calming to be held. The loving touch of another person reinforces
the infant’s own energy field. Most of
us, as we grew older, were trained to ignore such things.
Hands-on
healing techniques have been practiced for millennia. They were used by ancient Greeks and
Egyptians. Written records of hands-on
healing techniques (including specific case histories) are found on papyrus
scrolls and stone tablets dating as far back as five thousand years ago.
Ironically,
Westerners flouted the teachings of Jesus with their prejudice against
recognizing hands-on healing techniques.
According to the Bible, Jesus taught that his hands-on healing methods
were available to all. He stated to his
disciples that they would do everything that he had done, and more.
Koichi
Tohei, one of the greatest Aikido masters, promoted energetic healing. William Reed’s book about Tohei Sensei
entitled A Path Anyone Can Walk explains Tohei’s version of hands-on
healing. He named his method “kiatsu”
(probably after the similar therapy called shiatsu).
Kiatsu
emphasizes the extension of ki through one’s fingertips into the weak or injured
area of a patient’s body. Kiatsu also
emphasizes that good diet, posture, sleep, and specific breathing techniques
are critical in maintaining one’s health.
Tohei
founded the Kiatsu Therapist School in 1982.
The school teaches a two-year course of study, and has branches in
Tokyo, Osaka, and Amsterdam. Kiatsu
graduates use this therapy widely in Japan, and teach its use in various parts
of the world.
These
are some of the case studies discussed by Reed:
!
Eighty-year old
Masyauki Shoda had cataracts which prevented him from seeing any object except
in vague outline. Ten sessions of Kiatsu
made the cataracts disappear completely.
!
Seventy-eight
year old Kimiko Goto had a “deformity” in both knees from birth, which caused
swelling and stiffness. She could not
bend her knees or walk normally. Kiatsu
therapy corrected these problems and allowed her to walk normally again.
!
One-year old
Yasushi Hamaguchi began having epileptic fits at six months of age and required
medication to prevent the seizures.
After a few Kiatsu sessions, he was cured.
!
Thirty-seven year
old Mitsunari Fukuda fell from a tree as a child, and became partially
paralyzed. He was virtually unable to
feel any sensation in his right arm and leg.
During his Kiatsu training at Tohei’s school he regained full sensation
in both limbs.
!
Fifty-one year
old Kazu Shimizu had severe rheumatoid arthritis and was stiff and sore over
her entire body. She had so little
strength that objects would slip out of her hands; she could not even wash
dishes. After a year she had improved
greatly; after three years she had recovered completely. (See Reed, Pgs. 185-189.)
Paige
offered to lend the Reed book to any student of the dojo who is interested. Thank you, Paige, for lending it to me.
Hands-on
healing techniques are taught in Colorado Springs by Myra Tovey, whose
phone number is 719-622-0703. Myra
offers a nationally certified course called Healing Touch. Most of her students are nurses, physical
therapists, or massage therapists, but many of them are people like you and me
who simply want to learn about the art, and practice it at home. I whole-heartedly recommend Myra’s
professional training to anyone with an interest in healing or fortifying any
aspect of one’s health.
Obviously,
Healing Touch is not a substitute for medical care, but I believe it can
support one’s recovery from any medical condition. My family
members and I have taken courses from Myra. We have used Healing Touch techniques on
friends and on one another.
I personally believe that Healing Touch techniques
saved Linda’s two front teeth. In a
bicycle crash while on vacation a year ago, she dislodge her two front
teeth. The teeth were substantially
dislodged from the sockets, and we could not get her to a dentist until four or
five hours after the accident. A very
experienced Utah dentist told us from decades of experience that under these
circumstances, the teeth would die, the roots would be “resorbed” within weeks
(six months at the outside), and Linda
would simply need implants. He
recommended extracting them immediately, believing it was pointless to try to
save them.
I
insisted that the dentist rewire the teeth into place. He reluctantly did this. Linda and I used Healing Touch methods on her
in the motel. We took her to see Myra
Tovey a few times when we arrived home.
A year after the accident, Linda’s “unsalvageable” teeth are healthy and
appear to “cured.”
Such
stories are common. My mother and
siblings practiced similar techniques for a decades. Sensei may have some good stories on the
topic for you, also. This
topic is important not just to persons interested in ki, but to anyone with a
pulse. We are talking about your life
force and the quality of your life. You
can safely experiment with any of the methods for jump-starting your ki. (And don’t forget tantric
you-know-what.) You will sense amazing
things, immediately.
Be
careful when there is severe physical or emotional trauma. For example, in case of extreme physical
injury, merely holding one’s hand above the injured person’s body (even over a
part of the body far from the site of the injury) can cause severe pain. I have witnessed this. It can be shocking. We were taught that pain can be transmitted
only by direct stimulation of nerve endings.
This is absolutely false.
Severe
trauma offers fascinating opportunities to witness the mind/body
connection. If the mind/body has gone
into shock and suppressed all or part of a trauma, then the slightest trigger
may cause the patient, or the healer, or both to re-experience the pain of the
trauma. Triggers may include discussing
the trauma, looking at photographs of the traumatic incident, or anything else
which may dredge up memories. Just as a
rolfer can trigger the body’s memories of trauma through physical massage, the
energetic healer can trigger memories of trauma by “massaging” the energy
field. When triggered, the mind/body
may re-enact the trauma physically.
A psychologist
friend of mine specializes in treating patients who have been severely
traumatized. Every year, some patients
develop “stigmata” before his eyes.
Stigmata are the body’s re-creation of physical injuries, where no new
trauma is involved. Stigmata mimic the
original injuries. They can include
bruises, red marks, and scratches that match old knife or other wounds.
OK,
so enough of the Professor Margrave persona.
I have wandered far from the topic of Aikido. Let that be a lesson to you: If you want it short and sweet, make someone
else edit the newsletter next time!
;-)
Even
if I have put you to sleep, I hope you
will share my enthusiasm for learning about this topic. The body is a mind, and the mind is a
body. The entire system is organized and
fueled by that mysterious and invisible force called ki. One’s individual ki can be weak, blocked, and
in conflict with the rest of the world around us. We can choose to make our ki strong, and in
synch with those we love and the rest of the cosmos. To get our ki in synch, we must get to know
it.
O’Sensei
dedicated his life to teaching us about this fascinating topic. He was not just teaching about balance,
dexterity, or some obscure mystical doctrine.
He taught us about the vital force which sustains life – about life
itself. So if you really want to know
yourself, or to know what makes your partner tick, or to know
what life is all about, then check it out.
Experiment!
Jump
start your ki!
The Center for Aikido and
Tang Soo Do
By Mark Soppe
Before I joined the Center for Aikido and Tang Soo Do, I looked around at a few different places. My friends back home gave me a push towards Tang, but being stubborn I still looked around.
I visited the websites of the other schools I was thinking about and they were more commercialism than anything else. Too many flashy posts and look at my trophy pictures.
That wasn’t what I was looking for. I wanted a place to train, not a sport for competition. Then I came to visit the center and watched the first class, and participated in the second. The reason I came back to join is because of the people.
All the students at the Center have been courteous, and always willing to help. Being the new guy, I need a lot of that. I can see all the moves in my mind, but my mind and body tend to disagree on certain things. Slowly with everyone’s help, my body is coming around to agree with my mind.
My experiences with the Center have been nothing short of fantastic. I always look forward to my training, and feel revived before, during, and after. Now, I’m looking forward to see what other positive changes will develop within me.
PHOTO OF THE MONTH:
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|
The Center for Aikido and Tang Soo Do Studies
5668 N. Union Blvd
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
(719) 477-1244
If you are interested in Tang Soo Do or Aikido, please
contact us
For information on Aikido, contact:
! Ryan Goettsche (719) 243-4588,
!
Hal Render (719)
448-9293,
!
Sam George (719)
471-1588, or
!
Rob Roberts (719)
638-8956.
For
information on Tang Soo Do, contact:
!
Jude Miller,
(719) 635-2874, or
!
Tim Speaks, (719)
559-2983.
Please come by and watch a class!