Last night's Gakushu class was focused on Zanshin, literally a Japanese word describing a relaxed yet alert mind, a 'remaining mind', or 'finishing.' We discussed the importance of being mindful, of having a sense of self-control. Sensei used the analogy of sleeping to explain the importance of Zanshin. "When one is asleep, they are not here, (unconscious), they are physically present but not mentally. When someone is awakened, they are suddenly present. Mindful, alert."
Whatever it is you do, be mindful, be alert. Finish. Zanshin.
It is no wonder that all aikido techniques end with shite's zanshin. We are finishing, focusing the mind through the throw, until the very end.
This is a pretty deep concept in Aikido, so I thought I'd leave you with that to marinate in. Or leave you with a remining mind on the concept... and turn to something a bit lighter...
Thinking about Zanshin lead me to a cool blog, Zanshin Art. And to a fun little blog. I am in no way meaning to show disrespect, and hope you all enjoy it. Also, I am not in the habit of 're-blogging', but this was too fun not to share.
Enjoy! Osu! :)
During the long holiday weekend I was honored when one of my best friends asked if it would be ok if he penned something for my blog. Considering he is a huge role model on the mat, a dear, dear friend and is totally a kick-ass dude, of course I said YES! (Not to mention it doesn't hurt that he's been on the mat 3x as long as I have and is a Sandan, and therefore has good vantage point.) This also led me to thinking about female uke's and some of the most well-known aikidoka using a female as their uke. I remember watching a video of Takeno Sensei early on in my training and not realizing until I watched the video a few times that the person he was throwing, beautifully-mind you, was a woman. I remember being somewhat shocked. I went back and dug-up that video to rewatch it and see if my perspective has changed in the 4 years I've been training. Below is my friends' thoughts and following, the video I referenced.
After eleven years of aikido training, I’ve met many people. It always astonishes me that there are so many men in the world that really have no idea how to work with women. I’m told that women make up 51% of the population of the United States and yet still so many of my fellow male aikidoka are completely clueless.
Let me give you a hint. Treat them EXACTLY as you would treat a man on the mat. That’s all there is to it, treat them the same. Show a woman no more deference than their rank deserves. If they are a black belt, hit them as you would hit any other black belt. If they are new to a martial art, take your time and be gentle, but no more gentle than you would if it was a man’s first day. No woman walks into a dojo and expects to be at a Debutante Ball.
In aikido and many other martial arts, everyone wears an identical uniform when they train together. This is in part to remove distraction from training and promote a spirit of camaraderie, but it is also designed to mitigate the human tendency to prejudge on another. This seems to work well enough for people of different ethnic or religious backgrounds, so why the tendency to misogyny? Let their rank, determine how you treat a woman.
I train with women who are smarter, stronger and more talented than I can ever hope to be in aikido and I have learned that to be most respected by them all I have to do is hit them really hard. Might go against certain sensibilities, but the harder I swing at the women I train with, the better all of our aikido becomes.
