Aikido as a way of life.

Last class we practiced kata tori ikkyo, kata tori kote geishe, kata tori irimi nage and kata tori kokyu nage the traditional way first. Then we envisioned holding a large ball in our arms and practiced those techniques again, concentrating on extending energy and weight under side. Training with an invisible uke has made us dig deep to find ways to strengthen our aikido principles. Ron and I are blessed that we can train together but some of our students are practicing with their own invisible uke.  Some techniques like ushiro tekubitori kokyu nage are harder to visualize and feel than others, like, tsuki kote giesha. Most of the folks that train with us are very experienced and rise to the challenge. We have one student who is an orange belt and  is just thriving in this practice. I am grateful we still are gathering and training with the circumstances that are presented to us in this now. 

Everything can be our uke. Any situation, good, bad or unlabeled provides a unique set of circumstances that challenges us to maintain or regain our centers. First, we totally let ourselves off the hook. There is no winning or losing in centering training. We are either centered or we are not. If I lose my center I simply get it back as quickly as I can. Judgment is not helpful and counterproductive.  Why waste time and energy? Just get back to training as quickly as you can. At work if I have a difficult customer, I can notice where my awareness is in my body. If my awareness is not below my navel. I will notice where it is. Then I can let it drop down as soon as I am able. I pay attention to my centering process instead to judging the other person or myself. By getting centered again or at least trying I can only help the circumstance because I have come out of my critical mind. My boss telling me what a good job I am doing presents me with another opportunity to practice ...