The Kamiza

In our dojo we have what is called a ''kamiza'' as the focal point to our beginning and end of practice. It entails a low rectangular wooden riser/shelf, some flowers in a basket to the left and a nice black and white photo of  aikido founder, Morihei Ueshiba also known respectfully as ''O'Sensei'', to the right.  Kamiza is a term used in Japan to refer to the 'top seat' within a room. O'Sensei resides there as the guest with highest rank. We bow in toward the kamiza before practice and bow out afterward.

When I first began my training with Springfield Aikido my Sensei Lenore had told me that it is not a religious action to bow to the kamiza but one of respect for O'Sensei. This ritual has become important to me and I think to everyone else at the dojo. It helps me focus in the beginning and to decompress after practice. In addition I think it has revealed to myself a newfound respect in various aspects of external encounters (and various internal encounters) as well. I try to approach many areas of lifes situations with a humble and unassuming nature. It helps me to keep everything in a real perspective.

It certainly is a positive thing to have the kamiza and to be solemn for a few seconds before entering into a few hours practice and after. I have much respect for O'Sense and am deeply impacted by his philosophy of life and also his incomparable technique. He certainly has my respect. A respect well deserved.

True Blood and abstract thoughts about "ki"..

This post may seem a little abstract on the surface.. and maybe even a little bit like it was written in streams of consciousness... this is how my brain works. Bear with me. For those of you who know me, either from our dojo or from Facebook, you are probably well aware with my obsession with True Blood. If you don't know me, or were not previously aware, you are now. :) In any case, I have been watching the season 2 DVDs over the last week or so, and have become inspired by the character Godric. He is a 2000 year old vampire who, after so many centuries of bloodshed and violence, grew a conscience and has since been ruling over his territory with peace and fairness. (By now you are either wondering how a vampire relates to aikido or you're familiar with the show and are already ahead of me.. I'm getting to it)
The following is a YouTube video showing different Godric scenes...

Within this video, there is a particular dialogue between Godric and Eric that I want to highlight. This takes place after Godric has been freed from The Fellowship of the Sun, a vampire-hating church, who had taken him with the intent to tie him to a platform and let him burn in the sun before a cheering crowd of their members.

Godric: You'd be shocked at how ordinary most of them are.

Eric: They do nothing but fan the flames of hated for us.

Godric: Let's be honest. We are frightening. After thousands of years, we haven't evolved. We've only grown more brutal, more predetory. I don't see the danger in treating humans as equals. The Fellowship of the Sun arose because we never did so.

Eric: Is that why you wouldn't fight when they took you?

Godric: I could have killed every last one of them within minutes... and what would that have proven?

Aikido in practice is way of dealing with conflict and confrontation once it has reached the physical level. It seeks to manipulate kinetic energy in such a way that neither party becomes seriously injured. Yet, the philosophies behind aikido come into play long before the conflict becomes physical. In the dialogue above, Godric tries to relate to Eric the bigger picture.. that while it is true this church lashes out in hatred, those feelings and actions have come about because of the way vampires have acted over the years. Whether we are pragmatically trying to keep conflict from escalating, or idealically trying to prevent conflict altogether, we need to keep ourselves open to the feelings and perspectives of others, even when it means seeing ourselves as faulted. Just as we practice on the mat to get a feel of the ebb and flow of kinetic energy our partners give us, we need to allow ourselves to see ourselves and the world from varying perscpectives and understand how people work.. Religion, language, psychology, history, culture as a whole.. all of these things come into play. We cannot overlook or forget that the "ki" in "aikido" means mind as well as spirit/energy. No one ever said this was easy... but nothing worthwhile is ever attained easily.