Kotsu Kotsu

The four basic principles of Kokikai Aikido are: Keep One Point Relax Progressively Positive Mind Correct Posture These principles underlie every part of the practice of this wonderful art of self-defense. They are also fantastic principles for living everyday life. I tell new students at Rutgers that if they only take one class they can get enduring benefit if they keep these principles in mind. Here's one way I put them into practice. There are times when I get agitated, angry, or can't stop thinking about something (even though I would like to). First step is to notice that I am agitated, angry, or etc. Then I pick one of the principles and focus on it. It's amazing how even the "physical" principles, like keeping good posture, or physically relaxing my body, can affect your state of mind.

I picked up a copy of Salvadore Dali's "50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship" in a bookstore. That guy who painted the melted clock, as you may know, was a groundbreaking surrealist painter, photographer and filmmaker, You may also know that Dali was famously an eccentric, egoistic self-promoter, famous for quotes like: "Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure - that of being Salvador Dali"  In the book the artist promised to provide the key that would save modern art "from chaos and laziness." I admit, I was kind of fascinated in what Dali, the self proclaimed greatest artist of all time, offered to teach. The book is full of Dali's characteristic, flamboyant language. A lot of it seems to make no sense: "Begin, then, by knowing that according to the Dalinian aesthetic the tulip is a horrid thing next to celluloid"  But then there are whole passages of things like how to grind paint. What type of brush t...

I'm a novice violin player. It's pretty difficult for a beginner to get any decent kind of sound out of a violin, so any time I make a step forward, it's usually accompanied by a gratifyingly audible change in my playing. Lately I've been amazed at how thinking differently about the direction of the bow has made a really dramatic improvement in my sound. Last summer I took a week's worth of workshops from Andrea Larson at Ashokan Northern Week . One thing she had us practice was, on an upbow, imagining shooting the bow over our shoulders. Normally I think of "drawing" the bow as a sort of rubbing action that involves more downward pressure on the strings. When I use the "shooting" idea, the direction of my effort is more across than down . The incredible thing is that to make this change in my sound, I barely have to do anything - I just have to remember to think about it. We have a lot of similar ideas in aikido. One example is used in...

Some time ago I read a really great book called "Thank You and Okay: Diary of an American Zen Failure in Japan" by David Chadwick . It's mostly about him spending time in Japanese monasteries and the culture shock that ensued. Chadwick's writing is simultaneously humble and hilarious, with lots of food for thought. In the first chapter he describes the difficulty of waking up to the alarm clock at 3:45 for morning zen service. Groggy and warm, the idea of staying in bed was inviting. But he remembered his teacher Shunryu Suzuki's advice: "When the bell rings, get up." Short-circuit the grumbling mind, and do . There's lots of things I know I should do, but I just don't want to get started. Meditation, exercise, practice. (Why do so many of these involve getting up early???)  How to get started? Just start! Very good advice. Even so, sometimes I just collapse back into bed.

I grew up learning music by reading it from sheet music. When I attended my first Irish music session , there wasn't a bit of sheet music in sight. I was lost. I couldn't even play the tunes I already knew without the music in front of me. I've gotten a lot better at it and now I prefer to learn and play music by ear. I've found that when I'm not reading, I can listen better - both to myself and others. When I listen better, I play better. There's plenty of scientific backing for what pickpockets and magicians have known for ages: focusing on what we see dulls our ability to hear & feel. A recent study at the University of London found that complex visual tasks reduce people's ability to notice a touch. They didn't actually study people kissing. But lots of bloggers drew the obvious conclusion. In another study , the more the subjects focused their attention on a complex visual puzzle, the more they became inattentive to sounds. If you're...

"You either have to be part of the solution, or you're going to be part of the problem."         - Eldridge Cleaver We all tend to blame others - society, politicians, boss, girlfriend -  for what's wrong in our lives. Sayings like the one above redirect the responsibility back to ourselves. Frankly, though, sayings like this mostly just make me feel guilty. Apart from writing an obscure blog and some charitable donations, I never think of myself as part of any "solution." Teaching aikido  and playing music are hardly going to save the world, right? That's why I was heartened to read this letter from Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter . In an open letter,  " To the Next Generation of Artists, " they offer their thoughts on how we all can work to increase peace and understanding in the world, despite so many trends that are painful and discouraging. Here are a few beautiful phrases from the letter , but it's really, really worth re...

Another Kokikai Aikido Winter Camp is over, and afterward I had the inevitable day of rest and a little sadness. Announcements, Kokikai Aikido Winter Camp 2016 It's quite complex to put together an event like this, and a lot of people worked in beautiful harmony behind the scenes so that Sensei could focus on teaching over 280 participants. As I think about all that effort, there are a few things that come to mind that make it so worth it: Sensei. Sensei is amazing. He shows us the incredible potential power that human beings have. And then he teaches us how to do it!  The Kokikai Community. Kokikai is a bunch of really amazing people, and as a volunteer, anything we can do to bring them all together in one place, and then practice together, is worthwhile, not just for the volunteers, but for everyone in Kokikai.  It Feels Good. Teachers I know - of various disciplines - have commented that their students are less and less willing to "help out" when asked....