Marc's Reflection on Aikido & True Play

I thought “it” was the point.

How funny!

with

This encompasses everything so far.

With

I – I

With

.

No incline
–leaning is horizontal & is dragging the past violently across the only moment

Turn, arc, spiral around center
–vertical and present in the only moment, precisely

It is always happening

The felt experience is the practice.

The enticing way of being
Nonviolent

To

Holding on to nothing

Practice
paying attention
to
Compression

Simply
Get a feeling for it
For connection with earth
First

Get big.

My attention must be larger than

my concerns and larger than

each of the others concerns and cares.

Movement occurs inside an envelope that includes all the cares in the “room”,

all the movements in the room.

This is essential, fundamental, in order to not be a bull in a china shop

moving blind to ones surroundings because you do not understand the contexts and situations of all concerned.

This encompassing position is calming and centering–knowing that you are not a bull in a china shop.

Clairity of purpose (care and line)
Is essential for Connection

Practice with the bokken.

Move at the speed of connection

Any thing faster lacks integrity
Produces fear and disharmony

Anything faster is instrumental
“I-It”

Connect to
Understand the other’s situation
You cannot blend otherwise

I–I

Play with it
Become exquisitely aware of the sensations of
The transition moments
The reaction
The relaxation

The edges of heaven and hell
Peace and war
Harmony and discord
Play and fear
Joy and dispair

Master level akido?

I-I with fearsome people?

Get as big as their fearsome world

Include my world

Non- collision

Curiosity

Help them if I can

Without giving up my integrity

Move toward a creative space

Attachment and fear
Or
Care and playfulness

Curiosity, learning, exploring
The “other’s” world.

Playfully looking for shared care
Connection at the edge

Through extension
and turning toward

Turning against
Turning away
Lose safety, lose integrity

Personal physical integrity
Through flow

–grounded, centered, flexible, extended, connected (“vertical”)
Movement

From care to care

I-I

Safety

Notice:

Centrality

–is my care central to this moment?

Connection

–is my care connected with this moment?

Action (blending)

–is my care determining my precise line and my movement in this moment?

Noticing

First

Always

History of balancing fear with agression

History of balancing aggression with withdrawal

Both can be replaced with the third way

Turning toward–

Acceptance as presence, not acquiescence

With gratitude

Notice my turning
Away

Notice the sensations of my
Holding

Notice my turning
Against

Notice the sensations of my
Holding

Turn toward the sensations
and notice

This is my practice

Per Bob Duhnam:

Nietzsche, an important philosopher of the continental and existential traditions, saw power as the capacity for creation, which often requires the capacity for destruction as well. In order to be someone who can tolerate and produce both creation and destruction, he said we have to overcome “the spirit of heaviness” that binds us to existing ways of being, that keep us unwilling to alter ourselves and leap into possibilities.

He portrays power with three images. Heaviness is portrayed by two images of power, the image of the beast of burden illustrated by the camel, and the image of the beast of prey illustrated by the lion. The camel is characterized by its resistance, its ability to carry others on its back, and its capacity to absorb adversity. We all need the power of the camel at certain times. The lion represents one who rebels, who asserts its own power in the face of others, and who declares the inviolability of its territory. We must also be lions at certain times.

The third image is the image of the child, who illustrates the power of the innocence of play, of the absence of heaviness. The child who builds castles in the sand, sees them destroyed by the waves, and then builds them again. To Neitzsche the power of the child, the power of play, is the superior form of power.
(This discussion is based on one in the book “The Ontology of Language” by Rafael Echeverria, available only in Spanish.)

The ground (and more)

Supports me

Without demands

I can let go of holding myself

Up

Back

Apart

Away

Against

Together

Onto

In control

And just play in the…

Moment

Place

Connecting…

To self

Other

Space

Flow

Mood