To me, our art is an art of peace. A tool for overcoming fear and a guide for postive growth and change. With that said, here are my thoughts regarding Tuesday's events from the perspective of the 5 principles for Aikido with Mind and Body Unified (Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido) and the 4 principles for Mind and Body Unification:

The 5 Principles:

A very dark moment has passed before us. As I go about my day and talk with friends, family, students and coworkers, I hear a swell of negativity -- the stock market will crash, gasoline companies are price gouging, companies are preying on fears, no one should ever fly again, lets carpet bomb the middle east... so on... -- and sometimes I feel swept backwards toward these fears. Then I pause and reflect and say something positive or reassuring... and I realize that Ki in its natural state has no connotations of good and evil. It is neither positive or negative. Its is the way we choose to use it in our relative world that determines if it is light or dark, negative or postive, helpful or hurtful. But Ki is always extending. The natural flow is forward and if we move with it and don't try to turn it or fight it, Ki becomes positive naturally. So I remember that Ki is a flow, constantly moving, and I work to let it flow through me and help me go through my fears.

While we forgot this before Tuesday, it is now terribly clear. The perpetrators are called terrorists for a reason -- they kill through fear. Their mind, the focus of their Ki is clear -- to cauue fear, to take away freedoms. They seek to turn love to hate, turn hate to fear, then encourage the reaction to those fears to in turn paralyze us, turn us against each other, strip ourselves of our freedoms and give them their victory. The most important thing we can do, in my opinion, is acknowledge the fear that is in each of us and use it productively. Be aware of your fears and when they come to the surface, acknowledge them, breathe through them, and do something positive.

We underestimated the resolve of those who would destroy us or at least destroy our ideals and way of life. We must be ever attentive to our openings. As Suzuki Sensei has said often, we must cultivate a posture of no openings. This is not done through fear, but through awareness. Overlook nothing, know your weaknesses and know that your opponent has a clear intent and will exploit those openings. Never ignore what others perceive and always know where your opponent's Ki is going and respect their intention and find a way to lead them to a different perspective. Never step into the path of a person with strong intent -- focussed Ki -- without showing it respect and never understimate their abilities.

These are angery people. People who have had a steady diet of fear and hatred coupled with intolerance and ignorance. To view the world from their perspective is very hard. It is one of desperation. A view filled with f ear and resolve. One of need. One of a need for recognition to the suffering that they have endured. That need is so great that they have poked the sleeping giant with a very big and pointy stick. Its obvious that they want us to notice something. To recognize some horrror that they have endured. But desperation and fear fly from logic. Murder and mayhem do not beget friendship and caring. But fear, hatred and intolerance seems to be all that they know and all that they will feel. I'm afraid that our opponent is in a place of fear, hatred, desperation and anger. What we now know is that we need to bring light to those dark places and not go there ourselves.

Now is not the time to be hateful. Now is not the time to be fearful. Now is the time to go forward. Be aware, be calm, be resolute, be peaceful, but be confident in our abilities to end conflict and lead from the principle of non-dissension. If one is fearful one cannot be confident.

The 4 Principles:

Try not to be swept away by the horrible images, our growing anger, the breeding fears (founded and unfounded), and move from that place of calm inside each of us. We must go about our daily lives, help where we can help, heal where we can heal, and acknowledging where we need others help to restore our balance and connection to our one-points. Don't be moved to acts that we will later regret or that will cause harm. For me, that means moving from my one-point, balancing my human short comings and my ideals and always checking in with my own heart, that place of calm and knowing instinct that guides me to right action and growth.

How many of us have seen the raised shoulders, the creased foreheads, the clenched fists. I know I have. Even in me. Especially in me. How many of us find we impulsively sigh -- that sudden, inexplicable urge to release the air we have been clenching in our chest. Its the physical desire and need of the body to relax. Be cautious not to collapse, to become complacent or lathargic in our attempt to relax. True relaxation is a living relaxation. For me, the only way I can ensure this relaxation is to take the time to Ki-Breathe -- Kokyu-Ho -- at least 30 minutes a day. Its not much time in the scheme of things and now, more than ever, its necessary.

Many of us are now pushing. Trying to move those things that we cannot move, holding our bodies up when they should be down. Fighting the natural law of gravity. We hold our bodies in unnatural positions, work ourselves beyond our natural boundaries. Fear wells up in our bodies and creates the desire for action and we work against the natural need for rest. All things must fall eventually. We must all rest when we can and the more we work with gravity the longer we can work and the more we can do. We should all use the adrenaline we have in a productive way, but we must also be forgiving of ourselves when we must simply rest.

Be positive. Connect to others and nature. Use that universal flow to move through our daily tasks. A tragedy such as this has mixed effects. Some of us will move toward ourselves, protecting ourselves and our loved ones. Others will help those beyond our normal circles only to over extend and neglect those closest to us. It is natural for us to extend Ki, be positive, be helpful, work hard. But its hard not to close down and go within, cutting ourselves off and limiting ourselves to just those around us. It is equally hard to not try to help those that are beyond our reach or who will cause our own destruction by over extending ourselves to aid them. We should extend Ki, try not to cut ourselves off and close ourselves up, but we should also be aware of our limitations and not over extend.

We all have a very hard lesson to learn. How we react to this will determine much of who we will be for centuries to come. We can take this tragedy and grow from it, but it will be very hard to do and none of us can do it alone. To that end, thank you for your time, and thank you in advance for helping us to guide those around us to a peaceful resolution and right action. May everyone be safe, warm, relaxed and welcoming.

Matt Spriggs
Head Instructor
Yuma Ki-Aikido.

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