Friday, April 22, 2011

NONRESISTANCE

"The Art of Peace is the principle of nonresistance. Because it is nonresistant, it is victorious from the beginning. Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. The Art of Peace is invincible because it contends with nothing."

Morihei Ueshiba


How can this be true? If we are attacked and do not resist isn't the immediate and uncontroverted result defeat? How can "evil intentions or contentious thoughts" be "instantly vanquished?" The answer is embodied by the essence of the philosophy of Aiki. The spirit that is in harmony is unchallenged and unchallengeable.

As we go through life we are in constant contact with others. Some of our contact is pleasant and convivial and some is measured by conflict and agression. This is a condition of society and few escape conflict with our fellow human beings. Whether or not a conflict escalates into violence, it can still have a profound effect upon our well being and health. How many of us have had conflicts with the "office bully" or the "security Nazi?" Sometime the residuals of such an incident can trouble us for days or longer. There are sick individuals who take pride in subjugating the will of others to their own. When we are attacked by such people the conflict can become long and bitter. We are raised with the admonitions to "stand up for ourselves" and to not allow others to "push us around." Nonresistance is equated with being a doormat and allowing ourselves to be walked upon.

Surely pointless submission is not what O Sensei had in mind when he conceived the notion of Aiki. But, Aikido is a martial art. We learn how to defend against an attack with powerful techniques and well honed fighting skills. When we wield a bokken or jo isn't it with the intention of doing harm to our attacker in order to protect ourselves against evil? A good whack with a hickory weapon doesn't sound like nonresistance to me. So, is it vigorous defense or not? If nonresistance is the message what is all the emphasis on hitting?

In order to answer that question we must examine the nature and purpose of our training. If we don't understand the nature of an attack how can we understand how to defend ourselves against the attack? Whether the attack is a hand grab, kick or a strike we learn, through our training experience, how it looks and feels. We learn to time our movement to be reciprocal to the attack. We learn how to blend with the energy of the attack thereby turning it to our advantage. Finally, we learn how to apply a technique to resolve the attack. By repeating this process over and over we learn to be savvy to all attacks. Further, the knowledge that we develop is not just intellectual it becomes part of our very being.

Throughout the training process we learn to maintain a posture of non-competitiveness. Though our training partners may present challenges that escalate in their degree of energy, speed and power, the object of the training is not to "win" or cause our partner to submit. Rather, it is to hone skill levels and to train our reflexes and martial timing. Competition on the mat only tends to diminish this result. By eliminating competition on our training we also become accustomed to dealing with a physical assault without becoming drawn into the conflict. In other words, we learn to maintain our center and focus rather than allowing an attacker to usurp that presence either physically or by intimidation. Our training also enables us to develop a sense of confidence and control that eases our emotional susceptibility to an attackers purpose. This is the essence of nonresistance.

If we allow someone to attack us, either physically or by intimidation, and do not attempt to protect ourselves we have lost. If we enter the fray in an attempt to defeat or injure our attacker we have also lost since we are diminished by the experience. Victory is only attainable by blending with the force of the attack by maintaining our center and then resolving the conflict without injury to either party. This is true victory through Aiki.