Philosophy Corner - October '07
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Expansion vs. Contraction: Part 2 - Aikido & Budo
By Sean Hannon
“True budo calls for bringing the inner energy of the Universe in order, protecting the peace of the world as well as preserving everything in nature in its right form.”
– Morihei Ueshiba
The novice martial artist sees martial arts merely as a fighting system – a means of self-defense. He understands only one-dimension of the word “martial.” Martial, in the strictest sense of the word, means “associated with war.” Therefore, to the novice martial artist, martial only means “the art of war” or “the art of fighting.” For them, that is where the meaning stops. There is no evolution. There is no more growth. The master martial artist, on the other hand, understands this rudimentary definition of “martial” and expands it.
The master martial artist recognizes the inherent responsibilities of the martial arts and ultimately adopts the concept of budo or martial way into his or her life. The martial way is very different from that of martial combat. For example, the term budo is made up of the Japanese characters (or kanji) “bu” meaning martial and “do” meaning path. The characters of the kanji for “bu” or martial is actually made up of two symbols. The first symbol is a set of crossed weapons or halberds. The second symbol is the Japanese character for “stop.” So, interestingly enough, in Japanese kanji, the character for bu doesn’t mean “fighting,” but somewhat paradoxically, actually reads “to stop fighting” or “to prevent fighting.” Therefore, budo really translates as “the way to prevent fighting.” This is congruent with the underlying message of the art of Aikido – the way of harmony. But truly, we have only scratched the surface of what budo really means. A comprehensive understanding of the term budo is a lifelong journey and can only be gained by thoroughly studying Japanese language and culture.
So, you’ll notice that bushi-DO, bu-DO and Aiki-DO all end with the word ‘do.’ The word ‘do’ is often used when a martial art is intended to be applied to other areas of life and is practiced as a way of life, not solely as a combat style. The master martial artist lives budo. He or she not only learns how to hurt, maim or kill, but also to recognize and value the wisdom of when to use one’s martial arts skill and when not to. The master martial artist understands the responsibilities of budo and how to apply his or her martial art in non-martial, everyday experiences. Those responsibilities of budo expand beyond just the survival of one’s self and apply to family, community, society and the world at large.
Japanese martial arts that limit their instruction to combat applications are often suffixed with the word “jutsu,” which usually means “martial science.” Such sciences include kenjutsu or aikijutsu. Therefore, all forms of budo are martial arts, but not all martial arts are budo. Aikido is a form of budo – a way of life, not just a self-defense system. Budo can be practiced at all times. It can be practiced when driving a car in heavy traffic, when dealing with misbehaving children, or when dealing with disruptive colleagues at work. Everything can be practiced the martial way – with a spirit of budo. Everyone can practice the expansive principle of Aikido in every arena of life.
As you can see, the art of Aikido is more than just a martial art. Aikido is a way of life; a philosophy practiced as a moving meditation of life. It is an art that holds the potential to outright challenge our humanity.
Come discover how Aikido can serve as a catalyst for tremendous growth and expansion in your life. We invite you to come try a class at our Aikido school in Castle Rock, Colorado for free.
Expansion vs. Contraction: Part 1 - Aikido & Self-Defense
By Sean Hannon
“A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind.”
– Morihei Ueshiba
When most people think of “martial arts” one of the first things that to come to mind is the idea of “self-defense.” When I think of someone defending themselves I tend to think of some one contracting, closing up, or hunkering down into a defensive stance. I also think the word defense represents a reaction to fear. Fear is always a function of contraction and is often met with defensive-oriented actions such as scratching, clawing, punching and kicking. Of course, there isn’t anything wrong with these actions. There may be times in life when these become necessary. At other times, like in social environments, this lashing out may not necessarily take the form of physical strikes but, instead, may manifest as unnecessary, insensitive or sometimes even rude verbal attacks, glares or gestures.
The art of Japanese Aikido is a martial art like many others. However, the organizing principle of Aikido is radically different from most. While the majority of martial arts are based on the principle of contraction, Aikido is rooted in the principle of expansion. Expansion, not contraction, is the source of Aikido’s power. As a general rule, Aikido tends to be very much the opposite of what most people imagine when they think of martial arts. For example, if you think martial arts is about self-defense, then you should know that Aikido is more about self-development. If you think martial arts is about protecting, then you should know that Aikido is more about growing. If you think martial arts is about learning how to hurt people, then you should know that Aikido is more about learning how not to hurt people. If you think martial arts are about fighting, then you should know that Aikido is more about not fighting.
In Aikido, when faced with a challenge or an attack we expand, not contract. Our posture, our stance and overall physical response gets bigger, not smaller. In Aikido, we address problems, challenges and attacks not by covering our heads with our arms and curling up into a ball, but by drowning the attack with giant, expansive waves of Aikido that engulf aggressors, much like a tsunami.
The founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, was a man of small stature – not more than five foot three. However, he did not defend himself by dropping to the ground, covering his head and kicking fiercely. Instead, Osensei (or “great teacher” as we refer to him) conquered each attacker he faced by expanding his stature, energy and power; by opening up instead of closing down.
In my experience, contracting into a defensive, protective posture rarely can solve problems of any kind. That’s one of many reasons why I most prefer Aikido to the many other martial arts I have trained in the past. In Aikido we learn to grow in the face of a threat, instead of crouch; to dwarf our problems and challenges by becoming more than we were before, not less. That is how we train to address challenges; by growing so much so that we actually “push out” adversity through an abundance of movement or action.
Come discover how Aikido can serve as a catalyst for tremendous growth and expansion in your life. We invite you to come try a class at our Aikido school in Castle Rock, Colorado for free.
Castle Rock AIKIDO
Traditional Japanese Martial Arts Exclusively for Adults
Call (720) 221-3665
