The Way of Unifying Energy

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“But where was I to start? The world is so vast, I shall start with the country I know best, my own. But my country is so very large. I had better start with my town. But my town too, is large. I had best start with my street. No: my home. No: my family. Never mind, I shall start with myself.” – Elie Wiesel

Our Aikido dojo recently had open house day. We recruited my brother, sister-in-law, and a dear young friend and all headed off to give it a try.

Let me tell you. It’s a lot easier to watch kids get up and down from the mat 30 times (or more) in an hour than to do it. Yeah, that’s not news to anyone reading this.

But I was captivated by the philosophy behind this martial art. It’s a way of redirecting energy. Or, as Wikipedia puts it, defending oneself while protecting the attacker from injury.

Aikido, the way of unifying energy, is a way of helping attackers calm down according to our Sensei. Watching my kids practice, I can see how the moves are intended to help the energy move past. It isn’t meeting a blow with a blow but instead stepping out of the way and using the attacker’s energy to pin them.

It seems like there are so many practical ways to employ this. It’s like not resisting our emotions, but instead leaning in to see what we can learn. It’s not telling others that they shouldn’t upset, but instead actively listening to understand the experience. It’s not fighting fire-with-fire but instead poking a hole in the roof so that the dangerous smoke can dissipate.

I imagine all the ways practicing Aikido, the way of unifying energy, the way of defending oneself while protecting the attacker from injury, could make a difference in this world. Our national politics come to mind. But I’m only a white belt so I’ll start by practicing on myself. That’s a head up to my inner critic.

(featured photo is one of mine of our dojo)

49 thoughts on “The Way of Unifying Energy”

  1. I love this!

    Before people can practice a different way of living, they must first become aware of another path, and then they need to see the steps to get there.

    This is what we’re doing, we’re putting out change-maker ideas to people who yearn to see a different way from what they had known earlier in life. We may not be physically making changes, but we’re doing our part to slowly drip grains of knowledge into them so they can then move forward.

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      1. Exactly that! Amazing g how we can start the biggest changes with the smallest steps!

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  2. This is so interesting, Wynne! I took Tai Chi for years, and some of the moves are actually defensive moves which are exactly what you are talking about. Let’s say someone is throwing a punch at you, but you step aside and with your arms outstretched, guide the aggressive arm and the energy down and away from your body. It throws the attacker’s balance off , and the energy forward dissipates. I truly enjoyed the class and the meditation which was sometimes included. I’m sure you are going to love it and continue.

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    1. That sounds like an incredible practice of Tai Chi. Love how you say the energy dissipates. Funny how once that initial energy passes that there’s a way past. Thank you for the great comment and encouragement, Melanie!

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  3. Amen Wynne! Were that our sadly Divided States of America’s politicians would practice legislative Aikido and combine their energies to unify our nation’s citizens in protecting us from the internal self-destruction personal prejudices, hatred and vengeance are inflicting upon the nation our children are inheriting.

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    1. Ah, well. This was a much longer comment when I used ‘reply’ in my email. Anyway, I very much related, having had several years mixed-martial arts training. Your observations are helpful in many ways, especially simply interfacing with those who have vastly different political or social views than ourselves. It also made me wonder again which of the moves I made in martial arts and which of the words I said (and were also unsaid) along these many years and whether or not they were in the spirit of aikido. Generally, I appreciate turning a light upon myself to see how much I’ve grown (or not) spiritually and emotionally. Always room for growth!

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  6. I love this Wynne! I love the lessons of Aikido and I almost did it but went with Tai Qui and now that my body has it’s way with me, I’m glad since it’a lot easier on this ole bod. love this and yes it makes a difference for sure.. Yay for you! 💗

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  9. Learning how to redirect energy is such a valuable skill. We’ve attempted to learn and master martial arts (we did not succeed.). Our son was in taekwondo. I’ve tried to learn Krav Maga from a video. And we’ve taken self defense from instructors with 1st degree black belts in Kaju Kenpo. All of those events were so long ago, I remember very little of what I learned. *Be Aware: *Do the best you can with what you have. *There are no rules in Krav Maga.

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  16. You are such a good parent to give your kids these well-rounded experiences, Wynne. Busy kids are happy kids. I don’t know if there is any scientific data to back this up, but martial arts require much self-discipline, and I noticed that many of those children were also good students.

    By the way, If you’ve never read Night by Elie Wiesel, I would recommend taking a look to see if it interests you.

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  21. What an interesting philosophy – to try to also protect the attacker from harm. I can see why you immediately made the connection to the current state of the world, Wynne. We could definitely use more of that unifying energy these days.

    And I’m with you, if I had to get down on that mat, chances are pretty good that I’m not coming back up quickly! 😂

    Liked by 3 people

    1. It was pretty comical, Ab. My brother, who is in great shape from sailing and wing foiling, looked at me with an eyebrow raised at about the 15th time we were supposed to spring to standing. Totally cracked me up! 🙂 Hope you all enjoy the holiday vacation!

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