It's A Lot Like Aikido

It’s A Lot Like Aikido
	by Gordon Teekell
A number of years ago, I became aware of a book written by noted aikidoist and teacher, Terry Dobson. It was titled “It’s a Lot like Dancing” and was meant to use dancing to explain to people unfamiliar with aikido, how a self defense art could be a cooperative activity, not a competitive, conflict oriented or aggressive one. Although familiar with the book, and even having skimmed through it several times, I had no basis of understanding what Terry was talking about until I decided about a year ago to give my wife ballroom dancing lessons for Christmas. Naturally, this craft requires a partner (the first similarity), so I ended up taking lessons with her. From the first class, I was struck by how right Terry was in drawing comparisons between these two realms. People who were dancers would be able to read his book and immediately understand that aikido was not an art of destruction but one of creation. It is not an art of doom and pain but one of joy and sharing. Rather than recount Terry’s book or reword his ideas, let me briefly lay out my observations of what I have experienced in my brief time as a ballroom dancer and what strikes me as similarities to what I have experienced in aikido classes. This is not meant to be an exhaustive or complete list as I discover more and more similarities with each class and hopefully, that process will continue and the two arts will compliment each other as I progress in each. The first thing I noticed as a beginner in dance was that the instructor made beginners feel welcome. Although I felt self conscious and ill at ease in this new, strange environment, the instructor was patient and helpful as my partner and I fumbled our way through our interpretation of what he had just demonstrated. He was encouraging and found ways to reword or rephrase his instruction to find the most effective pathway into my brain and have my movements match what was being taught. It was pointed out that repetition was the way to build competence. The more I practiced, the better I would get. In ballroom dancing classes one is encouraged to dance with different partners. This gives one the chance to gain experience dancing with partners of different energy levels, different skill levels, different ages, and different attitudes. I may have felt clumsy but it all felt so familiar and wonderful to take up a new activity and experience beginners mind. It reminded me that it is a goal in aikido to preserve the state of beginners mind for as long as you practice. I was delighted to discover that the teacher had three laws. 1) Practice with joy. 2) Make your partner look good and 3) Take care of yourself. Wow! I was starting to feel more at home. Are you sure this isn’t an aikido dojo? The best aikido teachers I have encountered have emphasized these same themes. We can’t enjoy our practice if we hurt ourselves or those we train with. Nothing is accomplished that is positive by making your partner look bad or by showing up their technique. While the senseis have demonstrated wonderful technique full of energy, with serious intent and impeccable attention to detail, they never forgot to introduce humor or a lightness to the training. They would encourage us to be joyful and caring as we performed a technique. From the beginning classes, I was encouraged to move from center with impeccable posture. Good posture makes it possible to move in all directions with equal ease. It gives room for your partner to move and respond to what you are doing. Hara consciousness has applications in dance just as it does in aikido. Both leader and follower (nage and uke) benefit from maintaining proper spacing, position and balance. Dancing is not about muscle. Your body will adapt and develop the muscles it needs from the activity that you engage in. There is no rush. Your body knows what it needs to do and will provide you with resources to allow you to achieve your desired level of movement. More experienced dancers make the steps and variations look easy and effortless. Experience and practice leads to a confidence that is shared between partners, a comfort level that encourages a lack of tension and flow of energy. Tension kills spontaneity. It slows the body and is contagious. If you are tight, your partner will be tight. If you are relaxed, your partner will be more relaxed. When you move, timing is everything. Move too fast or too slow and you will miss the rhythm of the music and be out of sync with your partner. Proper footwork allows you to be in position to communicate the next move to your partner. Your movement allows your partner to be in sync. The look and feel of this is observable. A person watching from off the floor can tell when the partners are working together and when they are off beat. Good timing also has the advantage of helping your partner look good while it makes for safer circumstances. Timing doesn’t have anything to do with arms or legs of the partner. Timing and movement relates to center. You can use footwork and hands to communicate with your partner but you must be connected to their center to work together in the best fashion. When learning to dance, don’t worry about “mistakes” that you make. That’s how we learn. The question is, “How many times do we make the same errors?” The nice thing about aikido and dancing is that you never run out of techniques. There is always another ikkyo left or another waltz box step. Put the CD on again. Hit replay. Go ahead ask your partner for another turn. An amazing thing happens when a human repeats things. They get better at it. The more we practice, the smoother transitions become. We are able to seek out and concentrate on more and more nuances. We develop variations and combinations. We see possibilities and invent new ways of moving while applying the basics. Who knew learning could be so much fun? The devil is in the details. The most effective aikido techniques are the ones that have the perfect combination of energy, blending, balance, centeredness, timing and what would be termed “floor craft” in dancing. Floor craft is a grafting of all the small parts that make up the whole. It is being aware of your position on the dancing surface so that you don’t collide with other dancers. It is the proper setting of the feet to facilitate a transition to a new direction. It is hand movement that looks polished and helps one’s partner interpret where to go. All in time to the music while moving in such a way that the dance pattern is recognizable as a certain style of dance. While dance is certainly a creative activity, you never outgrow the basics. The foundation steps of a dance style can be endlessly repeated without achieving absolute perfection or total depth of understanding. There is always something deeper. Something else to be discovered, or revisited. Each partner brings a new experience. Practicing with the same partners over the years brings new levels of respect and smoothness to the techniques. Has it started to sound like aikido yet? These are a few observations of a beginner at ballroom dancing. Fifth kyu if you will. My experience with this art has been fun, challenging and, at times, frustrating. More parallels. I would encourage other aikidoists to try out a few classes to see what that experience is like. By all means, read Terry Dobson’s book to learn what his take is on why the two things are similar endeavors and how participants in both of these arts can learn from the other or at least reinforce the best elements of each. I am hoping that the time I spend dancing will transfer over to aikido in the form of better rhythm and timing. That my aikido movements will become more graceful and that I will better recognize the importance of my partner. It should help me to stay connected and to move from center with feeling and flowing energy. I don’t know Terry Dobson’s dance background but maybe you can find that out when you read his book or ask people who knew him. I do know that his idea that aikido is a lot like dancing works for me. Now, I can say from personal experience that dance is a lot like aikido. I hope to discover more similarities as I continue to take classes and, who knows, maybe I’ll see you on one kind floor or another.