Evolution and the Central Axis Nidan Essay by Gale McIntosh Aikido West
	I was initially drawn to aikido through the love of the physical movement principles that are taught in this martial art. In my education as a physical therapist and a doctor of chiropractic, I have studied many aspects of gross motor development in normal and abnormal development. As a physical therapist I had many years of experience working with children with developmental delays - my specialty being gross motor development. I was absolutely amazed to find a movement art that studies and emphasizes development of a strong central axis as the core of good strong coordinated movement and as a concept that gives one better ability to interact with the forces around us. These are all principles that we study in children with developmental delays and inability to succeed in school. These principles also apply to good body mechanics in normal adults. The fundamental concept in aikido about a strong unified center being at the core of the movement is basically the central part of how a normal child develops the ability to crawl, sit, stand. When we work with a handicapped child we often train their bodies back through the muscles that develop the central axis, from the head down and the center out. These are large, mostly fan-shaped muscles designed to provide a strong, stable foundation around our center of gravity as we move through our environment. Often we get injured in aikido because we try to use our fine motor dexterity muscles in the middle of a large gross motor technique. What does relaxed strength mean? On one level it simply means using only the necessary muscle for that gross motor move. Why should we tense our finger extensors when we only need to move our trunk and some of the large muscles of the arm? An example of the commonality between aikido and motor development theory is the concept of head control in neural development. The first thing a child needs to develop is use of the neck muscles controlling the head, otherwise he/she will not have the strength and stability to maintain an upright posture. In aikido, nage, while maintaining her own posture, often takes uke's balance by controlling the neck or head directly, or by inducing uke to lose control of his own head, usually via atemi. We say we are "taking uke's mind". We are also exploiting human neural organization. My attraction to aikido has endured over the past 15 years pulling me to Japan, Wisconsin, Chicago and Redwood City. My search has involved the study of this inner and outer life we live and why there is pain and suffering on the inside as well as on the physical level. My personal training experience with aikido has been a study in inner growth as well as outer movement. As I saw my emotional storms come up on the mat I used to feel close to quitting because the pain of seeing myself was too great. I noticed that as I trained and trained the storm would dissolve and I'd go home feeling great. But the next training day, the storms would return. One day I stumbled across a teacher of a different sort. This Gurdjieff teacher is much like our aikido teachers except his way is an inner journey towards awareness. He is teaching me how to study the inner current versus the outer one. We study our energy centers (intellectual, emotional, and moving centers is the simplest representation). I learned that if I listen really hard in the moment there are energies that can be experienced emanating from these different centers. When I am present to the movement of these energies, I have the possibility of seeing how my "machine" is functioning in that moment. I'm learning a new way of watching, and the mode of practice is surprisingly physical, with much attention to the movement of energy up and down the spine. As I try to do a throw, I watch with my mind, my heart and my body senses. First I feel a physical sense of the movement. Then I notice an emotion storm arising around the movement. Then I see some intellectual rationalization about this form vs. that form, this teaching vs. that teaching - which of the many conflicting patterns that my body seems to know should I do? Finally, if I am lucky enough to persevere long enough as a watcher, the inner current runs up my central axis. There is actually a shift. I see and feel a sense of letting go of my personality's hold on the moment, and there is a lighter sensation of freedom (and maybe I figure out the throw). Sometimes this occurs very fast without conceptual details. I see that I'm in my head and emotions, and I feel high up in my body. As I watch and shift down into my center the throw becomes easier. In its own way, each of these three practices is about evolution. Gross motor development moves from involuntary to voluntary and from simple to complex. Gurdjieff work nurtures an attention which can see our mechanicality and open the door to transformation. Aikido strengthens mind, body, and spirit in the journey towards a peaceful warrior. And in all three schools, events play out along the central axis.