Thursday, April 16, 2020

Aikido is Communication

This came across my information feed today:
https://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=738



The course description say that, in this course, you'll learn:

  • How to speak consciously, clearly and concisely without anxiety.
  • The practice of responding instead of reacting.
  • To speak in a way that's kind, honest and helpful.
  • When to speak and when to stay quiet.
  • How to stay engaged when listening.
  • To express yourself so that others can hear you.
  • The best way to nip potential problems in the bud before they become meltdowns.
  • How to be comfortable in silence -- no longer needing to fill the space.
It occurs to me that this has a lot of similarities to our practice in Aikido. Aikido is, in fact, a form of communication. Consider the following... 


In Aikido, we learn:
  • How to act consciously, clearly and concisely without anxiety.
  • The practice of responding instead of reacting.
  • To act in a way that's kind, honest and helpful.
  • When to act assertively and when to stay quiet.
  • How to stay engaged in the midst of conflict.
  • To express yourself so that Uke is affected.
  • The best way to nip potential threats in the bud before they become more dangerous.
  • How to fill the space by comfortably doing less.