On Sunday night, I struggled painfully through the first fourty minutes of training, then had the rare privelidge of witnessing a fourth dan grading.
We started the session in much the same fashion as the last couple of weeks, with the black belts throwing us relentlessly into the mats using kokyunage. I managed to make it through about five rounds, and then thought it might be wiser to sit out and grab a camera.
It was a good choice, because pretty much as soon as I did the sensei called for one of our most senior blackbelts to test for his fourth dan. Four the next fourty five minutes the he went through a variety of techniques, most of which he chose freely against stipulated attacks. Throughout the test the sensei called for a greater variety in response to those attacks and gradually increased the both the difficulty of test and number of attackers.
At one stage there were four attackers launching themselves at the candidate willy nilly, at which stage the sensei asked him to get down on his knees to defend from the floor. After successfully dealing with those attackers, and without a chance to catch his breath, he was asked to complete a weapons routine (jo-kata). In the weapons routine there are 31 techniques, which I have trouble remembering when my mind is clear and my body fresh.
The grading continued with defenses against staff, knife and sword. Finally, with great control the candidate dealt with an attempt by an attacker to steal his own sword. The restraint shown in this style of defense epitomises Aikido for me. Even when attacked by an opponent that clearly means to inflict pain and injury, the only just response is to disarm the threat. Even when the opportunity exists to eliminate the threat, in the form of a 1.8 metre razor sharp blade poised above the opponents throat, the only just response is to lay the attacker down and step back as you once again sheath the sword, hopefully without drawing a drop of blood.
The true power in Aikido for me lies in its compassion and restraint. Through its practice we seek to heal not harm, unite not divide, create not destroy. I can only hope to acheive this level of mastery over self, after all, I am sometimes my own worst enemy.
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