"Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of
Aikido, once
said to a group of his senior students: "Come to the dojo tomorrow morning at 5:00
and I will tell you the secrets of Aikido".
The students
arrived the next day at that early hour, eagerly anticipating the revelation of a secret
that would render them invincible like the master, then they would be able to throw ten
opponents at once and pin even the strongest adversary with a single finger.
Morihei sat
the students down and then let the secrets of Aikido well out of him. Employing vibrant
symbolism, intriguing allegory, and free-ranging associations, Morihei expounded for more
than an hour on the creation of the universe, the animating power of the spirit-sounds,
the subtle alchemy of fire and water, the necessity of calming one's spirit and returning
to the source, the transforming nature of mind and body purification, and other mysteries.
Suddenly he smiled gently and concluded: "Those are the secrets of Aikido". Morihei bowed
deeply to the dojo shrine, turned to bow to his students, and then whisked himself
out of the room.
All of the students were bewildered by Morihei's words, and those who had
longed to be taught some amazing trick or be given the words to a magic formula were
resentful: "He didn't show us anything, not a single technique or anything concrete to
use!"
What Morihei had done was reveal Aikido as a deep and wonderful epiphany, not
merely a system of throws, locks, and pins. If one fails to grasp the heart of Aikido,
Morihei was telling them, the techniques will never come alive. Like all good masters,
Morihei illuminated just one corner of the truth, leaving it up to the students to plumb
the depths of Aikido on their own."
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