Aikido and Surfing

Aikido teaches that actions intended to overpower an opponent in particular, or the world in general, will inevitably lead to defeat. Indeed, the mere mind set to "overpower" establishes one's eventual defeat, well before an opponent has even appeared on the scene.

Sometimes, though, it takes a novel perspective to show the absurdity of relying on force and power to shape the world, however admired this ethic may be among certain westerners. Surfing provides one such perspective.

Aikido, as Pat Cockett, a waterman from Kauai, writes, "is the art of directed motion within a stream of energy." If one were to substitute as a training partner, instead of a 200 pound man, 10,000 tons of moving water, then the strategy of blending with and using the energy at hand makes a great deal more practical sense than seeking to overpower or fight.

Both Aikido and Surfing are dynamic activities in which the energy stream is always changing and arising new in each micro-instant. For both aikidoka and surfer the trick is to remain sufficiently relaxed and empty-minded to continuously map and blend with the changes, staying barely ahead of the arising dynamic, gaining fragile leverage by nestling continuously within its moving center.

In this magically still center, with the entire world and its power revolving around you, there is no time to think. Mind and body must be unified. The surfer develops this practice naturally over time, but on reflection it is remarkably similar to the Aikido practice of relaxing and extending awareness from the "one-point" within the body just below the navel. Both the mind and the center of physical gravity sink to this spot in a single act of grounding awareness, or "zanshin."

For the surfer, relaxing the body and moving into action from the one-point enables the body to channel power, but not the power of individual strength. Rather, it is the like the power of Ki freed to accumulate and flow within the relaxed, supple body, and to be expressed as instantaneous movements that may throw more water than 20 people could lift.

In a similar way, the aikidoka, often much smaller than her opponent, can throw the larger attacker with power beyond that available to any individual.

One of the most elusive and remarkable parallels between Aikido and Surfing lies in the shared practice of widening and extending awareness to include a vastness beyond individuals. O-Sensei taught that we should extend our awareness to encompass the entire universe, and not let our minds get trapped in tiny little details such as an attacker's sword. In surfing, by necessity, we are forced to widen awareness into the stream of energy we have joined, which includes us, but also the entire ocean beyond. To ignore this practice is not only to miss the point of surfing, but to invite sudden death.

O-Sensei said we should always train Aikido with a sense of joy. It is hard to watch dolphins romping in the waves, or surfers exploding out of a tube and not see the joy they experience. It may be a stretch to imagine a martial art, even one as clever as Aikido, as a form of play. Yet when we watch movies of O-Sensei it is not difficult to see the playfulness that comes from tapping and channeling power vastly beyond the scope of mere human strength.

(Thanks to Pat Cockett for many of the ideas expressed in this post.)

Comments

[Andres]

That s a cool little essay!
Aikido and surfing are two of my biggest passions. I always felt there was a connection, but couldnt really pin point it. Thanks!

[Ernesto]

Wow! Im not alone!!!!!

[sebstian]

Claro que si!!!!! siempre pense que habia algo en comun !!!!

[watch one tree hill online]

You seem to have got the niche from the root, Awesome work