Tag Archives: aikido

Look at the adversaries through the opportunity. Never make the fatal mistake of looking at the opportunity through the adversaries. J. Stuart Holden, Giant Steps If your heart is large enough to envelop your adversaries, you can see right through them and avoid their attacks. And once you envelop them, you will be able toContinue reading “Aikido and Rhetoric: Flow, Still”

Kykeon [Greek horchata] is not itself when it is not in motion. Heraclitus, fragment 84 Water, by its nature, never collides with or breaks against anything. On the contrary, it swallows up any attack harmlessly. Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace, 72 When we think of being attacked, we think of ourselves as stationary andContinue reading “Aikido and Rhetoric: Flow”

The heart of a human being is no different from the soul of heaven and earth. In your practice always keep in your thoughts the interaction of heaven and earth, fire and water, yin and yang. Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace I think that if one were to order all mankind to bring togetherContinue reading “Aikido and Rhetoric: Opposites Attract”

Loyalty and devotion lead to true bravery. Bravery leads to the spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifices creates trust in the power of love. Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace This, Phaedrus and you others, is what Diotima told me, and I am persuaded of it; in which persuasion I pursue my neighbors, toContinue reading “Aikido and Rhetoric: Love”

Never fear another challenger, no matter how large; Never despise another challenger, no matter how small. To injure an opponent is to injure yourself. To control aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace. Morihei Ueshiba Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer about death, and know this of a truth – that no evilContinue reading “Aikido and Rhetoric: Dignity”

Iron is full of impurities that weaken it; through forging, it becomes steel and is transformed into a razor-sharp sword. Human beings develop in the same fashion. Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace But can the man who does not know what abstinence is, claim to be truly abstinent? or brave, if he has never purgedContinue reading “Aikido and Rhetoric: Refining”

Economy is the basis of society. When the economy is stable, society develops. The ideal economy combines the spiritual and material, and the best commodities to trade are sincerity and love. Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace “‘So you see,’ [Diotima] said, ‘you are a person who does not consider Love to be a god.’“‘WhatContinue reading “Aikido and Rhetoric: Women”

Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery. Bravery leads to self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of love. Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace  Men of Athens, I honor and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you, and while I have life and strength I shall never cease from the practiceContinue reading “Aikido and Rhetoric: Sacrifice”

All life is a manifestation of the spirit, the manifestation of love. And the Art of Peace is the purest form of that principle. A warrior is charged with bringing a halt to all contention and strife. Universal love functions in many forms; each manifestation should be allowed free expression. The Art of Peace isContinue reading “Aikido and Rhetoric: Diplomacy”