What Does It All Mean? Dōmō Arigatō Gozaimashita

By Marjorie Motooka, Shodan

Dōmō Arigatō Gozaimashita (pronounded Dō-mō Ari-ga-tō Gozai-mash-ta) is a phrase heard at the end of practice and the end of class.  This phrase is also accompanied by a standing or seated bow. Translated it means “thank you very much.” 

In the Japanese language there is formal and informal speech. Formal speech is used when speaking to someone who is one’s superior (i.e. teacher, boss, elder) and informal speech is used when speaking to someone who is an equal or inferior (i.e. friend, employee, child).

If you are expressing gratitude to someone who is your superior, “Dōmo Arigatō Gozaimashita” would be used.

If you are expressing gratitude to someone who is your inferior, you would use “Dōmō Arigatō” or simply, “Dōmō.”

These phrases would be the English equivalent to “Thank you very much,”  “Thank you” and “Thanks.”

Dōmō Arigatō Gozaimashita for stopping by and reading this blog.  See you on the mat!

Joining the Kenshusei Program

By Stephanie Pardo, 4th Kyu

I joined the Kenshusei program because I wanted to dive deeper into a martial art that I loved. I thought, “What better way to explore my passion than join an intensive program, which focuses on just that?” The opportunity to join the program was presented to me and I took it without hesitation.

The Kenshusei program is a year commitment.

Kenshushi takes place in a healthy and safe space that challenges each participant to deal with discomfort. This discomfort is unique to each individual.

So why was I doing this? What kept me there?

I made a commitment and couldn’t just walk away. Well, in reality, yes, I could’ve stopped at any point and broken my commitment. Although I committed to a year, it was ultimately my own personal choice to see it through. Nothing was keeping me there… except myself.

I made the decision to join the Kenshusei program because of my love for Aikido. The Kenshusei program for me meant committing myself to a whole year of love. Becoming a Kenshusei brought me face to face with the depths of that devotion.

When I made the decision to become a Kenshusei it was easy because I didn't care about how hard it was going to be or what challenges I was sure to face along the way. I was excited to face those challenges because it would ultimately mean that I got to do something I loved everyday. I made the commitment first to myself, then to my Sensei, then the dojo, then to my fellow Aikidoka, etc. At the time I was unaware that by simply committing to a practice I loved I was ultimately making a deep commitment to myself. I was committing to what makes me happy, to my truth, my experience, my ambitions, my dreams and desires. When I committed myself to the Kenshusei program I was making a commitment to my purest self.

By committing to myself … I acknowledged that I believe in who I am, that I love myself, trust myself, care about myself, and want to do something for my own betterment… I uncovered the depths of self love. I had always believed in myself, but the difference now was that I had recognized it through this self commitment. This was the first time that I fully committed to something for me. Something that I believe in and love, something that was special in my heart. The Kenshusei program uncovered something that I needed — self commitment.

With that being said, I think it is important to be aware that there are two ways in which one commits to something — the first is out of fear and the other out of love. 

When a commitment or decision is made out of fear, you are not being true to yourself, but rather you are making a decision that stems from a place of pain and not from your heart. This pain comes from the fear of loss, rejection, abandonment, etc. Therefore the ego driven fear turns your reality into a toxic and false environment. Decisions made out of fear disguise themselves as something safe when in fact they are what lead to your pain. A false perception of yourself is created in order to find protection from whatever you believe has hurt you. In the moment you strongly feel as though you are making a decision for yourself when in reality it is nothing but a defense mechanism, which ultimately leads to failure and pain. Although you believe the decision is what’s best for you, it fundamentally had nothing to do with your truth. As a result, you listen to fear once again in a desperate attempt to protect yourself and fall victim to a vicious cycle that will continue to deceive you.  These decisions separate you from love and hide you from your truth. Fear-based decisions never stem from love. They are demanded by your ego, by a deceitful con artist, a lie.

Fear’s main function is to signal danger and trigger responses that will protect you, the best detector of truth is your body. For example, if we see love as danger than we know exactly where we can find love. Pay attention to what scares you and you will find that love is hidden within that. You will find that this love matters to you and as a result you will commit to that love.

Facing your fear is self love.

When you commit to something out of love you will find that you are anchored. The foundation is strong because you are doing it for yourself, which in turn means you are loving yourself and that is conclusively where you find your truth. It comes from a place of true love for oneself to conquer, grow, live, give, connect, believe, dream, be. So no matter what the outcome, the foundation is always true to you and that brings confidence, assurance, strength, truth and freedom.

I believe this is the key to ending all suffering — one must defeat their ego in order to evolve. Uncovering the true love that already exists within us leads to self fulfillment. The fact that you are are alive proves that. You're still going. You haven't given up on yourself. When we commit ourselves to making it through today we are saying that we have worth, we believe in ourselves. The key question now is how much are you fully committing to your life, fully committing to yourself?

Spirit Warrior:

“A soldier has a commitment to love his/her country. The Spiritual warrior must have the commitment to love him/her self. The warrior then extends that love to humanity. The commitment is required because in our journey we will certainly fumble and fall many times. It is in having a strong commitment that we get back up again. It is common to fall to judgment. It can be easy to love some people, particularly the people that like us or treat us well. However, it requires a tremendous commitment to love in the face of those that reject us. This commitment will cause us to challenge our beliefs about our judgments and not being compassionate. We must be committed to love beyond our own self-serving interests of what it will bring us. This is how we will become happy beyond our current paradigm of beliefs. In time we become committed to love for the sheer enjoyment of expressing love. This becomes our commitment. We nourish ourselves with the love we express. A warrior acts in this committed way, even when challenged.

The courage that makes for a good soldier also makes for a good Spiritual Warrior, but the intent becomes completely different. A soldier has courage to face a challenge that may bring physical harm. The Spiritual warrior has the courage to question challenge his or her own beliefs. By challenging our own beliefs we can dissolve the lies that cause our suffering. To challenge our own beliefs requires courage because it means the end of our illusion of safety. When other people challenge our own beliefs we are usually quick to defend. We defend them even if they cause us to suffer. As a warrior we learn not to defend what we believe, and then to challenge those very beliefs ourselves. In this way we are able to sort out the truth from illusions.”

http://www.toltecspirit.com/four-agreements/characteristics-of-a-spiritual-warrior/

What Does It All Mean? Onegai Shimasu

By Marjorie Motooka, Shodan

Onegai Shimasu (pronounced o-ne-ga-e shi-mas) is a phrase that is exchanged at the beginning of class between students to teacher.  It is also uttered to your partner before the start of any technique.  The phrase is also accompanied by a bow (seated or standing), which is a symbol of respect.

Loosely translated onegai shimasu means “Will you do me the honor.”

What? You’re asking someone for the honor of being thrown to the ground and pinned?  If you have any understanding of the Japanese culture, you know that we (yes, I am a third generation Japanese) are a  polite, considerate, and non-confrontational group.

The honor that we see and that we appreciate during training, is having someone to practice with who will make our skills, knowledge and understanding of aikido deeper and better.  Without a partner, we would be left with doing Ukemi practice by ourselves.  What fun is that? Therefore, it is an honor to have a partner to be able to train with and for which the least we can do is express appreciation before inflicting corporal pain. 

As between teacher (Sensei) and students (Gakusei), it is an honor for a student to be able to train in a Dojo with a teacher who imparts the knowledge that she has learned from years of training from her Sensei.  Without her, we would be left with trying to learn techniques through YouTube videos. Again, what fun is that? The honor of having a Sensei to train with and learn from is expressed with a seated bow to the Sensei before the start of class and the words Onegai Shimasu.

See you on the mat … I look forward to the honor!

Our Dojo: A Sacred Place

by Reza Haghshenas, 4th Kyu

 What is Aikido? And what is this martial art going to bring into my life? I don't know the answer. But I feel that Aikido is a manifestation of love, as it lights up something special in my heart, to see my true self, to recognize my real path.

How do I know this is true? I look inside myself and see.

It has been many days, I have come to Aikido class while my physical body was exhausted, my mind was unrestful and my level of consciousness was in a low mode. 

Aikido heals you, it cures you; Once you enter the mat at our dojo the healing process of aikido begins. It is not your choice, you can not stop it; It touches something deep in your heart, bring it up to your physical and conscious levels and pulls you up to a higher level. Our dojo is a sacred place; You just need to enter it, once you do that, it makes you a better person, sheds light on your true nature to explore the way to better yourself.      

I don't know what is aikido or what this martial art is going to bring into my life. But I feel that when you enter the mat, it helps you become a better person. 

Your Face is Pressed Against the Mat

by Vincent John, 5th Kyu

Your face is pressed against the mat. This serves to relieve the pressure derived from whoever is stretching your right arm up towards your spine, firmly into your back. At first nothing is felt. Not a shred of discomfort. You quietly think to yourself, “Is this the correct technique? Am I situated wrong? Should I alter my position or shift my weight?” You lay there considering these frivolous notions, neglecting to observe a rapid pulsation and heat stemming from your body. 

As in all matters, the body can sense trouble before the mind.

In an instant swirling and surging, what you callously thought wouldn’t happen, does. Pain. Wet hot, sticky pain. Being lost in your surroundings, the mind you were so dependent on forgets to tap the mat. Provoking your sparring partner to add a little more pressure, I.e. pain, to the moment.

Finally, you tap and are released. You stand up, brush yourself off, say thank you, and do it again. Now on your left arm.

A quick Google search on Aikido will bring you this:

Way of Adapting the Spirit. That is Aikido. Fluidly adapting movement for a better outcome. Which useful during an actual attack against an aggressor of bigger stature.

But is it not the teachings of Aikido to avoid fighting at all cost? A teacher of my mine once said, “If you allowed the fight to happen you have already lost.” I am paraphrasing, but that is the basic jest. Which is unquestionably true. If someone comes up to you out of the blue, calls you a demeaning name, the genuine best defense for that is, smile, nod, and walk away.

So why train?

Why put your body through being pulled and prodded. Why be bruised and exhausted upon entering your home after an extra rigorous class? Why waste your free time for something that will lead to nothing?Instead, could not each Aikido class be a thirty-minute discussion on how to diffuse violent bullies through peaceful negotiation?

The answer to that is no. Not because some would-be-attacker is a capable fighter easily dealing out hordes of anguish. Sure that is part of it. Every individual should be prepared with the basic knowledge on defending himself or herself.

But the true reason for training in hot weather, or cold, with bruises and none existent personal time, is not for the cardio. It is for the mind. Yeah remember that overtly confident element of cognition I spoke of earlier? And how I thought either my partner or I got the technique wrong before the pain hit?

Well, in a sense I did get the technique wrong.

The mind tells us what it needs. When it calls for it, and whom it requires it from. Never ceasing, never wavering. Neither in our sleep nor in reflection.

Most of all the mind tells us our approach is correct. That there is no other perspective. We are all destined to one point perspectives since humans do not share the connected consciousness as Ants. Obviously thank goodness for that. But, the tricky part is how does one bend to the will of someone else without breaking.

Do not believe me? Then try this fun little game!

I do not want you to picture pink elephants dancing in a disco. Seriously stop!

I told you stop! Stop thinking about it.

So what were you just thinking about? Y eah...

I challenged you to stop thinking of cute pink elephants and try as you might, it was tough wasn’t it?

You tell me no, my mind will somehow discover a yes. Which if you are human, and I have a suspicion that you are, 95% of the time that is excellent news. It is how as a species we built towers and flown planes and sailed to the moon.

But there is a certain mischievous 5% that when occurs no mind in human existence can find a yes. Where the only answer is no.

One day it will attack you; and I do not mean physically. Metaphorically, you will be cornered against a wall. Surrounded. Got. No where to flee.

It is in those moments when A Way of Adapting the Spirit comes into fruition. The fluid nature of being able to bend but not break.

It is the inner balance, a core strength that comes through preparation for the mental fight. That in truth, has already made you victorious.

Training is not for the purpose of the physical fight, but to anticipate the fight within.