The founder often associated the essence of Aikido with that of weaponswork, most notably swordwork. In doing so, he ultimately was acknowledging the timing and role of aikido was that of a striking art, not a grappling art. Aikido is not jujutsu and to perform aikido well we do not train with the timing and intention of twisting wrists or bending arms.

Categorically speaking, Aikido is a "ju"jutsu, that is a system based upon "soft" principles of movement.The opposite of ju is "go"; go is a system based upon hard principles of movement. These definitions may also refer to external and internal sources of power for the systems. It is from this categorization that we can derive Aikido is based upon softer, internal movements to generate power and affect.

Aikido has structure. The stance and movements we apply in aikido are done so from a structurally superior position. By aligning our skeletal and muscular systems as we adhere to principles of mechanics and physics we are able to create solid structure. This structure is comprised of 2 horizontal axises and 3 vertical axises. Maintaining structure is about preserving the integrity of these five rotational axises and applying the correct rotational axis in movement.

There are many different philosophies surrounding aikido, and in your training you will need to reconcile how each philosophy affects your aikido style and personal beliefs. It is your responsibility to learn these philosophies and educate yourself about them. In your education hold no sacred cows; take seriously your task to understand aikido and those philosophies which drive aikido. In my education, I have yet to approach a solid concept which is not demonstrable, reproduce-able, and explain-able. Likewise, I seek those instructors who can concisely and clearly explain their aikido. I believe that aikido is founded in mechanics and principles of physics. At an elevated level of understanding, I believe aikido also includes physiology and psychology. Challenge your training and your beliefs. Understand what and why you believe it. Your training is your responsibility.

Surrounding us is a sphere of influence in which our body is designed to function. In addition, our muscles are designed to function in particular capacities, within areas of particular strength and function. It is important to learn how to best use our bodies and the space in which we function. Establishing our space with our partners is also important to our training. The timing of claiming space from our partner is critical. Proper distancing, ma ai, not only means the distance between partners but also the exchange of space between partners.

Like many academic pursuits, there is an order to the educational process of aikido. First, the martial educational paradigm in which we train is important to shifting the student's thought process into one of combat and military strategy. Second, the order in which we learn concepts and transcend from one level of understanding into another is important. In academics, it is understandable that one does not teach algebra before arithmetic. Similarly, in aikido there are concepts which should precede other, more advanced, concepts. We are building blocks upon which to stand to better understand what lies above us.

To loosely define "aiki" as we see it physically applied in aikido, we are simply talking about a transference of balance for two or more elements into one. The connective state under which we seize our partner's balance and transfer that balance under our control is the physical realization of aiki. By doing so, your partner(s) become dependent upon your balance structure to support their [now broken] balance.

Yes, I believe there are kata in aikido. I think much of what we commonly call "kihon waza" probably should be called "kata." Kata should be performed collusively, if not cooperatively, in the spirit of learning the proper mechanics of technique. Kata is learning the specific mechanics of body movement employed in technique; a key component in this explanation is that much of kata is conscious and precise movement. Kihon is a separate concept from kata. Kuriowa sensei often referred to the connection, musubi, between partners as "kihon", the root of any technique which would follow the connection. In this sense, kihon waza must first contain "aiki", then the technique application. Kuriowa Sensei often referred to this "learning" form as kata no kihon waza, the spontaneous application of root technique. Kuriowa sensei advocated that this form, kata no kihon waza, required both components or one would not be correctly performing kata no kihon waza.

This weekend Long Sensei may a profound request for the students in attendance to thank their families. We attended the seminar at the expense of our families - we took money from our families to pay for the seminar, we took time from our families to spend at the seminar. Long Sensei asked us to take that time and money our families invested in us and show our families it was well-invested. That our experience at the seminar made us a better person and we profited from our participation and training. We didn't just "get our money's worth," but profited in excess of what we invested. This is the point of training, to get more than your money's worth; to profit from your training by receiving more than what you put in. When you have abundance you then fulfill your obligation to training by also giving back to aikido your time and your money.

To elaborate on an earlier post, aikido training encompasses physical and mental education. Physical training provides the body several beneficial elements: conditioning, muscle memory and coordination to name a few. But our physical exercise also inspires confidence in our ability. Through repetition, our bodies become efficient at the given movement and in time our minds learn to comprehend the higher rate of successful accomplishment in that movement. This is the basis of confidence in our movement.

Once our minds becomes confident in the bodies ability to successful accomplish a given movement it becomes free[er] to devote its efforts on other contemplation. This is a similar state of mind to the "automatic pilot" that we experience when we perform a mundane action and our minds wander while we vacuum the rug or mow the lawn. Once freed, our minds are able to undertake other cognition.

So in a sense practice does make perfect, or at least increase the percentage of accomplishment. We train our bodies to inspire confidence in our minds. We train our minds to understand the technical lessons of our bodies so we learn the truth of why aikido works. Once we understand the truth of the technical principles that govern aikido, we become free to innovate [within compliance with those principles].

…In the words of the famous Greek poet, Heisod. The timing of kata is go no sen. The cause and react nature of kihon waza technique allows us to learn how to move our body with the proper form. The next step in training advances the timing of interaction. The timing of anticipation is sen no sen. Sen sen no sen is the highest form of anticipatory interaction and borders on the perception of intent as the trigger to action.

These three concepts of timing exist in traditional Japanese martial arts, including Aikido. Timing is critical to proper aikido movement and a student of Aikido must understand proper timing (deai). Aikido is distance and timing.