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One time after Sunday morning practice, Sensei Dan told me about his dream from the previous night. In his dream, O-Sensei taught him some technique, but Dan wasn’t getting it. O-Sensei got totally pissed. In Aikido narrative lore, Morihei Ueshiba notoriously had a bad temper. Ironically, patience was perhaps not a strong suit. Though, he was the great Sensei. Sensei’s story reflected the poignant gravity in his lifelong commitment in making a difference for others, like me. I smiled as he talked at length of his dream.
Sensei lived Aikido, in his heart and in his soul. Aikido was his life. Sensei truly believed that if everyone trained in Aikido that the world would be a better place. According to Sensei that’s what O-Sensei had intended with Aikido. Both men were about the possibility of peace in the world. Both possessed the Warrior Spirit. Perhaps, the true Warrior is about Peace.
In our conversations, Sensei said, “The world would be a better place if everyone practiced Aikido.” Early on I thought, “Is he for real?” Then as I trained with Sensei over the years, I got – he was genuine in his belief. That’s what made Sensei dedicate nearly 50 years of his life to teaching Aikido. That was the bigger picture of our intense training: Peace. I got Sensei’s purposefulness. His purpose also became mine.
In The Art of Peace, O-Sensei said:
There are no contests in the Art of Peace. A true warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within.
“True victory is victory over oneself.” Perhaps, true victory is defining peace within self.
The great paradox of Peace in the study of martial Arts like Aikido: Those who attained mastery like O-Sensei and Sensei could easily dispatch violent attackers regardless of size or strength, yet they choose not to harm if at all possible. Their wisdom is in not fighting at all. That’s what the years of intense training are for.
O-Sensei said, “The Way of the Warrior is to give life to all things…” In service of the world the warrior uses his or her greater powers for good, not evil.
One of the greatest samurai Yagyu Munenori said, “Conquering evil, not the opponent is the essence of swordsmanship.” In a way isn’t conquering evil, peace. I believe that for peace to be possible, we must be intentional. Peace isn’t passive in the sense that we wish for it to be so while sitting on our asses.
When I trained with Ozawa Sensei at Hombu Dojo in Tokyo back in 1999, he was about 70 years old and about my size. He could kick the ass of just about any man on the planet. Yet although, he spoke hardly any English he spent an entire class teaching me to use my center, my breath and the feelings through my hands to move the bigger, stronger man.
I got that Sensei was the older version of me. He wanted to pass on something to his “younger self” in me. We trained so very hard: Basically we trained to kick anybody’s ass. We were sweaty and totally spent at the end of morning class. I became part of Sensei’s legacy. He taught me to use his greater powers for good, by first overcoming myself. In a sense that was his gift of peace.
One trains his or her lifetime to become the Warrior who chooses peace. After years of training, I get like Ozawa and Dan that what greater powers we possess must be used for good, to give life and protect others.
Along with greater power comes greater responsibility. So it only makes sense that the true Warrior chooses peace. Consequently, I train others to discover their own greater than within so that they too choose peace for themselves. The Way of the Warrior is ultimately the possibility of Peace.
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