Just Like Swimming

The title of this blog may seem odd at first, but there is a bit more to it.

Last year I was lucky enough to spend some quality, off-mat time with one of the top Aikido Shihan (masters) in the world today. For the sake of this story, I’ll call him C-Sensei. Enjoying some tropical island R&R after a recent overseas clinic, we realised a mutual enjoyment of shallow water diving.

The next two hours were spent in an little-frequented corner of a Malaysian island resort, snorkeling the shallows among doctor fish and groupers.

The island scenery was memorable enough! However I was more awestruck by C-Sensei’s fascination with swimming. Here was one of the world’s greatest living Aikido treasures, and he was happy as larry splashing it up among the fishies! Note To Self: Your teachers are human!

Something C-Sensei said off hand really stuck with me. He mentioned how much he enjoyed “experiencing the coral reef with his whole body”. No life jacket, no fins, just swimsuit, mask & snorkel. As close to nature as can be. it seemed somewhat puzzling at the time, so I just kept swimming. But after a while his comment blossomed into something more.

After returning Malaysia to Japan, in preparation for my 4th dan test, I have been swimming a lot. It’s been a while since I swam a lot; 15 some years and counting. Still, I’m doing my best to be a strong and efficient swimmer. In the absence of 15 years of swimming, I did my best to apply the last 15 years of land based, body movement training.

After I trying this approach for a while, I noticed Aikido is more like swimming than anything else. Since very little in this world is similar to Aikido, this was really saying something!

Swimming Is…

Swimming effectively requires attention to the small details. Relax, control your breathing, manage the angles of yaw & pitch, extend into your stroke, avoid the misuse of strength, relax, repeat. In short, don’t swim inspite of the water, swim in concert with the water. You create a relationship with the water based on your level of exertion, position and attitude; then use it to your advantage! This is done unconsciously, and requires substantial work undoing bad habits.

Jogging Is…

In contrast, jogging is performed in spite of the ground! Bounding along, grinding, pushing & pounding the pavement you propel your body forward. Environment be damned, you assert dominance by virtue of strength and vitality. It’s not to say it isn’t an honest work out, but simply put, you’re kicking the pavement’s butt!

Having trained in Aikido, Judo and a little Karate, I have some appreciation for the difference between “satsujinken” (lit: death dealing sword) and “katsujinken” (lit: life giving sword). In Japanese martial arts, these expressions refer to techniques applied through strength in spite of your opponent’s situation (satsujinken), and the application of subtle technique by reading your opponent thoroughly (katusjinken).

A Small Realisation

So one day whilst swimming, I put two and two together and came up with something I’ve never heard before. Aikido is just like swimming. Mastery is achieved through attenuation to circumstance and your opponent’s situation (i.e. the water).

Other martial arts you probably believe to be “more effective” (and the list is long) are more like jogging. In these arts, the students work to achieve mastery in spite of the opponent; usually punching, kicking, locking, choking or otherwise punishing them into submission.

Taking this realisation one step further: Any martial art, performed at a sufficiently advanced level, is just like swimming!

Using the connection/relationship (kankeisei in Japanese 関係性) between them and their opponent to advantage, an accomplished budoka can stand apart. I am the first to admit, the technique of low-level Aikidoka simply doesn’t work! However, the lower levels in ostensibly “effective” martial arts rely on brute strength & force.

What can I say, evolution takes time, though a good outcome is not guaranteed! If you train always with satsujinken as your goal, it is unlikely you will ever develop more refined and powerful technique. Thankfully most martial artists are simply human, and their bodies do not last forever, making training in katsujinken a necessity for martial arts “lifers”.

The Great Untrained Masses

The squirming masses of “instantly expert” YouTube commentators complain how this technique or that teacher looks “unrealistic” or “fake”. Unfortunately they are often correct! In any field of human endeavour, “those who can” are far exceeded by “those who think they can”. However, in ignorance the masses respond almost exclusively to satsujinken techniques. Katsujinken techniques are beyond their experience, and don’t communicate very well through embedded video!

It’s Just Like Swimming

I believe Aikido aims to be just like swimming… any martial art practiced at a sufficiently advanced level is just like swimming. It is something you do in concert & coordination with your opponent’s situation. Like the swimmer enveloped by folds of water, you are in amongst it and part of it. Use it to your advantage. Subtlety works better than brutality.

To the YouTubers and Internet martial artists, unfortunately you will never disappear, but maybe some will become better informed. However, on the mats or on the street, there is a difference between posers and people with mileage under their belts. The latter can tell what good technique is. It doesn’t make us invincible or Steven Segal, but we can tell. On this note, our blog is about keeping it real. Remember, short of brutal UFC aspirations, martial arts is more about getting a grip on yourself, not the other guy.

Train earnestly, keep your ego in check - I’ll try to do the same, Ed.