There are three characteristics that define the practice of Aikido.

The first is the ability to express power. The second is knowing how to relate to what surrounds us, which is wisdom. The third is compassion. All martial arts, in some way, offer a path to the first two. The uniqueness of Aikido is in adding compassion. If a practitioner embodies these three characteristics, I don’t care how they execute shihonage—for me, that’s enough. (Patrick Cassidy)

The Why Before the How

Attending a seminar led by an experienced and high-ranking Aikido teacher is always an experience that, in some way, changes you. The depth of their experience sheds light on aspects of practice that you have not yet noticed or have not yet consolidated. These experiences are fundamental because they test who you are, challenging your assumptions.

And it is precisely on the why, on the personal motivations that drive us to dedicate time and energy to practice, that Patrick Cassidy invited us to reflect.

Questions that, throughout the nineteenth edition of the Evolutionary Aikido Seminar at Hara Kai Dojo in Turin, resonated throughout the whole weekend.

Too often, Aikido seminars are reduced to a set number of hours spent executing technique after technique. Many are led by skilled teachers, yet, at a certain point, participants switch to autopilot. The experience is reduced to mere repetition.

The purpose of attending high-level training should be -must be- to go beyond pure repetition. That is what daily training at the Dojo is for.

Going Beyond

Throughout the four training sessions, the seminar followed a structured path: a technical response to a fast attack, a meticulous perception-based exploration of counter-techniques, and finally, a progression -facilitated by work with the jo– to develop connection, grounding, uprooting and unbalancing one’s partner.

All these aspects are extensively analyzed in technical programs. And this is where the high-level teaching objective becomes clear.

Forcing a training partner to move, dominating him o her, is relatively simple. It all comes down to strength and the pain inflicted. As long as you are stronger than the other person -who is no longer a training partner but an opponent- the approach works. Stronger, more technical, more ruthless.

But how many joints must be dislocated? How many surgeries to the knees, hips, or shoulders must we undergo before realizing this is a limited perspective?

Is it possible to go beyond? Do we truly want to go beyond?

The meaning of Power

Patrick Cassidy’s teaching approach is, quite literally, disarming. In a world where the most common paradigm is the exclusive use of force, his method places at the center constant listening and the integrated use of what is not merely force, but power.

Understanding the difference is not immediate, and the only real path is through direct, physical experience. Feeling yourself drawn out of your rooted position while simultaneously feeling completely respected is an uncommon experience.

Unbalancing your partner without the slightest tension, without effort, is real—and yet, difficult to describe in words.

It is challenging to fully understand the word power as used by Patrick Cassidy. The word can sometimes carry connotations of domination or brute force. It could be mistaken for just another synonym for strength.

But power is the ability to manifest an intention clearly and decisively. Power is the transition from me to we. It is the astonishment at the effectiveness of a principle that moves the other because I have first accepted to move. It is preserving and nurturing connection. It is discovering that truly feeling the other person and treating him or her as part of oneself is the real foundation of compassion.

The compassionate and creative use of power builds wisdom. A wisdom that is both physical -rooted in a deep understanding of biomechanics and technical principles- and ethical, expressed not through mere form, but through the substance that emerges from every relationship.

Returning to Earth

Great teachers allow you to experience their perspective in such a way that you can understand their message directly. Everything seems simple. Because, in fact, it is.

Then, when you try to apply what they have shown, four things typically happen:

1. You succeed and are amazed.
2. You succeed occasionally.
3. You fail.
4. You don’t realize you are failing, so you step back to what you already know, convinced not only that you have understood, but that you are applying the technique exactly as he demonstrated.

In other words, if it is frustrating for the practitioners to realize they are not yet able to execute an exercise and experience it from the teacher’s perspective, teachers must also accept the frustration of seeing students to whom they preach connection and sensitivity, only to hear them say, “Yes, I understand,” while they continue to torture their partner’s wrist mercilessly.

Returning to Earth -returning to daily practice- means holding onto the feeling of the experiences lived during the seminar for as long as possible. And this is the most demanding part because it requires balancing curriculum progression with the integral development of the person.

A development that is the foundation of the Evolutionary Aikido Community, the international group led by Patrick Cassidy, of which we are part. A challenging journey, which serves as a powerful catalyst for personal growth and an opportunity to offer something valuable to those drawn to Aikido by an innate desire for personal transformation.

Photo Courtesy Silvia Volpato