Musubi in Aikido


Musubi: to tie, bind, connect... One of Aikido's teachings and a big challenge in our training. Creating a beautiful musubi, brings birth to a beautiful waza (technique). Creating a bautiful musubi in life, will bring birth to beautiful relationships at work, at home, with nature...
I wrote today this shodo (calligraphy) of the Japanese word "Musubi". I hope you enjoy it.



Musubi

Comments

  1. NinaTuesday, March 18, 2014 at 6:05:00 PM GMT+2

    Thank you for your beautiful reflections and calligraphy. I found this page randomly, looking for thoughts on musubi. I practice aikido in the Nebraska in the United States, and was happy to find this "connection" to someone far away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ze'ev ErlichWednesday, March 19, 2014 at 12:37:00 AM GMT+2

      Dear Nina,

      Thank you so much for your comment.
      Please come visit us in Israel some day soon.

      Our dojo is:
      www.aikikai.org.il

      Warmest regards,

      Ze'ev.

      Delete
  2. artmonkeySaturday, August 24, 2019 at 12:54:00 AM GMT+3

    Thank you Ze'ev!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nanso - Hakuyu and Hakuin's healing method

Image
Initial Steps in Aikido Eighth Keiko 軟酥鴨卵法 nanso One of my most cherished memories from the dojo in Kyoto, is the special feeling I had just before the end of each aikido class, when we used to sit for a few minutes, and practice an ancient meditation method called nanso . Nanso helps us to relax our body and mind. It is said, that it can relieve us from pain and that it helps to overcome physical or emotional difficulties. As well as I know, nanso meditation is not part of aikido classes in most dojos in the world. Perhaps it is something unique to my old sensei's dojo in Kyoto where I began my aikido training in the year 1992 and practiced there until my return to Israel in 1999. As I found nanso significantly helpful and pleasant, it was just natural for me to continue practicing it at the end of each class also here at Masatake Dojo in Rehovot. About 300 years ago, lived in Japan a zen -buddhist monk called Hakuin . He is one of the most important and in...
Read more

Sumikiri: Stillness in the eye of the storm

Image
The first time I came across the word sumikiri, was when I read a small but marvellous book called "The Spirit of Aikido" by 2nd Doshu - Kisshomaru Ueshiba. The word "sumikiri" can be translated as perfect clarity, or pureness, but the book did not give any further explanation. So... what exactly is sumikiri? Our most basic training method, is with one partner, slowly and according to clear demonstration of our teacher. Later on, our training becomes more free, creative and dynamic, the attacks and the techniques become more realistic and versatile, and we also learn to resolve situation dealing with a large numbers of opponents. In such dynamic training, we tend to get very excited and quite often we feel mental pressure and fear. If we continue our training for years and gain experience, we realize that gradually our mind remains relaxed even in such training. Although our body is moving fast and many techniques are applied quickly, our mind remains rela...
Read more

Misogi and Aikido

Image
Misogi 禊 “Polish the heart, free the six senses and let them function without obstruction, and your entire body and soul will glow.” Founder of Aikido “Aikido is misogi” said the founder of aikido. One definition of the term “misogi” is purification. As a matter of fact, many aikido practitioners talk about a special feeling of mental freshness they sometimes experience after an aikido practice. Sometimes we arrive at the dojo with a tiered body, worries or stress. Sometimes when we arrive, our head is occupied with thoughts, troubles and conflicts we sometimes all have during our day. As we bow in at the entrance to the dojo, we let our daily matters drop off from our back. They wait for us outside the dojo, but at the end of class, when we "pick" them up, we often realise that their dimensions are reduced to a more reasonable size, and so, our heart gains more space for constructive and calm thoughts that help us deal with those worries. Aikido pract...
Read more