The Purpose of Kokikai

合氣道光氣会 Aikido Kokikai Japan News 

2020-7-1 

Shudō Maruyama, Founder and President 

The Purpose of Kokikai 

An important purpose of Kokikai Aikido is to think “I can” and to stay in this frame of mind. When you believe you can, you’re halfway there. When you believe you can do something, your mind is in a positive state, and your brain works better. There’s a Japanese saying that you become good at what you love. When you love doing something, you are motivated, and you can apply your full intellect and concentration. Before you do something, if you think, “Maybe I can’t,” you lose motivation and can’t take advantage of your full ability. Before children study, if they think things like, “I hate math; I’m bad at writing,” they end up in a state where they can’t apply the abilities they actually have—what a shame! 

And even if you tell a child to get motivated, if it’s not for something they like, it’s futile. 

In Kokikai, we have various ways of training ourselves to reach a state of motivation. One method is sitting seiza. A human being has a mind and a body, and these work differently. The mind can freely wander anywhere, but the body cannot fly away. As a general rule, the mind moves the body. In other words, the legs don’t just walk. The mind uses the legs to walk. The mind has no form, no weight, and no color. But according to the principle that the mind controls the body, by checking our body, we can understand the state of our mind. 

Sit seiza and close your eyes. 

At this time, when your mind is calm, your body becomes strong. If you close your eyes and your mind is unfocused, thinking about other things, your body moves unsteadily. Children can understand the sense of becoming strong or of moving unsteadily. It’s the same when we check standing posture. Besides that, we have various other training methods.    When they repeat these practices, children come to understand, “So this is what it feels like to become strong!” This kind of practice becomes a powerful foundation for a child. But that doesn’t mean that they can grasp it right away.  Rome wasn’t built in a day. 

By practicing in the dojo, little by little, we do our best to grow. 

(translated by Barbara Litt, with assistance from Dave Nachman and Steve Syrek)