Daniela Donciu - 20.10.2013
Acum multi ani, admiratia mea fata de
simplitatea si eleganta filozofiei Zen mi-a trasat un drum pe
parcursul caruia, destul de curand, am intalnit si multe informatii
despre Aikido, care imbina paradoxal arta martiala cu arta pacii si
care, prin armonie si fluiditate, ofera o modalitate superioara de
dizolvare a conflictelor.
Principiile luptei nonviolente, ale
capacitatii de a intelege adversarul si de a intra in rezonanta cu
acesta pot face din Aikido un stil de viata, chiar si fara
practicarea efectiva a antrenamentului intr-un dojo. Incercarea
aplicarii acestor principii ale armoniei in viata cotidiana
reprezinta, de fapt, incercarea noastra de a gasi Calea de Mijloc si,
implicit, adevarul despre noi insine si despre universul din care
facem parte.
Dar trebuie sa marturisesc faptul ca
oricat de mult as fi citit pe marginea acestui subiect nu m-ar fi
pregatit suficient pentru momentul inceperii practicii de Aikido!
Cand am intrat pentru prima data
intr-un dojo, am fost automat transportata intr-un spatiu cu totul
nou pentru mine, in care oamenii se miscau mai bine, mai rapid, mai
elegant, mai eficient, intr-un ritm dictat de o eticheta specifica,
dar si de dorinta de explorare si depasire a propriilor limite.
Primul meu contact cu antrenamentul de
Aikido a avut loc intr-un dojo cu un numar mare de practicanti, multi
dintre ei avansati, extrem de talentati si care, ulterior, si-au
deschis propriile dojo-uri si au avut amabilitatea de a ma primi si
pe mine la antrenamentele tinute de ei. Le multumesc din suflet
profesorilor mei care mi-au daruit cu generozitate din timpul si
cunoasterea lor si, de asemenea, le multumesc pentru ajutor tuturor
colegilor alaturi de care am avut placerea sa practic Aikido si de la
care am invatat intotdeauna.
Am inceput, desigur, cu scoala caderii,
au urmat diverse tehnici de Aikido, foarte multa munca dar, dupa
atatia ani petrecuti pe tatami, ma simt in continuare ca un aikidoka
incepator. Pentru ca, pe masura ce inaintez pe acest drum de-a lungul
caruia raspunsurile genereaza noi intrebari, imi dau seama cat de
putin stiu despre spatiul pe care il am de explorat, cat de putin
stiu despre mine si despre cei din jur. Si atunci procesul de cautare
continua si deschide noi spatii interesante de cercetat, ceea ce face
ca, pentru mine, timpul petrecut in dojo sa fie intotdeauna la
momentul prezent. Gandurile si grijile cotidiene nu prea au loc pe
tatami. Este o experienta placuta care ma ajuta in incercarea de a-mi
gasi echilibrul (interior si exterior deopotriva) si imi deschide
accesul catre zona gandirii pozitive – atat de valoroasa pentru
evolutia noastra.
Desigur, de multe ori nu reusesc sa imi
depasesc limitele si conditionarile sau nu reusesc sa ma armonizez cu
anumite situatii. Dar voi continua sa incerc. Pentru ca aceasta
cautare a echilibrului, a Caii de Mijloc, ne face sa dorim sa fim mai
buni cu noi insine si cu tot ceea ce ne inconjoara, sa incercam sa ne
depasim temerile, sa cautam solutii armonioase, sa construim si sa
fim creativi.
English version
Many years ago, my admiration for the
elegance and simplicity of Zen made me to walk on a path that, very
soon, revealed to me a lot of information regarding Aikido that
paradoxically combines the art of war and the art of peace, and
offers a superior way of solving conflicts by using harmony and
continuous flow of energy.
The principles of non-violent fight,
the capacity of understanding the opponent and deal harmoniously with
a situation can turn Aikido into a lifestyle without being necessary
an actual dojo training. Trying to apply these principles in the
day-to-day life represents, in fact, our endeavour of finding the
Middle Way and therefore finding the truth about ourselves and about
the univers we live in.
But I have to confess that no matter
how much I would have read on this topic it wouldn't have prepared me
for the experience of the actual Aikido training!
When I entered the dojo for the first
time I instantly found myself in a space where everything was
completely new for me, where people used to move better, faster, in a
more elegant and efficient way, in a rhythm influenced by a certain
etiquette but also by the need of exploration and overcoming their
own limits.
My first contact with Aikido training
took place in a dojo with a large number of practitioners, many of
them very talented, advanced students which, over the next years,
established their own dojo and after that had the kindness of
allowing me to attend their seminaries. I am deeply grateful to all
my teachers for their time and for shearing their knowledge and I am
also grateful to all my collegues with whom I practiced Aikido for
helping me in my training.
I started, of course, with the ukemi
lessons, then the Aikido techniques followed and also a lot of work
but, after all these years spent on tatami I still feel that I am
only at the beginning. Because the more I advance on this path along
which any answer brings new questions the more I realize how little I
know about this environment I am exploring, how little I know about
myself and about the others around me. Therefore my searching process
goes on and opens new interesting areas for study so in the dojo I
live always in the present. Other thoughts and daily worries have no
place on the tatami. It is a pleasant experience that helps in my
endeavour of finding my inner and outer balance and opens the access
to the positive thinking which is so important in our evolution.
Of course, on so many occasions I don't
succeed in overcoming my limitations and conditioning or cannot
harmonize with certain situations. But I will keep trying. Because
this search for balance, for the Middle Path, makes us wish to
improve our behaviour, to try overcoming our fears, to look for
better solutions, to build and to be creative.
Adrian Ciomaga - 21.10.2013
“Cel ce nu poate sa iti
inteleaga tacerea nu iti va putea intelege nici cuvintele”
Elbert Hubbard
Dincolo de cuvinte
Imi aduc aminte cu bucurie de
discutiile pe care le aveam cu bunica mea, Dumnezeu sa o odihneasca,
despre lucruri care mi se pareau, la acea data, greu de imaginat.
Educat intr-un sistem care excludea trairea sufleteasca si punea
accent pe "devenirea omului nou" si pe cauterizarea eu-ului
interior, credinta bunicii mele imi parea un lucru desprins din
povestile cu zane. Usurinta cu care accepta drumul credintei in
lipsa, dupa parerea copilului de atunci, dovezilor palpabile si a
unei argumentari "stiintifice" era dezarmanta.
Acceptarea acestui dat mi se
parea injositoare si umilitoare iar eternul "pentru ca asa a
vrut El", care aparea la sfarsitul tuturor incercarilor mele de
a demola teoria creationista, era greu de acceptat de creierul meu
care avea nevoie de certitudini.
Bucuria acestei amintiri este
insotita si de tristetea despartirii dar si de tristetea de a nu fi
fost capabil la acea data sa inteleg semnificatia cuvintelor si
energia pozitiva care le insotea. Nevoia de a avea o explicatie pe
care creierul meu sa o inteleaga m-a indepartat de multe ori de la
esenta lucrurilor.
As vrea sa pot spune ca Aikido a
venit intr-un moment in care eram pregatit... Nu pot spune ca fost o
intamplare - am invatat, de-a lungul timpului, ca nu exista
intamplari. Jung spunea ca “Atunci cand o stare interioara nu poate
fi constientizata, este prezentata in exterior drept soarta”.
Orgoliul meu a tratat aceasta
noua aparitie ca pe o noua provocare si perfectionistul din mine a
incercat sa imbunatateasca in fiecare zi forma. In mod sigur,
uitandu-ma in trecut, nu am fost pregatit pentru acest drum si am
privit aceasta experienta ca pe (inca) un “sport” pe care urmeaza
sa il practic.
Dincolo de cuvintele care sunau
intr-un mod interesant si de vestimentatia ciudata, imi amintesc de
frustrarile resimtite in fata incapacitatii de a intelege mecanica
miscarii si de izbucnirile de orgoliu care derivau din aceste
situatii.
Cu fiecare nou grad si examen de
centura am incercat sa imi evaluez starea de spirit: cum m-am simtit
atunci cand am facut ceva gresit, cum m-am simtit cand am fost
apreciat si am incercat sa limitez interventia creierului si a
orgoliului in timpul practicii. Am incercat si inca incerc sa las la
intrarea in dojo gandurile preconcepute si barierele pe care singur
mi le impun.
Ma uitam zilele trecute la
inregistrarile video cu examinarile anterioare si am remarcat uneori
stangacia miscarilor. M-a bucurat ca aceasta analiza a venit in
liniste, fara ca orgoliul sa intervina si sa aduca energia negativa a
frustrarilor.
Ce inseamna Aikido pentru mine?
Imi dau seama ca nu prea mi-am intrerupt sirul gandurilor pentru a
gasi un raspuns si, paradoxal, ma bucura acest lucru. Faptul ca
practicile de Aikido au intrat in normalul existentei mele si fac
parte din firesc inseamna pentru mine mai mult decat o serie de
cuvinte care ar putea sa fie frumos colorate si expuse cititorului.
Energia pozitiva si bucuria pe care le simt la fiecare antrenament
sunt cele mai bune motive pentru care continui pe aceasta cale.
Aikido este in existenta mea
aici si acum. Nu exista trecut si nu exista viitor.
English version
“He
who does not understand your silence will probably not understand
your words.”
Albert
Hubbard
Beyond
the words
I
remember the talks I had with my grandmother, may God rest her soul,
about the things I felt very difficult to understand at that time.
Educated in a system that excluded the inner experience and
underlined the “new you achievement” and the exclusion of the
spirituality, my grandmother's faith seemed to me a spark of a fairly
tale. The easiness of accepting the path of faith without having a
concrete touchable proof and a scientific foundation seemed very
strange for the child I was.
To
obey to something you have never seen seemed that time humiliating
and the eternal “because that was His will”, that ended all my
quests to dismount the creationist theory was very hard to be
accepted by my brain, that wanted all the time not to deal with
uncertainty.
The
joy of this remembrance comes together with the sadness of parting
and with the sadness of not being able to understand at that time the
meaning of her words and positive energy that came from them. The
need of a “touchable” experience moved me away from the essence
of the things.
I
would like to say Aikido appeared in my life in a moment when I was
prepared... I couldn't say it was an accident – I've learned over
time there is no such thing. Jung said: “When
an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as
fate.”
My
ego handled this “new entry” as a new challange and the inner
perfectionist tried to improve every day the way I was moving.
Looking back I am sure I was not prepeared for this path and I took
this new experience as a new sport I will practice.
Beyond
the fancy words and the strange clothing, I remember the frustrations
I had in front of the innability of understanding the body mechanics
and the burst of my ego derived from these situations.
With
every new step and belt exam I tried to evaluate the state of mind:
how did I felt when I did something wrong, how did I felt when I was
appreciated and I tried to limit the interference of my brain and my
ego throughout the practice. I tried to let the preconcieved thought
and the self-imposed barries at the very entrance of the dojo.
On
the digital recordings I have I happen to notice time to time the
cluminess of some moves. I feel good when this comes in quiet,
without the negative energy my ego would induce.
What
means Aikido to me? I realise I didn't interrupt my train of thoughts
to find a definite answer and this makes me feel good in a strange
way. The fact the Aikido entered in the daily schedule means to me
more than a series of nice shiny words to be exposed to the reader.
The positive energy and the joy I feel during each practice are the
best reason to follow on this path.
Aikido
is in my life here and now. There is no past and no future.
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