Anger and Aikido

If you don't live under a rock, then perhaps you might have noticed that there's a lot of angry people right now. Everyday that I read, listen, or watch the news, I just see people getting angry over each other and terrible, disgusting things happen. The missouri shooting and its protests, the Israeli-Palestine conflict, disputes over feminism and racial status, and more that I would rather just not name. I recently took a decision to enroll in Aikido classes (a martial art) and while the class' main objective is to learn self-defense, it has also taught me about my mind, body, and spirit.

And while yes, I love to show off my awesome ninja moves to my parents and my friends, there's also a simple and natural philosophy to Aikido that follows many of the same beliefs as Buddhism. These include harmonizing with, rather than confronting, the attacker, acting decisively and being present "in the moment", and letting techniques flow naturally by being in tune with the universe. My instructor always tells me to take these ideas further than the mat. Wether the attacker represents a homework problem or a mugger, Aikido (for the three classes that I've been to), has taught me valuable life lessons about the mind, body and spirit. 

Now that I'm done being all "Zen" and philosophical, what am I getting at? Well, all these angry and sometimes nasty people we often see in the news and media should all calm down and learn some lessons from aikido. 

shibarakushite kara!


(I have no idea what that means)