I spent many years in a corporate job, and went through training after training class on thinking about problems as opportunities. I listened and cynically had the attitude that the opportunities were hard to spot in the jungle of blame that often accompanies problems in the workplace.
My practice of Aikido has cast a new light on what a problem is and how to spot that opportunity.
Most aikido styles are non-competitive, and some are more martial than art, and some are the opposite. One thing ALL styles have is that we cannot do Aikido alone. We need partners. As we participate in our training, the question is—do we have a partner, or an opponent, and what’s the difference?
A good partner is both—partner and opponent. They offer us the energy of an attack to test our technique. What a gift – otherwise how can we improve our technique, learning how to turn an all out attack into the resolution of pin or throw? An attack, in the environment of the dojo, is an opportunity, to learn.
A partner might know from experience exactly how much to resist or how much energy to put into that attack to test us. Another partner might have had a bad day or be inexperienced–and that’s a gift as well. We need the wisdom of the experienced partner and sometimes the wall of non-cooperation another might offer. It all goes into our own experience and allows us to challenge and grow as aikidoka. Even though we might wish for things to be different, those really are gifts.
In everyday life, obstacles crop up, and we might wish for things to be different. The gift of obstacles allows us to test ourselves, to improve our technique for dealing with the challenges we face—and the unknown challenges to come.
Cliché or not, a partner and an opponent, a problem and an opportunity–it really depends on OUR attitude as we engage.
OSU.
My practice of Aikido has cast a new light on what a problem is and how to spot that opportunity.
Most aikido styles are non-competitive, and some are more martial than art, and some are the opposite. One thing ALL styles have is that we cannot do Aikido alone. We need partners. As we participate in our training, the question is—do we have a partner, or an opponent, and what’s the difference?
A good partner is both—partner and opponent. They offer us the energy of an attack to test our technique. What a gift – otherwise how can we improve our technique, learning how to turn an all out attack into the resolution of pin or throw? An attack, in the environment of the dojo, is an opportunity, to learn.
A partner might know from experience exactly how much to resist or how much energy to put into that attack to test us. Another partner might have had a bad day or be inexperienced–and that’s a gift as well. We need the wisdom of the experienced partner and sometimes the wall of non-cooperation another might offer. It all goes into our own experience and allows us to challenge and grow as aikidoka. Even though we might wish for things to be different, those really are gifts.
In everyday life, obstacles crop up, and we might wish for things to be different. The gift of obstacles allows us to test ourselves, to improve our technique for dealing with the challenges we face—and the unknown challenges to come.
Cliché or not, a partner and an opponent, a problem and an opportunity–it really depends on OUR attitude as we engage.
OSU.
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