Obama does Aikido, too – kind of.

“…there is an emphasis on blending with a partner’s attack and the use of techniques to lead that attack safely to a conclusion that is good for everyone. This desire to protect the attacker is, … unique to aikido, but embodies an important truth: fighting works better when you don’t hurt them – as that way they don’t have anything to attack you for again – you have the chance to actually resolve the conflict rather than just [win] the fight.”

Here’s a review of a great article by AikidoPilgrim on the blog “Daily Kos.”  (With a little bit of detective work, I think “AikidoPilgrim” is one Robert Kent from the San Francisco Bay area…)

First the author gives an explanation of what aikido is and how it’s different from other martial arts.

“Aikido is a Japanese martial tradition that combines the samurai arts of sword and grappling with the philosophical desire to manifest harmony in the face of conflict. As such, it addresses situations of conflict that manifest themselves physically, but also offers insight into how to prevent or redirect the energies-social, political, or psychological-that might otherwise become conflict…

There are no kicks and no punches within Aikido itself… Instead, there is an emphasis on blending with a partner’s attack and the use of techniques to lead that attack safely to a conclusion that is good for everyone. This desire to protect the attacker is, … unique to aikido, but embodies an important truth: fighting works better when you don’t hurt them – as that way they don’t have anything to attack you for again – you have the chance to actually resolve the conflict rather than just [win] the fight.”

He then continues by listing four things necessary for the successful execution of these Aiki principles:

1] We must maintain our own balance while taking theirs
2] We must react fearlessly
3] We must enter into the very center of the conflict
4] We must understand our opponent’s intentions in order to achieve resolution

He points out that we then not only change the situation, but we also change our attacker/opponent.  He gives one of the most beautiful and clear description of this process that I have ever read.  (Of course for all you non-dancers, you might prefer to substitute his word “dance” with the phrase “go for a beer”…      ):

They began the interaction wanting to attack us – believing us to be their enemy. By demonstrating our desire to understand them and by manifesting enough concern for them to make sure they don’t get hurt – we change their mind, we change their anger, and we change their role.

They wanted to hurt us, and we wanted to dance. And if our Aikido is good enough, and our ability to dance is better than their ability to hurt us, they don’t want to hurt us anymore. They stop being our opponent. They start being our partner.

Seriously though, what a great description, no? (regardless of whether you used the “dance” version or the “beer” version…)

AikidoPilgrim then brings us to the question of what all this has to do with our leader, Barack Obama, referring to Obama’s approach as “political aikido.”  He uses Obama’s Cairo speech as an example where all the above-mentioned aikido principles were artfully put into practice.

“1] We must maintain our own balance while taking theirs – Obama was poised and elegant while completely undercutting the case for violence and extremism – using the Koran to do it.

2] We must react fearlessly – 6 months ago journalists were throwing shoes at the US President, Now we’ve got a guy willing to talk to the Iranians, and clearly signaling that Hamas might have a role in a unity government we would work with in Palestine. He even had the courage to admit the US involvement in the 1953 overthrow of democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq

3] We must enter into the very center of the conflict – He called additional settlement activity illegitimate, and used the word “Palestine”, and did this in the capital of the largest Arab country.

4] We must understand our opponent’s intentions in order to achieve resolution – He quoted the Koran, the Talmud, and the Bible. He spoke phrases in Arabic. He did not lecture, but left himself open to an ongoing conversation. He actually LISTENS to experts instead of PNAC dogmatists – Shinseki instead of Wolfowitz, for instance. Neocons tend to impose their theories on their world view, whereas Barack doesn’t carry preconceptions but actually finds out what is really going on.

The author then lightly encourages the reader to find an aikido dojo in their own city and begin training in this “Art of Peace.” He quickly points out though, that even if the reader does not momentarily jump in his car and head to the nearest aikido dojo, he or she will still benefit greatly from asking a few questions when they find themselves in conflict situations:

1] Who is my opponent?
2] What are they really after?
3] What are they scared of?
4] Where are they weakest? Where are they strongest? How can I “take their balance”?
5] What do we have in common?
6] How can I protect them and still get what I need out of this?

Read the original article here.

Technorati Tags: martial arts, aikido, obama

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