Shinichi Tohei's Ki Weblog

The Ability to Learn

A Short Instruction:

The purpose of this article is to apply Ki principle (The mind moves the body) which is the fundamental of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido to our daily life.

It is not enough just to read, but it is important to positively practice the subject given in each month. Learning through practice will be your lifelong asset.

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The Ability to Learn

A few days ago, I dined with a university professor who is a close friend. I teach a liberal arts class at the university, therefore we discussed the ability of university students to learn as an important subject common to each of us.

It is said now, and has been said in the past, (in a negative manner),

“It is not acceptable how young people behave these days…”

Indeed, I am sometimes surprised at the ideas held by students. A common understanding between the professor and me is the fact that university students nowadays lack the ability to think for themselves.

To the question “1+1=?,” the answer “2” will be concluded. However, for the real problems we face in our daily life, there is no fixed answer like this. Therefore, what we must do is discover the solution to life’s questions by ourselves.

Sometime ago, one university student consulted with me about his career. He began by asking,

“What kind of career should I pursue?”

I am not a fortune-teller so I did not have a fixed answer for him. According to his story, he entered the university due to his parents’ strong encouragement. However, he could not decide about his career for the future before his graduation, so he entered a post graduate school at the university. I was surprised at his lack of ability to think for himself, as he is a post graduate student and already in his mid-twenties.

Under the current education system in

Japan

, students are encouraged to seek fixed and prepared answers to problems. This kind of problem solving will not help these students to successfully engage in a future that is uncertain.

“Should I marry this man?“

This is the most extreme question I have ever been asked. I can only advise but I can never decide on behalf of any student regarding such a question.

I sometimes hear the same type of questions in a dojo.

“How can I perform this technique?”

This is the type of question that reveals the questioner is not willing to think for himself, and this will not support further learning. This type of student does not try to think for himself, but instead just seeks the answers easily and without effort. If you want to ask the above question to support further growth, what should that question actually be?

When I teach, I only give some hints to improve the students, so that they can learn by their own thinking and practice. Then, the important practice of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido becomes their ability to think for themselves, find a good method, and master that. In other words, their overall ability to learn will improve in this way. The ability to learn is applicable to every situation, including jobs. If we are given the answer (which looks like the answer) by the others and stop thinking for ourselves, we are not able to gain the ability to learn.

Not only the instructors of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, but also people who play a leading role in every field, should once again consider what the teaching is.

Teaching is ______?_________. The answer here is the way the ability of students to learn will be improved.

The following is the subject for this month.

[Subject]

・    What sentence will be inserted in the underlined blank above? There are countless answers.

The Mind moves the Body

A Short Instruction:

The purpose of this article is to practice and validate the Ki principle (Mind moves body) which is the foundation of Ki-Aikido in our daily life. Therefore, it has no meaning if you just read it without practicing it.

The fundamental method of mastering anything is practice. However, it is not enough just to practice, but it is also important to validate how one has changed as a result of the practice.

It is easy to lose what you have learned without practice. On the other hand, you will never lose what you have learned through practice and validation. Therefore, please read, practice, and validate the contents of my article for at least one month.

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The Mind moves the Body

The most fundamental and important thing in learning Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido is the “Ki Principle” (The Mind moves the Body).

We all have the mind and the body. The body has color and shape. It is visible and touchable. On the other hand, the mind does not have color and shape. We do not understand well the other’s mind or even our own. Since long ago, it has been said, “the mind is not something that can be grasped by the senses”. However, it is not actually true. The state of the mind is reflected in the state of the body. Thus, through the state of the body, we are able to know the state of mind.

A few days ago, one member asked one of Uchideshi to hand over something to me. But the Uchideshi left the thing there and forgot to give it to me. Then I found it where it had been left behind. I called him immediately and warned him severely regarding this behavior. In response, he just kept apologizing by saying “I will not forget next time”, “I will not do the same again”. However, by simply apologizing many times, the Uchideshi does not truly improve, because he does not necessarily understand the principle “the Mind moves the Body”.

If his actual state of mind does not change, then it will, once again appear in his life as a mistake. In that same state of mind, he will repeat that same mistake again. It is vital to know the state of our mind. Therefore, I always instruct the students “to confront (see) their mind”, rather than simply accusing them of their mistake.

The following is the conversation between me and the Uchideshi (A):

I:            “Why have you left the thing which was supposed to be handed over to me there?”

A:           “I am sorry. I will be more careful from now on”.

I:            “Your apology is not really what I want. I am asking why you have left the thing.”

A:           “I thought I would place the thing there and come back to take it later, but unfortunately, I forgot it.”

I:            “Why did you think it was all right that you would come back later?”

A:           “Since I had other things to do, I made those other things my priority.”

I:            “If you could not bring it to me yourself, then why couldn’t you ask somebody else to do so?”

A:           “……. Probably I could have done that, however, this idea did not come to me at the time.”

I:            “Then, why did that idea not come to you?”

As such, this exchange of conversation could have lasted forever. However, this Uchideshi was not saying this with any evil intent. He did not recognize that he was simply offering excuses.

The point is that he could not realize that the mistake he had made was a reflection of his state of mind. Unless he knows the state of his own mind and amends this state of mind, he will repeat the same mistake again and again. Unless he confronts (sees) his state of mind, he cannot become a good instructor. Therefore, I didn’t forgive him prior to making the cause of the mistake clear.

After the several exchanges in our conversation, his real feelings appeared as follows;

A:           “…. In fact, I felt a bit of bother.”

I:            “Why did you feel it was bothersome?”

A:           “Probably I did not care and didn’t respect the person who asked me. I took my own business precedence over the person’s wishes.”

I:            “Do you think it is OK for you to keep having that state of mind?”

A:           “No, I would like to change the state of my mind, otherwise I will repeat the same mistakes again.”

Some people never change even after such a process as above. But still, I do not want to give up encouraging them to “confront (see) their mind”. Fortunately, this Uchideshi got the point and has never committed this same mistake since that time.

It can be considered that the execution of both the techniques of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido and activities in our jobs in daily life, are the reflection of the state of our mind.

We can know the state of our mind by observing the state of our body. And then, after knowing the state of mind, we can amend the way of we use the mind. By continuing this processes, we will be able to improve.

The following is the practice and validation for this month.

[Point of practice]

・If there was a mistake in your job or daily life, see what the state of your mind was at the time.

[Point of validation]

・    After seeing the state of your mind, amend the way you use your mind.

・    Write down how you changed consequently.

Considering the other's Ki

A Short Instruction:
The purpose of this article is to practice and validate the Ki principle (Mind moves body) which is the foundation of Ki-Aikido in our daily life. Therefore, it has no meaning if you just read it without practicing it.

The fundamental method of mastering anything is practice. However, it is not enough just to practice, but it is also important to validate how one has changed as a result of the practice.

It is easy to lose what you have learned without practice. On the other hand, you will never lose what you have learned through practice and validation. Therefore, please read, practice, and validate the contents of my article for at least one month.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Considering the other’s Ki

This is a story of what took place while I was traveling from Tokyo to Osaka by Shinkansen (Bullet train) a few weeks ago.

There were two business persons sitting across the aisle from me. They appeared to be an employer and his employee. They jumped onto the train just before the doors shut.

I did not intend to listen to their talk on purpose, however, due to their loud voices, their conversation was difficult not to hear.

Employer:  “I told you to wait for me at the north exit of Yaesu district, didn’t I? Why were you waiting at the north exit of Marunouchi district? (* There are many exits in the Tokyo station.)”

Employee: “I am very sorry, sir. I only remembered the word ‘north exit’ you mentioned…”

This humorous conversation lasted until the train reached Nagoya station (* Nagoya is in the central part in Japan between Tokyo and Osaka.)

The face of the employer was really red in anger and he was scolding his employee with a severe voice. The employee got totally frightened.

Employer:  “Hey! Now I am really thirsty, so go and buy me something to drink!”

Employee:  “Yes, sir!” (His answer was very good.)

Usually there are salespeople coming through the train with food and drinks. However, the fellow could not wait for this and so gave his employee money and sent him to purchase the drink. After a few minutes, the employee returned with a drink.

Employee:  “Sorry for making you wait, sir! Here is the drink for you.”

Employer:  “Hey, this is a hot coffee. As thirsty as I am, do you expect me to drink this really hot drink all at once?”

Employer:  “Oh…., I am very sorry, sir…”

The employer had said that he was thirsty, so therefore the employee should have bought a drink with mild temperature.

Their conversation was so funny that I could not take my eyes off of them.

Employer:  “I am a little bit hungry.  Please go to buy something for my breakfast.”

Employee:  “Yes, sir!”

Again, he could not wait for the salesperson to come and made his man run. I was guessing “In considering the man’s Ki, probably a sandwich would be the right thing to bring.” The employer mentioned in their conversation that he drank alcohol too much the previous night, and since this now was the following morning, I guessed that he would not want to have a heavy meal.

Then, the employee returned.

Employee:  “Sorry for making you wait, sir! Here it is for you.”

Employer:  “Hey you! This is just a packet of rice crackers and peanuts! What should I do with this?!”

Of course, the packet of rice crackers and peanuts was unwanted by the employer.
Then the employee asked him,

Employee:  “I am sorry sir, should I have bought a beer as well?”

Employer:  “Stop it! Are you making fun with me?”

Employee:  “Absolutely not, sir!”

Employer:  “OK, no more arguing. Now, please go and buy sandwiches!”

From their conversation, I understood that they were going to business negotiation in Nagoya, so beer would absolutely not have been the right thing there.

The employee was trying hard to serve the boss, however, one of the causes of this man’s wrong answers and actions is that he was “not considering his Ki”.

By directing and sending our attention (Ki) to others and putting ourselves into the other’s place, we can understand the other’s intention (Ki).  Even when we try hard to do our best, if we act when considering only our own preference, we can not serve what others want or need.  When we think “I am not being appreciated even though I am trying my very best!”, in most cases this means we are only acting according to our own preferences.

In order to “put ourselves into the other’s place”, first we need to know that person. In order to know the person, not only should we ask questions properly, but we should read his or her feelings through normal conversation and facial expressions, which reveals attitudes.  The capability of reading (considering) the other’s intention (Ki) can be improved through training.  This is especially important for people who have a job in which they daily need to contact and communicate with the other people.  For them, this is vital training.

The following conversation is the end of these men’s funny story.

Employer:  “I will sleep a little, so please wake me up when the train arrives to Nagoya.”

Employee:  “Yes, sir.”

Probably the boss went to bed very late the previous night, so he fell deeply asleep immediately. Then the train arrived at Nagoya station.

Employee:  “Sir, the train already arrived at Nagoya station.”

Employer:  “How come are you waking me up after arriving at Nagoya?!”

Then the employer rushed to get off the train. While he was sleeping the contents of his luggage were spread around untidily. If his employee had awakened him some minutes earlier, it would have been better.

Their conversations and actions were like a comedy show. After that, I wondered how their business negotiation went.

On the other hand, this employer has a responsibility as well.  He must take into account whether his employee is capable of considering his boss’ intentions (Ki). This employer was wrinkling his forehead and was quite irritated, so the employee was nervous about being scolded again all the time. Thus, the employee was unable to direct his Ki in the way that was required.

I train Uchideshies and it seems that I am very scary for them, so I sometimes have an experience similar to the employer in the above story. Each time this happens, I correct my attitude.

Without considering the opponent’s Ki, we can not perform Aikido techniques.  In this story, we can see the importance of Aikido in daily life.

The following is the practice and validation for this month.

[Point of practice]
・When you are requested to do something by someone else, you need to think by putting yourself in the other’s place (Consider other’s intention, or Ki).

[Point of validation]
・Ensure if what you did was really what the other person wanted you to do.

Strengthening Ki

A Short Instruction:

The purpose of this article is to practice and validate the Ki principle (Mind moves body) which is the foundation of Ki-Aikido in our daily life. Therefore, it has no meaning if you just read it without practicing it.

The fundamental method of mastering anything is practice. However, it is not enough just to practice, but it is also important to validate how one has changed as a result of the practice.

It is easy to lose what you have learned without practice. On the other hand, you will never lose what you have learned through practice and validation. Therefore, please read, practice, and validate the contents of my article for at least one month.

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Strengthening Ki

A person’s state of “having strong Ki” does not mean the person has a “stern character”.

When starting something new, we often worry about the possibility of failure. If an idea, such as “Can I really do this?” comes to our mind, we will not be able to send our Ki properly to what we are supposed to do. When we worry in thinking that “It might fail!”, or “What should I do if I fail?”, our ability to follow through to completion and continuation will be lost.

Only by continuing to strongly remind ourselves with the idea that “I can definitely do this!” or “I will definitely keep doing this until completion!” can we successfully complete any action. This ability of firmly maintaining plus Ki is the same as the state of “having strong Ki”.

Often, when people have worries in their mind, they tend not to face those worries. They do not admit the fact that they have worry.  Instead they may say, “I am not feeling any worry”. However, when they intentionally avoid feeling worry, they still continue to experience the worry.

As long as we try to run away from the worry, it will chase after us.

One way to succeed is to change our way of thinking.  For instance, we can change our way of thinking from “What should I do if I fail?” to “How and with what method can I succeed?” Certainly, that may be a good way and sometimes the worry is mitigated at once. However, changing the way of consciously thinking is just a temporary measure and is not a complete resolution.

We have “Conscious mind” that we can recognize and “Subconscious mind” that we cannot recognize. 

Conscious mind is formed from materials stored in the Subconscious mind.  Therefore, if minus materials are stored in the Subconscious mind, the Conscious mind is likely to become minus. In order to strengthen Ki, changing the contents of Subconscious mind is necessary.

The specific way for the above is “Meirei-Anji-ho (The Power of Suggestion method)”. The way to practice this method is to stand or sit in front of a mirror and say to the reflection of yourself in the mirror “You have strong Ki”. It is most effective to not say this in the first person using “I”, but to say it in the second person using “You”. While doing this, you must not have any doubt in your mind. Also, what you say should be only one thing. Saying many things is not good. After that you need to go to bed and sleep without watching TV or reading a book, etc.

While you are sleeping the Subconscious mind is primarily active, rather than the Conscious mind.  Therefore, if you speak to your reflection in the mirror just before sleeping, what you say will easily pass into the Subconscious mind during sleep. You need to continue this method daily, for at least three months.

What happens as a result? This will be known only by the person who actually puts it into practice. I absolutely do not recommend what I do not practice. In my position, I am required to always produce a result, however, if I slacken my Ki, I will get worried. But while doing the above “Meirei-Anji-ho”, I can overcome any worry that I may have for whatever I may need to face.

Even now, this is one of my crucial trainings.

The following is the practice and validation for this month.

[Point of practice]

・Do the Meirei-Anji-ho from today for three months.

[Point of validation]

・Write down any change you experience every day.

Having Appropriate Images

A Short Instruction:

The purpose of this article is to practice and validate the Ki principle (Mind moves body) which is the foundation of Ki-Aikido in our daily life. Therefore, it has no meaning if you just read it without practicing it.

The fundamental method of mastering anything is practice. However, it is important not just to practice, but also to validate how one has changed as a result of the practice.

It is easy to lose what you have learned without practice. On the other hand, you will never lose what you have learned through practice and validation. Therefore, please read, practice, and validate the contents of my article for at least one month.

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Having Appropriate Images

Everybody unconsciously has particular images for things in their mind.

One example is about “work”. Here, I will discuss the images on the premise of “ work” in Japanese culture.

I teach in company seminars, requested by company managers who are learning Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido or Ki Principles. Sometimes I teach in new worker’s seminars and when I do, I always ask,

“Do you think work is something you can enjoy, or something that you have to be troubled about?”

The answers are divided in half. Some answer, “Yes, work is joyful!” On the other hand, some answer, “No, work is troublesome.” This difference is attributable to their images towards “work”.

We can find even more interesting things if I ask them the following:

“When your parents are on duty, do they look like they are enjoying their work, or bothered by their work?”

Those who see their parents as enjoying their work, view their own work as joyful. However, the ones who see their parents as being bothered by their work also view their own work as troublesome.

This is an important point, because this means that the images for work in these young peoples minds were made not by actually experiencing the work, but by receiving influence from their parents, mostly “unconsciously”, which is interesting.  In some cases, these images are created in their minds by the influence of the other adults such as teachers in school.

Later on, these younger workers may develop a different view, depending on whether they view their work as the one “they must do for earning their living expenses even though they do not want to” or whether they view their work as something that “they positively pursue to improve themselves”.  Also it differs depending on whether they think they work “only for themselves”, or “for serving the others”.

We are free to have any kind of images in our mind, however, the most important thing is to know whether our images are appropriate or not.

I often ask the beginners of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido,

“Please give me your image towards Aikido”.

Here I mean that I am requesting an answer regarding the images they hold of Aikido, not as the art of self-defense or even joint-locking techniques, but as to whether Aikido looks like the something they can do or they cannot do (looks difficult). Many people say it looks like “something they cannot do” (looks difficult).

As we said, such images are created from their past life experiences. If they keep that kind of image in their mind, they will find it very difficult to improve. When we hold the image of “I cannot do this”, then we can never accomplish that.

Realizing this, instructors choose the easy techniques for the beginners and let them have a positive experience of being able to perform those techniques. Then, the image in the minds of those beginners changes from “I cannot do this” to “I might be able to do this!”

This process is very important. Training in this way, after a while, the students see for themselves what images they hold at the time and allow themselves to train to create the image of “I can do this!”.

Another example of images held in the mind is the idea that “Japanese people are not good at English”. This image has been unconsciously supported repeatedly. Who would want to hold such an image as that?

Let us summarize.

Everybody has their own images for things. These images were made not by consciously choosing them, but by receiving them unconsciously from parents and teachers in school, etc. It is fine if these are appropriate images, but if not, then the attitude of the person holding such views tends to become negative, which will be a strong impediment in their positive development.

It is important to know the images we have unconsciously in mind, and to check whether these are appropriate.

The following is the practice and validation for this month:

[Point of practice]

・  Choose from the following categories: “Aikido training”, “Work”, “Study”, “English”, “Family”, “Money”, “Husband”, “Wife,” etc, and write down the images that you hold towards this category.

[Point of validation]

・Find out when, where, and how you obtained such an image.

・Check whether the image is appropriate or not.

Changing the Subconscious Mind

A Short Instruction:

The purpose of this article is to practice and validate the Ki principle (Mind moves body) which is the foundation of Ki-Aikido in our daily life. Therefore, it has no meaning if you just read it without practicing it.

The fundamental method of mastering anything is practice. However, not just practice, but it is also important to validate how one has changed as a result of the practice.

It is easy to lose what you have learned without practice. On the other hand, you will never lose what you have learned through practice and validation. Therefore, please read, practice, and validate the contents of my article for at least one month.

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Changing the Subconscious Mind

To keep the subconscious mind plus is one of the most important training methods in Ki-Aikido.

For example, a strong opponent holds your wrists with all his force, and you think,

“I might not be able to move because such a strong person holds my wrists!”

If such an idea goes through your mind, you will actually not be able to move. I can see the same reaction when I instruct professional athletes.

“It is possible that I might fail!”

If such an idea goes through their mind, they will actually fail.

The issue is the difficulty of controlling this kind of idea by ourselves. More important the point here is that such an idea goes through our mind in the first place. Therefore, in order to control this, what we have to do is to “change our subconscious mind”.

When I just started training as an Uchideshi, I often had a particular dream of Ki-Aikido training while sleeping. In this dream a powerful opponent held a part of my body and I was not able to move at all. You can understand what this might be like to have such a dream as an instructor. It was a nightmare.

One time, I consulted with Koichi Tohei Sensei and he replied simply,

“You have such a dream because your subconscious mind is minus”

The conscious mind is the content of mind that we are usually aware of, and the subconscious mind is the content of mind that we are usually unaware of. The subconscious mind is like a storehouse of mind and the materials stored in the subconscious mind form the conscious mind.  If the subconscious mind is plus, naturally the conscious mind is also plus, but if the subconscious mind is minus, then naturally the conscious mind is also minus. If your subconscious mind is minus, it will not be possible to make only your conscious mind plus.

The reason why it is often difficult to put “plus thinking” (so-called positive thinking) into practice, is because people tend to attempt to make only the conscious mind plus, while ignoring the subconscious mind.

The subconscious mind functions primarily while we are sleeping. Therefore, dreams we have while sleeping are related to the subconscious mind. My subconscious mind was minus at the time that I had that nightmare.

Therefore I started training to change my subconscious mind.

One method of changing the subconscious mind is to continue practicing one Ki-Aikido technique until we become finally able to do.

Sometimes a person will end the Ki-Aikido training for the day, even though he has one technique that he still cannot do. This leads to the idea that “I cannot do this particular technique” regrettably entering into his subconscious mind. No matter how hard it is, it is absolutely important to continue training until being able to perform the technique, even if it is unspectacular work. It is necessary to finish with a plus (positive) image in the mind.

Another training method is to change the words that we use in our daily life.

At that time I used to say, “no I cannot”, even though I did not know whether I was able to do something or not. There may be things we are not actually able to do, however, it is a bad habit to say, “no, I cannot” before we start to do something. If we use words like this in our daily life, naturally the idea that “I cannot” goes through our mind during Ki-Aikido training. So I stopped saying the phrase, “I cannot”, and I gained a new habit to maintain the idea that I will always be able to do the thing.

By continuing the above two training methods, I have not had the nightmare since then. Still now, I sometimes have a dream of Ki-Aikido training, but it is not a minus dream such as “I cannot do the particular technique”. It is a plus dream, such as, “I can do this technique”. Also in actual Ki-Aikido training, I have become able to do any Ki-Aikido techniques since then.

There are people who are unimaginably strong in this world. I do not know whether I can do a Ki-Aikido technique on such a person. But it is important for us to be able to think “I can do this” even facing such a person. It is necessary to change the subconscious mind in order to become able to think “I can do this” anywhere at any time.

This is important not only for our Ki-Aikido training, but also for business persons, athletes, and artists. As for the specific training of keeping subconscious mind plus, it is explained in detail in my book “Kokoro wo Shizumeru (Calm your mind)”, so please make the best use of it.

The following is the practice and validation for this month.

[Point of practice]

・  Choose one of the training methods for keeping subconscious mind plus, then continue for one month. (Make use of “Kokoro wo Shizumeru (Calm your mind)”)

[Point of validation]

・Observe how your idea, thoughts and point of view changes.

Do not mix them, danger!

A Short Instruction:

The purpose of this article is to practice and validate the Ki principle (Mind moves body) which is the foundation of Ki-Aikido in our daily life. Therefore, it has no meaning if you just read it without practicing it.

The fundamental method of mastering anything is practice. However, it is important not only to practice, but it is also important to validate how one has changed as a result of the practice.

It is easy to lose what you have learned without practice. On the other hand, you will never lose what you have learned through practice and validation. Therefore, please read, practice, and validate the contents of my article for at least one month.

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Do not mix them, danger!

The way of learning is different between the two following cases:  1) “To merely gain knowledge” or 2) “to master completely” . “Gaining knowledge” can be immediately done, depending on the method, however, it takes time for us to “master completely”.

For example, if you read my book “Kokoro wo shizumeru (Calm your mind)”, you can understand that it does not need much time to merely gain the knowledge of what is presented there, however it takes time to “master this understanding completely”.

Please read the following text based on the above theory.

When learning something, there is a kind of person who tends to dabble in various subjects at the same time”. When there are various subjects, for instance, subject A to learn and subject B to learn, the main aim of the above person is to taste both A and B and absorb only the good points. The above method may be good to “merely gain knowledge”, however, is not good to “master completely”. The above person believes he benefits, but he is not aware of the fact that he is making a big mess.

What happens if we mix the best coffee in the world and the best green tea in the world? Only with tasting coffee as coffee itself, and the tea as tea itself, we can recognize the true value of the coffee and the tea respectively. With the above method of dabbling here and there in various subjects at the same time”, it is as if you are mixing the best coffee and the best green tea together and drinking the result. Even though they are the best quality, your efforts will be wasted. There may be a few cases of the result being tasty after the mixing, however, most cases will be unsuccessful.

When learning A, you should concentrate on learning A, when learning B, you should concentrate on learning B. Then, in the course of learning, you will come to know the things in common between A and B.  This is not the same as “mixing A and B”, but is a case of “understanding the common essence inherent in both A and B”.

This is very important.

There are people who express the following opinions in the training of Ki Aikido.

“This is similar to the movement called ____ of the other type of Budo.”

“This is similar to the steps called ____ of a dance.”

“This is similar to the theory called ____ of Mr./Ms. ____.”

All of the above are not necessarily the case, but mostly, these people see it that way because they tend to mix Ki Aikido with these other practices. When they do this, they are not able to see truly what they are learning. This is a great pity. Furthermore, when these people learn something other than Ki Aikido, they are likely to say,

“This is similar to the KI Aikido movement called ____.”

On the other hand, there are people who say,

“After training Ki Aikido, my movement of ____ became better.”

“After training Ki Aikido, I have understood the meaning of ____ well.”

“After training Ki Aikido, I feel everything is the same.”

In the above cases, they are not mixing, and so are able to understand the essence. Do you understand the difference between these two cases above?

To summarize, what I would like to suggest is “do not mix them, danger!”

The following is the practice and validation for this month. This time, the level is higher.

[Point of practice]

・  When learning something, concentrate on learning that one thing.

・  When reading a book, concentrate on reading the book.

・  When listening, concentrate on listening to the story.

[Point of validation]

・After concentrating in this way, observe what changes you have experienced.

Improvement of teaching ability

A Short Instruction:

The purpose of this article is to practice and validate the Ki principle (Mind moves body) which is the foundation of Ki-Aikido in our daily life. Therefore, it has no meaning if you just read it without practicing it.

The fundamental method of mastering anything is practice. However, not just practice, but it is also important to validate how one has changed as a result of the practice.

It is easy to lose what you have learned without practice. On the other hand, you will never lose what you have learned through practice and validation. Therefore, please read, practice, and validate the contents of my article for at least one month.

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Improvement of teaching ability

This time the weblog is for the advanced learners.

I teach approximately 2,000 people in a year. The number “2,000” means the number of people that I teach regularly, like every week, every month, every year, but does not include the number of people that I teach only a few times, like a person who I teach only once in a seminar.

By observing how my students change as a result of my teaching, I can gain the feedback of 2,000 people. I am very grateful that I can gain important information from this feedback.

For example, there were some cases that, although I was satisfied with my teachings from my point of view, in fact what I taught was not understood well by my students. On the other hand, there were some other cases that, although I was not satisfied with and had to think over my teachings, in fact what I taught was well understood by my students. Of-course this outcome depends on the students’ learning aptitude, but also we should carefully examine our way of teaching. Our feeling about how well our students understand is important, however, checking whether our teaching is actually well understood by students or not, is indispensable.

Without this process, the instructor’s teachings develop into “a self-satisfied teaching”

“Shinichi Tohei Sensei, have you learned a particular teaching method?”

Although I am often asked such a question, I have never learned “a teaching method” till now. And I have never undergone a special training aimed specifically at a teaching method. However, I always check carefully the following three points:

1. Whether students were able to understand well about what I taught.

2. Whether students were able to put it into practice after understanding.

3. Whether students were able to become better after practicing.

As for the first point, you can realize this by sending Ki to the students.

People feel uncomfortable not being able to understand, and as a result their feelings appear as a physical expression somehow (a puzzled facial expression, dropping of their eyes, turning down of their voice, etc.).  Mind moves body.

If you notice that they do not understand, please try various ways of teaching. By continuing a trial-and-error process until they understand, your way of explanation and means of expression will be improved.

Special care is required for the second point. Many people can understand but are not able put it into practice.

In order to improve the students’ practice, you need to teach a specific way, emphasizing points of practice, and you need to regularly follow up with the students. And even if they have not put what you taught into practice, you must not be upset with them. It might be because of the inefficiency of your teaching.

You need to try various ways of teaching and you must not give up until they actually are able to practice what you have taught them. Tremendous patience is needed, and your way of teaching will be improved through these processes.

As for the third point, you need to check whether students actually improve after they practice what they have been taught.

If not, then you have not fulfilled the first two points, so please go back to these two points and teach again. You must not give up until the students become capable.

There is no magic bullet for the improvement of one’s teaching ability. By continuing through these three points of teaching, simply and honestly, your teaching ability will be improved. Reading books and gaining special knowledge is also important, however that can affect your improvement only based on the above basic process.

Teaching is not merely one-way work, but actually two-way communication. Therefore, to carefully watch students’ Ki is the basis of all teaching.

The following is the practice and validation for this month.

[Point of practice]

・  Practice points number1 through number 3 above, and record the results in a notebook.

[Point of validation]

・Observe the difference between cases producing a good effect and cases having no effect, then record in and review the notebook regularly.

Level of understanding (the second half)

A Short Instruction:

The purpose of this article is to practice and validate the Ki principle (Mind moves body) which is the foundation of Ki-Aikido in your daily life. Therefore, it has no meaning if you just read it without practicing it.

The fundamental method of mastering anything is practice. However, not just practice, but it is also important to validate how one has changed as a result of the practice.

It is easy to lose what you have learned without practice. On the other hand, you will never lose what you have learned through practice and validation. Therefore, please read, practice, and validate the contents of my article for at least one month.

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Level of understanding (the second half)

This weblog report is the continuation of the last month’s weblog. If you have not yet read the first half, please see,

http://www.shinichitohei.com/english/2009/04/level-of-unders.html

If you properly practiced and validated last month’s discussion, I believe you now realize that the state of thinking “I completely understand” is actually the lowest level of understanding. People tend to observe, listen, and understand in the way they want, from their own perspective. Therefore, it is always necessary to confirm whether our understanding is correct or not.

Now, I would like to let you know how to experience a deeper level of understanding.

Once you are able to communicate what a speaker tells you correctly to the other people, then, what you need to do is to take into account what the speaker is feeling when he/she speaks to you. In other words, you need to understand not only the contents of the speaker’s story, but also the speaker’s feeling that the story is an expression of.

For instance, the use of the words “thank you” can have many meanings. Some people’s “thank you” comes from their true heart, while other people’s “thank you” is merely perfunctory, and still others’ “thank you” comes out of a sense of irony. There are indeed many kinds of “thank you” depending on each speaker’s feelings.

If you only listen to the speaker’s words, you can not find their feelings. You need to judge their feelings from all sources, such as their facial expression, intonation, rhythm, etc.

It is indeed important to read the speaker’s Ki (mind).

You need to catch not only the words, but also many other kinds of information at the same time. A person who cannot do this can be known as “he who cannot read between the lines.”

This “reading between the lines” or being able to discern the speaker’s intention behind his words is not easy to do and in fact training is required. In general, it seems that people think this kind of ability should be taught through education only at home, and it is hardly ever taught at school or in a company. It is a shame that people have so few opportunities to train in this way, even though most everyone can improve greatly if only they have the opportunity to practice this.

I often teach seminars for companies. I begin with the basic training of the method described above. Then their level of understanding rises significantly. In actual training, people make an effort to read their partner’s feelings (practice), and then they try to be sure that what they are perceiving is really the partner’s feelings (validation).

When I was a new member of the Aikido club in my university, one time a senior member said to me, “Please bring me the drink I want.”

I thought he was teasing me, but this was not actually the correct view. Now I think it was really very good training for me. There were hot drinks and cold drinks available. What kind of drink he wanted depended upon the season and also the extent of his thirst. There was juice, sports drinks, and carbonated drinks. It was necessary to observe him carefully on a regular basis. For the initial period of time, he refused to receive what I brought, saying “This was not what I wanted.” However, by continuing the practice and validation process, I gradually began to know what he wanted. But even once I got used to this way of seeing, there were still some failures as a result of choosing automatically without enough consideration. Nonetheless, I continued my practice and validation. Even though it was a very simple action just to purchase a drink for him, I was able to do the practice and validation of reading his feeling. At that time I felt it was an outrageous request, but now I appreciate him very much.

There seems to be people who cannot read other’s feelings at any age in life, but it seems to be especially true of those in their 20’s and 30’s. They themselves are making a lot of effort and doing their best, but it often turns out fruitless, so they are very troubled in mind. One of four of our uchideshis is this type and I have a hard time with him. But my pet theory is “people become better with training,” therefore, I keep training him daily without blaming his present capability.

The following is the practice and validation for this month.

This time, your partner for practice and validation should be a person who understands your training. If you do not yet have a solid relationship with this person, the present relationship may become worse. It is best if it is your nearest and dearest.

[Point of practice]

・  While listening to your partner, not only listen to the words, but also read his/her Ki (mind).

[Point of validation]

・Check whether it is really his/her feelings (by asking him/her, asking the other people who know both of you, etc.)

Level of understanding (the first half)

A Short Instruction:

The purpose of this article is to practice and validate the Ki principles (Mind moves body) which are the foundation of Ki-Aikido in your daily life. Therefore, it has no meaning if you just read it without practicing it.

The fundamental method of mastering anything is practice. However, not just practice, but it is also important to validate how one has changed as a result of the practice.

It is easy to lose what you have learned without practice. On the other hand, you will never lose what you have learned through practice and validation. Therefore, please read, practice, and validate the contents of my article at least a month.

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Level of understanding (the first half)

We often use the phrase “yes, I think I understood”, in our daily life. But it is questionable whether we really understand or not.

In fact, there are different levels of understanding.

For instance, we think we “understand” after receiving an explanation for something. The lowest level of understanding is merely that of “I think or I feel Iike I understand”. When we receive an explanation about something, we feel we understand, however, with only this level of understanding, we actually cannot perform as told. If we are satisfied with this level of understanding, we can master nothing. In fact, many people think they understood completely even though they have only reached this lowest level of understanding.

A higher level of understanding than that above, is when “we can communicate correctly to others what was explained to us”.

Even though we think we understand, we cannot communicate it to others correctly unless our understanding is clearly resolved. In order to communicate our understanding correctly, it is necessary to sort out the knowledge obtained and be sure that we clearly understand the meaning.

When I instruct in a seminar, I not only explain, but also make the time when students can communicate to each other what they have been taught. Unless they are specially trained, the beginners can communicate correctly only about 30 percent of what they have learned to the other students. Thus, in fact, if the instructor only explains by word of mouth, students can understand only a part of what the instructor says, not all. It is an illusion that “if we explain to the other person, there will be a complete understanding”.

By continuing with the training of correctly communicating to each other what students have learned, most will be able to master what they have learned.

In order to reach a higher level of understanding than merely that of “I think I understand”, (even though you believe “you have understood”), it is important to check whether you can communicate your understanding correctly to others, or not.

When we listen to the others, there may be a creative method of “listening while trying to imagine a merging of ideas in the mind”, which is worth doing. However, a more important method is to practice sending our Ki (attention) to the speaker properly and to understand what he says correctly. Only after we master this basic skill of listening and understanding, does our level of listening and understanding become higher.

These days, we hear the opinion that “it is necessary to respect person’s individuality”. But if we just say “respecting individuality is important” without considering the basic skill of understanding, we can only “understand from our own point of view”.

The basic training of understanding correctly what other people say is one of the most important things today.

There is an even higher level of understanding, but I will end for now with your practice and validation for this month. Next time, I will show you the rest in “Level of understanding (The second half)”.

[Point of practice]

・  Listen in a way that you can communicate what you are told to the others correctly.

[Point of validation]

・Compare the levels of understanding between the state after listening as above practice and the state that “you think you understood”.