Most of us learn the hard way that “controlling” violence starts with yourself. I’m no exception. Aikido, if you’re practicing consciously, teaches us that lesson more exponentially. The more centered You are in engagement, the less force you’ll find need for.

Your motivations are co-piloting the journey. Check in with co-pilot in order to avoid crashes.

Being the “Free” in your FREEstyle doesn’t have to mean “turning off the mind.” You just have to BE IN your BODY.

FlowTegrity: The high level of function and expression that spontaneously results from the conscious blending of form and energy. It is not the best of two different aspects. It is its own aspect revealing the best of the moment in action.

In response to a student’s question about beginning their path…

Your path didin’t really have a beginning, and it’s questionable if it ever ends. It’s just that you’re noticing that you’re on it.

Being “centered” means to be in a place where you can spontaneously be in any other place.

Aikido is much about change—dealing with it effectively, creating it, being it. It’s inevitable, and so our training should contain focus on appropriate perspective so that our actions are authentic and effective. This means challenging the perspective that has taken us to where we are today for better and for worse.

Not everyone will be flexible in their body. It’s a quality that for most people will come and go, and be met with real limitations. Everyone, though, can be loose. It’s just a matter of the inherent spaciousness of Big Mind including the body as it already is. It seems that when I’m in that Space my body ceases to be a container for all the shit I hold on to. In the context of your training, use your time on the mat to let go. The rewards are endless.

The purpose of technique is to give us context for practicing aikido principle in a way that sheds light on our development. Technique is our vehicle for exploring the spirit in physical form, and an instrument for cultivating harmony. It is never the end game.

It’s not that we stop laughing because we’re getting older. It’s that we’re getting older because we stop laughing. I saw something like that on a bumper sticker this morning when I was driving my boys to school. I believe the expression of joy is part of quality aikido training. I don’t mean that we should laugh our way through class—just that we should make space for it when it is appropriate. Smile and radiate your way through training. I promise there will be no loss of integrity if it’s genuine. If it’s there to hide something, though, well then maybe have a look at that. Remember, it’s not endullment. It’s enlightenment. There’s always room to “lighten” up just a bit more.