Meditations on God

Cross-Training For Aikido Pt 1: An Uncommon Approach
The goal of cross-training in grappling and/or striking for the dedicated aikido practitioner should not necessarily be to add grappling and/or striking to one’s aikido. That’s a fine goal in and of itself, if one truly feels that what aikido lacks is grappling and/or striking. If one truly loves aikido as aikido, however, and sees it as an end in itself, the goal of cross-training in grappling and/or striking should always be a means by which one is figuring out, through experimentation, how to get back to aikido within different martial contexts.

If one of the foundational-principle goals of aikido practice is the transcendence of violence, the only real way to achieve that goal is to face violence in its different forms. Violence simply does not happen in the way that it is practiced in most aikido dojos, with a lot more chaos, surprise, and struggle occurring in a truly violent encounter than is seen in aiki-waza or even aiki-randori. The aim of cross-training should not be to make aikido more violent per se, but to make aikido more effective at facing and neutralizing violence in a decidedly aikido-like way.

So the question is: Can we invite violence, in its different forms, into our practice(s) with the goal of embracing it, adapting to it, and transcending it? If this is desirable, it requires open-mindedness in a way that is not commonly found in either aikido or in the grappling and/or striking community and, because of this, it most likely will not happen on a large scale or all at once. What is required for this to take place is for a few like-minded individuals with different martial backgrounds to get together and to agree that ego, lineage, and rank have no place in experimentation or evolution.

Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.

Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.

Wabi-sabi street art photo by Robert Van Valkenburgh (artist unknown)

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December 26, 2019

aikido, cross training, ego, grappling, open mindedness, striking, transcending violence, violence
Through Resistance or Toward Regret (The Choice is Yours)
Taking the path of least resistance now leads to the path of greatest regret later.

Wabisabi Street Art photo by Robert Van Valkenburgh (artist unknown)

Avoiding difficulty does not, in fact, make our lives less difficult. It simply postpones the inevitable. This is especially true when we avoid difficult situations, conversations, or actions that we know, deep down, are what we want to, or must, do. Attempting to circumvent the truth does not change the truth, but it changes us in a way we may not be able to live with later.

No matter which path we choose, it will be difficult. Life is difficult toward, or away from, what we want and what we know is true. It is better to choose difficulty in the direction of the truth, even if it’s simply our truth, than it is to try to avoid difficulty by heading down a path we know, in our heart’s, is dishonest.

The dishonest path, the path of least resistance, leads to regret, self loathing, and resentment. Whatever dubious outward ease we gain in our lives by avoiding difficulty today we will more than make up for with internal strife later as we realize that we squandered an opportunity to live our best lives sooner, but were too frightened to do so. By choosing the path of difficult truth now, our life may not be any easier, but at least it will be honest.

Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.

Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.

Wabi-sabi street art photo by Robert Van Valkenburgh (artist unknown)

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December 24, 2019

difficulty, path of least resistance, regret, resistance, the journey, the obstacle is the way, the path, the way
Imagine If You Can
Along the path, your greatest obstacle is not going to be some thing, some person, or some event, but your own imagination.

When we pursue some goal or dream, it is inevitable that there will be obstacles along the way to achieving it. There will be people, attitudes, and barriers that stand in our way and that make us question whether or not our pursuit is worth the effort, the struggle, and, at times, the conflict we face as we move toward that which we seek. In reality, though, it is not these external forces, but our perceptions of and attitudes toward them, that we must overcome.

The true obstacles reside inside of us. They are our abilities to use our imaginations to come up with creative stories about and solutions for our perceived problems. The degree to which we can do that is the degree to which we can transcend our own resistance to change and use the forces we once perceived to be working against us to our advantage.

When faced with difficulty, the difference between success and failure is all in how we use our imaginations. We can let them run wild with fear and worry, coming up with all of the scenarios wherein we fail and giving us all kinds of excuses for why we should not proceed, or we can use them as tools for creative solutions. The problems will be the same either way, but, if channeled in a positive direction, our imaginations allow us to transform them into opportunities for growth.

Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.

Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.

Artwork by Ana, except where otherwise noted.

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December 23, 2019

challenges, change, creativity, growth, imagination, obstacles, problems
The Will To Support Is The Will To Empower
Sometimes, maybe most of the time, people do not want or need us to do anything more to support them than to demonstrate the willingness to do so.

We are more powerful and more capable than we know, with fear and uncertainty about the limits of our capabilities hardwired into our DNA as an evolutionary survival mechanism to protect us from reaching too far into the dangerous unknown. One way we have learned to bypass these governors of our personal power is to ask for help from the people around us. We do not always need their help, however, ofttimes we only need their demonstration of willingness to give us the courage to do the that which we desire, but also fear.

Support empowers us to do more than we previously thought capable. It amplifies our belief in ourselves and our abilities, quieting our fears, giving us a clearer vision toward our goal, unrestricted by the paralysis that sometimes comes with solitude. Support from others, especially from those whose opinions we value, gives us the leverage we need in order to overcome our internal resistance and to find, within ourselves, a deeper power than we could find on our own.

The funny thing about support, though, is that it does not necessarily require action on the part of the supporter, as it is often the intention to be supportive that transfers power to the supported. In order to be truly empowering, however, the intention must be genuine, authentic, and must be backed with the willingness to act. With this willingness, with this intention, and with this potential for actual support, we can find ourselves able to risk the unimaginable and to achieve the impossible.

Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.

Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.

Artwork by Ana, except where otherwise noted.

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December 22, 2019

achievement, efficacy, empowerment, leverage, success, support
Compassion at the Forefront
It’s easy to assume malicious intent when someone does or says something that hurts us, but a more likely reason for their behavior is simply that they do not know how to act differently.

The fact is that people often do not even know that they are being hurtful when we feel that they are or were. They simply do their thing and keep going on about their lives with little regard for how others feel about their actions. This apparent lack of concern is not due to apathy, but is because they have their own feelings, insecurities, and problems to tend to.

Really, most hurtful interactions are the result of a misunderstanding. One person does or says something that is interpreted by the recipient in a way that is different from how the communicator intended. This is then exacerbated by the recipient’s inability or unwillingness to communicate his or her hurt feelings so as to clear the air, and the relationship becomes strained by something that may have simply been innocent or unintended.

When we are hurt or offended, we must find a way to step back from our feelings and to examine these emotions through a filter of compassion and understanding. Better still, why should we wait until misunderstandings and hurt feelings crop up before we are compassionate and understanding? If we approach relationships proactively, instead of reactively, if we bring compassion and understanding to the forefront of our interactions, we may find that everyone involved is less likely to be hurt or offended.

Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.

Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.

Artwork by Ana, except where otherwise noted.

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December 21, 2019

compassion, empathy, miscommunication, misunderstanding, understanding

Cross-Training For Aikido Pt 1: An Uncommon Approach

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Through Resistance or Toward Regret (The Choice is Yours)

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Imagine If You Can

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The Will To Support Is The Will To Empower

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Compassion at the Forefront

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