Meditations on God

A Community of Accountability
If the people we surround ourselves with always agree with us and compliment us, we are associating with the wrong people.

We all lack perspective when it comes to our own shortcomings. This is part of the reason that we long for a sense of community in our lives when it is lacking. An integral component of a healthy, caring family, friend group, or subculture is accountability.

The people we associate with, the ones we trust and count on, are responsible for seeing and pointing out our blind spots and we, in turn, should do the same for them. This is how we grow as people and in our relationships. Loving accountability builds trust.

When we are part of a community within which there is reciprocal accountability, it becomes easier to take healthy risks in our lives because we know that our blindspots are covered. The trust that results from group accountability gives us confidence because we know that we are not alone, we know that we are supported, and we know that we are safe from making too big a mistake without first being called out on it by those who matter.

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

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October 22, 2019

accountability, community, family, friendship, safety, trust
Preferences as a Path to Understanding
We don’t have to care about the things that other people care about, but, if we want to be of service, we should still care about fact that they care about those things.

We each like and care about different things for different reasons. If we want to be effective, useful humans, we must look past the superficial preferences of those around us to see the why behind them. We must ask ourselves what hope, need, desire or fear drive these preferences in the person or group we aim to serve.

Every preference we have comes with a story. It is a story about why we like or dislike something and what that means about us and the way we relate to the world. The clothes we wear or don’t, the food we like or dislike, the music we listen to or never listen to, all of these things make up some part of the story of our self.

When another person expresses his or her likes or dislikes, especially if they are extreme, we have the opportunity to gain insight into that person’s story, influences, and motivations. We may not like or dislike the same things as this other person, but, as long as we remain open-minded and non-judgemental, superficial preferences shouldn’t matter with regards to how we treat them.

What matters is, beneath these preferences, there is a human who loves, fears, laughs, and cries just like we do, even if for different reasons.

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

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October 21, 2019

compassion, effectiveness, empathy, preferences, understanding
The Gift of Criticism
When someone points out your mistakes, thank them.

It is impossible to have a fully objective view of ourselves and how we relate to the world. Inevitably, we are blind to some of our errors in perception, judgement, and behavior. We all make mistakes.

If the people we surround ourselves with care about us and our development, they will point out when we are wrong. They will show us our errors and they will give us room, and sometimes even tools, for improvement. This is a gift we should receive graciously and humbly.

More difficult to accept, however, is what feels like criticism. This is especially true when the perceived criticism comes from outside of our close circle of those we trust and respect. Criticism from strangers often feels like a malicious and unjustified attack.

When criticized from someone we don’t know or don’t respect, we typically respond in one of two ways. Either we take it to heart, allowing it to hurt us and question our path, or we put up our defenses, dismiss it outright, and ignore or even attack the messenger. Neither of these extremes will help us grow.

Even criticism from a stranger is a gift. If they are correct, they have done us a favor by pointing out a vulnerability we may not have known ourselves to have. If they are incorrect, at least they allowed us the opportunity for self reflection and to become more confident in the course we have chosen.

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

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October 20, 2019

criticism, errors, graciousness, humility, mistakes, vulnerability
Commit Forward (Then Pivot)
If we do not first commit to a relationship, we cannot pivot within that relationship and be taken seriously.

In aikido, there are two fundamental concepts of movement. In the most general terms, the first is entering (irimi) and the second is pivoting or flanking (tenkan). Irimi is the act of moving in, on and through the line of resistance. Tenkan, often misunderstood as turning or moving around resistance, is actually the act of pivoting on the line of resistance, once it is established that the way forward is blocked.

Irimi is the act of committing ourselves to a path. It is the principle of entering into a relationship with confidence, certainty, and integrity. It is a straight line in, eschewing our fears, being present, aware, and powerful. Irimi is belief in ourselves, our purpose, and our ability to carry out our mission.

Sometimes, however, we meet an insurmountable resistance when we move in and we must take a different angle. When we have fully committed ourselves into something worth doing, with all of our essence and all of our being, but it is simply not working because there is too much resistance on the other end, or perhaps because we took the wrong approach from the start, we must pivot. This is tenkan, but, more accurately, this is irimi-tenkan.

There is no pivoting without commitment. There is no new angle for us to take without first moving forward. There is no adjustment of our position if we do not have one in the first place. We cannot simply move around the periphery of our relationships and expect them to have depth and meaning. In fact, we cannot even be in a relationship, in the truest sense of the word, without first putting ourselves on the line.

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

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October 19, 2019

aikido, commitment, flanking, integrity, irimi, irimi tenkan, pivoting, relationship, tenkan, the obstacle is the way, the path
On Atemi in Aikido Pt. 2 (Modern Aikidoist Podcast with Tristan Chermack)
On October 7th, 2019, Tristan Chermack and Robert Van Valkenburgh discussed the concept of atemi (hitting body) in aikido on Tristan’s Modern Aikidoist podcast. Click on the image or the links below to listen to is part 2 of 2 of that discussion.

Listen to Part 1 HERE

Listen on:
- iTunes
- YouTube
- Stitcher
- Podbean
About Tristan Chermack:

Tristan Chermack started studying aikido in 2004 and his background includes more than thirty years in various arts. He has an extremely strong weapons background with European sword, spear, polearm, and armored combat. He is also a certified advanced firearms instructor. His ongoing study includes historical European martial arts, savate, pugilism, wrestling, pankration, and he is always eager to learn from others.

Tristan founded Spirit Aikido in Eden Prairie, MN, in 2011, a martial arts center which offers a variety of martial arts to train including judo, Shorin Ryu karate, Kobudo, and Katori Shinto Ryu.

Tristan also founded the Facebook group – Aikido: the Martial Side which (at the time of this writing) has over 8,000 members. He also hosts the Modern Aikidoist Podcast, which is available on YouTube and many different podcast platforms.

Links to resources referenced by Robert Van Valkenburgh:
- Kogen Dojo: Robert Van Valkenburgh’s dojo in Severna Park, MD
- Interview with Choi Yong-Sul, by Joe Sheya
- A Conversation with Daito-Ryu’s Other Child, by Ellis Amdur
- Dueling with O-Sensei: Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior Sage, by Ellis Amdur
- KogenBudo: The Blog of Ellis Amdur
- Hidden in Plain Sight: Esoteric Power Training Within Japanese Martial Traditions, by Ellis Amdur
- Irimi, by Ellis Amdur
- Go No Sen: The Path to Defeat, by Stanley Pranin
- Chess and Collar Chokes, by Robert Van Valkenburgh
- Old School: Essays on Japanese Martial Traditions, by Ellis Amdur
- Taikyoku Mind & Body: The organization founded by Budd Yuhasz, Jevin Orcutt, and Robert Van Valkenburgh to explore Chinese Internal Strength principles through Japanese jujutsu, aikido, and kempo
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

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October 18, 2019

aikido, aikijujutsu, atemi, bjj, brazilian jiu-jitsu, daito-ryu aikijujutsu, ellis amdur, gracie jiu-jitsu, grappling, internal strength, judo, kogen dojo, o-sensei, relson gracie, striking, taikyoku budo, taikyoku mind and body, takeda sokaku, ueshiba morihei

A Community of Accountability

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Preferences as a Path to Understanding

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The Gift of Criticism

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Commit Forward (Then Pivot)

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On Atemi in Aikido Pt. 2 (Modern Aikidoist Podcast with Tristan Chermack)

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