Listening

Listening.

Endo sensei, known for his listening skills.

 

 

What does listening mean? Listening energy is a term used in the internal martial arts. Tai chi chuan being the art which uses it the most. During a conversation between two people you would have a talker and a listener. In a physical interaction you could translate this to the ability to "read" the movements of your partner. In Judo, wrestling, brazilian jiujitsu and Aikido the use of this listening energy is possibly more important than the knowledge of all the techniques.

 

How to improve one's listening skills? First of all when you want to listen you have to be still yourself. During a conversation this would mean don't talk yourself and interrupt your partner. In a physical sense it means to not to take the initiative and do things. Instead you listen to the movements of your partner. In Aikido we have an excercise which is really interesting in practicing this kind of energy, suwariwaza kokyu ho. This excercise alone contents a lot of aikido principles hidden in plain sight. Unfortunately it is commonly only used to end a class session. You could easily fill a lot of lessons only with variations of this excercise.

 

A few excercises I recommend to improve listening skills would be:

- Zhan zhuang chi kung. Standing meditation.

- Tai chi push hands.

- Zazen. Seated meditation.

- Yoga pose called Savasana or Corpse pose.

 

Good listening requires:

- Stillness. Physically and mentally.

- Balance. Every deviation from being balanced is felt.

- Being in the moment. Now is now.

- No ego. Mushin. No thoughts of winning or losing.

- Highest grade of sensitivity.

 

 

 

So a good excercise would be to try to improve your listening skills instead of forcing your techniques upon your partner. Usually trying to do a technique is felt by your partner and easily countered. If you meet a partner with better listening skills than you, all your actions will be futile because the other person will understand, with his body, what you're trying do.

 

As an example outside the realm of Aikido I would like to introduce one of the greatest martial artist in BJJ. Marcelo Garcia has perfected the listening skills in his art. His theory consists of always being a step ahead of your partner through listening and small attacking movements to get a reaction which he can use to his advantage. This way his partner reacts like a puppet on a string with him being the puppet master.

 

 

 

This clip shows the effortless of his movements while body and face show little excertion or aggression. So for Aikido training one could try to not win, don't throw or otherwise force your movements upon your partner. Just listen to what is available and use it to your advantage. This will also improve compassion with the aggressor.

 

Enjoy practice.

 

 

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