Читать книгу Aikido Basics. Everything you need to get started in Aikido - from basic footwork and throws to training онлайн

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Ki, as energy, exists in all things and is the common element linking us all together. Ki allows us to feel connected with one another. Ki training develops your sensitivity to the movement of others and to your own power, by connecting and harmonizing the ki.

Do: The Way, or Path

It is often through a life of discipline that one finds the way of nature and the natural course that the essence of all things follows. This principle of do is the way into, and beyond, your individual life to what is natural and universal. Do is the basis of personal identity and the loss of that identity into the greater way of the universe. The awareness of the greater way is the basis of spirituality in aikido.

The imagery most often used is that of water. Water does not need to decide what direction to flow. It simply follows the natural lines of geography. It uses the principle of gravity and flows to the lowest point, along the line of least resistance. Having the way of water allows you to have the flexibility to flow around obstacles without direct confrontation. Yet, if confrontation occurs, water has the ability to wear down even the toughest rocks to forge great valleys and canyons.