Advanced Training

1/7/92

Mark J. Norton


Lou Perriello has offered an advanced training session for Yudansha students at Northeast Aikikai for the past two years or so. The initial response to this was quite good. The first class had almost all black belt students in the dojo at that time. Participation fell off quickly, however, to its current levels of 2 or 3 students (the same students, I might add) every time. Lou, Joe Caulfield and myself have discussed this dropoff in attendance many times. Why is it that the other students in the dojo do not take advantage of this opportunity?

One possible conclusion is that the classes are too rough and that it has scared off the other students. It is certainly the case that these classes are physically more demanding than normal classes. Rightly so, I think. Advanced students need a greater challenge. But the physical demands is only part of the problem, since many of those who choose not to attend are quite able to maintain this pace and more.

Another issue seems to be the level of aggression in the class. Lou teaches a more violent form of Aikido in these classes than in the regular classes. There are several reasons for this. One is that Lou rarely gets a chance to perform or teach Aikido at this level. As such, his own power rises to the surface. He enjoys using more strength, faster throws, atemi, etc. This is commensurate with his own rank. The other side of this is that advanced students need to be taught to handle high levels of aggression. It is all too easy to fall into the habit of weak attacks, expected throws, and so forth in regular classes. In the advanced classes, Lou demonstrates technique applied to faster attacks, different blows, faints, strikes that are not telegraphed in advance, etc. Again, this is an appropriate topic for advanced students to consider. Several Yudansha, by there own admission, are turned off by this level of intensity. This becomes a reason to avoid these classes. I consider this to be a minor failure on the part of these students, in a way. They seem to have forgotten that Aikido is budo, a martial art. It is not merely an exercise form. They have lost their edge.

The story does not end there, however. I spoke with a member of the dojo on this topic quite recently. It came up in casual conversation: how come people don't come to the black belt classes? This person refused to speak for the others, but presented personal reasons for not attending. The physical demands and aggression turn out to be a lesser aspect of the problem for this person. The real reason turned out to be mis-expectations.

It seems that several of the students who attended the first time were expecting things other than what they saw. They wanted to explore the subtler aspects of Aikido. Instead, they got violence. They wanted to examine other paths that Aikido teaches, such as Ki development, breathing, timing, etc. What they got was fast punches and fumbled defenses. They wanted to learn more about the philosphical aspects of Aikido. None was presented.

It should be noted that most of these expectations were unconscious. Later, they surface as rationales for having better things to do one Saturday a month. They chose not to make it part of their regular training. In hindsight, if these people had considered Lou's methods of teaching, they might not have had these feelings. Lou has never overtly taught Philosophy. He seems to be less comfortable trying to explain the more esoteric aspects of the art verbally. Finally, these classes gave him a much needed chance to use what he knows at a level closer to his own.

Why then, are there any students at all? Joe Caulfield enjoys the aggressive aspects of Aikido. He always has. He enjoys the physical demands and the violence. If anything, he would add more and indeed often encourages Lou in this direction. Any myself? Frankly, the violence bothers me. I find the physical demands challenging and I enjoy pushing myself. The really interesting point here is that I was after all the same things that those other students were after. Why wasn't I disappointed as they were? Because Lou DOES teach these things. Nonverbally. All of his technique is derived from these suble principles. It is not necessary to be spoon-fed. The subtle aspects of aikido don't come to me immediately, rather, I stated getting a feel for it over some time. There are things that Lou teaches in these classes that he will never teach in basic classes. It is not aggression, not violence, not neat tricks, but rather an increased awareness of the Uke, refined motion and balance, extension and leading in fast situations, and more. The Philosophy that I read in various books and other sources is practiced by Lou. He doesn't need to explain when I can observe and attempt to understand.

I think my fellows students have missed this point. In some ways their spirit is lacking. I have tried to encourage them to see some of these, but it is difficult to convice them. In the end, I gain from this.