No Competition in Aikido

In aikido, we don’t have competition. In other arts and sports, there’s competition, and as a result, you can experience a certain challenge and pressure; you have that opportunity to test yourself, know your limits, see how you do when something is at stake. But in traditional martial arts, we cannot experience that kind of pressure test, so there’s the danger of complacency, of being wrong but not knowing you’re wrong, of having delusion and misunderstanding. However we do have certain customs in aikido, such as demonstrations and grading examinations. In these, you stand in front of people, try to show your best, you only have one shot, so there’s a kind of pressure. You may also feel pressure from being in front of everybody - a kind of stage fright. How to deal with that nervousness or tension, how to move and function at your best under those conditions. Another kind of pressure situation we have in aikido is seminars, especially if you are the hosting dojo. Just like having a visitor come to your house - maybe not everyone - but most people tidy up a bit; you are on good behavior, if not your best behavior; you take care; you are present. Similar for hosting a seminar, you can imagine a visitor coming and feeling good and safe and taken care of. If the hosts are sloppy, then that visitor may be confused, worried, tense and vigilant.

 

What does “good behavior” mean in the dojo context? All of these things about dojo behavior are cultural, so there is required some conscious effort to learn a culture that’s not your own. Even modern Japanese people these days may have less of an image of what dojo behavior is compared to long ago. The conscious effort is not going to come by some big fat manual. Occasionally it’s the instructor talking. But mostly it’s by being around it, observing, being attentive. What are the more experienced people doing? Understanding, "It has to do something with me!" and not passively waiting to be instructed or corrected.