I originally wrote this essay in 2012 in preparation for my Aikido ni-dan exam.

“We are not on this earth to accumulate victories, things, and experiences, but to be whittled and sandpapered until what’s left is who we truly are.” Arianna Huffington

I think what first drew me to Aikido was purely intellectual—a flyer describing it as a martial art dedicated to peace and the resolution of conflict. Sounded good. Who doesn’t want peace and conflict resolution? But what kept me coming after the first class wasn’t anything I could intellectualize. My body wanted me there. My heart knew that it was good for me. If anything I found aikido rather scary; for the first couple of months, if a technique called for rolling I would just sit out and watch. But there seemed to be some invisible force compelling me to class each time. Regardless of what happened during the class, when I left the gym, our dojo, I felt at peace, and all the small and large annoyances in my life at that time seemed to just fade away. Continue reading →