Zen i aikido

Tenzan Toyoda, Shihan.

In Toyoda Shihan's opinion, Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei was someone with a deep realization of wisdom,
obtained through a life of hard training. However, O-Sensei's personal meditation training was
an eclectic blend of Shinto and other practices which suited his rather unique personality...and were
not passed on in any coherent form. O-Sensei did not systematize the internal aspects of his training.
The result, according to Toyoda Shihan, is that Aikido practitioners in general do not deeply
engage in any sort of meaningful internal training. They speak about "harmony" and "neutralizing
conflict", but their understanding is purely intellectual and emotional. They lack the solidity of physical
realization, and the martial energy and power, which come from disciplined training in meditation
and breathing. "Twenty-five years of training, so what!" he once remarked about a senior practitioner.
"Twenty-five years, just throwing people around a few hours a week. For nothing."

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