THE KEY TO AIKI SPIRIT

The ZEN monk Takuan(1573-1645),whowas a confidant of yagyu munemori(1571-1646),master swordsman of the house of tokugawa,wrote in a short treatise,the true and wondrous sword of tai-a;


The art of the sword consist of never being concerned with victory or defeat ,with strength or weakness,of not moving one step forward ,nor one step backward,of the enemy not seeing me and me not seeing my enemy.penetrating to that which is fundamental before the separation of heaven and earth where even male or female cannot reach,one instantly attains perfection/proficiency in the art.


yagyu munemori himself stresses the overcoming of ego through self discipline in the art of swordsmanship. 

the goal of training in the martial arts is to overcome six kind of diseases; 

the desire of victory
the desire to rely on technical cunning 
the desire to show off
the desire to psychologically overwhelm the opponent
the desire to remain passive in order to wait for an opening  and 
the desire to become free of these diseases

ultimately,physical.psychological and spiritual mastery are one and the same.

the egoless self is open,flexible,supple,fluid and dynamic in body,mind and spirit.

thanks