Aiki Man and Beast

Friday Knight News

“Each day of human life contains joy and anger, pain and pleasure, darkness and light, growth and decay. Each moment is etched with nature's grand design, do not try to deny or oppose the cosmic order of things.” Morihei Ueshiba

Aiki as a principle that operates under the guise of using the other person's strength against them, or at least getting them to use it in a way they did not expect. Most of our lives we have been raised to struggle for control of obstacles before us. That is why physical training for strength and endurance make so much sense in combat situations. The amazing part about training is that with determination, dedication, and perseverance an individual can develop amazing skills. Sometimes people who train heavily are referred to as beast, due to their size and/or strength. However, these factors (strength and size), cannot go on increasing indefinitely. At some point the law of diminishing returns begins to take effect, and you have to put in increasing amounts of energy, time, and determination to achieve even minimal advances. Still some of the most stalwart individuals will continue to work on their greatest assets and to bolstering up there deficiencies.

These gains only lasts as long as the person's ability to maintain the work load that it took to develop these traits. So eventually, time, injury, or a change in priorities begin to diminish these abilities. Sometimes all three of these obstacles have a hand in robbing us of our hard earned traits and/or skills. This isn’t to say that our skills vanish completely just because we no longer have the time to dedicate this greater portion of the day to our training as we had in the past. Still, often this is the cost of being an adult and having responsibilities outside of the dojo. One of the great secrets that I discovered in my teenage years was that I could alter the manner I accomplish tasks on the job site to help compensate for the lack of training time.

More than once over the course of my teenage years I have had several of my bosses take me aside and asked me what it was I was doing. Thinking that I was in trouble I pointed out that I carried more loads of hundred pound flour bags than my companions when we rotated the stock on the shelves. My boss pointed out this was not the problem as he was aware of it, he just wanted to know what type of martial art I did. This surprised me as I didn’t think anyone would notice the way I moved the inventory that allowed me to practice using precision throws. These throws generally were wheel throws, my favorite was tawara nage (the rice bail throw), for tossing the 100 pound bag up high on the stacks behind me. My boss told me he knew what I was doing as he had done the same when he was a wrestling champ in the Navy, but he knew what I was doing this slightly different than the type a wrestling that he did. At any rate, this type of training helps me continue and improve while away from the dojo.

"The obstacle is the path." Zen Proverb

Still over the years, many injuries outside of the dojo took their toll on my body. Most notably being hit by a hit-and-run speeding car while I was riding my bicycle. Either that or falling 30 foot off a cliff during a freak rainstorm while free climbing. Thankfully the tree trunk growing out of the side of the cliff stopped me at around the 30 foot mark. Then there was two times being thrown or knocked off farm equipment, one of which almost killed me. Then to top it off, I have been either thrown off of fleeing vehicles, bumped by errant drivers during traffic stops, and once hit by a driver that popped the curb and clipped me while I was on the sidewalk. I also threw my back out slinging stock at the grocery store. The doctors attributed that injury primarily to my other previous injuries, although some of the injuries I mentioned came after the grocery store wake up call.

The thing is I found that by utilizing the principles of aiki allows me to continue with my practice despite my injuries and physical shortcomings. Not that I am that skilled in either area aiki or physical power. Still, I found that I’ve still been able to throw younger and much stronger men than myself without having to rely on how much force my body could generate. Even recently I had found that these principles worked against even greater physical strength and mass than any of my human counterparts I have faced. I helped a neighbor corral a bull that had gotten loose that he had often referred to as excessively ornery. I was able to easily alter his course, but during the process of corralling this bull through his stockyard, I had to also restrain a horse from running out as we switched gates. My neighbor and the other helpers had seemed surprised and had chided me for hopping over the fence to escape the charging horse. They were even more surprised when I climbed up over the rail and use my hand to stroke the jaw and neck of the horse as it was pressing against the metal gate. But when I altered my hand position, the horse flipped over backwards out of the way. This allowed for time enough to let the bull through. So, that was twice within a matter of minutes that I had been able to experiment with the ability of aiki to manipulate creatures of much greater mass than I had ever faced on the street.

My stories are about martial arts adventures that are intertwined with paranormal or supernatural events. The following links are to the Kindle version books from the "Dream Walker” series. Our adventurers find themselves on a quest where they are confronted with both conspiracy and mystery. Their challenge is to unite their mind and body skills together utilizing what they have learned in the martial arts with the transcendental power of dream mediation. They attempt to do this while they are trying to make a life for themselves and elude those that seek to use and control them.

Conversations with a Sage (Book 1 of the Dream-Walker)

Conversations with a Sage: This explores Xander Davidson's early encounters with the mysterious fog like Dream Walking martial art sages. He ponders if they are real or if they are only remnants of his dreams. He mainly keeps this secret world to himself as he tries to copes with abuse, growing up without support or guidance and the mystery of his family's past. 

Xander and the Assassins Gift (Book 2 of the Dream-Walker)

The Assassins Gift: Xander Davidson struggles with the conspiracy of his family and the group that is actively trying to manipulate him to join them or die. The young Dream Walkers learns an early lesson to be careful about whom they let into their circle.


Warriors of Perception (Book 3 of the Dream-Walker)

Warriors of Perception: Xander Davidson and his band of friends embark on a mission to free themselves from their oppressors. They bravely face the challenge all the while vying for the right moment to turn the tables.

Jace Lee The Shift (Book 4 of the Dream-Walker)

Jace Lee The Shift: We find a new apprentice, Adam, that is fighting for his life. He is struggling to understand the amazing skills of his mentor, Jace Lee; a younger man that has trained under Xander Davidson. All the while his mentor attempts to reconcile the fact that his skills do not match up with the other Dream Walkers.


Jace Lee No Agenda (Dream Walker Book 5)

Jace Lee No Agenda: Jace Lee attempts to find himself on a self-imposed vision quest of sorts. Instead he finds himself being stalked by the same group that had previously sought after his teacher, (Xander Davidson). Instead of mastering his odd Dream Walking skills he finds love and the potential loss of his powers.

Jace Lee and the Tutelage of Ming Wu: Dream Walker 6 

Jace Lee The Tutelage of Ming Wu: Jace Lee rejoins his teacher Xander Davidson as they cope with a possible combined threat (the mysterious), Ming Wu and the Council that has continuously monitored the Dream Walkers.