by Régis Soavi This was a definition of our art once given by someone close to O-sensei Ueshiba Morihei. The words have stuck, but what of the reality of the practice? Aikidō may have lost its prestige by becoming a “fighting sport”. Zen, Yin and Yang It is difficult to practise, or even to understand … Continue reading Aikidô is “Zen in motion”
by Régis Soavi Ambience is both a starting point and an outcome. It is literally an atmosphere that is both tangible and intangible, concrete and yet sometimes almost invisible, but it is always real and far from superfluous. A source of results The ambience of a dōjō is not something fixed or defined forever, for … Continue reading Ambience
by Régis Soavi In almost all dōjōs, it is customary to refer to the few exercises that precede a class as “preparation” or “warm-up”. But what if it were not gymnastics, nor physical education, but something else entirely! Tsuda sensei wrote that his master, Ueshiba Morihei, was furious when, even back then, and although he … Continue reading The “Respiratory Practice”
by Régis Soavi One of the great strengths of aikidō lies in its high degree of mobility and its rotational movements. These movements create spirals that generate a combination of centripetal and, their counterpart, centrifugal forces, forming an invisible shape that is constantly unfolding: the sphere. Techniques that use a rear attack provide the clearest … Continue reading Mobility and Body Awareness
The story begins with the publication of Manon Soavi’s book in 2022. Unless… it actually began on 8 December 1967! On that day, Paris publisher Gallimard released Raoul Vaneigem’s The Revolution of Everyday Life. Vaneigem was a writer (now the author of some fifty books), philosopher and historian specialising in heresy. An anarchist and Situationist, … Continue reading For an Alchemy of The Self
by Régis Soavi The spirit of discovery that awakens at birth, and perhaps even before, is a manifestation of our vital instinct and, if it is not mutilated by an environment that I would describe as inappropriate, it will enrich our daily lives until the very end of our days. What guides us Our encounters, … Continue reading A Window Onto Another World
by Manon Soavi When we talk about self-mastery, the first image that usually comes to mind is that of an individual rising to mastery, to unalterable calm. Those who are masters of themselves are detached individuals, dominating their passions and emotions much as one dominates nature and subordinate beings. Seen in this light, self-mastery is … Continue reading Contemplating The Sound of The World
by Régis Soavi In our relationship with the dojo, we often deal with Reishiki (etiquette). From our first contact with martial arts, as soon as we enter a dojo, we see people bowing very respectfully at the entrance and then greeting each other, or sometimes heading towards the kamiza after picking up a weapon. Every … Continue reading Reishiki: A Musical Score
by Manon Soavi Tsuda Itsuo sensei said, ‘There is no black belt in mental emptiness’, emphasising that what is essential cannot be measured or compared. Following this line of thinking, Régis Soavi sensei made the radical choice in the 1980s to establish a school without grades. This choice stands out in our competition-based society. An … Continue reading Without Fixed Reference, A School Without Grades
by Manon Soavi Max Stirner wrote in 1844: ‘there are […] intellectual vagabonds to whom the ancestral home of their fathers seems too cramped and oppressive for them to be willing to content themselves with the limited space anymore ; instead of staying within the bounds of a moderate way of thinking, and taking as … Continue reading External Things are Neither Certain Nor Necessary
by Manon Soavi Ikebana master Mei Ando Keiko recounts how, as a child, she would watch her grandmother practising her art: ‘I saw her take two leaves from the plant and place them in front of the tokonoma, on a perfectly ironed white cloth where a small number of other plants were already arranged. Then … Continue reading The Art of Dissatisfaction