Spent over an hour today watching a 1st kyu grading session (a poor one at that), so had plenty of time to contemplate.

Ki flows when we are relaxed. We are born relaxed (babies). As the astral body impacts into the lower complex, we become tense, anxious and fearful easily. The fight/flight syndrome is a reflex action; it is encoded into the very nature of our physical selves. The consequence is that there is a significant predisposition against extending ki, i.e. as "natural" (in the sense that it is in harmony with nature) as extending ki is, it doesn't come naturally to us at all.

Abit of cosmology is appropriate here. We started out pre-personal; one with nature but without a 'me'. We are now at the personal stage where there is a gulf between us and the divine. We need to move towards the trans-personal stage of being one with nature, and yet retaining the sense of self. From a physical perspective, this means that we need to learn how nature works so we canintegrate with it. From an aikido perspective, we need to learn how ki works so we can integrate with it.

I believe the best way of doing this is to follow. And that's what I'm focusing my efforts on now: how to follow completely. Following can be passive (moving when you are moved), but it can very much be active too (moving to be one with the mover). And when I know how ki works (knowing from a know-how, not an intellectual perspective), then I can integrate with it.

The state of ki extension is the most natural and powerful one. In the presence of fear, anxiety, tension, ki is cut-off and we lose our power. Implication: ki extension is the antidote to fear, anxiety, etc. Be aware: are you extending your ki if you're feeling afraid? Instead of an intellectual discourse of why there's no need to be afraid, just extend ki. Try that next time.

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