Carolina van Haperen - integrale Aikido Amsterdam

21/11/2025

We might recall that when we first started to practice aikido we were very concerned with the arms and the hands, the wrist locks and throws, and how to be strong enough to control our partner. This is what we first saw, this is what we perceived. We may have used a lot of upper body and arm strength because strength was all we could reference at the time. The aesthetic flowing movements, the powerful throws, the control, really seemed to come from having a strong upper body and arms.

Eventually, we came to understand that it was actually the lower body that drove movement forward, that power comes from the ground and is driven by the center - but changing was difficult. Especially if we had previously been successful using arm strength.
The hope was that as we practiced and became more and more familiar, we would learn to relax -shifting the energy downward, dropping the shoulders, and naturally assigning the weight toward the undersides.
Oddly enough, even knowing this concept cognitively does not make the physical shift easy. Habits are hard (tho not impossible) to extinguish because they become ingrained in the brain's neural pathways.
However, with awareness, mindfulness, and attentive focus, the paradigm can shift. We learn, we unlearn, and then we relearn.

G. Breeland, 6th dan

14/11/2025

In aikido, we coordinate the body to move as one whole integrated unit. This way strength is not confined to a segmented appendage, instead, we source power from the ground with an alignment so energy can flow.
If we constantly rely on upper body strength during technique, we might be successful for decades but as we age strength will dissipate and whole body coordination becomes essential.
The qualitative change into whole body coordination is a counterintuitive skill.

Become aware of 3 external connections: the shoulder to the hip, the elbow to the knee, and the hand to the foot.
The shoulder/hip relation involve large joints in the upper and lower body. These drive movement.
The elbow/knee relation maintain the quality of body flow. We drop the elbows, we bend the knees.
The hand/foot relation directs the flow of this energy. Fingers lead with a ‘kokyuing’ hand expression.
These 3 points harmonize and coordinate for unified and cohesive movement in our expanded ‘sphere’.

Increase consciousness with an awareness to observe these specific connections.
Study to develop an understanding
of exactly how the whole integrated body moves.

G. Breeland, 6th dan

07/11/2025

The general mass thinking will reflexively compare to criticize and judge.
Avoid the distraction.
Remember that Victory is over the Self, not over others. We correct Ourselves.
We Attend to our Own serious study.
We pursue a deeper, more intentional mindset, constantly observing our ego.
This state of mind is a choice.

O’Sensei arrived at his often viewed state after 60+ years of practice.
Few of us can even come close to achieving this to draw conclusions.
Maintain a curious and inquiring mind. Because “the more we know, the more we do not know”.
We learn, we unlearn, and then we relearn.
That is the journey.
Practice to constantly evolve.

G. Breeland, 6th dan

31/10/2025

Practice with the Aiki Ken helps to
reinforce and correct the Aikido body.
It helps bring attention to movement dynamic and the aligned supportive structural components.

Notice how hanmi and the Aikido stance feels ‘fortified’.
When raising the bokken with kokyu, clearly observe the defined arc.
It is not a ‘lift’.
Strike deliberately, extending out through the tip, experience a defined and decisive movement.
Become aware of the anatomical body in motion. Extend the head up, lengthen the spine, sense the core and ground down with the feet.
Notice the greater aspects of the energetic sphere. The up/down, right/left, front/back.
Identify the yin and yang of the movement
and find amplitude in the naturally correlated breath.

And then with a pause, acknowledge the solidly grounded interval between the raise and the strike.
A clean, intentional pause calls attention to a strong stillness with integrity and presence.

All these aspects (and more) can be studied with the “simple” solo Suburi practice with the Aiki Ken.
Move past the familiar shallow, do not just ‘copy’ the movement. Take the time to observe the Self.

What else can we become aware of?
And what is the mind doing?

G. Breeland, 6th dan

09/10/2025

03/10/2025

Intentionally control the body.

Take care to not ‘throw’ weight forward to rely on momentum. The tensioned upper body will move first throwing off central axis and alignment.
Also, while transitioning, do not rush into the next move without a ‘settled’ stability. Do not be too quick to throw.
Intentionally control movement, take the time. Notice the pauses. We are controlling not only our own body, we are also safely controlling our ukes body.
We do not force, make, insist.
Find the harmony.

Eventually, we may want to flow beautifully doing more ‘advanced techniques’.
But remember to first focus on foundation.
Improvement isn’t about grasping fancy techniques, instead, a quietly controlled, rooted stable foundation helps with economy of movement, efficiency and precision.
True strength is subtle, not showy.
A consistent good foundation will create a profound, sustainable state.

It is not magic, just clean, clear intentional movement.

G. Breeland, 6th dan

03/10/2025

For every aikido technique, remember our core principles:

Step off the line of attack, land in good hanmi.
Take balance, drop or sink disrupting ukes structure.
Blend to redirect, harmonize with ukes body drawing or leading him out.
Control center, our center and ukes center merge and essentially become one.

This is done in every aikido technique.
We join the energy of the attack rather than oppose it.
With practice we can become more dynamic and spontaneous, refining timing and response.

Remember that harmonizing/blending also reflects the quality of calm in the mind.

Breathe and practice.

G. Breeland, 6th dan

01/10/2025

When you learn something, you should be able to teach it to people. You should put the same effort into teaching as into learning. And if you want to teach, you should be humble enough to learn something. Then you can teach. If you try to teach just because you know something, you cannot teach anything. When you are ready to be taught by someone, then, if necessary, you can teach people in the true sense of the word. So. To learn is to teach and to teach is to learn.

~ Shunryu Suzuki, 1905–1971 ~
Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai

01/10/2025

21/09/2025

About honest and respectful training.

Honest Training – “Sunao keiko”
- by Stanley Pranin

“When I trained in Iwama under Morihiro Saito Sensei many years ago, every so often he would say something like, “Sunao ni keiko sh*te kudasai” (Practice with an honest mind) to admonish students to practice sincerely and in a spirit of cooperation. An example would be when he saw a student resisting another’s attempt to perform a technique using his foreknowledge of the technique being practiced.

“Let’s assume that we are practicing tai no henko. I know that nage will be pivoting to the outside while extending his arms in front of his centre. Instead of merely grabbing his hand firmly, I lift it up forcibly to prevent him from turning and executing the technique. What I have done is simply to take advantage of the prearranged nature of practice to thwart nage’s attempt to perform the technique. I am not being “sunao” or honest in my training. Such an action on my part would be entirely self-defeating and a show of disrespect to the teacher. If I were to lift uke’s arm upward in tai no henko, he could simply continue the upward movement and swing his arm towards my face to throw me down.

“The following was a true story that occurred at the Iwama Dojo many years ago. I was practicing with a strong partner. Every time, he would use his knowledge of the technique we were practicing to block my movement. This of course was a cause of frustration to me. To make a statement, I proceeded to block his technique in the same manner, but only once to prove a point. He continued every time to stop me, and from then on, I just resigned myself to continue until the end of class vowing to never train with him again.

“I knew that Saito Sensei was watching us as we continued in this manner, and I saw him becoming upset out of the corner of my eye. Finally, Sensei shouted, “Dame! So iu kudaranai keiko yamero!” (Stop that stupid training!). We all sat down while Sensei exploded at my partner. He explained that anyone can block a person’s technique if they know in advance what they intend to do. That this kind of training totally defeats the purpose of practice and that one cannot progress by training this way. Sensei then proceeded to ban my partner from practice at the dojo. The man was totally humiliated and immediately left the dojo with his head hanging down.

“Sensei eventually let the man back after about a month. From that point on, he trained in a respectful way and became an exemplary student. I trained with him several times after that and it was an enjoyable experience. He later established his own dojo and is still active.

“Let me give one more example drawn from aikido history. This one is a humorous story that shows another instance of someone not being “sunao.” It has to do with the famous Professor Kenzo Futaki who was a devoted student of Morihei Ueshiba during the Kobukan Dojo period in the 1930s. Futaki Sensei was known affectionately as “Dr. Brown Rice” for his strict macrobiotic diet.

One day Professor Futaki said to Ueshiba Sensei, “Sensei, I am going to attack you with a bokken. Can you escape from my attack?” Sensei answered smilingly, “Anytime.” When the professor used to attack Sensei from the front during demonstrations, Sensei always evaded to the left. So this time, he anticipated and decided to make an attack to the direction in which Sensei always evaded. As a result, Professor Futaki’s attack missed Sensei again, because Sensei did not move. The professor of course admitted his defeat.

When Professor Futaki asked Sensei how he could tell the direction of his attack, he responded, “Your mind had already flown to the right. Your empty-spirited body made that attack ever so slowly!” (From “An Aikido Life — Chapter 8″ by Gozo Shioda)

“In this case too, the befuddled professor believed he could outwit Ueshiba Sensei because he thought the latter would move in a predictable way. However, the Founder was extremely astute and immediately sensed the ruse. Dr. Futaki was not being “sunao” when he attacked with his bokken.

“I will finish up with one other example of how the lack of an honest spirit in training led to the end of two promising aikido careers. On my first trip to Japan, there were two foreign men that often trained and hung out together. They were both ranked about 2nd dan at the time. They could often be seen practicing together after class and really mixing it up.

“Years later, I happened to ask a mutual friend what happened to these two men as I had not seen or heard about them for a long time. He said that both had stopped aikido altogether because of their frustration at not being able to make techniques work on each other. They did not practice aikido with an honest mind. To my way of thinking, they had totally misunderstood the importance of honest practice as the correct way to develop good aikido skills.

“I think it is important for teachers to grasp this often misunderstood point and regularly explain to students why their future progress hinges upon adopting an open, honest mind in training, what the Japanese call “sunao na kokoro.””

www.aikidoonline.org

19/09/2025

Some of us might have heard the phrase "the outer informs the inner".
As we sincerely and earnestly train, the basic process of consistent physical training can eventually reveal internal qualities of the mind and body.

With repetition after repetition and repetition to constantly refine, we create a pathway toward the study of internal notions and access intuitive understanding regarding awareness and connected power.

Consistent practice allows us to become very familiar with technique.
We relax more, blend more fully, and learn to maintain a calm composure.
We become progressively aware of the importance posture, alignment, centering, and grounding provides.
With whole body integrated coordination and the extension/expansion in our structure, we move our study toward a mindful internal awareness.

Strive to become intuitive and sensitive to our own body and that of our uke’s.
Embody the feeling and expansive sense of connection, to ourselves, our uke, and universally.
Become more physically and spiritually inclined toward harmonization in every aspect, on the mat and in our daily life.

With continued consistent practice, expression of technique will reveal core underlying principles with clarity.
Movement will become more fluidly and spontaneous.
And the mind/body/spirit will move with a more natural and calm efficiency.

The outer can inform the inner and eventually, the inner will manifest on the outer.

So keep up the practice.

G. Breeland, 6th dan

04/09/2025

We zullen vast nog veel mooie Hollandse luchten vanaf de aikidomat zien. Dit zagen we gisteren: