Fritz fished fresh fish

Here comes a new student…
He smiles as he approaches, carrying all his fishing gear for the fishes that he wishes to catch. Just a few steps closer now and you can see he is being positive, full of questions and queries, full of promises of what he desires to become, full of… hot air!
As he introduces himself, in my turn, I introduce him to the rest of the crew and make sure to show him my boat… And while I’m at it, he is already busy assembling his fishing stick and searching his little tool box for the tiny jar that is full of worms which crawl around… At that point my voice sinks into a whisper: “permission to come aboard gran…ted” Since one-more-time the “new” newcomer does not bother to look at my boat as I present it to him. He enters it head down, all joy, occupied with the happiness of catching big fish as soon as possible, completely ignoring the fact that he now enters a… U-boat!!!

-Is that a problem?! One may ask… Will he not, sooner or later, realize that he will travel under sea?!
-Well… he will realize eventually, but as so many have done before him, it will take a long time for him to give up  searching for a door to open or a convenient stop of the boat, in order to deploy his fishing stick. And even when he will realize, it will take, again, a long time before he will decide to get rid of his fishing gear and he will carry it around obstructing himself and annoying the old crew… not to mention that when he will finally realize and get rid of it, he will still carry in his mind and mouth the original idea and intention of caching some fish. On the other hand, many are those who will sit quite in a corner until next port, in order to disembark and find “a real ship” for their fishing.

One can join a ship and fish all he wants thinking he now knows the seas… And up to a point this attitude may be right, but the real sea is not its surface, but what lies beneath it. To know the sea is to travel under it, or correctly said, in it! In the meantime they are entire fleets of brave ships cruising up and down, fighting the storms and the winds charting their course for a destination, avoiding reefs etc. In the end they think they are (and they really are…) experienced sailors and captains of a journey that missed the very essence of the sea, by choosing to stay on its surface… The comparisons and the innuendos are fully yours to consider…

A U-boat is usually a tight claustrophobic place… Why would anyone wish to join it in the first place? But this is an imagination trip, we are in an “example text” and we can think as large and wide as we wish… So, please imagine a much larger than usual U-boat, navigated and equipped to explore. With plenty of glass rooms in order to enjoy the view… and yet, not quite defenseless in any way…
 Imagine something like Captain Nemo’s Nautilus…
Are you joining it yet?!

One should sink into Aikido and understand its true depth…
Aikido is much more than what you will read, see, hear, expect it to be… Once, as a student, I came across a Master who said that many are practicing for about two decades, only to find out that they are on the wrong way of doing it. And the ship or boat you will join, in order to take your journey into the universe of Aikido, needs you empty-handed and empty-minded. It also needs you attentive and aware of what it is, that you will join. And remember, fishing gear is pointless in the bottom of the sea.
Besides, the only fresh fish to fish will be you Fritz!

November 7, 2011