re: How selfish is Aikido?

Interesting article. One thing to point out is that you can stay in your center and have uke revolve around your center. However, you can also do the techniques, being centered and "in control" and yet revolve around uke's center.

Another idea we work on at our dojo is blending with the uke such that neither uke nor nage is the center, but we as a unit per se are centered through the point of grab and we both revolve around that center.

It is a natural thing to have self preservation in the mind, even unconsciously, in the midst of an attack as it really is the ego trying to preserve it's self - the ego is afraid to die and we often confuse the ego's desire not to die as our own desire not to die. If we can see and get past the ego's grasp on our mind, then we operate on a different level and Aikido can happen as opposed to being done.

O'Sensei once remarked "I am the Universe!" This sounds quite selfish and egocentric but it really wasn't. Rather, as he had his breakthrough in which he was able to see how we are all connected as one - he was no different than anyone else and one with the universe. While I poorly explained this - though it seemed he was coming from a selfish place - he was not . Nor do we have to - we can train to gain the level O'Sensei attained. Until that time, our ego will cloud us and often we will act selfish though we strive not to.

Your comment: "make others feel good to feel good yourself' selfishness is at least one level higher than 'make others feel inferior to make you feel better' selfishness. And maybe it is this higher level selfishness that we call harmony."

I disagree with it in so much as one can go beyond the notion of making others feel good to make yourself feel good. In the Buddhist tradition, one strives to do things for others and work for their benefit - not so you feel better for making the other person feel better - you do it for their benefit without any gain on your part. Doing things for others with no ulterior motive than to benefit them with no thought of gain - even for doing it to feel good about yourself.

I feel harmony can be obtained in doing Aikido without the desire to make the other person "feel good." For example - if someone attacks with a shomen or a yokomen uchi strike and you blend with it perfectly - you are in harmony at that moment if you are blending - not thinking - but in a state of mushin. Nage's part might be to perform either sumiotoshi or say shihonage or what ever technique - but doing so will bring about the harmony and resolution as opposed to technique alone. Technique alone will produce results - but not necessarily any harmony.

One can work toward the ideal of working in the void, in Mushin where compassion can arise free from selfish concerns and be in harmony with uke or an attacker - and by taking care of each other in an unselfish place. Anyway - these are my thoughts...