The great aikido master Sir Isaac Newton used to admonish his students that every force has an equal and opposite force. I would like to paraphrase this great insight as follows:
You are always one-half of any resistance you encounter.

As a corollary, we might also add:

When you resist yourself, you divide yourself.
You are the resistance you feel.

In our own training and in our daily lives, we frequently feel that we encounter unwelcome levels of resistance. In some cases, we wind up feeling like we are pushing against a brick wall. At other times, we notice our partner seems disconnected, going through the motions, they fall down without our involvement, and we may feel cheated of our chance to practice. Still again, we may discover emotional, intellectual, muscular, or other structural obstacles within ourselves that impede the effortless progress of a technique. How can we best address these challenges?
For starters, it must be said that we desire an uke who understands how to press an attack all the way through the technique until escape or accepting a pin is the last best option left for them. Further, they must do so within certain parameters that make the given technique appropriate for the occasion. Otherwise, they are subverting the lesson specified by the instructor. (Free styles of practice relinquish many of these constraints, but place their own demands for appropriate action from uke.) That being noted, we will now focus on things tori can do no matter what level of resistance uke provides, and perhaps use those lessons for our internal blockages as well.
Martial artists have long taken their cue from the Tao Te Ching which states “the highest good is to be like water.” What can this mean in practical terms, especially in the application of self defense, and for aikido in particular? Moreover, water can be not only fluid, but solid or vaporous as well. How does this help?
Let’s look at the kanji for “aiki.”

The first character “ai” is said to represent a jar with a well-fitting lid placed on top. It therefore suggests a meeting, a joining, a general coming together; but more precisely indicates a right fit or a good match. I also find it helpful for the image to suggest the idea of containment. The character “ki” is said to depict steam rising from a pot of rice cooking, implying force, energy, or vitality. Therefore “aiki” connotes a balance of form and essence. When the yin (formlessness) of energy is directed, channelled, or contained by the yang of form, balanced structure and right action may result. [1]
In other words, we can’t really interpret the admonition to “be like water” without understanding also the manner of its containments and conduits. To an extent, we become students of fluid dynamics. For aikido practice, I characterize this experience with four different categories. These are somewhat poetically named with a nod to the old traditions: [2]
Rain Falling
In this case, uke provides a relatively steady stream of energy throughout the technique. The intensity may be light, as in a drizzle, or heavy, or even torrential. In all cases, tori is advised to be an empty but active channel directing the flow to a lower energy state closer to the ground. Note that in this case uke is primarily handled as a flow of energy, while tori is both the semi-rigid boundary of containment, and also the empty space through which flow can occur. The only resistance is to channel and direct, but not to oppose the flow.
Water Pooling
This is much like Rain Falling, but the energy reaches a grounded state before actually descending all the way to the floor. Here, the flow of the attack stops in a mid-level energy state for whatever reason. Either partner may be the cause. Tori is advised to stay connected to uke, but to relax and not hurry things. It is a m

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