The “Shu-Ha-Ri Dialogues” series started on a lark when I reached out to Ellis Amdur Sensei for his thoughts on the way I was using these 3 stages as a teaching model in my dojo. That short interaction between Ellis and I morphed into some 360 participants, in 6 sessions, with over 10 hours of dialogues between myself and 4 other Koryu and Aikido teachers. On Sunday, Feb. 28th the “Shu-Ha-Ri Dialogues” series culminated with an all sensei panel discussion.
Growth and development often follow the trajectory of your personal life stories. Stories that are life lessons which profoundly shaped who you are. My own path of “Shu-Ha-Ri” (3 Stages Of Mastery In Traditional Martial Arts) mirrors my personal story as a dual practice lineage holder in Aikido and Buddhist meditation. A life trajectory that shaped how I see “Shu-Ha-Ri” as a universal map of development. In fact, it is the blueprint of development.
In this 4th session of the “Shu-Ha-Ri Dialogues” series, I speak with my old friend Toby Threadgill Sensei. Toby is the Shihan (headmaster) of the Takamura ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu school of traditional martial arts. As the first non- Japanese to become the official headmaster of a Koryu jujutsu school, Toby is in a unique position to share his rich and in-depth understanding of “Shu-Ha-Ri” the 3 stages of mastery in traditional Japanese martial arts.
In this 3rd session of the “Shu-Ha-Ri Dialogues” series, I speak with Paul Manogue Sensei who is one of the few non-Japanese headmasters of a traditional Japanese Koyru, the Edo Yagyu Shinkage-Ryu school of kenjitsu (swordsmanship).
In this 2nd session of the “Shu-Ha-Ri Dialogues” series George Ledyard Sensei – Aikido (7th dan) shares his understanding of “Shu-Ha-Ri” in his Aikido experience with his primary teacher Mitsugi Saotome Sensei.
On January 24th, 2021 I launched the first in our “Shu-Ha-Ri Dialogues” series with Ellis Amdur Sensei. Amdur Sensei is a Koryu lineage holder ( Araki Ryu, Toda-Ha Buko-Ryu), a psychotherapist, and a prolific author. We kicked off this dialogue series with a wide-ranging discussion of the 3 stages of “Shu-Ha-Ri” – namely “Shu” – the conformity stage, “Ha” – the application stage, & “Ri” – the transcendent stage.
Is Aikido a martial art, or a spiritual path? From a martial perspective, if push came to shove, could you kill another to protect a greater good? On the other hand, from a spiritual perspective, in a moment of truth, could you sacrifice your own life for a greater good? Now the big question; how can you hold both of these perspectives in the same place at the same time? This KOAN is at the core of Aikido, and this is what we explored in this community call on Aikido: Martial Art Or Spiritual Path?
Nothing makes life more meaningful than committing to something greater than yourself. Making such a commitment will lead you to discover your greater potential, and what is more meaningful than that? These days my most immediate commitments are to family and career. But for decades now I have been engaged in 2 longterm practice commitments that brought profound meaning to my life. These are none other than Aikido & The Spiritual Path.
On July 12th, 2020 the Integral Dojo held a Community Call with Ginny Whitelaw. Ginny is a Zen Roshi, Aikido Sensei, a former NASA Biophysicist, and an author. In this post, I’m publishing the replay of this community call where Ginny Roshi lead a mini-workshop on the title of her soon to be released book “Resonate – Zen And The Way Of Making A Difference .”
Aikido is not the “Way Of Harmony.” Harmony is the result of Aikido when done well – a “positive-sum” process that leads to the resolution of conflict and the restoration of wholeness. But the “way” of this “Aikido process” inevitably takes you squarely through conflict. This is reflected in the recent events and story of Janice Taitel Sensei who last year organized a petition for gender equity within the United States Aikido Federation. She followed her Aikido intuitions and ended up in the middle of a considerable amount of conflict… within her own Aikido organization! Nevertheless, she persisted.
