Amdur - Dueling with O-Sensei: Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior Sage

Freelance Academy Press

Wheaton, IL 60189

Revised, Expanded Edition

2015 by Ellis Amdur

Printed in the United States of America

Original Edition

Publisher: Edgework Books

20126 Ballinger Way NE, #85

Shoreline, WA 98155-1117

(206) 781-3588

www.edgeworkbooks.com

2000 by Ellis Amdur

All rights reserved. Published August 2000

No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the publisher.

Cover and interior design and production: Rebecca Smith

Some of these essays were published previously in a slightly different form in Aikid Journal over a four-year period in the 1990s. My deepest appreciation to its publisher, Stanley Pranin, and its editorsfirst, Diane Skoss, and later, David Lynch.

Printed in the United States of America

by Publishers Graphics

21 20 19 18 17 16 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5

ISBN: 978-1-937439-24-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014951623

In memory of Evelyn Amdur: woman of valor. In the last decades of her life, a hospice social worker, she took the last walk alongside those she called heroes all.

And she used to sing me to sleep when I was small.

Books On Martial Arts published by Freelance Academic Press

DUELING WITH O-SENSEI:

Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior-Sage - Revised, Expanded Edition

- Ellis Amdur

OLD SCHOOL:

Essays on Japanese Martial Traditions Expanded Edition

- Ellis Amdur

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

Tracing the Roots of Ueshiba Moriheis Power - Revised, Expanded Edition

Publishing pending, Winter, 2016 - Ellis Amdur

Fiction (Published by Amazon)

THE GIRL WITH THE FACE OF THE MOON

- Ellis Amdur

CIMARRONIN: The Complete Graphic Novel

- Neal Stephenson, Mark Teppo, Charles Mann & Ellis Amdur

On the De-escalation of Aggression
published by Edgework
www.edgework.info

FROM CHAOS TO COMPLIANCE

Communication, Control, and De-escalation of Mentally Ill, Emotionally Disturbed and Aggressive Offenders; A Comprehensive Guidebook for Parole and Probation Officers

- Ellis Amdur & Alan Pelton

COOLING THE FLAMES:

Communication, Control and De-escalation of Mentally Ill and Aggressive Patients; A Comprehensive Guidebook for Fire-Fighters and Emergency Medical Technicians

- Ellis Amdur & John Murphy

EVERYTHING ON THE LINE

Calming and De-escalation of Aggressive and Mentally Ill Individuals on the Phone; A Comprehensive Guidebook for Emergency Dispatch (9-1-1) Centers

- Ellis Amdur

GUARDING THE GATES

Calming, Control and De-escalation of Mentally Ill, Emotionally Disturbed and Aggressive Individuals; A Comprehensive Guidebook for Security Guards

- Ellis Amdur & William Cooper

GRACE UNDER FIRE

Skills to Calm and De-escalate Aggressive and Mentally Ill Individuals in Outpatient Settings: 2nd Edition; A Comprehensive Guidebook for Health and Social Services Agencies, and Individual Practitioners - Ellis Amdur

IN THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE

Skills to Calm and De-escalate Aggressive and Mentally Ill Family Members: 2nd Edition - Ellis Amdur

SAFE BEHIND BARS

Communication, Control, and De-escalation of Mentally Ill and Aggressive Inmates; A Comprehensive Guidebook for Correctional Officers in Jail Settings

- Ellis Amdur, Michael Blake & Chris De Villeneuve

SAFE HAVEN

Skills to Calm and De-escalate Aggressive and Mentally Ill Individuals: 2nd Edition; A Comprehensive Guidebook for Personnel Working in Hospital and Residential Settings - Ellis Amdur

SAFETY AT WORK

Skills to Calm and De-escalate Aggressive and Mentally Ill Individuals; A Comprehensive Guidebook for Worksite Safety

- Ellis Amdur & William Cooper

SHAPESHIFTING

Effective Scenario Training for Crisis/Hostage Negotiation Teams

- Ellis Amdur & Ret. Sgt. Lisabeth Eddy

THE THIN BLUE LIFELINE

Verbal De-escalation of Mentally Ill and Emotionally Disturbed People; A Comprehensive Guidebook for Law Enforcement Officers

- Ellis Amdur & John Hutchings

Published by The United States Concealed Carry Association

HOW TO CONTROL CONFLICT & DE-ESCALATE THREATS

A Companion Guide to the DVD: Threat De-escalation - Book & DVD

- Ellis Amdur

A number of Japanese words are used in this text. Those outside common English usage are italicized, throughout the text. To make the text more readable, proper names of various martial traditions are italicized only in their first instance. I have endeavored to define each word, either in the text or in a footnote. Furthermore, there is a glossary at the back of the book which should define any Japanese language word (or other non-English word or phrase) that the reader will encounter.

All photo credits are at the end of the book.

I came to aikid by accident. Id read about it in advertisements in the back of comic books, and walked into an aikid dj on a whim, while on my way to an entirely different martial arts academy. It absolutely stunned me. It was beautiful, a system of movement unlike anything Id ever seen. Furthermore, the ritual and formality of the practice embodied a way of living unfamiliar to me, where the smallest nuance of behavior appeared to have meaning.

I subsequently read in several books that, beyond the redirection of an attackers force, aikid offered a method of training whereby one could develop nearly superhuman strength, paradoxically through relaxation. Through this, one could establish peace by completely dominating every aspect of a violent beings actions. It seemed to be the equivalent of picking up an enraged child and not only keeping him from clawing out the eyes of his playmate, but also instantly soothing him so that he no longer had the desire to do so. Aikid was described as a martial art more refined than any other, one that created reconciliation between enemies through a disinterested kind of love. This was not the emotion of romance, passion or parental care; rather, it was described as a solicitude for all living beings. What one learned on the mat would somehow transfer outside the dj into the real world. All of this was embodied, so the stories went, in the person of the founder of aikid, Ueshiba Morihei, deceased some years before I came upon the art. Aikid became my main preoccupation for the next five years. I practiced about six hours a day, either in various djs or alone, training under many of the leading teachers of the mainstream group, the Aikikai, both in America and in Japan.

Given this passion, bordering on obsession, it may perhaps seem a little surprising that I discontinued aikid in 1978. Love is a strange thing, isnt it? A seed of dissatisfaction can take root in ones heart, growing in secret, suppressed, until one day it breaks through, undeniable. You suddenly cast aside your love, denying it ever had any value in the first place, perhaps falling into the arms of someone new.