La Casa del Dolor

Él que ha visto la mitad del universo, a quien nunca se le ha mostrado la casa del dolor.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Journals

When you think it is your duty to inflict pain, closely examine your reasons.
Bertrand Russell, My Ten Commandments

Pain is not always a bad thing. It is not good either. It's just one thing. Only exists.

Pain can be useful. Pain is a sign that something is not right. Pain helps you to recognize and treat an injury. Or to recognize and treat a situation that must be changed. But I do not think the pain should be an integral part of any sport. Even a martial art. If pain is a normal part of your training, I think there's probably something wrong.

Basically there is no pain in judo. In judo when you're stuck in a master key and do not surrender your elbow is broken. If you feel the pain you have waited too. In karate or kendo you feel pain if you make a mistake and let them hit you.

Good teachers mostly do not use pain. I trained with many teachers in Japan and I can only think of a good teacher who regularly used pain as a weapon. Masatake Fujita Sensei was an excellent teacher. Although frequently used pain. We made a quick jujutsu master key wristlock or instantly. The uke would tearfully and would frantically banging his hand to surrender. But I saw Fujita Sensei never cause harm.

I was uke Sadateru Arikawa Sensei for many years. It is fair to say he was a feared teacher. People asked me how much damage I did techniques. I laughed. His techniques did not hurt. He had perfect control. But my heart was always destroyed from the beginning.

Unfortunately most people and most teachers do use pain because they are not able to painlessly techniques. Some people and some teachers even likes to use pain. They like to control pain. And some feel comfortable also causing damage.

A friend of mine once came to Japan for a month. It was full of enthusiasm for aikido and paid the fee a month training at the Aikikai Hombu dojo. On the first day I trained there, a teacher made a nikyo. The teacher stopped in the middle of the art and looked. He looked at the teacher. Then – ¡bam! – The teacher deliberately projected in the tatami too fast so you can take the ukemi. I do not know if that teacher was trying to cause harm or not. But it certainly was cause pain.

The doll had been damaged and my friend could not train for a long time. He was angry about the injury. And sad hundred dollar fee he had paid for a month of training. But it is also very disillusioned with aikido, aikido teacher and Aikikai culture that allowed the damage occurs. This leads to a point on confidence in martial arts. I will return to that another time.

If you use the pain you are giving an option to the attacker: accept technical or accept pain. A strong attacker or attackers under the influence of alcohol or drugs might not feel pain.

I do the same to Arikawa Sensei and all the best teachers I have ever known. I do not give the attacker choice. I always take the center of the attacker. I always break the balance of the attacker. So that the Question of pain is no longer relevant.

As I said at the beginning the pain is not always a bad thing. I especially recommend pain au chocolat(Napolitans Chocolates).

Niall

Robert Frost, The Thatch
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/12141

Randall Jarrell, 90 North
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/90-north/

W H Auden, September 1, 1939
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15545

Bertrand Russell fs Ten Commandments
http://philebersole.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/bertrand-russells-ten-commandments/

Discussion thread on Painless Techniques and Learning Aikido
http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18367

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© niall matthews 2012
traducción Carina

Fuente: Aikiweb