Falling Gracefully
There are beautiful lessons to be learned when we fall. Martial arts practice hones this skill the best. As uke, japanese terminology of a person receiving a technique this looks like the ‘attacker’ who comes in to present a situation to the nage. Nage being the ‘thrower’ or individual executing the technique, meets the situation presented by uke which leads the uke to take a fall. This is the basic working template when training in Aikido.
Falls taken by the uke can usually look like a forward or backwards roll, back fall, or a joint-lock pin. As you get proficient in falling you are able to increase the levels of difficulty in falling, which incorporates the appropriate fall with the appropriate technique executed.
Half of your time on the martial arts mat is practicing technique execution and the other half is in taking falls. This directly correlates to one’s meditation practice. The nage’s role in execution of techniques is the mindfulness practice of meditation. Mindfulness occurs off the seated meditation cushion and is engaged in addressing each situation that life presents with proficiency and skillfulness. The capacity and capability in which to address life’s situations effectively and efficiently with mindfulness comes through practice. The seated practice of meditation is being the uke, being receptive and open to undergo the transformative process of Stillness and Emptiness.
Things that are gained through being an uke:
An open awareness of listening with the whole body
Learning how to discern energies that are being impacted on the body to move accordingly so the uke keeps their body safe
Being able to recognize points of power, weaknesses, and openings of nage that can be utilized in henka waza (a changed technique in mid-execution from the initial technique)
Learning to trust yourself to deal with situations presented in-the-moment with mind-body integrity
Training to be a good uke is not usually your primary goal in martial arts. Yet, when you develop skills of mind-body awareness yours and others’, you live life on life’s terms in a happy and peaceful state-of-mind. You learn to fall gracefully when life shifts and changes on a whim. You learn adaptability, which is the ability to move with life in a fluid state of powerful resilience that sets you up for success.
There are also aspects of uke in mindfulness practices as well as nage in seated meditation, but that is another topic for another time. For now, consider how being fully present in the moment with whatever is arising, like being an uke on the martial arts mat, allows for immense change to happen within to expeditiously meet any situation with great personal power.
Join me the first Tuesday each month, March 1 for our next online meditation workshop at 6pm (PST).
Dharma Center is hosting a Day of Dharma on Saturday, March 12 from 11am - Sunset. You are invited to join us online or in-person for the event.
Heart Light,
Hui (Hathor)
