As a young boy, Morihei Ueshiba witnessed local thugs beating his father for political reasons. Wanting to avenge his father’s beating, he thrust himself into the world of Budo, mastering the arts of Ju-Jitsu, fencing, and spear fighting. But, he found his martial arts training at odds with his religious training, focused on peace and harmony, and sought to reconcile the two.
Ueshiba founded the art of Aikido in the 1920s, drawing from his training in Daito-Ryu (commonly called Aiki-Ju-Jitsu), and sword and spear fighting. By blending the footwork and body movements of sword and spear fighting with the joint locks and throws from Ju-Jitsu, he created a system focused on the redirection of force rather than opposing it.
This introduced a different means of self-defense than was taught by traditional Karate or Ju-jitsu instructors of the day, who focused on meeting force with force. Ueshiba believed it was important not to defeat an opponent but to find a way to remove conflict and create a peaceful world.
As such, rather than meeting force with force, he taught Aikido practitioners to yield to the force of their opponents, using it against them. Many in the martial arts community refer to Aikido as the “gentle art” or the “soft art” because of its emphasis on redirection of force so an opponent’s energy is used against him.
Aikido focuses on the Power of Surrender.
Most martial arts practitioners do not consider Aikido a combat sport, but a means of self-preservation. While the Art is free-flowing and beautiful to watch, the self-defense aspects of Aikido cannot be ignored or overlooked. Because the Art has its origins in Ju-Jitsu, Aikido possesses several techniques that can cause serious injury to an opponent.
Takayuki Kubota, founder of Gosoku Ryu, whom I had the privilege of calling a friend and instructor, was also an Aikido practitioner. He often described Aikido as the “Art of Unintentional Cooperation.” He would stress the importance of yielding to an opponent’s aggression rather than countering it directly.
It wasn’t about confrontation, it was about surrender.
The deceptive nature of Aikido is what makes this martial art so unique.
Aikido, like Ju-Jitsu and Judo, relies heavily on unbalancing an opponent and using their own body against them. It takes advantage of the Law of Inertia, which states an object in motion will remain in motion until acted upon by an external force. Aikido takes advantage of an opponent’s motion and uses that to either redirect or unbalance them.
The goal was to seek the surrender of the opponent and to end the confrontation peacefully. However, if an assailant refused to surrender, the joint locking and joint manipulating elements of the Art could cause significant harm, leaving an individual injured or maimed.
American actor, Steven Seagal, is a 7th Dan in the Art of Aikido. While adapted for the Big Screen, many of the elements of traditional Aikido are evident in his films. Many Doctor Who fans also know that the Doctor learned the Art of “Venusian Aikido” at a dojo on Venus, and used this (in comics, radio, and TV) to defeat his opponents by using the attacker’s own movements against them.
Yes, it appears the Art of Surrender is not just limited to Earth.
Throughout the history of military conflict, we see evidence of Aikido used in combat. Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, and Frederick the Great all effectively used their opponent’s tactics against them. Their understanding of warfare and the strategies employed by their enemies allowed them to use them to their advantage.
These military geniuses would yield, surrendering ground to an opposing army, luring them into a strategic position their armies could then exploit, leading to a decisive victory. They understood well the timeless wisdom of Sun Tzu, “All warfare is based on deception.”
In one particular battle, Julius Caesar aligned his troops in battle formation to face their enemy. As the opposing forces attacked, Caesar had one section of his troops near the center of his formation intentionally fall back, yielding to the pressure of the attacking force. As the opposing troops pushed forward, they did not realize that Caesar was moving troops from the edges of his alignment to encircle them. Known today as a pincer movement, this military tactic is still used to gain a tactical advantage over an adversary.
This is another strategic use of the Power of Surrender
We also see the Power of Surrender in the art of sailing.
I was recently enjoying a break from a speaking venue at The Pier in St. Petersburg. I paused from my walk around The Pier to observe a group of young sailors launch their boats during a very windy day. I was curious to see how they were going to get their small boats out of the harbor, as a stiff wind was blowing in from the Bay.
These young guys jumped in their boats, hoisted their sails, and began zig-zagging their way out of the harbor and into the Bay. Rather than fighting the wind, a losing proposition, they surrendered to the power of the wind and used it to their advantage.
It was Aikido in motion. By harnessing the power of the wind, they were able to move the sail back and forth, cutting a zig-zag pattern as they exited to harbor, redirecting the power of the wind to move their boat forward, even though they were sailing against the wind.
Sailors throughout history have harnessed the power of the wind to move their ships across vast distances. By understanding when and how to surrender to the wind’s power, they were able to channel its energy to their advantage without having to fight the wind.
Life is always changing. It is relentlessly moving forward. What got us to where we find ourselves today won’t get us to where we want or need to be tomorrow. At times we can also feel the pressures of life as we battle obstacles, challenges, and setbacks.
We have a choice.
We can fight against the pressure, or we can yield to the pressure and use it to our advantage.
There is power in surrender.
The Ocoee River is a dam-controlled whitewater experience. The Upper Ocoee was the site of the 1996 Olympic whitewater slalom competition, known for its thrilling Class IV rapids. The middle section of the Ocoee offers Class III and Class III+ rapids, which attract whitewater enthusiasts from around the globe.
When my middle son, Jordan, was younger, I took him white water rafting on the Ocoee River in Chatanooga TN. Our raft guide was an experienced navigator, who made the experience even more fun and memorable. One event, in particular, taught me the power of surrender.
Having just navigated a III+ section of the river, our guide asked if we were ready for a break. No sooner had we spoken, he unexpectedly rocked the raft, spilling several of us into the cold, brisk, fast-moving water, my son and I among them. He told us to lay back, point our feet downriver, and simply relax.
The fast-moving current quickly carried us down the smooth section of the river as the guide kept the raft moving in the same general direction. After a few minutes of floating, he called for all of us to get back in the raft before we got to the next section of rapids.
My son, and a handful of other rafters, had remained close to the raft. The guide, using a rope, pulled them back to the raft one by one and they climbed back aboard.
I had ventured further away from the raft than everyone else, retrieving an oar one of the rafters had dropped. I found myself farther away than the guide’s rope would reach. When the guide called out, I turned to swim back to the raft.
It was then I experienced the power of the current as it continued to push me downstream. Try as I might, I couldn’t overcome the water’s relentless push and continued to drift toward the next section of rapids. After a few minutes of hard swimming, I began to tire.
The guide called out, “Swim sideways. Go to the shore. Stop fighting the water.” This was something he had told us earlier. If we find ourselves in the water, don’t try to fight the current. Instead, surrender to the current and swim toward the shoreline. He had also taught us various paddling strokes to navigate the rapids, as well as how to use the river’s currents to steer and control our raft.
As the water got shallower, the power of the current diminished. Once I could touch the bottom of the river, I simply waited for the raft to catch up to me, and pass me, then used the current to quickly swim back to the raft and climb back in.
My choice was simple.
I could fight the current or yield to it and harness it to my advantage.
That is the power of surrender.
Aikido, whitewater style.
So, how do we apply the Power of Surrender and harness it to our advantage?
First, we must accept the fact that change is inevitable.
We can either fight it, or we can surrender to it.
Surrender, by definition, is to cease to resist.
When we cease to resist change, but accept it as necessary for our growth, we can embrace change, harness its power, and allow transformation to take place in our lives.
Secondly, we must release control and embrace the unknown.
Rather than trying to control the outcome, we embrace the process of change, knowing that (in the end) it’s going to stretch and grow us into a better version of who we are and what we do. When we stop trying to control the outcome, we release the stress and anxiety that accompany control, freeing ourselves to fully learn the lesson life is trying to teach us.
Thirdly, when we stop fighting against the challenges, obstacles, and setbacks that life brings our way, we open the door to new possibilities. When we surrender, we create space for new ideas, solutions, and opportunities to arise. Creativity and innovation flow from this, leading to breakthroughs we previously hadn’t considered or pursued.
Lastly, embracing the power of surrender fosters a greater sense of self-awareness and humility. When we stop confronting challenges and change, we release our attachment to outcomes and see these as teachable moments. Now we can check our motives, let go of our ego, and gain a deeper understanding of our place and purpose in the earth.
Remember, Aikido is called the “Art of Unintentional Cooperation” for a reason.
Life will continue to bring us a series of challenges, obstacles, and setbacks. At times, it will feel relentless. We can confront them in our own strength and perhaps, for a season, we can hold them at bay. However, the Power of Surrender shows us another way.
By yielding to the challenges, obstacles, and setbacks of life, we can redirect the forces seeking our destruction and use their energy to our advantage. Like the sailor who hoists the sail to harness the wind, we can use their power to propel us forward toward our destiny.
Even when we’re sailing against the wind.
It’s often said that setbacks are setups in disguise.
Rightly used, setbacks can teach us valuable lessons, identify areas of needed improvement, and ultimately contribute to our personal and professional growth. They provide us the opportunity to reevaluate our goals, adapt our strategies, or even discover a new path forward we hadn’t yet considered.
When we yield, we can use the Power of Surrender to propel ourselves forward.
Surrender, like Aikido, is the Art of ceasing to resist.
It requires less energy and less effort, and it ends the conflict in a peaceful, productive way.
There is a time to fight, and there is a time not to fight.
Wisdom is knowing the difference between the two, and acting accordingly.
Black Belt Leaders understand when life hands you a lemon, you make lemonade.
This is the Power of Surrender.
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