The Real Purpose of Aikido (Remarks by Franck Noël)

Let's not be Afraid of the Word "Harmony"

I hadn’t planned to publish an article this week, as all my writing time has been fully occupied with translating an extensive interview with Franck Noël into Czech.

But this morning, I woke up with an insistent thought: some parts of this conversation should be shared in English, too, because they convey the fundamental purpose and logic of Aikido with such clarity and ease...

Let me briefly introduce the context of this interview before I let you enjoy it. Franck Noël, a 7th dan Aikido teacher from France, began his practice in 1968 with Nakazono Sensei in Paris, and in the seventies, he spent eight years in Japan, primarily studying with Kisshomaru Ueshiba and Yamaguchi Sensei.

This interview was conducted in 2007 by Horst Schwickerath and published in Aïkidojournal 23F/2007. The following selection is just about 10% of the complete interview—which is full of interesting insights on Aikido practice, teaching, learning, politics, and the broader context of what we do.

These excerpts invite us to reflect on the purpose of our daily practice and its connection to the world we experience around us right now:

…

Aïkidojournal: To what extent is Aikido a martial art?

Franck Noël: It is completely a martial art; the issue is understanding what we mean by “martial art.” If we consider martial art to mean combat technique, then Aikido is not a combat technique. But if we focus on the “art” aspect of “martial art,” meaning something that develops with an infinite perspective, then Aikido is fully a martial art. Martial, because it deals with conflict, it deals with combat, but it is not a technique intended for learning how to fight physically in an immediate, everyday sense—that is not its purpose at all. It is about using the concept of conflict as a means of pursuing personal and social (relational) development.

…

AJ: You speak a lot about the social aspect of Aikido.

FN: Of course, Aikido is a way of living with others. It’s about how to position oneself in relation to others, facing others. How to react to their actions, how to behave toward them, whether they are friendly or unfriendly. It is a tool for civilization, a tool for social order, which obviously involves personal development. But in my view, the goal is more about social order than personal development. Personal development serves social order. It’s about building a civilization, a society more in harmony—let’s not be afraid of the word.

…

AJ: If you had to summarize what Aikido is for you…

FN: Simply, I would like to perhaps emphasize again the very broad nature of Aikido. That is to say, we must genuinely see it as a tool for civilization, as a way of developing a person in service of a harmonious social life. We absolutely need to move beyond the idea that the goal of Aikido is to become strong. It’s not about becoming strong in Aikido; it’s about improving one’s relationships with others. Practitioners need to have this clear in their minds. In my opinion, this is a message that is currently somewhat lacking—yes, some people express it in the world of Aikido—but perhaps not loudly enough, not strongly enough, not clearly enough. I believe there is still too much focus on the cult “who is stronger than whom”  and becoming strong. That’s not what it’s about. This is just a very small part of it. It must really be placed in a much broader, more complete perspective, taking into account the whole person and integrating that person into human relationships.

AJ: There was a big change in mentality after World War II. Today many people are seeking harmony…

FN: In my opinion, the mentalities are moving backwards. I think what you’re saying was truer in the seventies or eighties than it is now. This idea has evolved a bit: the idea that human relations should move toward more collaboration, more cooperation, more exchange, and less conflict. That idea isn’t so popular anymore. Once again, power dynamics are beginning to prevail, both in international politics and in everyday relationships. All the talk about rising violence, etc., are signs that, ultimately, power dynamics are seen as what drives the world forward. Aikido, however, aims to counteract this. It’s not about denying that reality: it’s true that humans have within them a potential for violence, a potential for dominance, a will to dominate. But what we must affirm in Aikido is that the civilizing process lies in trying to tame this drive to dominate and this impulse toward violence. So, it’s this effort, this attempt to civilize and tame these aspects that creates civilization. And Aikido is this, it is this wager, this desire to promote a logic of cooperation as opposed to a logic of competition and rivalry. That doesn’t mean we deny competition or rivalry, but we try to ensure that the logic of cooperation is more efficient than that of competition.

And this is the reality we experience on the mat; what we experience in practice is the cooperation between uke and tori. Uke and tori work together, taking turns, and that’s the reason that the situation is improving, both benefit and gain, both come out better from the exchange. This isn’t just talk; it’s real. Practically speaking, all Aikido practitioners in a dojo are cooperating: they cooperate to improve themselves, to bring about changes, to improve everyone’s skills. It’s this affirmation, this desire to transform a logic of competition into a logic of cooperation, that will yield positive effects.

…

Looking at both the world and the Aikido community seventeen years after this interview, it’s clear that this approach to Aikido is more relevant than ever. Well, obviously we have a lot of work ahead of us…