稽古笔记
欢迎批评是一句废话。“废”不是说这话多余，是说光讲没用。
宽宏的君子，准别人怎么批评？你说人分贤愚美丑，我赞同。你说我的女儿既笨又丑，我想打你。又笨又丑，难道不正是贤愚美丑经过排组合的四种可能之一吗？批评可以，不能与我有关。刚毅的勇士，敢怎么批评别人？女生抽烟，我说这儿还有不吸烟的人。厅长抽烟，我问还有没有要烟的领导？批评不难，如果与权力无关。
欢迎批评，就要放下权力尤其暴力，允许别人骂自己。敢于批评，就要批评自诩正确却靠强权护持的伪人。
外界难免觉得合气道假。不同流派和指导者之间相互瞧不上，但严守不公开批评其他道场与风格的美德。结果每个不同的想法，催生出一家不同的道场，却没有促成同一种艺术的成长。后辈与前辈、学生和老师、分支和本部、末流与主流，强势一方总是不被批评，只会让合气道本身变得弱势。
山田老师的伟大，在于他直言不讳的批评。1980年在巴黎的IAF大会上，他在演武开始前戏谑地揉捏自己的膝盖，对在他之前演武的李清楠直接表达不满。刚才李清楠为了显示自己，把学生摔得倒地不起，最后一瘸一拐地退场。我从他2009、2019和2022年的三次采访里，摘译了部分言辞锐利的批评，既反映出行家的思考，也显示出正道直行的气度。
《月刊秘传》 2009年4月号，《创始人的学生访谈集》
问：我能再问问您对开祖合气道的印象吗？
A：我认为在我学习的时候，开祖带有合气柔术的浓厚色彩。重点是垂直运动，没有圆形的回避运动，并且强力固定。入身也不同于晚年的轻柔动作。在开始前，一个人先站准自己的位置，接着就迅速进入。所以我认为与吉祥丸道主的时代非常不同。
问：你自己的合气道呢？
A：嗯，当然，我现在的合气道与我年轻时强力去做的方式不同。但我不想自欺欺人地坚持，适合我的才是对的。我不能为了适合自己而去改变合气道。那岂不是不公平？为了老年人的便利，就让年轻人去模仿老人？
Q：那有针对年轻人的青年培训吗？
A：就像“趁热打铁”的说法，在年轻的时候以适合自己年龄的方式练习很重要。反正老了就做不了别的了，只能用老人的方式去练了。
Q：开祖年轻的时候也练得很猛吧？
答：没错。合气道不需要力量是谎言。这实际上只是一种表达方式，意思是不需要过度使力。年轻时训练的总量，会积累到你变老的时候返还。
Q：我真的感受到了这个系列的文章中那些话的真实性。
A：我们做腰投的时候，也有人说“开祖从来没有做过”，这些人大多是懒惰的老师。居然让这么多懒人，有机会进入如此精妙而伟大的武道，真是一种耻辱。说到底，合气道是肉体和肉体的对抗。摸都不摸就想把人丢出去是不可能的。
Q：你认为学习合气道最重要的是什么？
Q: Could I ask you again about your impressions of the Founder’s Aikido?
A: I think that the O-Sensei of the time in which I was learning was heavily colored by Aiki-jujutsu. The focus was on vertical movements, there were no round evasive movements, and locks were applied strongly. Irimi was also different from the soft movements of his later years. Before starting one would position themselves exactly and then enter sharply. So I think that it was very different from Kisshomaru Doshu’s era.
Q: How about your own Aikido?
A: Well, of course my Aikido now is different then how I would force things when I was younger. But I don’t want to hold onto Aikido until I start fooling myself, so I can’t change Aikido just to suit myself. Wouldn’t that be unfair? To make young people imitate an older person for that older person’s own convenience?
Q: So there is a young person’s training for young people?
A: Like the saying “strike while the iron’s hot”, it’s important to practice in a way that’s appropriate for your age while you are young. Anyway, once you get old you won’t be able to do anything but old person’s practice anyway.
Q: The Founder also did very severe training when he was young, didn’t he?
A: That’s right. It’s a lie that Aikido doesn’t need strength. That’s really just a way of saying that excess power is not needed. The amount of training that you do when you are young, those savings will return to you when you become older.
Q: I really feel the truth of those words in this series of articles.
A: When we did Koshi-nage there were those who said “O-Sensei never did that”, but those are mostly lazy instructors. It’s a shame that there are so many openings for such lazy people to enter such a marvelous and wonderful Budo. To the end, Aikido is about flesh against flesh. It’s impossible to throw somebody without touching them.
Q: What do you think is important when learning Aikido?
A: Don’t lower your own level. For that reason, steal the best parts of your Sempai, your Kohai and your Dohai. Steal, but don’t imitate. Digest them as best you can without hesitation. Anyway, it’s actually impossible to imitate other people, because the are different people. I think that’s why O-Sensei thought “It’s no good if I teach you”, even while he was teaching. In the end, if the person is different than the quality of their Aikido will be different. That is the beauty of Aikido, and its lot. In that sense, there is nobody who is doing O-Sensei’s Aikido. Real Aikido was just O-Sensei. The rest is just make-believe. (laughing)
Q: When we think about it this way, do you think that it was a good thing that Aikido changed in Kisshomaru Doshu’s era?
A: Yes, I think so. Doshu’s Aikido was very pure. That’s why I believe that it is a good starting point for aiming to reach the peak of that giant mountain called Aikido. After that you just have to find the way on your own. For that reason, you must train in way that is not collusive.Q: Yes.
《合气学刊》，2019年4月1日，《“我宁愿把他看作一个人”：山田嘉光谈开祖与合气道的未来》
他是一个非常善良和富有同情心的人，这也是他如此受人尊敬的原因之一。但有时他就是在发脾气。其实很好，这让我意识到他和我们其他人一样只是一个普通人。我不喜欢有些人认为开祖是某种神或圣人。我宁愿把他看成一个人。有时疯狂，有时悲伤，有时微笑。我不想让他像神一样。
He was a very kind and compassionate person and that’s one of the reasons he was so respected. But sometimes he would just lose his temper. And this actually was fine. It made me realize he’s just a human being like the rest of us. I don’t like how some people think of O-Sensei as some kind of a god or saint. I’d rather see him as a human being. Sometimes mad, sometimes sad, sometimes smiles. I don’t want to make him like a god.
我不是开祖，但我不想任何人觉得我是神或某种特殊的存在。拜托，饶了我。我只是一个人。会生气，会哭泣，会犯错。我和其他人一样有缺陷，包括开祖。
I’m not O-Sensei, but I don’t want anyone to think of me as a god or some special being. Come on, give me a break. I’m just a human being. I get mad, I cry, I make mistakes. I have flaws just like everyone else, including Morihei Ueshiba.
我尊重个性。只要基础是共同的，每个人都应该有自己的合气道表达方式和自己的练习方式。只要有共同的基础，你就应该与众不同。你必须与众不同。我尊重并且几乎是要求得有个性。我不喜欢人们模仿我，或者试图成为我的翻版。没门。
I don’t want to put people in a certain category. I respect individuality. As long as the fundamentals are common, everyone should have their own expression of aikido and their own ways of practice. As long as there’s a common basic foundation, you should come out different. You have to be different. I respect, and almost demand, individuality. I don’t like people to copy me, or to try to be a copy of me. No way.
我很高兴合气道如此迅速地流行起来，但在某种程度上，我觉得有些不对劲，因为现在有很多人参与合气道的教学，而这些人可能不应该这样做。我听一些资深人士说，现在教合气道的人中可能有 60-80% 不应该这样做。在某种意义上，我也有同样的感觉。
I’m very happy in the way aikido became so popular so quickly, but in a way, I feel something is off, because now so many people are involved in teaching aikido who maybe shouldn’t be. I’ve heard some senior people say that maybe 60-80% of people who are teaching aikido now shouldn’t be. In a certain sense, I feel same way.
合气道的很多优点也是缺点。这就是为什么我们现在处于如此困难的境地。因为合气道对每个人都非常开放，每个人都可以照自己的方式来，如果你愿意可以马上教人，几乎没有任何品质方面的把控。于是太多老师都是速成的，影响了我们在合气道界一切努力的整体质量。因为合气道没有比赛，人们很难衡量或测定技能，也难以检验各种技术方式的优劣。这是个问题。
A lot of the good things about aikido are also bad points. That’s why we’re in such a difficult position now. Because aikido is very open to everybody, everyone can do it their own way, and if you want, you can teach almost immediately with little quality control. We ended up with too many instructors too quickly and this impacted the overall quality of what we are doing in the aikido community. Because there’s no competition in aikido, it’s quite difficult for people to measure or gauge skill or test the quality of various technical approaches. This is one problem.
合气道的段位系统，我不相信。开祖也不信，他从来没有一个什么系统。我认为只要你获得了黑带，这就够了。我不觉得需要段位。也许可以使用“范士”、“教士”之类的头衔，来代替段位数字。
The ranking system in aikido, I don’t believe it. O-Sensei didn’t believe it. He never had a system. I think that once you get a black belt, that’s enough. I don’t think there’s a need for dan numbers. Instead of numbers, maybe you can use titles like Hanshi, Kyoshi, whatever.
我不喜欢这种段位制。一个人的段位与水平高低几乎没有关系。合气道被认为是没有比赛的，得了吧，段位制不就在给相互较劲提供动力吗。
I don’t go for this numbering system. People’s rank has little to nothing to do with quality levels. And aikido is to supposed to have no competition, but give me a break, the ranking system creates huge competitive dynamics.
出于商业考量，黑带很重要，但升到黑带的时候，你必须得有这个水平。这只是我的观点，但很多人可能都同意。这是一个敏感话题，也许这就是为什么更多人选择不去讨论。
For commercial reasons, black belt is important, but when you reach black belt, that should be it. This is just my opinion, but many people might agree with me. It’s a touchy subject though, so maybe that’s why more people don’t speak up about it.
对于所有练习者，我想说合气道是一种非常独特的武术，我希望你享受这种练习。但我主要的话是给指导者的。指导者，我想大声说，不要坐下来放松。你还在路上。合气道是无休止的学习，直到你死。请提高自己，不是为你，而是为了你的学生与合气道艺术。这是你的责任。认真对待。
For all practitioners, I’d like to say that aikido is a very unique martial art and I hope you enjoy its practice. But my main message is for instructors. To the instructors, I would say strongly not to sit and relax. You are still on your way. Aikido is an endless study until you die. Please improve yourself, not for yourself but for your students and for the art of aikido. This is your responsibility. Take it seriously.
《合气学刊》，2022年7月11日，《山田嘉光：论自由与责任》
作为老师和组织领导者，我很高兴看到这么多人参与其中。合气道如此包容，每个人都可以平等地练习，合气道没有比赛，这很好。但正因如此，人们可以占这种体系的便宜——有些人确实这样做了。尤其是当老师的人。有些老师会说，“合气道不该有腰投，它太野蛮了。” 这只是一个例子，还有各种各样的心态。合气道很自由，有时也太自由了。那很危险。合气道的好意会被人们利用。现在成为老师很容易，可能是太容易了。
As a teacher and someone leading an organization, it makes me happy to see so many people involved. It’s good that aikido is so inclusive, that everyone can practice equally, and that aikido has no competitions. But because of this, people can take advantage of the system – and some do. Especially people who become teachers. Some teachers will say, “There shouldn’t be koshinage in aikido, it’s brutal.” That’s just one example but there are all kinds of mentalities. Aikido is very free, but sometimes too free. That’s dangerous. People can take advantage of the goodness of aikido. It’s so easy to become a teacher nowadays, probably too easy.
我看到的另一件事是，现在很多人是在大学社团开始练合气道。美国有这种情况，但在日本更是如此。这是向人们介绍合气道的好方法，但从一开始就给学生制造了不同的心态。这是一个校园活动，一个社团。这不是武道。情况和环境造成了大不相同的投入程度。它改变了师生关系。自从合气道变得越来越流行和商业化，你几乎无可奈何。所以从老师的角度来看，我很高兴看到每个人都在训练，但另一方面，这使得保持合气道的品质水平变得更加困难。在日本，大多数从大学开始合气道的人，四年后毕业时自然就能拿到他们的二段。对我而言这毫无意义。某种意义上，我为他们感到遗憾，因为他们没法拥有我们这样的机遇和经历。
Another thing I’ve seen is that many people nowadays start aikido in a club at college. I see this in America, but even more in Japan. It’s a good way to introduce people to aikido but it creates a different mentality for the student, right from the beginning. It’s a school activity, a club. It’s not budo. The circumstance and environment create a very different level of commitment. It changes the student-teacher relationship. And since aikido has become more popular and commercial, there’s nothing you can do. So from a teacher’s point of view, I’m very happy to see everybody training, but on the other hand, it makes it much harder to maintain quality levels in aikido. In Japan, most people who start aikido in college automatically get their nidan after four years when they graduate. This doesn’t make sense to me. In a way, I feel sorry for them because they don’t have the same kind of opportunity and experience we had.
采访者Josh Gold：我注意到一件事，一些今天进入这一艺术的年轻人认为，他们每周训练一次就能取得有意义的进步。
One thing I notice about some of the young people coming into the art today is they think they can train once a week and they’re going to make meaningful progress.
我也看到了，但如果他们这么想，我不会责怪他们。现在情况不同了，但我希望随着时间的推移，状况会有所改变。这是在道场中开始合气道的优势之一。它自动就是武道。气氛从一开始就以武道为基础。但老实说，无论如何，我现在看不到太多年轻人练合气道。有时我去指导讲习会，只看得到年长的人。垫子上没有年轻人。
I see that too, but I don’t blame them if they think that way. Circumstances are different now, but I hope as time goes on, things will change. This is one of the advantages of starting aikido in a dojo. Automatically, it’s budo. The atmosphere is based in budo from the very beginning. But honestly, I don’t see many young people in aikido now anyway. Sometimes when I go to lead seminars, I only see older people. No young people on the mat.
采访者Josh Gold：您提到了师生关系。经过这么多年的教学，您现在对合气道的师生关系有何看法？
You mentioned the student-teacher relationship. What are your thoughts on the student-teacher relationship in aikido now, after so many decades of teaching?
老师要营造诚实和尊重的氛围。我不喜欢只对老师说“是”或同意他们所说的一切的学生。如果学生有话要说——如果有问题，就说出来。这是一种更真诚的关系。但要带着尊重。同时做到诚实和尊重，我知道这很难，但这是我想看到的那种关系。这一点，是我从吉祥丸道主那里学到、并在他性格里看到的。这就是为何我如此敬重他。
Teachers should create an atmosphere of honesty and respect. I don’t like a student who only says “yes” to the teacher or agrees with everything they say. If a student has something to say- if something’s wrong, say it. That’s a more honest relationship. But do that with respect. I know it’s difficult to be honest and respectful at the same time, but it’s the kind of relationship I want to see. It’s something I learned from Doshu Kisshomaru and saw in his personality. That’s why I respect him so much.
采访者Josh Gold：您管理的美国合气道联合会（USAF），是美国最大的合气道组织。您对联合会未来的愿景是什么？什么事是您接下来最希望看到的？
You run the United States Aikido Federation, the largest aikido organization in the United States. What’s your vision for the future of the USAF and what do you think are the most important things you’d like to see carry forward?
这是一个很好的问题，也是我每晚难以入睡的原因之一。我想了很多。有一次，我和田村老师讨论这个问题，我问：“你准不准备为你的组织留下什么遗训？” 他说：“别想了。即使我要他们怎么做，一旦我走了，他们总会有自己的主意。” 现在我明白他的意思了。（笑）
That’s a good question and one of the reasons I have a hard time sleeping every night. I think about this a lot. Once, I was discussing this with Tamura Sensei and, I asked, “Have you prepared some kind of directive for your organization after you pass away?” He said, “Forget about it. Even if I tell them what to do, once I’m gone, they’ll have their own ideas anyway.” Now I understand what he meant. (laughs)
我很高兴很多人说USAF很好，我也这么认为。但是总会有问题，而且你越大，人越多，活动越多，问题就会越多。就是这样。我希望我们能不断进步，也希望我走后，其他人也能延续传统。当然，总有人有不同的想法，很难一起工作。每个人都有自己的自我和观点——我们都是人。但是人们互不同意，仍然可以一起工作。我们不能强迫人们以某种方式思考。你们不必成为朋友，你们甚至不必互相喜欢，但这并不意味着你们就要带着破坏性或者不尊重彼此。
I’m very glad that many people say the USAF is good, and I think so too. But there will always be problems, And the bigger you are, the more people and activities there are going on, the more problems will show up. That’s just how it is. I hope we can keep improving and I hope that after I’m gone, others can continue the tradition. Of course, there are always people who have different ideas and it can be difficult to work together. Everybody has their own ego and opinion – we’re all human beings. But people can disagree and still work together. We can’t force people to think a certain way. You don’t have to be friends. You don’t even have to like each other, but that doesn’t mean you should be destructive or be disrespectful to each other.
从技术的角度来看，我喜欢看到非常纯粹的技法和强有力的基础。不要花里胡哨。今天，有些合气道看起来很花哨，尤其是在社交媒体上。但懂行的人可以看出，那些合气道什么内在也没有。它看起来很花哨，但它是空的，缺乏根基。不幸的是，一些指导者就是这样。他们技法很差但看着花哨——你能看出受方的平衡甚至都没被破坏。当我说今天的合气道太自由时，这就是我意思的一部分。重要的是为这种自由担起责任，并记住基本要素——入身、连接、协同。如果你有这些基础并且强而有力，那你可以很花哨。
From a technical perspective, I like to see very pure technique and strong basics. Nothing fancy. Today, some aikido looks very fancy, especially on social media, but people who know can tell that kind of aikido has nothing inside. It looks fancy, but it’s empty and lacks fundamentals. Unfortunately, some instructors are like this. They look fancy and have bad technique – you can tell the uke is not even having their balance broken. It’s part of what I meant when I say that aikido today is too free. It’s important to be responsible with that freedom and remember the basics – irimi, connecting, harmonizing. And if you have those basics and they are strong, then you can be fancy.