Yi — often translated as "Change," but better understood as the ceaseless arising of life from life.
易，無思也，無為也，寂然不動，感而遂通天下之故。非天下之至神，其孰能與此。
"The Yi is without thought and without action; silent and unmoving, when stimulated it penetrates all circumstances under Heaven. If it were not the most spiritual thing under Heaven, how could we participate in this?"
— 繫辭 Xici (Great Commentary on the Yijing), tr. Joseph A. Adler (2020) → On this passageI trained for over forty years. Forms, repetition, correction. The body accumulating skill. Seminars with great teachers. Years of refining technique.
Then something shifted. Not a better technique. A different ground.
In 1992, training under Tomita Seiji Shihan — a direct lineage from O Sensei via Tanaka Bansen — one principle became the cornerstone: daruma (達磨). While keeping your own natural balance, guiding the partner into losing his — one uninterrupted flow. Everything comes from this.
Empty your container, he says. It took years to unlearn before I could truly receive his teaching. Old ways run deep.
What remains is listening.
Tomita Seiji Shihan teaching at Suishin Dojo, Lembeke — 2013
Three Entrances
In aikido, the practice begins with mental processing — how to move, where to stand, how to react. Through years of repetition, this changes into direct knowing. When thought dominates, the body is tense, defending. When listening happens from the whole being, the body softens. There is just contact. Daruma is not a technique to apply but a quality to inhabit.
The sword makes this visible in a different way. In iaijutsu there is no partner, no correction from outside. You wait for the right moment and act without hesitation — no doubt, no rush. Before drawing, an immediate awareness of every change in the surroundings. IAI means being in connection. That connection is what it is all about. I practise Musō Jikiden Eishin Ryū under Benoît de Spoelberch (Getsurinkai 月輪会) at his Rŏgetsudō dojo in Brussels.
In 2012, meeting Mukesh Gupta opened a third angle on the same thing. We almost always listen from the past — from conclusions, memories, the image we carry of ourselves and others. But there is another quality of listening, one that sees directly what is, without the filter of expectation or fear. In that listening, stillness arises. Not through effort. Through seeing.
"Deep listening is the portal to that unconditioned space of being… This deep listening means being fully present without any resistance."
— Mukesh Gupta schoolforselfinquiry.org
What Tomita reveals through the body on the mat, what the sword makes unmistakably clear in solo practice, what Mukesh illuminates through inquiry — they spiral around the same essence. That silence, that stillness is the listening.
→ Beyond Form: on takemusu aiki
Different Names, One Ground
Aikido, iaijutsu, taijiquan, zazen, Krishnamurti inquiry — the vocabularies differ, but each tradition points to the same quality of attention:
| Aikido | Fudōshin (不動心) — “immovable mind”; the response arises naturally from stillness. |
| Iaijutsu | Isshin (一心) — “one mind”; the sword‑body unity (kikentai'ichi). |
| Krishnamurti | Choiceless awareness – observing without the filter of past conditioning. |
| Mukesh Gupta | Compassionate presence – listening from pure attention rather than from memory, expectation or fear. |
The vocabulary differs. The ground is the same. → Read how these paths converge
I teach every other Thursday evening at Ban Sen Juku in Brussels (20:00), and once a month on a Tuesday evening at Suishin Dojo in Lembeke (20:30). Anyone open to learn is welcome.
The best way to taste the sake is to drink it.