Interview with Richard Cox on the spiritual principles of Aikido

with Richard Cox

Hi,

Just a short post to let you know that the latest podcast episode is out now. You can find it at this link: Conversation with Richard Cox

To summarize what we talked about, I’d say it was mainly centered on if/how martial arts training could be used as a testing ground for spiritual concepts.

I know Richard from his work at deepstateconsciousness.com

If you saw my promo video for the interview on Facebook, you might be wondering where I got all those cool old pictures of O Sensei.

They are from Richard’s Sensei, Alan Ruddock’s time at Hombu Dojo in the 60s and (according to Richard) can be downloaded (there are hundreds of them) with a purchase of Ruddock Sensei’s book here: Aikido Memoirs

Even after this conversation, the question lingers for me - how can martial arts practice, intrinsically linked to violence and conflict, be a path towards spiritual awakening? And what even is spiritual awakening?

If you’re kind enough to indulge me and actually listen to the episode, you’ll hear my admittedly strange ideas on what the word “spirituality” means to me (spoiler alert - it involves actual spirits) - but I’m always learning and trying to glean a better understanding of what words could mean to other people. That’s the beauty of dialogue.

Speaking of dialogue, we also discussed how Aikido practice can be viewed as a form of physical dialectic. And the difference between discussion and debate.

Hope you enjoy the episode.

I will probably be exploring these themes further in my next post here so please stay tuned.