This blog will focus on the element of Timing. There is a saying, "Timing is everything." What people do not realize is that this is truer then they know. In Aikido as in any combative form, if your timing is even a little off the power of the technique will be lost entirely.

If you are too early, then your opponent will not have provided you with enough force to redirect their energy. If you are too late, it is likely that they have already landed a blow. In life you must be patient, but if you are too patient you will in fact miss opportunities.

Timing is not about procrastination or haste. It is about acting when the appropriate moment arrives. Aikido teaches conflict resolution, so any attack on an opponent would be a hasty act. Instead we are taught to dissolve the conflict before it escalates to violence. In order to do so we must be patient with our opponent and also realize that in reality we have no true opponents except ourselves.

The Tao Te Ching speaks frequently of the concept of wu-wei (non-action). I have encountered some who are baffled by this concept. They ask, how can we live if we take no action? Non-action isn't about taking or not taking action. It is about timing. Non-action means acting in the best time possible. Often when you do so you find that things happen effortlessly. It is almost as if the entire universe conspires to help you with your task. That is why it is called non-action, because very little effort is put into the task.

This effortlessness is why Aikido looks very much like a dance when someone has trained for many years. The person knows their body so well that they can make corrections in their timing without thinking about it. So to must we learn to be able to accomplish the same thing in our everyday life. If our timing is not perfect, then we must use the other two principles, flow and power, to correct the situation. But each time we are mindful about bad timing, we improve it.

Timing is also about having patience. You must have patience with yourself and others. You must stop and examine all sides of the story, and take as many perspectives as you can, whenever possible. When we fail to be mindful and look at each thing in life as something that is multidimensional, we act are acting in haste. Sometimes it is better to wait and see then to rush in headfirst.

Of coarse sometimes it is also better to take quick action, but the trick is to learn the difference between quick action and hasty action. We can only learn this sort of thing by direct experience. Just as in Aikido we must learn about timing by applying the technique at different speeds, so to we must learn from our hasty actions and our procrastination.

When we procrastinate in dealing with difficult problems, often we find a bigger mess then had originally existed. Like everything else problems are like a seed. Ideally we would stop the seed from ever being planted. But this can be difficult and requires an enormous amount of mindfulness and concentration. If we uproot the plant just as it sprouts, then very little effort will be put into removing the problem. However, if we let it grow and continue to procrastinate, the problem will become like a massive and deep-rooted weed that is very difficult to get rid of.

Many times, timing is about fear. We are afraid of dealing with a difficult issue, or in the dojo we are afraid of trying a technique we are uncomfortable with. We must learn to put aside whatever reservations stand in our way. In my own personal experience I have found that when I hesitate and do not follow through with a technique I experience pain. When I rush into a technique, or try to go unnecessarily fast, I also experience pain.

I am fortunate to have wonderful teachers at the dojo I belong to. In cultivating the power of Aikido on the mat, I have learned a lot about myself and other ways to think about life and relationships. But I know that just like my life, I have many years of training ahead of me. It is my hope that I will continue to grow both on and off the Aikido mat.

Michael Kilman