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     It is a common question: How could Aikido-a martial art-help my Zen practice? We must answer this question with questions: Do you have a hard time finding your breath when you are not on your yoga mat or meditation cushion? Does the person who just cut you off in traffic cause your blood to boil? Does your Zen simply fall apart when presented with any sort of conflict? Do you perceive 'conflict' as bad? If the answer to any of these questions is 'yes' then we have some answers and some effective tools for you.
     At Park City Aikido we train our students to deal with conflict. For instance if someone grabs you by the wrist your mind will focus on that point. You will pull against the force, hold your breath and you likely will become fearful or agitated about this "problem." Making matters worse, you are now ill-prepared for what might be coming next: a punch, a kick, etc. At this point you are attached to the conflict and your mind/ego are in control... the same state that you are in most of the time. We teach you to let go {using "aikibreath"} and move what does move, thereby changing the equation instantly.
     You may say, "Okay, but in Park City what are the chances of someone attacking me physically as in the example above? The answer is: statistically-small, but this is not the point. We are 'attacked' in some form every day. Our society has become all about conflict, disagreement, anger and anxiety. We want to find peace, but we find our surroundings to be challenging and we perceive this to be at odds with our quest. Perhaps we could all sit atop Kilimanjaro and meditate, but it would get a bit crowded. The challenge is not in be centered and peaceful in quiet moments of solitude. Rather, it is taking our Zen with us to the grocery store.
     Thus, in a controlled and fun environment we create situations that require the students to immediately "find their Zen." We learn to move from our center using aikibreath techniques and physical manipulations that neutralize the conflict quickly. The Aikido and Systema techniques are virtually secondary to the Zen state that we cultivate in our students. When conflict yields to harmony in the dojo we find that it the same thing starts to occur in our day-to-day lives.
     We invite you to join us to see this for yourself. The pure joy of cultivating your peaceful warrior or inner Samurai is impossible to describe in words.

		Park City Aikido, Wagokan Dojo At The Park City Racquet Club Sensei: Mark Zamarin, Sandan

Zen and Aikido