What I have set out to do here is to design a process that maximises yields for all of the living elements within the design. Whilst I am the one element within the design that is actively making choices to maximise my learning, I can still design a system that provides the maximum potential yields for all of the others at the same time. My first task then is to identify those other elements & then to look at how I can combine them all in the most beneficial way.

 I am including Aikido itself in the former column as it is constantly evolving through the new ideas of it's Senseis making it in effect a living entity. Aikido is inseperable from it's living practitioners.

 Observations:

About myself:

• I feel a lot more 'alive' after doing Aikido.
• I generate a lot of Ki in my hands at sessions.
• I have suffered sports injuries in the past when 'overdoing it'.
• I learn best by 'doing'.

About others:

• The established students have developed a real sense of peoplecare for each other.
• New students are often the only real beginners in the club & can find it difficult to stick with it.

About Aikido:

• Aikido already follows many of the ethics & principles that underpin good permaculture design.
• Co-operative training methods mean a lot less injuries than other martial arts.
• The gradings system seems to encourage learning by providing targets.

About training aids:

• The School's training video is difficult to watch, having poor sound & video. This makes it difficult to see what is being done & to pick up the extra tips that would enhance training.
• Most Aikido books available emphasise different elements, depending on the style that the author trains in. Thus, books that contains the detail that students of our style need are few & far between.

 Principles: Aikido as a form has developed from a Taoist ideaology, Tao (pronounced 'Dow') literally meaning 'the Way'. Perhaps then it is not surprising to discover that Aikido already follows many of the same principles that guide good Permaculture design. For instance:

'Co-operation, not competition': There are no competitions in Aikido except against one's own limitations. Students train with each other co-operatively to improve their skills together.

'Edge': The student will harvest any attacker's energy at it's 'edge' (i.e. at the beginning or end of a strike - the points of least force), where there is the most potential to turn it back against them.

'Minimum effort for maximum effect': Aikido done properly should be virtually effortless, as it is all about turning any attacker's energy back upon them; using as little of one's own energy as possible.

'Multiple function': Aikido training has many benefits; fitness, flexibility, co-ordination, co-operative skills, mental focus, self defence skills etc.

'The problem is the solution': Any attacking force is blended with & so becomes the defensive force.

'Work with nature': Assist, rather than impede incoming forces & pressures - this is exactly how an Aikido student defends themselves against any attacking force.

'The yield is theoretically unlimited': There is an infinite amount of Ki in the universe & there is always something new to learn or discover. Even Senseis of many years never stop learning.

 Ethics:

Peoplecare: Aikido trains each student to improve their physical & mental fitness, with flexibility exercises, energy (Ki) exercises, blending moves & meditation. Everyone works at their own level & students learn to always be aware of other students skills & needs.

Earthcare: The basic philosophy underlying Aikido is that "the only true form of self-defence does not stop with defending oneself against others, but strives to make oneself worthy of defence by nature herself. It respects the principles of nature." - Koichi Tohei

Fairshare: Training takes place in a co-operative fashion & when working in pairs, each student gets to take their turn in both attacking & defending roles.

 Clients' needs & wants:

My own:

• Regular vigorous exercise.
• Better flexibility.
• Better posture.
• Better co-ordination.
• More awareness of my energy body.
• Meditation practice.
• Improved focus.
• To learn to 'blend' in everyday life.
• To learn to stay calm in any situation.
• Others to learn Aikido with!

My fellow students:

• Many of my own above, plus:
• Self defence skills.
• More confidence.
• Social connections.

My Senseis':

• To continue to learn new Aikido techniques.
• To have a group of interested students to teach.
• To improve their own teaching methods, to keep them interested!.
• To feel valued for the service they provide free of charge.

The Club:

• To provide access to Aikido for local people.
• To teach Aikido fairly & effectively to all its members.
• To grow sustainably.
• To generate new Senseis.
• To promote the ethics of Aikido within the local community.

New & potential students:

• To be shown the great benefits of Aikido.
• To be excited about learning Aikido.
• To feel welcome.
• To not feel overwhelmed & inadequate.

The Kolesnikov School:

• To teach the Kolesnikov style to all the students who seek it.
• To show the great benefits of Aikido to all.
• To grow in a sustainable way.

Aikido:

• To be information that increases in value through use.
• To evolve dynamically.

 Boundaries:

 My own (& these also apply in varying degrees to other students & Senseis too):

• My physical capabilities (related a little to age, but then again look at O Sensei Ueshiba...!).
• My financial situation (travelling to courses).
• Senseis' availability.
• The number of hours training available every week (relates to venue & fellow students, not just teacher's prescence).
• My learning speed.
• The quality of the teaching.
• The quality of teaching aids.
• The 'stocking density' of students in the training hall!
• The safety of training mats (esp. not sliding around).
• My willpower (only an apparent boundary).
• My patience (again, only an apparent boundary).
• Diary clashes with other important events (often permaculture) & other home life 'distractions'.
• Keeping my training Gis (suits) cleaned in between sessions.
• Other students' skill & co-operation.

 Club & School:

• Financial constraints (upon venue affordability, good mats, subsidised courses & advertising).
• The number of qualified Senseis available to teach (both for the club & in the School).
• The geographical distribution of those qualified Senseis (clubs need to be dispersed to give more people the opportunity to find Aikido locally to them).
• Sensei Kolesnikov's & club leaders' administrative abilities.
• Sensei Kolesnikov's & club leaders' promotional skills.
• The general awareness of Aikido amongst the general public (& also in relation to other more aggressive martial arts).
• The pulling power of highly advertised 'modern distractions'(i.e. computer games, fast food outlets etc).
• Cultural perceptions of Eastern philosophies.

 Resources:

My own (& mostly applies to other students too):

• My time, energy & enthusiasm.
• O Sensei's knowledge gained over a lifetime of seeking & training.
• My own Senseis' knowledge & desire to pass it on.
• Twice-weekly club training sessions.
• Monthly courses taught by Sensei Kolesnikov.
• Annual summer school (intensive training week).
• Finances to cover my training expenses.
• Other students co-operation.
• Training aids (books & School's video).
• Gifts of bokken (wooden sword) & jo (staff).
• Two extra cheap training Gis (£5 each!).
• Transport to get me to training sessions.
• Infinite available Ki in the universe.

Senseis:

• Much of the above, plus:
• Interested students to pass on the techniques to & enhance their own teaching strategies.
• Improved understanding resulting from many years of training.

School & local clubs:

• Students.
• Senseis.
• All the valuable qualities of the above (i.e. time, skill, enthusiasm, etc.).
• Training venue.
• Finances.
• Aikido.

 Strategies:

 I can apply a few strategies in order to help maximise the yields that each element in the system seeks to generate. These are:

For myself & other students:

• Make best use of the available training time.
• Don't get injured!
• Get good access to effective teaching aids.
• Enjoy training!

For clubs & School:

• Maximise the access to facilities.
• Maximise the teaching time available.
• Ensure Senseis teach to a very high standard.
• Keep existing students interested & enthused.
• Bring in new students & minimise early losses.
• Maximise the effective use of club & School funds.
• Make available good & effective teaching aids.
• Ensure that all students have access to all training opportunities.
• Keep it fun!

 Applying the principles: I can use permaculture principles along with these strategies to help me produce my design.

'Co-operation, not competition': Club helping all students to access training (lift sharing, course subsidies) & training aids (club library); more students improve & can help each other train better.

'Diversity (beneficial connections)': Parents provide the club with money to give their children beneficial training (& some time off!). Children benefit from adults helping to teach them. Adults benefit with teaching experience & extra money in club funds to help cover more of their training expenses. Club benefits from having more members when their own needs are being met.

'Guilds': Senseis, students & training hall clustered around Aikido; together Senseis & students can afford to pay for the training space & have each other to train with. Senseis learn to teach & students benefit from their knowledge. Aikido benefits as it becomes information that is being used, thus increasing in value.

'Minimum effort for maximum effect': Teaching full, but not overcrowded classes. Improving teaching quality through coaching courses has a knock on effect to the other students. Making available a good training DVD or higher quality video. Making available training information via the WWW. Providing advice on issues such as getting a club Dojo or training mats to club leaders.

'Multiple function': Ensuring that Senseis get to train themselves when they need to, also ensures that students get a better standard of teaching.

'Multiple supply': Providing more than one training evening. Having more than one Sensei per club. Providing club information on paper & on WWW. Providing selection of books in club library. Providing club 'video' in different formats (i.e. DVD & VHS video).

'Relative location': Providing good access to the training aids & information students & Senseis need, either through the club or via the WWW. Make the training location(s) easily accessible to the most people.

'The yield is theoretically unlimited': Club getting Dojo to enable training anytime. Encouraging high grade students to become new Senseis, enables more training sessions. Starting new clubs means more training opportunities. Better access to training & training aids means quicker learning & more Senseis sooner. Putting valuable information on the WWW makes it accessible to almost anyone.

 To find out how I applied these processes, now visit the Final Design page.