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I hope You are well and having a successful day... here is Your latest Harmony Newsletter from Tony at the Aikido Health Centre.

Your Unique Journey continues with 'Analyzing Aikido Posture' how to focus on form for real benefits to your training experience - see below...

Read on... for our Words of Wisdom, World Community News, and Feature Article. The back issues & unsubscribe links are at the end of the Ezine.

Next month 'Studying Aikido Principles' this is the very best way of learning powerful aikido techniques - Stay Tuned!

Peace and Harmony

Tony

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This day will celebrate the extraordinary accomplishment of the declaration to uphold the fundamental rights and freedoms of all human beings.

The UN marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Right, with an awards ceremony in recognition of outstanding contributions to the promotion and protection of human rights. The award, which is given out every five years, took place at the special session of the UN General Assembly.

The day holds special significance in Pakistan, as a special posthumous Human Rights award will be bestowed on assassinated Benazir Bhutto, an ardent advocate for democracy and for the human rights of the most vulnerable sections of society. Her son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, attended the ceremony and received the award on behalf of his mother.

It also marked a historic moment in the UN's history when a declaration calling for the global decriminalisation of homosexuality was put before the United Nations General Assembly. This is the first time in the UN's history that the issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights have been considered. Although it will not bind the member states, the declaration will have immense symbolic value, given the six decades in which the UN has ignored homophobic persecution.

Amnesty International celebrated this monumental day through a series of Fired Up events mobilising 2.2 million of its members world wide. From Bangladesh to Burkina Faso, Australia to Austria and Paraguay to the Philippines, thousands of people lit candles, fire or flames as part of a mass demonstration in support of human rights.

The anniversary was marked with the most ambitious global music and human rights project since the Human Rights Now! Tour in 1988. The Small Places Tour featured over 700 concerts around the globe between September 10th and December 10th. Through these series of concerts, musicians of all types joined with Amnesty International in becoming the next generation of human rights activists and communicating the message human rights through their music and performance.

What happened around the world

- On 7th December, hundreds of school children in New Delhi participated in a run to mark the 60th anniversary. The event was organised to motivate and involve school children as messengers of human rights awareness in society. 'Children are our future and if we try to impart the knowledge of Human Rights through them, then it becomes more effective,' said Akhil Kumar Jain, Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission.

A peaceful demonstration was held in the streets of Harare, with 400 members of WOZA, Women of Zimbabwe Arise, calling for the immediate intervention of the international community to address the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. The peaceful protestors marched to the offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to hand over a petition declaring the so-called government of ZANU PF incapable of dealing with the crisis and demanding that the United Nations step in immediately to resolve the crisis in order to protect the people of Zimbabwe.

On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an interfaith prayer rally took place between Muslim and Christian religious leaders in Zamboanga City. Many students and human rights and peace advocates joined the rally. Photographs were displayed of political activists and civilians either abducted or summarily executed in the Philippines. Candles were lit and prayers offered for them and their families.

The rally lasted more than two hours and ended with songs of praises and prayers led by Fr Vicente Climaco, of the Trinity Episcopal Church.

A human rights music festival, the Right Now Festival, was staged in the Netherlands. Approximately 2,500 participants attended this entertaining and educational event, that included music, dance, stand-up comedy shows, a Model UN Human Rights Council, debates, movies and many other activities.

Cutting edge African musicians have performed songs and shared their thoughts and feelings about the fight for human rights, on a special video called The Price of Silence.

Angelique Kidjo from Benin, Senegal's El Hadj N`Diaye, Emmanuel Jal from Sudan, Somalia's K'Naan and Michael Franti from the US, all took part in this collaboration between Afropop Worldwide, the web site and radio station dedicated to African and world music, Amnesty International and Link TV Television Without Borders.

There were celebrations in the Bahamas as the government announced plans to ratify two key UN human rights conventions - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant of Economic Social and Cultural Rights before this end of the year.

What happened in the United Kingdom

- Aberystwyth University's Department of Law & Criminology's International Law Research Forum held a one-day colloquium to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Its purpose was to look at the main developments in international human rights law since the declaration's inception. Nine speakers from Aberystwyth University and other universities presented topics ranging from the concept of human security, to environmental issues, virtual rights, the rights of older people and the rights of incarcerated offenders.

People in the Isle of Man celebrated with a street party in the capital Douglas, accompanied by a samba band and parade gathering.

Co-ordinator Cheryl Cousins said: "There's a lot of doom and gloom in the world at the moment and we thought it was time to go back to the some of these great visions to remind us there are good things we can be living and working by."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband honoured a Tibetan student in London, for winning the 2008 UK human rights hero essay competition entitled "Who is your human rights hero"? Thupten wrote his essay on Woeser, a Tibetan author, well known for her critical writings on China's policies in Tibet and who lives under constant surveillance in Beijing.

"It is common for people to violate the rights of others because the victims are ignorant of their basic rights," Thupten said after receiving the award.

Aikido was founded by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), who gained the skill to control many attackers at will. He was unique in his ability to express his understanding of universal principles and laws of nature. He was also a very spiritual person who spent years in study, prayer and contemplation.

This is a martial art of Peace that develops in us an acute awareness of our surrounding environment, the ability to be calm, focused, relaxed and centred. Millions of Aikido practitioners around the World experience the positive benefits of... Aikido - The Way of Harmony

In this article we will examine some of the most important points regarding good posture and form. Correct posture and how you hold yourself is vital for you to achieve success in your Aikido development.

Creating and developing a good posture, that will hold up, while moving takes a lot of concentration in the beginning. One of the best ways to gain benefit, is to separate posture and movement in order to work on each aspect separately. After some practise you can then put them back together, in order to perfect your posture and movement as one.

So, what is good form?

It is a way of holding yourself that allows you to move freely without losing your balance. Having good posture will also allow you to apply power to your training partner (opponent), at any time throughout the movement.

There are many different types of posture in the martial arts that are excellent for developing speed and power in your movements. But most of them are only useful in a training atmosphere, a dojo, or a competition with dozens of rules.

In reality, the posture you decide to practise needs to be able to function under extremely stressful situations.

For example a real street fight or combat situation does not allow you the time to get into posture. You would have to react instantly to the circumstances you find yourself in, which will often not be ideal.

With this in mind, we can now elliminate those types of posture that are not natural. This will leave you with only three choices in how you hold yourself. Weight over the front foot, weight over the back foot, or weight in the middle. Below we will examine these in a lttle more detail.

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There are two basic postures...

migi Hanmi Kamae (right) and hidari Hanmi Kamae (left).

Here are some of the postures, stances, and specific positioning to take with an attacker during Aikido training...

Shizentai Kamae (natural), Migi Hanmi Kamai (right side forward), Hidari Hanmi Kamae (left side forward), Ai Hanmi Kamae (same as attacker), Gyaku Hanmi Kamae (opposite to attacker), Ma-ai (safe distance), Hand Positions... Gedan (low), Chudan (natural), Jodan (high).

In the early years of Aikido development, Morihei Ueshiba was making a transition from the old Daito Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu postures and forms. This was mainly with 60-70% of the weight over the front foot with the front foot turned out, as seen in Aikido Yoshinkan. This type of practise helped to develop a strong powerful posture.

Later on, as Aikido came out of the old forms, O'Sensei taught a more natural posture with the weight distributed evenly between the front and back foot, and sometimes 60-70% over the back foot.

Included in this the front foot pointed straight forward, and sometimes pointed inwards slightly. This took some of the pressure away from the knees and was a more natural stance.

There are many high ranking and highly qualified instructors who swear that their way is correct. There are many positive and negative plus and minus points for these different postures. The main thing to remember is that with lots of training all are effective. Master Gozo Shioda said...

"It is not how you move your feet, but how you move your mind that matters in Aikido".

Whether moving or standing still in Aikido, your body should feel strong and resilient, without tension or stiffness.

Your hands should be extended in front of you with the fingers slightly spread — very similar to that adopted while holding a Japanese sword. Visualise your ki (energy) projecting out through your fingers.

The leading hand (on the same side as your front foot) guards the head and upper body, while the other protects the lower body and thighs.

In all Aikido movement, be sure to keep your weight low and your movement fluid and even. It can help to visualise all of your motion as being centred around a point a couple of inches below your navel — this point is called your hara.

Try to avoid lifting your weight up and down as you step. Your hips and shoulders should remain at the same level as you move your body, and your spine should remain upright.

If you need to get lower, keep your back upright and bend the legs, but don't bend over at the hips. This way you can maintain your balance and you don't risk losing your balance.

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Aikido posture takes time to get used to, and at first does not feel natural, so you have to train until it feels natural. The various schools of Aikido all have their own ideas on what good posture is and another point of confusion is how to hold out the arms.

Firm Arms... dictates strict posture with arms somewhat forcefully extended. It can be a useful starting point for beginners to get into the shape of Aikido from a mechanical point of view.

Sword Arms... Imagine holding a sword and stand accordingly to make posture. Naturally, it works a lot better if you actually train with a bokken (wooden sword) from time to time. Swordwork puts the posture and mind in order and contributes a lot to good Aikido technique. Some people don't put enough extension in the arms when holding and too much when striking.

Floppy Arms... Because Aikido is supposed to take little effort, you should raise your arms into posture with as little effort as possible, which is confusing at first. It helps development as people use the weight of their arms combined with speed of movement to make technique.

Heavy Arms... is thought to be a source of strength or power in technique, but some tend to overly concentrate on the arms and forget to apply heaviness to the rest of their body, as in weight dropping or shifting.

Extended arms: The arms reach out naturally, without becoming absolutely straight or over extended. Correct extension produces an unbendable arm. It can be gentle, to the extent of seeming floppy, or hard, to the extent of appearing stiff. Correctly extended arms offer a clue to the feel of aiki, and all the techniques of Aikido can be done in this manner.

To think only one of these methods to be correct is to rob yourself of ideas that might aid your development. Of course, it is not only the arms, but the legs and body that also need the same treatment, or 'extension'.

Posture is often thought to be the point of readiness before technique begins but this kind of thinking offers only a limited view into the nature of posture. Rather, 'posture' should be apparent at every point thoughout the technique. As a keen student You should look for key 'posture' postions within a technique and aim to join them together.

Thats all for this month, and dont miss next month's newsletter on 'Aikido Principles' we spotlight the best ways to understand the message from learning techniques... stay tuned!

You can live a healthy and vibrant life, by using the following tips daily...

This is my mini-journal - It lets you know when New web pages appear at aikido-health.com, Keeps you up-to-date with other postings or news about Aikido and Health. Points out some of our past subjects that you might otherwise have missed... Aikido Health Blog

Top marketing guru Dr Ken Evoy gives You the Best Strategies on HOW to achieve Your financial goals and the freedom to live life to the full.

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Continuing with the 'Aikido Success Blueprint' and focusing on the best ways for You to Fast-Track your Aikido Skills towards self-mastery. You will learn how to achieve Your peak performance levels. The coming newsletters will focus in depth on the following subjects...

Choose Your Aikido Instructor, Focus Your Mind On Aikido Training, Learning Aikido Techniques, Analyzing Aikido Posture and Form, Studying and Using Aikido Principles, Summary of Aikido Success Blueprint.

These are the main areas we will be spotlighting in this series, but many other important issues will also be covered, so stay tuned and buckle up for a fascinating ride!

Coming Soon 2009... A Series based on 'Your Questions' You ask me questions regarding Aikido, Health, Alternative Health, Spirituality etc. and I will do my very best to answer them. So the ball will be in your court... what do YOU want to know? - Stay Tuned!

'Harmony of Mind-Body-Spirit' is a KEY to your success. Learn how to tap into your inner powers and experience incredible levels of Energy and Health. Knowledge is Power! Visit www.aikido-health.com to subscribe.

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Peace & Harmony

Tony Wilden - Aikido Instructor/Healer
Aikido Health Centre Website
Optimum Health Secrets/Harmony Ebooks
Directed Arun Aikido Club 1992-2007
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Tony Wilden is an Aikido Instructor and qualified in several Healing Arts.
He has a deep interest in spiritual matters, optimum health, environmental issues, and the creation of harmony between people and nature. Tony is on a path to wisdom, freedom and power and shares his insights on aikido, health, universal principles, ancient knowledge and master strategies.