• Don’t be attracted only to powerful techniques within a martial art you do see, but more in the peaceful path of what you don’t see.
  • It’s less important how strong others see you. And far more important in the strength you see in yourself.
  • It is not aggression from the martial artist that you should fear! It’s the calm from the lack of aggression you should fear the most.
  • A martial artist should not be measured on their ability to hurt or destroy an enemy but how they can change aggression into the art of peace.
  • To train a life time acquiring skills of self-defence only to seek retribution in the destruction of others becomes a wasted journey; a path of self-destruction.
  • As there are opposites such as, positive and negative, yin and yang, war and peace. We should always strive to seek the art of peace.
  • To hate or to not hate an enemy! It starts within your mind! Train to see all from the same perspective.
  • We are all of this earth, do not fight or lay greed. The earth is plentiful if we can all learn to share it.
  • To view one as an enemy is to see ourselves without having any wrong.
  • To hate is to know love. Strive to love over hate, if we are all to survive.
  • Martial arts are not studied to enhance aggression, but to train the spirit to reveal flaws for ones own self correction.
  • To defeat an enemy with compassion over aggression will take great understanding. Introduce this as a part of your life’s philosophy.
  • Look for a Sensei that can inspire you to search beyond technique. The longer you study the martial arts, clearer will be your understanding within the applied techniques.
  • Why is there so much energy given to the art of war? The art of peace requires so little!
  • Compassion is a powerful word. In it contains all of what is martial and what is art. Yet without the years in its study one may not come to understand its true meaning.
  • If you study the martial arts with aggression and malice this will eventually bring you to view the world from a fearful place.
  • To have no compassion in your martial art, shows a cover up of our most natural instinct; “fear”.
  • Be more attracted to the less aggressive side within the martial arts, control without destruction is the key.
  • To understand compassion one must first live compassionately.
  • Love never destroys; hate in itself bears the scars of countless battles.
  • To show compassion is one of the highest values. Strive within your martial art to make this your priority.
  • Those who only seek destruction within the martial arts are disconnected to themselves and all fragile life.
  • The true martial artist has a caring spirit that sees all as one.
  • Martial Arts should not focus entirely on the destruction of an enemy but in ways it can strive to embrace the enemy.
  • The enlightened martial artist sees no enemy but the one within.
  • The use of aggression for the martial artist is to cover up there anger and or fear. This contributes to their miss-understanding to truly know themselves.
  • Without some form of understanding of “ki”, the brain will always interpret technique from a physical perspective.
  • Why do we study a lifetime of fighting within the martial arts? To seek a peaceful path to enlightenment.
  • A martial artist should always train the mind as well as the body, but not always moving in synchronization.
  • After a life time study in martial arts you may come to the realization that fighting or not fighting, is really the same.
  • To care for others is the real martial art. To not care shows a disregard for yourself and the universe.
  • To win over an enemy with love is a far greater reward than to conquer the enemy with hate.
  • It takes greater courage to lead by truth than to lead with fear and deception.
  • To overcome fear one must have lived with fear.
  • To live only in today or the past leaves no room for tomorrow.
  • Do not view martial arts as mere self-defence! You could miss out on so much more they offer.
  • Training in a martial art has no end, just a beginning.
  • Martial arts should not be a platform for displaying the ego. Methods that do can lead one down a wrong path.
  • Within the martial arts, while competition in the form of sport exists, the art of Budo, a way of love may never be truly understood.
  • The ultimate goal of Aikido attained is seeing yourself and the world through eyes that are non-confrontational.
  • To seek the path of ego within the martial arts will seed jealousy and corruption.
  • Everyone seeks some form of appreciation. Strive to offer appreciation whenever possible and you will create a peaceful wake wherever you go.
  • Treat others in the way you would like to be treated and a harmony shall exist.
  • There are constant messages guiding our paths through life. To hear we must stop our busy lives a moment and listen.
  • Respect should always be offered to the opponent first. Often this can lead an attitude of dis-harmony into a peaceful resolution.
  • Why do we bear arms at the slightest miscommunication? Our relationship with our ego craves always to be right.
  • The pursuit of powerful aggression within martial arts are the most often sought. This only creates more distance from one another and will never be the answer. Seek the pathless path in your journey and all will become clear in time.
  • Your brain doesn’t always understand what your eyes see. Training is the only option to unlock the many facets to the martial arts.
  • You can own a sword, display a sword or collect to sell swords. But the way of the samurai sword is only revealed to the user.
  • Aikido is a means of self-correction of Intention through reflection.
  • To understand Aikido’s many layers-consistency is the “ki”

Sensei McRae’s Secrets of Aikido

  • Learning to receive holds like nikkyo, sankyo, kotegashi etc. Is the study of extending ki out of an arm that is constantly flexible.
  • Uke’s part in trying to hold nage with strength within the technique, teaches spiritual & physical flexibility.
  • The study of being held strong reinforces & teaches Koichi Tohei’s 4 principles of Aikido.

    1. Relax completely (Physical)
    2. Keep one point (Spiritual)
    3. keep weight underside (Physical)
    4. Extend ki (Spiritual)
  • There really are no throws in Aikido only the art of leading your partners ki with your ki in a unified direction. Anything other than this opposes harmony and will inevitably be a throw.
  • Learning to be soft when intimidated is the key to progress. If the ego will not yield to the attackers physical aggression a conflict of the physical to co-exist takes place. This restricts the true concepts of Aikido to be realised.
  • The study of one’s posture within Aikido is as much spiritual as it is physical.
  • Have patience while walking the path of Aikido there really is no final destination. Study sincerely in the moment for today is what matters. Tomorrow will come all too soon. Reflect in the journey this is the ultimate goal.
  • All techniques must blend with your partner. If felt by their physical they will be resisted by their physical.
  • With shomen uchi ikkyo don’t meet at the top – the person may perceive this as you defending and change the attack.
  • In ikkyo the hand on the elbow must travel in the same direction as the hand on the wrist.
  • While performing the shomen uchi Ikkyo technique you must enter in first then raise your arms, not raise your arms then enter in.
  • When performing Nikkyo to the wrist, enter and then apply the pressure to the wrist, don’t apply pressure to the wrist first.

Sensei’s email he sends to email scammers

  • Listen if you may my friend.
    Please stop taking advantage of vulnerable people as a means to steal money. I have been involved for more than 40 years teaching martial arts in the hope to create a better society for all to live in. I believe in KARMA, how you treat people is how others will treat you and the money you acquire through lying and cheating will never add real wealth to your existence. The true wealth in a person is to care for others and the universe will reward and protect you if you utilise its philosophy. Be grateful for what you have or maybe what you don’t have right now and the universe will guide you to acquire more through honesty.
    Learn to be compassionate and have a humble spirit and you will start to attract people who will look up to you-instead of forging a shallow spirited person that no one including yourself would truly want to live with.
    To acquire this is the measure of real wealth not paper money.

    We ALL walk our own green mile and when that time comes-and my friend it will come to us all. Don’t look back and see yourself as a lonely heartless selfish, dishonest person which had no true value on this planet. You will become free and enlightened when you give of yourself and people will love you for it.

    We can all be sucked into society obsessed in reinforcing a belief the only way to happiness is having more and consume more. I understand it is easy for those of us that do have assets as clutter to preach to others. But there really is much more to life than immediate materialistic gratification.

    I truly hope you will understand we are all connected and through deception to steal from someone is the same as steeling from yourself.
    Each and every one of us do have a purpose to add real value to this world. Look inwardly and see your true self. The reflection you will see back is the person the Universe knows you were destined to become.