Visualization and Aikido Practice

By A.E., Aikido of Summit

www.aikidosummit.com

In this short article, I will describe and analyze the technique called "visualization" and explain what advantages it can offer to improve our Aikido practice. Although there are many kinds of visualizations, I will only describe here the visualization related to physical movements, also known as "mental rehearsal".

In the mid nineteen thirties, Dr. Edmund Jacobson, a medical doctor now recognized as the originator of relaxation techniques, discovered that if you imagine or visualize yourself doing a particular action - say, lifting an object with your right arm Š the muscles in that arm show increased electrical activity. The increased muscular activity, measured through electrodes placed on the skin, is evident even though the arm is not moving at all. This experiment established the reality of a link between mental imagery and physical reaction in the body.

Since this early experiment, we have been able to understand the physiology of visualization and give it a firm neurological basis. Positron emission tomography (PET) reveals that the mental rehearsal of an action activates the prefrontal areas of the brain responsible for the formulation of the appropriate motor programs. The brain then sends signals down the motor pathways towards the muscles involved in the action, the same way it would for any actual motor task.

Although these findings are interesting, what advantages can visualization present to us who practice Aikido?

In many scientific communities, visualization studies have been conducted in very diverse fields, ranging from sports training to the use of musical instruments. One of the most famous experiments aimed at comparing four groups of Russian Olympic athletes. These athletes were assigned different training schedules:

Group 4, with 75% of their time devoted to visualization, performed the best at the end of the training period, despite the lack of intensive physical practice.

Research is finding that physical actions can be improved with mental rehearsal. Visualization can maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your training. Just sit down, relax, and imagine yourself doing this Aikido technique you would like to master. Picture yourself doing it perfectly, smoothly, and chances are next time you get on the mat your technique will have greatly improved.

Visualization becomes especially useful in the case of an injury, when actual physical movement is temporarily impossible or too painful.

Mental rehearsal can keep your training going even though you canÕt be on the mat, and by imagining the injured joint working effortlessly and in a perfect fashion, visualization might even help you heal faster so you can be back on the mat sooner./p>