Two Modes of Perception

The following text is based on the work of Iain McGilchrist, a British psychiatrist who has spent more than 20 years studying the right and left hemispheres of the brain and their different ways of perceiving the world. His main work, „The Master and his Emissary“ is 400 pages long and I am providing a very abridged introduction here. You can find a whole lot by and about Iain McGilchrist on Youtube.

Two Hemispheres

As a neuropsychologist, I am often confronted with patients who have pronounced symptoms of a disease but no awareness of these. This phenomenon is known as anosognosia, which means non-recognition of one’s own illness, and often occurs after more extensive damage to the right hemisphere of the brain. Our brain, as you may know, consists of the deep brain structures (brainstem and midbrain), the two cerebral hemispheres, and the cerebellum, which is also divided into two. The left cerebral hemisphere is responsible for the motor and sensory functions of the right side of the body and vice versa. Apart from that, however, the two hemispheres are not symmetrical either in terms of their anatomy or in terms of their functions. For example, it has been known for more than a hundred years that the left hemisphere is the seat of speech in most people. The right hemisphere, on the other hand, was thought to have superiority in visual and spatial perceptual processes. However, in recent years it has become increasingly clear that the main difference between the hemispheres is not so much what kind of stimuli they process, but how they do it. This realization culminated in theories about two fundamentally different ways in which the two hemispheres perceive the world.

For the left hemisphere, the world consists of objects and categories that are related to each other by certain rules. The perception of the left hemisphere is focused and selective. It can only consciously perceive a small section of the world at any one time, but it does so sharply and in great detail, as if through a magnifying glass. It has a vast catalog of knowledge regarding the objects of the world and their logical relationships, which enables it to analyze and manipulate the world according to its ideas. Using tools and language are its domain. With the help of language, it simplifies the world and makes it manageable. This activity is at the forefront of our consciousness most of the day. We talk to ourselves, analyze, evaluate, formulate goals and design plans. If we can shape the world according to our ideas, we are happy. If we encounter resistance, we become angry. In studies, anger and resentment are clearly associated with the left hemisphere of the brain.

The workings of the right hemisphere are harder to describe and understand. We can say that the right hemisphere perceives the world unfiltered in its entirety. Its perception of the world is more direct, while the left hemisphere perceives the world abstracted through its knowledge. Where the left hemisphere perceives isolated objects, the right sees relationships. It keeps track of the whole and locates us in the fabric of the world. Grasping facial expressions, body language, humor, music, and social relationships are some of its domains. While left hemispheric perception is based on knowledge, and thus on what has been learned in the past, it can see the new, perceive change, and is thus crucial for creativity. It is in contact with what the left hemisphere does not know, with the unknown and unknowable, and points us to it through intuitions and pictorial insights.

What is the evolutionary meaning of the bifurcation of the brain? Why do we perceive the world in two such different and ultimately irreducible ways? The functional duality of the brain is not a purely human characteristic, but is found in exactly the same way in the animal kingdom, although the function of the left hemisphere has certainly reached its peak in humans. No other creature can abstract and manipulate the world as much as humans. But animals also manipulate their world to some degree. For example, a bird, like any other animal, must also be able to distinguish objects from the rest of the world: Seeds or worms to eat, loose twigs to build a nest. To do this, it needs focused perception to find things in the environment and a knowledge of what is edible and what is not. Both are the domain of the left hemisphere. At the same time, a bird is also prey itself, meaning that while it scans parts of the environment for relevant objects, it also needs an overview of the bigger picture and must react quickly to any potentially dangerous changes, usually movements. So it makes sense to have a perception and warning system that is completely independent of the focused search behavior, which is anchored in the right hemisphere.

The right hemisphere also warns and awakens humans when something unusual and thus potentially dangerous happens in our environment. If they suddenly hear a loud noise, the right hemisphere immediately inhibits the activity of the left and we orient the body and especially the eyes in the direction of the change in order to quickly analyze what exactly caused the change. They experience this in the extreme as a startle reaction, but it is a process that occurs every second, even in sleep. However, if they are absorbed by left hemisphere activity, this warning may not take place because now the left hemisphere is inhibiting the right to avoid distractions. And If the right hemisphere is no longer functioning properly after brain damage, these warnings may not occur at all. Anomalies in the world, in the behavior of other people, and even in oneself are no longer recognized. New things are only derived from known knowledge, but are no longer recognized in the real world. The left hemisphere is not unhappy about this, because it now lives in its own world, which is no longer questioned by the right hemisphere. Accordingly, patients with anosognosia are often unconcerned and convinced that all is well, even if they have suffered significant mental deficits or even physical paralysis. Confronted with this, the left hemisphere simply explains away the deficits with an argument that is logical in itself, but wrong in relation to reality. That this does not go well I do not have to explain further.

There are brain researchers who are convinced that our western society, which is oriented towards satisfaction through the achievement of goals and the accumulation of objects, is the product of an overvalued left hemisphere. In short, we have been so successful in our manipulation of the world that we no longer allow any other worldview to apply, and we also raise our children to function primarily left hemispherically. The problem is that the left hemisphere knows no deep sense of satisfaction and the happiness it derives from manipulating the world is always short-lived and somehow „too little“. Its solution to the existential hunger for contentment is „more and more,“ because it sees the world as a collection of objects, and more of something is usually better than less in this view. More stimulation, more consumption, more change. However, this does not provide us with real satisfaction. The existential feeling of happiness that we can experience, for example, in nature, through art or in social relationships, is based on the perception of the right hemisphere.

This is not to say that the left hemisphere is the worse of the two. Without the left hemisphere our civilization would not exist, because as apes we would never have made it to agriculture. This required something evolutionarily new: the ability to understand time, to abstract from the present moment, to plan and to shape the world according to our ideas. But we must understand that not all questions of human existence can be solved by left-hemispheric thinking. The question of happiness is one of them. What we need is – as so often – a balance. If we understand how we actually function, it can help us avoid aberrations. The left hemisphere makes us successful. But only the right side makes us complete.

K. Heß 01/2022 – translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Resisting or not resisting – that’s a question

When it comes to the question of resisting or not resisting while practicing Aikido I propose  a simple rule: Your body should resist, your mind shouldn’t. What does that mean? Being a good uke (the attacker) in Aikido is actually more difficult then being nage (the person who is doing the technique). To be a good uke you not only need good coordination, but your mind must be free from the past, so your body acts spontaneously. Being free from the past means that you attack as if you don’t know the technique nage is doing. In a way you simulate a naive attacker, who does not know anything about Aikido. Only then you will discover if a technique works or not. If you leave your past knowledge behind and just attack, you accept the lead of nage and your movement and the movement of nage will be in harmony. If nage does the technique correctly, no resistance will happen. If the leading movement is not correct, your body will resist naturally without your intention. This is correct resistance which benefits the development of the technique. Another, more subtle form of resistance is premature following, or what Yoshigasaki Sensei often critizised as „being too nice“. This is the resistance of not accepting the lead of nage, but doing your own thing instead. For example you fall down before nage really throws you, or you fall down even if the movement was wrong. This form of resistance may feel „nicer“ for nage, but is actually as detrimental to the development of the technique as willfull physical resistance. Even with beginners you should not just fall down to give them a good feeling, but help them to lead correctly by assisting them with your movement.

Klaus Heß 07/2021 (translated with DeepL)

Additional Exercises for Ki-Breathing

Ki breathing is maximum inhalation and exhalation with the aim of improving normal breathing. Ki breathing consists of two basic elements: the diaphragmatic movement and the movement of the upper body. The diaphragmatic movement is the cornerstone of normal breathing, while the movement of the upper body, called chest breathing, should only come into play during exertion. To develop both well, there are a number of additional exercises that can be very helpful, especially for beginners.

The pure diaphragmatic movement can be practised very well while lying down. Place your hands on your lower abdomen and breathe in slowly through your nose towards your hands. You should feel the pressure of the inhalation all the way into the pelvic area. A good opportunity is to practise before falling asleep. You may even fall asleep while doing this. After you have practised lying down, you can try it sitting up and in any other position. The aim is to be able to direct the pressure of the inhalation into the lower abdomen at any time until this happens naturally with every breath. A certain amount of perseverance is important when practising, as physical changes always take some time.

A second, very important exercise is back breathing. This is best done while sitting, for example, by sitting on the floor with the knees drawn up. In this position, the back is rounded and the abdomen slightly compressed. Now inhale through the nose towards the back of the head so that the pressure of the diaphragmatic movement reaches the lower back to the right and left of the spine. You can control this movement with your hands, as with abdominal breathing. To do this, place your hands on your back and feel the movement that occurs during inhalation. The aim is to inflate the back so much that you can push another person’s hands away just by breathing in.

After these exercises, you should check in everyday life whether the movement of normal inhalation starts in the lower abdomen and also whether the back muscles move slightly with each inhalation. Good diaphragmatic breathing massages the muscles, but also the internal organs and also relieves the heart by pumping blood out of the abdomen.

For chest breathing, a flexible upper body is essential. For this, it is advisable to practise opening and closing the chest independently of breathing. The upper body is only secondary to breathing and must be able to move well independently of breathing. A simple way to make the upper body more flexible is to move the sternum up and down as much as possible, independent of breathing. To do this, take your fingers, press lightly on the centre of the ribcage and push the sternum up and down. The aim is to be able to move the chest up and down quickly while continuing to breathe normally. Of course, you can do the same movement without the help of your fingers, but for the beginning this can be helpful. This exercise not only improves the flexibility of the chest, which benefits Ki breathing, but is also important for many Aikido techniques.

Klaus Heß 07/2021 (translated with DeepL)

Getting a Good Grip

The principle of the lever techniques in Aikido is to connect to the partner’s shoulder via the grip so that your movement is transferred to the partner’s whole body. To do this, you fix your partner’s wrist and elbow and hold this form until you lead your partner into a throw. In addition to good technique, you need a firm grip for this.

The secret of a good grip is the correct placement of the palm and fingers, as well as the ability to bend the fingers optimally and strongly at the same time. Let’s start with the latter. A simple exercise to strengthen the grip is to first spread and stretch the fingers and thumb of the hand completely. Then, starting from the fingertips, slowly bend all the fingers and thumb into a fist and continue to clench the fingers into a fist with full force for 8-10 seconds before relaxing and spreading them again. Do this a few times until you feel a slight fatigue. The important thing in this exercise is to curl the hand, starting from the fingertips, limb by limb. You should do this very consciously, as it makes a big difference in your grip how you bend your fingers. The rest of the body as well as the breathing remain relaxed during this exercise. After understanding how to curl the fingers properly, you can do this exercise with objects, e.g. with the jo or even incidentally while driving a car or cycling.

After this preparatory exercise, we move on to correct grasping. To do this, grasp the forearm of the other side of the body with one hand just above the wrist. The decisive factor in gripping is maximum contact of the hand with the forearm. First press the palm of your hand onto the forearm until you feel the bones of the forearm. Then enclose the forearm with your thumb and fingers in a large (!) movement starting from the fingertips. Especially the area between thumb and index finger should have the closest possible contact. Mentally, you should grip the inside of the arm (the bones), not the surface.

If you have a good grip on yourself, you will find it difficult to rotate the forearm outwards or inwards against the grip. If you grip your own hand or your partner’s hand instead of your forearm, the principle remains the same. The decisive factor is to use as much of the surface of your own hand as possible and to mentally reach into the depth (= Ki). To do this, you need the technique shown as well as holding power in the forearm muscles, which ensures that you do not lose the grip again as soon as you lead your partner into a movement. Therefore, one should train the strength of the hands regularly. In addition to the exercise shown above, you can also modify the first three Aiki Taiso movements (Kotegaeshi Undo, Sankyo Undo and Nikyo Undo) slightly and hold the end position for 8-10 seconds each with maximum pressure. In doing so, you strengthen your grip as well as your own wrists.

Klaus Heß 07/2021 (translated with DeepL)

Zusätzliche Übungen zur Ki-Atmung

Die Ki-Atmung ist eine maximale Ein- und Ausatmung mit dem Ziel, die normale Atmung zu verbessern. Die Ki-Atmung besteht aus zwei grundlegenden Elementen: der Zwerchfellbewegung und der Bewegung des Oberkörpers. Die Zwerchfellbewegung ist der Grundpfeiler der normalen Atmung, während die Bewegung des Oberkörpers, die so genannte Brustatmung, nur bei Anstrengung ins Spiel kommen sollte. Um beides gut zu entwickeln, gibt es eine Reihe von zusätzlichen Übungen, die gerade für Anfänger sehr hilfreich sein können.

Die reine Zwerchfellbewegung kann man sehr gut im Liegen üben. Man legt die Hände auf den Unterbauch und atmet durch die Nase langsam in Richtung der Hände ein. Dabei sollte man den Druck der Einatmung bis in den Beckenbereich hinein spüren. Eine gute Gelegenheit ist, vor dem Einschlafen zu üben. Eventuell schläft man dabei sogar ein. Nachdem man im Liegen geübt hat, kann man es im Sitzen und jeder anderen Position probieren. Das Ziel ist, jederzeit den Druck der Einatmung in den Unterbauch lenken zu können, bis dies natürlicherweise bei jedem Atemzug geschieht. Dabei ist eine gewisse Ausdauer beim Üben wichtig, da körperliche Veränderungen immer etwas Zeit brauchen.

Eine zweite, sehr wichtige Übung ist die Rückenatmung. Diese macht man am besten im Sitzen, zum Beispiel, indem man sich mit angezogenen Knien auf den Boden setzt. In dieser Position ist der Rücken gerundet und der Bauch leicht komprimiert. Jetzt atmet man durch die Nase Richtung Hinterkopf ein, so dass der Druck der Zwerchfellbewegung den unteren Rücken rechts und links der Wirbelsäule erreicht. Man kann diese Bewegung wie bei der Bauchatmung mit den Händen kontrollieren. Man legt dazu die Hände auf den Rücken und spürt die Bewegung, die bei der Einatmung entsteht. Ziel ist es, den Rücken so aufzublähen, dass man allein durch die Einatmung die Hände einer anderen Person wegdrücken kann.

Nach diesen Übungen sollte man im Alltag kontrollieren, ob die Bewegung der normalen Einatmung im Unterbauch beginnt und auch, ob die Rückenmuskulatur bei jeder Einatmung leicht mit bewegt wird. Eine gute Zwerchfellatmung massiert die Muskeln, aber auch die inneren Organe und entlastet zudem das Herz, indem sie Blut aus dem Bauch pumpt.

Für die Brustatmung ist ein flexibler Oberkörper ganz wesentlich. Dazu empfiehlt es sich, das Öffnen und Schließen des Brustkorbs unabhängig von der Atmung zu üben. Der Oberkörper ist für die Atmung nur sekundär und muss sich auch unabhängig von der Atmung gut bewegen können. Eine einfache Methode, um den Oberkörper flexibler zu machen, besteht darin, das Brustbein unabhänging von der Atmung so weit es geht nach oben und unten zu bewegen. Dazu nimmt man seine Finger, drückt leicht auf die Mitte des Brustkorbs und „schiebt“ das Brustbein auf und ab. Das Ziel ist, den Brustkorb schnell auf und ab bewegen zu können und dabei ganz normal weiter zu Atmen. Natürlich kann man die gleiche Bewegung auch ohne die Hilfe der Finger machen, aber für den Anfang kann dies hilfreich sein. Diese Übung verbessert nicht nur die Flexibilität des Brustkorbs, was der Ki-Atmung zu Gute kommt, sondern ist auch für viele Aikido-Techniken wichtig.

Klaus Heß 07/2021

Richtig Greifen

Das Prinzip der Hebeltechniken im Aikido ist es, über den Griff eine Verbindung zur Schulter des Partners herzustellen, so dass eure Bewegung auf den ganzen Körper des Partners übertragen wird. Dazu fixiert man das Handgelenk und den Ellenbogen des Partners und hält diese Form bis man den Partner in einen Wurf führt. Neben einer guten Technik benötigt man hierzu einen festen Griff.

Das Geheimnis eines guten Griffs ist das richtige Platzieren der Handfläche und der Finger, sowie die Fähigkeit, die Finger optimal und zugleich stark zu beugen. Fangen wir mit Letzterem an. Eine einfache Übung zur Stärkung des Griffs besteht darin, die Finger und den Daumen der Hand zunächst komplett zu spreizen und zu strecken. Danach beugt man alle Finger und den Daumen ausgehend von den Fingerkuppen langsam zu einer Faust und ballt die Finger weiter für 8-10 Sekunden mit voller Kraft zu einer Faust zusammen, bevor man sie wieder entspannt und spreizt. Das macht man in paar Mal, bis man eine leichte Ermüdung verspürt. Wichtig bei dieser Übung ist es, die Hand ausgehend von den Fingerkuppen Glied für Glied quasi einzurollen. Man sollte dies sehr bewusst tun, da es einen großen Unterschied im Griff macht, wie man die Finger beugt. Der Rest des Körpers als auch die Atmung bleiben bei dieser Übung entspannt. Nachdem man verstanden hat, wie man die Finger richtig einrollt, kann man diese Übung mit Gegenständen machen, z.B. mit dem Jo oder auch nebenbei beim Auto- oder Fahrradfahren.

Nach dieser vorbereitenden Übung kommen wir zum richtigen Greifen. Dazu greift man mit einer Hand den Unterarm der anderen Köperseite knapp über dem Handgelenk. Entscheidend beim Greifen ist der maximale Kontakt der Hand mit dem Unterarm. Presst dazu zunächst die Handfläche auf den Unterarm bis ihr die Unterarmknochen spürt. Danach umschließt ihr den Unterarm mit Daumen und Fingern in einer großen (!) Bewegung ausgehend von den Fingerkuppen, so dass Handfläche, Finger und Daumen überall eng anliegen. Vor allem die Fläche zwischen Daumen und Zeigefinger sollte den engstmöglichen Kontakt haben. Mental sollte man das Innere des Arms (die Knochen) greifen, nicht die Oberfläche.

Wenn ihr euch selbst gut gegriffen habt, könnt ihr den Unterarm gegen den Griff nur schwer nach Außen oder Innen rotieren. Wenn ihr statt des Unterarms eure eigene Hand oder die Hand des Partners greift, bleibt das Prinzip das gleiche. Entscheidend ist möglichst viel Fläche der eigene Hand einzusetzen und mental in die Tiefe zu greifen (= Ki). Dazu benötigt man die gezeigte Technik als auch Haltekraft in der Unterarmmuskulatur, die sicher stellt, dass man den Griff nicht wieder verliert, sobald man den Partner in eine Bewegung führt. Deswegen sollte man die Kraft der Hände regelmäßig trainieren. Neben der oben gezeigten Übung kann man auch die ersten drei Aiki Taiso Bewegungen (Kotegaeshi Undo, Sankyo Undo und Nikyo Undo) etwas abwandeln und die Endposition jeweils 8-10 Sekunden lang mit maximalem Druck halten. Dabei stärkt ihr euren Griff als auch eure eigenen Handgelenke.

Klaus Heß 07/2021

Widerstand oder kein Widerstand – das ist die Frage

Wenn es um die Frage des Widerstandes oder Nicht-Widerstandes beim Üben von Aikido geht, schlage ich eine einfache Regel vor: der Körper sollte Widerstand leisten, der Geist nicht. Was bedeutet das? Ein guter Uke (der Angreifer) im Aikido zu sein, ist tatsächlich schwieriger als ein Nage (die Person, die die Technik ausführt). Um ein guter Uke zu sein, braucht man nicht nur eine gute Koordination, sondern der Geist muss frei sein von der Vergangenheit, so dass der Körper spontan handelt. Frei von der Vergangenheit zu sein bedeutet, dass man so angreift, als würde man die Technik, die Nage ausführt, nicht kennen. In gewisser Weise simuliert man einen naiven Angreifer, der nichts über Aikido weiß. Nur dann wird man entdecken, ob eine Technik funktioniert oder nicht. Wenn man sein bisheriges Wissen hinter sich lassen kann und einfach angreift, akzeptiert man die Führung von Nage und die eigene Bewegung und die Bewegung von Nage werden in Harmonie sein. Wenn Nage die Technik richtig ausführt, wird es keinen Widerstand geben. Wenn die Führung von Nage nicht korrekt ist, wird der eigene Körper natürlich Widerstand leisten, ohne dass man dies beabsichtigt. Dies ist korrekter Widerstand, der die Entwicklung der Technik fördert. Eine andere, subtilere Form des Widerstands ist das vorzeitige Folgen oder was Yoshigasaki Sensei oft als „zu nett sein“ kritisierte. Dies ist der Widerstand, die Führung von Nage nicht zu akzeptieren, sondern stattdessen sein eigenes Ding zu machen. Zum Beispiel fällt man, bevor Nage einen wirklich wirft, oder man fällt, obwohl die Bewegung falsch war. Diese Form des Widerstands mag sich für Nage „netter“ anfühlen, ist aber in Wirklichkeit genauso schädlich für die Entwicklung der Technik wie willentlicher körperlicher Widerstand. Auch bei Anfängern sollte man sich nicht einfach fallen lassen, um diesen ein gutes Gefühl zu geben, sondern ihnen helfen, richtig zu führen, indem man sie mit der eigenen Bewegung unterstützt.

KH 07/2021