The Problem of Recognizing Aiki

As you remember last . . . 
Jean asked:  How can I see if someone has an aikibody and can you point to me someone on the net can demonstrate it ?
I tried to answer that question with my post Aiki Body/Mind.  However, this week
Jean asked:  Anyway what I am asking is what to look for when I look at an aikido video. If aiki is invisible, what are the results I have to watch for so I can see if someone has aki ? I mean not only aikido video but other martials arts video as well.
Well, I think Jean must be my muse, because while attempting to answer her question I wrote a piece longer, and better, than the one I had been preparing for this week!  So, suffering from jet lag and being pressed for time, I decided to fix up my answer a bit and publish it as this week’s post.

The Problem of Recognizing Aiki

The Question:  If Aiki is invisible, what are the results I have to look for such that I can see if someone has Aiki, not just in Aikido but in other martial arts as well?

The Warning:  You are not going to like my answer I’m afraid. But it is an honest one, nevertheless. 

The Answer:  There are some traits, or “tells,” that MAY indicate the presence of Aiki. Unfortunately the presence of these traits or “tells,” certainly does not guarantee the presence of Aiki.
The Aiki body is often barrel shaped composed primarily of soft musculature.

There are exceptions of course.

And certainly not all barrel shaped people have Aiki bodies.
The Aiki body often exhibits unusual stability. This means stability present along the lines where one’s body would not normally be stable. In other words, it is unusually stable along the “weak lines.”
The Aiki body often exhibits great power. Here I’m thinking in terms of P = W/T. P is Power, W is Work, and T is Time. In physics, a force is said to do WORK if, when acting, there is a displacement of the point of application in the direction of the force.
So in layman’s terms: A lot is getting done in a short period of time.
But, in relation to Aiki this power should be accompanied by seemingly very little expenditure of effort on behalf of the one demonstrating the power. In other world, where a powerlifter might move a great deal of mass in a short period of time thereby demonstrating great power but with obvious considerable effort, an person demonstrating Aiki might move a great deal of mass in a short period of time thereby demonstrating great power but with NO obvious considerable effort.
Why? Because in the case of the powerlifter there is an overcoming of resistance, and in the case of the Aiki demonstrator there is no (or at least imperceptible) resistance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orRqdRlvulg  (Obviously this isn’t the “gold standard” of examples, but it gives one an idea at least.)
So, one can look for those things. But there is a catch, there is always a catch! With collaboration one can imitate all of the above!
That is the conundrum. Real Aiki looks fake, and fake Aiki looks fake. So which one is which?  (Just look to Youtube for videos of “Ki Masters” getting beat up.  It isn’t pleasant to watch . . . unless one enjoys watching clueless people getting pummeled.)
Most people have to touch to tell for certain.  (All of the individuals pictured as having Aiki bodies above didn’t/or don’t shy away from walking their talk . . . without getting pummeled in the process.)
What does one feel for in person? The feeling of Aiki! It is a feeling different from the overcoming of resistance with force. And it is a feeling different from the overcoming of resistance through technique (usually leverage, timing, and/or psychological manipulation). It is the feeling on behalf of the non-Aiki person of full physical effort, with the result of no sense of resistance, no expected outcome, and no proper explanation for what is occurring.
Weird right? It get’s weirder. Here is what the person demonstrating Aiki feels . . . nothing beyond the sensation of physical contact.
So when one is looking to do true Aiki one is looking for the feedback of no feedback!  The only feedback being true results.
Welcome to the upside down, topsy turvy world of Aiki!!!
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Until next week, thank you for your continued interest and support!
Allen