The Sound of Silence . . . on the Mat

There’s a time and place for everything. That includes talking on the mat.

Verbal discussion during practice—especially in the middle of working on a technique—can sometimes do more harm than good. Too much talking creates noise that drowns out the more important signals: the ones we send and receive through our bodies.

Aikido isn’t just a physical art. It’s a language. And that language is primarily nonverbal.

When we clutter our training with words, we risk losing the opportunity to listen—not with our ears, but with our awareness. To hear what’s going on with our own balance, posture, and breath. To feel the subtle cues from our training partner.

Let me share a moment from my time at Aikido World Headquarters (Hombu Dojo) in Tokyo.

One day, the mat was full—dozens of people training intensely. And yet, I found myself so distracted by what I thought was constant chatter that I finally stopped wanting to shout, “Be quiet!” But then I looked around . . . and realized something astonishing:

No one was actually speaking. Not a word.

What I was “hearing” was the conversation of movement. I was so attuned to the subtle exchanges happening between partners that their bodies were communicating in ways that sounded, to me, like actual dialogue.

That’s the level of communication Aikido opens us up to.

The world is full of noise. We’re often so overwhelmed by it that we stop noticing the signals other people are sending—through posture, tension, relaxation, rhythm, timing.

Aikido quiets the mind. It sharpens the senses. It allows us to tune in to the deeper communication always happening between people.

With consistent practice, you’ll learn to hear your partner through their movement—and respond in kind. Your training will shift from competition to conversation. You’ll stop trying to "win" and start trying to "understand."

To be clear: there is a time to talk about technique. But that time is after class, and off the mat. (Over a beer, in my experience, works especially well.)

Even then, if you really want to learn, I recommend listening more than speaking.

Silence isn’t empty. It’s full of information—if you know how to hear it.

- TC