Aikido + Architecture (AA)

MEoW. I was sitting at the dining table this morning, checking my mail on Michiko when I saw something at the corner of my eye. A cat. A black and white cat. I was sure he was one of the resident cats under my block. Anyway, I was surprised he paid us a visit. He skulked around, sniffing here and there, probably for food, quiet as a mouse (hee!). I didn’t dare make a noise. My mom was in the kitchen and she would freak out if she knew, and come charging with a broom (yes just like in the cartoons). So I let the cat be. He walked into one of the rooms and 5 minutes later he comes out and waltzed out of the house. Dammit. I still want a cat. Even after 15 years I still wish I had a cat to call my own. Why oh why… Anyhow, at rehab today, we learnt aikido. Apart from wanting a cat all my life, I had also wanted to take up some form of martial arts. And aikido is a very very useful art to do. Using your body and gravity to your advantage in disarming your attacker, without causing him serious injury. But what has that got to do with design right? That’s the funny thing. Well, from what I got out of it, it’s about observing our sensations. To appreciate the body for its sensory abilities and thus heightening them to a level where we can sense, then observe: the first two steps of the S O C K model that Mr. Tay was telling us about, Sensory-Observation-Conception-Knowledge, that is integral to the design process. Aikido and architecture. Wait I have to think through this association further. But there was something else about the session that I liked. And that was the post-aikido discussion that occurred. The exchange of ideas and theories on design and its implications to science and society. Architects are intelligent. Tay Kheng Soon is one of those architects I respect. Because he thinks, he cares and he acts. Always, I feel a notch smarter and a whole lot better with every session of rehab I go to. It won’t rain tomorrow.