The cultivation of kan vision is a regular practice in aikido. Kan vision is when you expand your sight beyond what is right in front of you (ken vision). The practice builds a hyper-awareness of your periphery, but it doesn’t stop there.
Studying kan vision as a novice has revealed to me that overall awareness, and radical compassion, can be increased the more one magnifies visual capability.
When kan vision was introduced to me as a concept in the NOLA Aikido dojo, the class was instructed to widen our vision to perceive not only the shomen (front of the dojo) ahead, but also the ceiling above, the mats below, and the walls on either side of us. Bonus points if you can feel what is behind you.
This aspect of kan vision practice reminds me of when I studied juvenile corrections in junior college. We did exercises that imitated police officer training, which tested peripheral vision in the context of quickly analyzing crime scenes and writing police reports based on the memory of these scenes. I discovered that focusing on peripheral vision enables the recall of details beyond an average scope. It also allowed me to immediately sense potential risks of harm. However, this is merely the external practice of kan vision. Beyond the surface, there’s a deeper life-altering sensory development that occurs.
With the unfettered freshness of a beginner’s mind — known as shoshin in Zen practice — I’ve allowed myself to extend kan’s amplification of view beyond stretching literal sight. Kan vision is also a way to enhance perspective.
In the book Vibration and Connection: The Aikido That I Pursue, Endo Seishiro Shihan says, “Think, execute, see, and feel broadly during aikido keiko [discipline, i.e. regular practice].” Likewise, in the aikido dojo, we are instructed to practice softly, which also stems from the guidance of Endo Shihan. This makes me wonder if, as an internal practice, kan awakens the ability to comprehend and experience the Buddhist concept of sunyata, or interconnectedness, firsthand. If so, then kan’s sense of interrelatedness can bring both aikido and Buddhism into everyday life.
In the Spirit of Aikido by Ueshiba Kisshōmaru Dōshu, he talks about “the working of kan” as being an “intuitive quality” only achieved after years of training, in the context of sword making. Apparently a German scientist was unable to replicate the Japanese formula for crafting swords because there was a special ingredient missing, which Ueshiba Doshu called kan. He likens kan to a mix of single-minded concentration and spiritual wisdom only emergent after diligent practice. This references the internal process of kan insight.
Since practicing kan vision, I have developed not only a sensitivity to seeing widely but also a sensitivity to my surroundings. A sensitivity that reaches further than physical spaces. Subtle nuances in people’s moods or the vibe in a room appear even more obvious to me now.
I have used this newfound kan acumen as a way to de-escalate conflict, avoid harmful scenarios, and navigate emotionally charged incidents. Kan has helped me intuitively move through difficult circumstances, and without stoking present dangers.
When practicing kan, it becomes easier to read situations and people. This means kan is also a way to become more thoughtful toward others. Elongating circumferential view via kan practice eventually transforms to the practice of harmonizing with other people and your environment. Partly because it grows your sense of empathy. Therefore, kan is one way to practice the Buddhist concept of upaya-kausalya or skillful means.
Kan opens the eyes and mind, broadens spiritual practice, and increases capacity for empathy because kan is foundational in the development of harmony and compassion.
A version of this essay originally appeared at: https://nolaaikido.com/nola-aikido-monthly-newsletter-june-2022/
Lotus Budo 