Each Asahi Instructor Has Their Own Signature

What is important when practicing Asahi Nordic - the Finnish Wellness Practice, & what are just aesthetic details? Read developer Ilpo Jalamo's blog.

(Read this blog in Finnish here)

Ilpo Jalamo is a developer and head trainer of Asahi Nordic, the Finnish Wellness Practice. In this blog he deals with practitioners questions about slight differences in the way each teacher does Asahi: Are they doing something wrong? Or is there some other reason for this?

DIFFERENCES IN THE WAY ASAHI MOVEMENTS MAY APPEAR

One question that pops up in almost every training session is why each instructor does Asahi a little differently. Any sharp-eyed practitioner begins to notice this after a while and starts to wonder, “How can I learn how to do Asahi correctly when each instructor seems to have their own style?”

Ilpo Jalamo (standing) & Dr. Yrjö Mähönen are two of the original Asahi developers, founders of the Asahi Nordic Association, and authors of the book ASAHI - the Nordic Health Practice. Both men hold black belts in karate, and Jalamo has published numerous books on martial arts, in addition to the Asahi book.

This is understandable and it is a very good point to bring up. There are more than 1000 Asahi teachers in the world, and there may be differences in the way they teach - and over the years, maybe even mistakes. Some teachers trained long ago and haven’t attended continuing education courses to get their technique updated. Some instructors may create their own versions of the moves based on movement or breathing practices they knew before learning Asahi, or maybe because of some personal philosophy they have brought into the practice. But usually the reason different teachers moves look “wrong” is because a beginning practitioner is looking at the practice from a different viewpoint from that of the instructors and head trainers.

An Asahi group member may get concerned about details that a head trainer doesn’t see as important. For example, when exactly to turn your palm in a certain movement, the exact position of your fingers or toes, whether to turn your foot on its heel or on the ball of the foot, and so on. The amount of variations is endless and each instructor has their own individual style, just as every person has their own handwriting. These details mentioned above are like the slant of someone’s handwriting or how they dot their “i.” One of the main points in Asahi Nordic teacher training is to focus on these smaller details to make the practice more effective and standardized. That way we can avoid confusing new practitioners.

It is so easy to see each of the 11 principles of Asahi and how they are all present simultaneously when Ilpo demonstrates Asahi.

THE MOST IMPORTANT BASIS FOR ASAHI LIES IN ITS PRINCIPLES

A head trainer looks at the Asahi movements through the lens of Asahi’s basic principles. These are: Balance, Combining the breath with the movement, Body alignment, Staying in the flow, Being in a state of awareness, Focusing on your center, Using spiral motions, Staying relaxed, Saving energy and Concentrating on the movements. These are the basic principles that lead to good form. The position of the toes or fingers are just minute details that rarely have much effect on the overall effectiveness of the series. These final touches make the series more aesthetically pleasing, of course. You can learn how to apply the Asahi principles by attending Asahi workshops, Beginner’s courses or beginning teacher training courses. In those courses you will learn the principles in theory as well as in practice.

There are too many principles to learn in just a one- or two-day course. You need to repeat the series over and over again to get them into your brain and muscle memory. The strength of Asahi is that it is easy to follow along in the group and you don’t need to be athletically gifted in any way. Asahi is so easy to begin and to practice, and everyone is able get the hang of the moves in a general way. But doing Asahi effectively and well is another thing. One might think that since Asahi is an easy and fun practice, that teaching is easy and fun and doesn’t require doing any “homework.” All you have to do is get in front of the group, do some fun moves and tell a few good jokes.

Ilpo leading an Asahi practice during Asahi Week in Rhodes, Greece in 2023.

IT’S THE INSTRUCTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE PRACTICE WELL

There are a lot more responsibilities to being a teacher than a group member. You need to know the movement series by heart. There is no time to check the book when you are in front of the class. And you are responsible for doing the moves correctly. Otherwise your group will start imitating the same mistakes you are making. Then it is a whole lot harder to weed those mistakes out of the whole group than just correcting yourself. You can’t get the full benefit of the movement if you learn it wrong. And sometimes doing it wrong can be painful.

As a teacher or a serious practitioner, you need to learn the principles not only in theory, but also in practice. A teacher has to develop a way to spot weaknesses in their students’ movements. The big and dangerous mistakes need to be dealt with first. After those are resolved, then it’s time to deal with the aesthetic details. As a teacher of a regular weekly group, you need to be very tactful and general as you deal with mistakes. There is no reason to turn the weekly or twice-weekly sessions into some kind of torture chamber. Just a helpful hint here and there is enough. Some people might not even care if they are getting the full benefit out of the practice. For them, the social aspect may be the most important reason for coming.

The majority, however, come to class because they want to learn to practice Asahi correctly and are interested in attending extra Asahi events like workshops, for example. During a workshop, the whole purpose is to focus more on the nuances of the practice than you would in a regular weekly lesson. The more training an instructor receives, the more they should know how to do all the series correctly. Even though it looks like a simple practice, mastering it takes a lot of hard work and perseverance.

The Asahi Nordic Institute head trainers: Risto Lehto, Maarit Lintukorpi, Margaret Vainio, Dr. Yrjö Mähönen, and Ilpo Jalamo.

Categories: : Asahi and its Principles, Asahi Nordic for All, The history & development of Asahi