The Ultimate Athlete

1. The Dormant Athlete: Unlocking Innate Physical Potential

Every body that moves about on this planet, if you look at it that way, may well be inhabited by a strong and graceful athlete, capable of Olympian feats.

Inner athlete. The author posits that within each person, regardless of current physical state, resides an "inner athlete" – a living presence capable of profound physical and spiritual transformation. This ideal is not merely abstract but a tangible potential that can reshape how we feel and live, extending beyond mere physical fitness into realms of poetry, cosmic understanding, and even death.

Societal suppression. This innate athleticism is often suppressed by a culture that historically devalues the body, viewing it as inferior to intellect and spirit. The author recounts a pivotal moment witnessing a "fat boy" fail a chin-up test, triggering a realization of how conventional physical education and competitive sports often alienate rather than empower individuals, creating feelings of shame and inadequacy.

Personal awakening. The author's own journey, from a non-athletic youth to a dedicated practitioner of Aikido in his forties, exemplifies this awakening. He discovered the "joys of strenuous physical movement" and the "sweet infusion of every limb" that organized sports rarely acknowledge, highlighting a profound personal loss for years spent disconnected from his body's potential.

2. Reclaiming Unity: Bridging the Mind-Body Divide

The ideal unity of physical and spiritual, lost so long ago in specialization, professionalism, and the obsession with winning, may well represent, in fact, rock-bottom foundations of a workable approach to athletics in this new and difficult age...

Historical schism. Western thought, influenced by figures like Plato and St. Augustine, created a deep chasm between the body and the spirit, relegating physical activity to a "mundane" or "degrading" status. This split, pinpointed by Werner Jaeger to the 6th century B.C. with the rise of professionalism in Greek athletics, led to a devaluation of embodiment and a focus on intellect over physical prowess.

Consequences of separation. This separation has detrimental effects, leading to "disembodied brains" among intellectuals and "insensitive and authoritarian" tendencies among athletes. The author argues that this mind-body split is a "major error in Western thought" that must be rectified, especially as the modern era demands a renewed appreciation for human physical resources and sensitivity to nature.

A call for integration. The book advocates for repairing this split, envisioning a future where physical education stands at the "center of the campus," serving as the "foundation stone of the entire educational enterprise." This integration would allow individuals to experience their bodies as models of the universe, aiding in the highest philosophical speculation and fostering a holistic approach to life.

3. The Energy Body: A Hidden Dimension of Being and Performance

The human individual is viewed here as an energy being, a center of vibrancy, emanating waves that radiate out through space and time, waves that respond to and interact with myriad other waves.

Beyond the physical. The concept of the "Energy Body" proposes that a field of energy exists in and around each human body, coexisting with the physical form. This subtle body, akin to the Eastern concept of ki, is less limiting than the physical body, capable of changing shape, size, and intensity, and influencing physical actions.

Perceiving the unseen. Through simple, non-strenuous exercises, individuals can learn to sense these energy fields, often unrecognized in Western culture. Workshops described by the author enable participants to:

• Sense radiant heat and presence from others at a distance.
• Develop "soft eyes" to perceive relationships and flow rather than just hard edges.
• Experience an "unbendable arm" by extending their energy beyond their physical limb.

Transformative potential. Recognizing the Energy Body opens a "fresh new world of perception and being," challenging the notion that we are merely "skin-encapsulated" individuals. It suggests that our interactions with the world are far more complex and interconnected, offering "adventures that do not require the burning off of fuel or the rape of the planet."

4. Aikido's Path: Harmony Through Loving Attack

Aikido's spirit... "is that of loving attack and that of peaceful reconciliation."

Non-competitive mastery. Aikido, a Japanese martial art, stands apart by forbidding competition, viewing it as limiting and contrary to the universe's operations. Instead, it emphasizes cooperation, harmony, and the "loving attack and peaceful reconciliation," where the attacker (uke) takes a fall, and the defender (nage) blends with the incoming force.

Direct experience of unity. The art teaches that ideal forms and movements already exist, and the practitioner's task is to "join the flow" rather than impose force. This approach resolves the paradox of action and non-action, allowing the thrower and thrown to blend in a "single motion, a small ripple in the endless sea of existence," fostering a sense of universal harmony and unity.

Beyond physical technique. Aikido's principles extend beyond self-defense, influencing how one lives, plays golf, drives, or interacts with children. It cultivates virtues like sensitivity to others' intentions and needs, and the ability to serve the attacker by guiding their energy to a point of natural reconciliation, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding of cosmos through bodily experience.

5. Beyond the Scoreboard: The Mystical Side of Sports

Often, in the heat and excitement of a game, a player's perception and coordination will improve dramatically. At times, and with increasing frequency now, I experience a kind of clarity that I've never seen adequately described in a football story.

Altered states of consciousness. The intensity and total involvement of body and senses in sports create preconditions for "extraordinary events" often dismissed as "paranormal" or "mystical." Athletes like John Brodie describe moments where time slows down, perception sharpens, and an "energy flow" guides their actions, leading to seemingly telepathic plays.

Transcendent experiences. From David Meggyesy seeing auras around players to Charles Lindbergh's mystical visitations during his transatlantic flight, sports can open doors to "infinite realms of perception and being." Runners like Michael Spino and Bill Emmerton recount experiences of losing their sense of self, feeling weightless, or communing with ancestral spirits during extreme exertion.

The language of art. These profound experiences often defy conventional language, finding expression instead in the "language of the arts—of music and dance and poetry." Tony Jacklin's "cocoon of concentration" in golf, Billie Jean King's dance-like tennis, and Bill Russell's view of athletics as an art form all point to a deeper, lyrical sense of the athletic experience that transcends mere winning or statistics.

6. New Games: Play for a Changing World

The time has come to move on, to create new games with new rules more in tune with the times, games in which there are no spectators and no second-string players, games for a whole family and a whole day, games in which aggression fades into laughter—new games.

Critique of traditional sports. The author argues that traditional sports, with their emphasis on winning, specialization, and hierarchical structures, often become "parodies of themselves," failing to serve the needs of a changing culture. They encourage aggression, relentless fakery, and obsession with records, turning most adults into passive spectators.

The "game-changing" impulse. Inspired by cultural movements and figures like Stewart Brand, the concept of "New Games" emerged, aiming to create inclusive, evolving forms of play. These games challenge the old rules by shifting context, emphasizing participation, cooperation, and fun over cutthroat competition, as seen in events like the New Games Tournament.

Characteristics of New Games:

• Inclusivity: No spectators, all players, adaptable to varying sizes and ages.
• Simplicity: Often require no specialized equipment.
• Evolutionary: Rules are fluid and subject to change.
• Cooperation: Games like Infinity Volleyball emphasize collective achievement.
• Holistic: Integrate physical contact with laughter and gentler forms of play, fostering a complete "ecology of play."

7. Physical Education Reimagined: Cultivating Lifelong Movement

The main thing we're trying to do here is to help every student develop a good self-image. Body language is very important, and I think in physical education one's personal identity is realized more than in any other area of the curriculum.

Beyond "dress code and showers." Traditional physical education is criticized for its authoritarianism, focus on superficial rules, and emphasis on a few competitive team sports that exclude many. The "New Physical Education" movement seeks to transform this, prioritizing individual development and lifelong physical activity.

Individualized and holistic approach. Reformed programs, like those at San Rafael High School and Missouri Western State College, offer a wide array of activities (T'ai Chi, rock climbing, yoga, aerobics) and sophisticated methods for assessing individual body types, fitness levels, and needs. The goal is to ensure every student experiences success and develops a positive self-image through movement.

Movement Education in early grades. At the elementary level, "Movement Education" revolutionizes physical activity by ensuring every child is constantly active, has their own equipment, and feels successful. This approach systematically teaches basic movement skills, fostering coordination, balance, and strength, and even shows potential links to improving reading and writing abilities by integrating body and mind.

8. The Allure of Risk: Confronting Death to Embrace Life

To play like this with pain that is unbearable yet is being borne, to summon up the presence of death itself, is to become a high-wire artist at some lofty place in human existence, one who balances precariously and triumphantly at the edge of unknown possibilities.

Risk as an evolutionary need. Modern society's drive to eliminate risk from every aspect of life leads to a "bland and packaged existence," fostering malaise and a decline in well-being. The surge in popularity of "risk exercise" (RE) sports like skydiving, rock climbing, and helicopter skiing highlights a fundamental human need for calculated danger.

Profound insights from the edge. Confronting the possibility of injury or death in sports offers unique exhilaration and profound insights. Experiences like freefall, where fear transforms into the joy of flying, or the "rapture of the deep" in diving, reveal a "sweetness and quiet of a blackness that would yield up the secrets of the universe."

Connection to the eternal. Death, from the perspective of embodied consciousness, provides our clearest connection with the eternal. Approaching this ultimate boundary, even in a controlled manner, offers a glimpse into larger transformations and possibilities beyond our current understanding, enhancing awareness and making life more vivid and intense.

9. The Dance of Existence: Finding Rhythm in Every Action

The power of the Dancing Shiva is that it shows us the dancer of destruction and the dancer of creation joined in a single body, dancing together to sustain the world...

Life as dance. The author argues that at the heart of every movement and every game lies a "dance," a rhythmic, pulsing nature of existence often overlooked in Western culture's single-minded pursuit of results. Moments of "pure dance" in sports, like O.J. Simpson's runs or Willie Mays' catches, transcend mere victory and become expressions of life's inherent beauty and flow.

Harmony in dialectic. This "dance within the Game of Games" moves in a dialectical spiral: the Dance of Eros (love, joining), the Dance of Thanatos (death, destruction), and their synthesis in the Dance of Cosmos (unity, harmony). Even violence, when "danced," can be understood as part of a larger, self-correcting equilibrium, as seen in primitive tribal dances that balance individual desire with group well-being.

Ecstasy through awareness. To truly "dance our life" requires a willingness to open ourselves to full awareness, embracing pain, grief, and the awareness of death, which in turn unlocks "ecstasy." This shift in consciousness, from a results-oriented numbness to a deep engagement with the rhythm of existence, reveals that the world, from atoms to galaxies, is perpetually "vibration, music, dancing."

10. The Game of Games: Life as the Ultimate Play

To bring it into focus is indeed to see life itself as a game—the Game of Games.

Play as primordial. Drawing on Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens, the author asserts that play is primordial, irreducible, and precedes culture, extending beyond the rational and material. Life itself can be understood as the "Game of Games," a vast, complex, and voluntary endeavor played within the boundaries of birth and death on planet Earth.

Rules and purpose. This ultimate game involves a "vow of forgetfulness" upon entry, obscuring our divine nature and past lives, yet offering opportunities for learning and self-development through embodiment. The "stringent rules" of mass, energy, and time, though seemingly confining, are essential for the game's structure, and understanding them allows for skillful play.

Infinite context. The concept of "non-play" is simply the context of play; as our perception expands, the boundaries of what we consider "play" also broaden. The "Game of Games" is a learning game, where every experience, even suffering, offers education. Its ultimate goal is to heighten individual and social awareness, leading to a "Planetary Club" where humanity joins in harmony, playing for the sake of the game itself.

11. The Ultimate Athlete: A Mythic Ideal for Human Evolution

If the Ultimate Athlete is defined as whoever best serves as model and guide on our present evolutionary journey, it becomes relatively easy to see that many of our well-known sports figures cannot fulfill this role.

Beyond individual achievement. The "Ultimate Athlete" is not a specific person like Mark Spitz or a specialized performer, but a mythic ideal that transcends individual records and temporary fame. While great athletes inspire, their overspecialization and exploitation often limit their capacity to serve as holistic models for human evolution.

Integrated being. This ideal embodies a balanced integration of body, mind, and spirit, exploring both inner and outer being, and surpassing limitations in a process of personal and social transformation. Figures like Morihei Uyeshiba, the founder of Aikido, with his legendary feats of seemingly supernatural athleticism, hint at the "other dimensions" and possibilities beyond rigid cultural strictures.

A universal model. The Ultimate Athlete plays the "Game of Games" with full awareness, embracing life and death, pain and joy. This ideal is universal, accessible to everyone, from the overweight, sedentary individual making their first circuit on a track to the yogi performing feats of bodily control. It serves as a guide for our evolutionary journey, reminding us that human potential is infinite and that "progress" involves a redefinition of reality and a shift to new means of furthering life's inexorable process.

Last updated: December 31, 2025