Spitting Out the Hook

Ivan Satterfield

OGL 340-Model 3

Mr. Erwin

November 3, 2022
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Matrix
Spitting Out the Hook

We all get overwhelmed with situations in one way or another, either with our

personal or professional lives, and we either fall victim or overcome these situations. I

see this exemplified in the movie clip the Matrix, "he is the one." Where Keanu Reeves

character Neo is overwhelmed by the machine in the Matrix but finds a way to

persevere, this clip, in some ways, represents the Aikido way and highlights the four

steps in an Aikido move.

The first step Neo took after being overwhelmed by the machine in the Matrix

was he centered himself after getting shot multiple times. He centered himself and

became relaxed and present. This was the first step when Neo slipped the machine's

hook in the Matrix. Second, he welcomed the gift of the Matrix by not running to the

phone to escape but to brace the Matrix. Third, he blended himself with the Matrix and

could see the Matrix through its point of view through coding. Lastly, he guided the

machine in the direction he wanted, like when the machine fired bullets at Neo, and he

jumped into the machine and destroyed it from within.

Neo was absorbing the energy the machine gave him in the Matrix. He grasped

the energy created by the Matrix and manipulated it the way he wanted to. Even though

Neo captured the energy, he dished the energy instead of moving with the machine's

energy. In other words, Neo was being the aggressor by creating the energy. The perfect
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metaphor for grasping Aikido is not becoming the machine only comes with centering

oneself.

Life comes with daily challenges that try to get us overwhelmed where we feel

like we have died. Still, like with the Matrix, we would have to resurrect ourselves to

overcome these challenges and seek different ways to handle them effectively.