Neo’s Take on Aikido

Neo’s Matrix experience has many takeaways that are applicable to Aikido. While it’s a

very different event compared to any situation we may find ourselves in, it is interesting to note

the similarities that can be observed within the fictitious instance and our own lives. In

juxtaposition to the disarming/well-intentioned nature of Aikido, Neo’s power harnessed through

the encouragement of centering by his partner on the other side is a great example of one’s

potential to successfully center their potential to control the narrative. He used the last bit of

power, gathering it to his core, to recoup and begin to defend himself from his opponent. With a

very literal interpretation of “moving to the center to work with their energy” as demonstrated in

Thomas Crum’s ‘Magic of Conflict: Energy’ clip, we see Neo combine his being with the

agent’s center to cause the agent to blow up from the inside out.

While many aspects of the Aikido approach can be observed in Neo’s scene, the premise

of ultimately killing the agent goes against the idea of STAYING centered. While Neo harnessed

his power to his core to bounce back from the initial attacks, the lashing out after recovery

doesn’t represent staying centered, but rather letting his need to dominate control him. The idea

of Aikido is to maintain center even when boundaries are crossed in order to persevere

throughout. By using his power to ultimately kill the agent, it shows a lack of inner resiliency in

the face of adversity.

In further examination of the scene, it is interesting to note the different stages of being

“hooked” and “unhooked” Neo goes through. Initially as the bullets are hitting him, he acts as

though they do not faze him and refuses to take the bait. However, as the scene progressed back

into active combat, I would say he hooked himself. As someone who deep sea fishes, this is like

when you are pulling a large fish in from the depths with zero fighting back until they start to see
the glimmer of light. Almost as though they recenter themselves to their pre-hooked state, they

use their last final bits of strength all within their unpredictable maneuvers to become unhooked.

He ultimately succumbs to his anger and kills his opponent, further that he had let himself

become hooked after an event that triggered him.