By Kate Henry


Imagine a friend or family member standing in front of you dishing out personal advice. That was my experience with Dale Gillilan, a teacher and master of Karate and Aikido, and the subject of my latest article.


Dale was taking me through an exercise about the energetics of communication. He began his demonstration facing me and speaking with authority. Naturally, this stirred up a sensation of uneasiness within me. He then shifted to a perpendicular posture on my left, still instructing, however, this time with a softer tone. I noticed myself relax slightly. He then continued around to stand beside me and shifted his gaze in the direction I was looking. From there, I noticed a subtle and positive shift in my energy. Even though I was aware of his intent to teach from the start, I experienced palpable shifts in my body throughout the exercise. 


When he finished, Dale explained to me, “If I sit face to face with you, it’s easy, let’s say, from parent to child to tell someone how to do something. However, the receiver often takes that as an attack. If I move over 45 degrees and come to the side, it gets softer. And if I step all the way to the side and we face forward together, it’s no longer force against force it’s: We’re in this together! That’s the power of alignment.”


Dale Gillilan and his wife, Ann Louise, are residents of Kasilof. I had the opportunity to spend time with the couple on a retreat in Utah four years ago. They are both incredibly kind and inspiring teachers. They’re also building a martial arts training center on their property using natural building materials and plan to use the space for hosting students and seekers of spiritual wisdom.

When Dale started his martial arts training 60 years ago, he had the idea that when someone went to punch, he had to stop the punch. In other words, the techniques he learned early on focused on using force against force. That does exist in martial arts, but there’s so much more to understand when you learn how to channel energy.


Everything changed for Dale when he discovered Osheiba, the founder of Aikido.


“The master did not meet force with force. He would step aside and slap the hand of his opponent when they tried to attack,” Dale told me, and this idea completely changed Dale’s approach to karate. Through training, he discovered, “Karate is about perfecting the self, and self defense is a byproduct.” He went on to say, “Balance is about what’s inside you. Power is 99% in the head and 1% in the fist.” 


Dale traveled across the west to find an Aikido school and finally found one in San Francisco, where he was able to study the subtle art of Osheiba’s style. It was here he began to recognize the magnitude of alignment and how a phenomenon he referred to as “blending” was the key to taking his martial arts to another level. 


The term “Aikido” became the official name of the founder Morihei Uesheba’s unique practice in 1942. Rooted in several styles of jujitsu and sword fighting, and imbued with Uesheba’s religious and political ideology, Aikido practitioners are dedicated to at least two philosophical interpretations:


Commitment to peaceful resolution of conflict whenever possible and a commitment to self-improvement through Aikido training. 


Practitioners of Aikido, at the core, are committed to practicing the Art of Peace. Ueshiba or “Osensei”, as he was often referred to, once said, “The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace. True martial arts are not for destruction, but to create harmony and love. To control aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace”. 


Aikido is not about attacking, but rather blending with and redirecting the energy of an opponent if attacked, matching the other person’s frequency and letting them lead. Blending is not unlike the idea of one planet coming into the orbit of another. The key is to quiet the mind and connect with your true center of power. From this place you can start to recognize and align with the energy around you. So subtle is this engagement that, Dale said, you will your own energy into the exchange with “the weight of a butterfly.”


My evolution as a massage therapist mirrors Dale’s experience with martial arts. Truly transformational bodywork is more powerful when you blend with the client’s energy and “listen” to the information your fingers are gathering from the tissue. When you stop trying to push and pull on muscle, you begin to notice a subtle rhythm present. As I tap into this rhythm, it feels like my fingertips are riding a current.


My best work happens when I connect with this current and let it guide my hands through the session. In other words, it’s not just about implementing a learned process. Undoubtedly, form and technique has value. However, there is an art to knowing what techniques will yield a higher outcome, and this is not easily taught. Rather, it is experienced and incorporated over time with deep practice.


Anyone can access this state, and Dale is passionate about teaching what he refers to as “The Okoden Master Secrets” to those who are curious and looking to grow. It’s rare to find this level of training because “many instructors were never taught them,” he said. Much of this wisdom is rooted in psychology. “It’s about what makes me tick and what makes someone else tick,” he said.


Confrontation comes from the ego trying to protect the self. “Conversely,” he said, “when I am aligned internally with myself and my values, beliefs and boundaries as a conscious being, not just physically, my ego doesn’t have to come to my defense because I realize there’s nothing to prove, and nothing to defend.” 


He goes on to share that even though the ego is just doing its job, after all boundaries and limitations are critical for navigating our world, “It’s our limitations that define us, not our strengths.”


The pivot point of growth is when a person naturally starts moving beyond the need for a boundary, the old pattern no longer serving them, and makes the transition into a space of genuine curiosity about why the belief was held in the first place. Karate masters often say in reference to growth, “Go to your baseline and then go 50% more. Then you’ve created a new baseline.” 


Dale feels like such high expectations aren’t necessary and that it’s also important to rest and let the mind and body “digest” new skills. Growing is not always optimal, and it’s important to hold space for any needed integration period.


“Be kind to yourself and trust your own timing,” he said with the encouragement and patience of someone with experience. 


Sometimes life pushes us towards new baselines involuntarily. It’s natural and common to resist change when feeling pushed like I did during the exercise. However, new experiences become new thresholds that help us expand who we are. 


“You don’t lose earlier versions of yourself as you evolve, nor does your desire to protect stop,” he said. “It just changes form to a more evolved version of expression.” 


If you’ve hit a wall in your training or are perhaps searching for a deeper personal understanding, the Okuden Master Secrets could potentially breathe new life into your practice and deepen your perspective. If you’d like to connect with Dale and Ann Louise, you can find them at Dale Gillilan, 801-901-3722, toolsforthejourney.com, sb3@shamansweb.com.


Regardless of your path, may your journey be fruitful in cultivating peace in your life and in the lives of those you hold dear. Many blessings!