by David O’Neill — Aikido Today, January 1988, Vol. 1, No. 4

Professor O’Neill is the director of the Aikido kai International, an academy with headquarters in San Francisco.

Some years ago in a store window in Asakusa, a popular Tokyo district for visitors to get a flavor of the “old” Japan:
Two beancake-maker-bakers placed first dough then filling in black cast iron fish-shaped molds, closed the molds, placed them over the fire for baking, and turned them from time to time as they baked. As the cakes were ready, they extricated them from the molds and stacked them on display trays. Each had arrayed about them mold racks, a pot of batter, a bowl of the filling, the cookers, and the tray shelves for the finished product.

The three of us stood and watched the process for a while. One cookie-maker worked feverishly, his movements were very rapid, he seemed to be in a race with time, he was tight and seemed nervous and behind in his work and trying very hard to catch up. The other fellow, in contrast, was languid and relaxed, proceeding through the process very smoothly and carefully and in a rhythm that suggested that a concern for speed was not a factor in his mind as he worked.

At first glance, it seemed that the “quick,” racing fellow must surely be making more cakes. The study of Aikido led me, however, to think otherwise. I conjectured to my friend, the young man from Idaho, the one with the watch, that the languid fellow was probably making more cakes. Aghast, he said something like, “No way!”. I suggested a friendly wager. He took me up and we timed and tabulated the process.

The results: the “slow,” smooth, careful fellow was producing almost twice as many beancakes! On close inspection of the cakes themselves it was also true that the calmer baker was creating goods of a higher quality and with greater consistency, while the “nervous” fellow’s cakes were often scorched unevenly and somewhat lumpy. A living proof of the trite but true saying, “haste makes waste.”