# Egbert and the Bigger World ## More Adventures in Aiki-land *An Aikido Story for Children* **By Richard Moon** *A continuation of "Aikido and the Power of Harmony in the Transformation of Egbert"* --- > *A Note from the Editor* > > Every child knows what Egbert goes through. For me the most embarassing bullying incident was when I was in middle school. My friend Glenn and I were singing a silly nursery rhyme about worms. 2 big kids cornered us as we walked around a corner. They looked at me and said I could go, I was felt that energy rush and called if fear, so I walked away. I didn't ask send anyone to help my friend. We remained friends for many years and never spoke about that incident. So to every Glenn out there and every bully who corners them. That wasn't right. There is evil and discord in this world because we forget we all come from the same source. > > Getting to work with Richard is the greatest honor of my life. Richard has been teaching these principles for 5 plus decades — in dojos, boardrooms, and peace negotiations across the world. > > The spaces in this book are not empty. They are waiting. Waiting for *your* story, *your* answers, *your* voice. Please write in them. Draw in them. Mess them up. > > > *— Your editor, who is still learning to find her center* --- > *"Rely on harmony to activate your manifold powers, pacify your environment and create a beautiful world."* > > — Morihei Ueshiba, O Sensei, Founder of Aikido --- ## For the Reader This book is yours. When you see a box like this: --- 📝 **YOUR TURN** *(blank space)* --- That is not a mistake. That is a doorway. Write your answer. Draw a picture. Scribble. There is no wrong answer. There is only *your* answer, and yours is the one that matters most. --- --- # CHAPTER ONE ## The Mat Is Just Practice --- ### Before You Read: Opening Questions 📝 **YOUR TURN — Think about this before you turn the page:** *Have you ever been really good at something in one place... but forgotten how to do it somewhere else?* *(Like how you can be brave at home but nervous at school, or calm with your family but shy with strangers?)* **Write or draw about a time that happened to you:**                 --- 📝 **One more question before we begin:** *What does it feel like in your body when you get embarrassed?* *(Where do you feel it? Your chest? Your face? Your stomach?)* **Describe it here:**             --- ### The Story Begins Egbert had been training for four months now. His gi — that's the white uniform Aikido students wear — didn't feel strange anymore. He knew how to bow when he entered the dojo. He knew to bow to O Sensei's picture before stepping onto the mat. He knew to say *"Osu"* — a word that means *I understand, I am present, I am ready.* He was getting good. He could roll without getting dizzy. He could stay centered when someone pushed him. He could even do the technique called *kokyu-ho* — where you receive someone's energy and redirect it — without using any strength at all. On the mat, Egbert felt like himself. The mat-Egbert was calm. The mat-Egbert could breathe. The mat-Egbert knew what to do. *Off* the mat was another story. --- > *"The secret of Aikido is to harmonize ourselves with the movement of the universe and bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself."* > > — O Sensei --- It happened on a Tuesday. Egbert was in math class. His teacher, Mr. Benson, was walking between the desks checking homework. He stopped at Egbert's desk. He looked at Egbert's paper. He shook his head. "Egbert," he said — loudly, so everyone could hear — "you've gotten every single one of these wrong. Every. Single. One." Thirty heads turned to look at him. Egbert felt something happen inside his chest. It wasn't quite anger. It wasn't quite fear. It was like both of them arrived at the same time and crashed into each other. His face went red. His shoulders went up. His breathing went shallow and fast — like a rabbit's. He wanted to disappear. He wanted to shout. He wanted to cry, which made him want to disappear even more. He didn't do any of those things. He just sat there, frozen, staring at his desk. *Where was mat-Egbert?* he thought. *Why didn't he come?* --- > *"The people want heaven; they don't know they are heaven."* > > — O Sensei --- That afternoon at the dojo, Sensei Bob was watching. He always watched. Not in a scary way — in the way that made you feel like someone actually saw you. After class, he sat down next to Egbert. "You seem far away today," Sensei said. Egbert shrugged. Sensei waited. He was very good at waiting. "I froze," Egbert finally said. "In school. In front of everyone. I froze like... like I used to. Before Aikido." Sensei nodded. "Tell me what happened in your body." Egbert thought about it. "My chest got tight. My breathing went fast. Like a rabbit." "Yes," Sensei said, as if this was the most interesting thing he'd ever heard. "What happened to your center?" Egbert didn't have to think long. "It went away." "It went *up*," Sensei corrected gently. "Your weight went up. Your attention went up — into your thoughts, into your face, into what everyone was thinking about you. You left the ground." Egbert was quiet. "The mat," Sensei said simply, "is just practice." "For what?" Sensei smiled. "For *everywhere else.*" --- > *"There are no kata — no set forms — in true Aiki. All phenomena of this world vary constantly according to the particular circumstances and no two situations are exactly alike."* > > — O Sensei --- That night, Egbert lay in bed and tried something. He imagined he was standing in math class again. He felt the tightness come back into his chest, the redness come back into his face. Then, the way Sensei had taught him, he let his weight drop. Not physically — he was lying down — but in his mind, in his *feeling*, he imagined his weight sinking downward. Like a stone settling into the bottom of a still lake. His breathing slowed. The tightness in his chest loosened. *Oh*, he thought. *It works here too.* He fell asleep still thinking about it. --- ### After You Read: Closing Questions 📝 **YOUR TURN — Think about what just happened:** *Sensei Bob said Egbert's weight "went up" when he got embarrassed. What do you think he meant by that?* **Write your answer here:**           --- 📝 **Try this right now:** *Take a slow breath. Now imagine all your weight gently sinking down into your chair, like a stone sinking in water. Does anything change? What do you notice?* **Describe what you felt:**           --- 📝 **The big question:** *Where is a place in your life — NOT a dojo or sports practice — where you wish you could stay centered? At school? At home? With a friend?* **Write about it here:**             --- --- # CHAPTER TWO ## Marcus --- ### Before You Read: Opening Questions 📝 **YOUR TURN — Think about this before you turn the page:** *Have you ever met someone who seemed angry or mean... and later found out they were actually scared or hurting?* *What happened? How did it change how you felt about them?* **Write or draw about it here:**                 --- 📝 **One more question:** *What is the difference between being strong and being hard?* *(A tree in a storm — does it stay stiff or does it bend? Which one stays standing?)* **Your answer:**         --- ### The Story Continues Marcus arrived on a Wednesday. He was big. Not just tall — *solid*. The kind of big that takes up extra space even when it's standing still. He walked into the dojo like someone who expected it to be a fight. His arms were crossed. His jaw was set. His eyes moved quickly around the room, checking everything. Egbert recognized that look. He had worn it himself once. *That's someone who's been hurt*, he thought. *And is trying to make sure it doesn't happen again.* But the thought came and went. Mostly what Egbert felt was his stomach drop, because Sensei Bob paired them together. --- > *"Martial arts must undergo constant change. It must not stop even for an instant."* > > — O Sensei --- "Partners," Sensei said simply, and pointed. Egbert bowed to Marcus. Marcus looked at him like the bow was a trick. "You have to bow back," Egbert said. "Why?" "It means we're going to take care of each other." Marcus made a sound that wasn't quite a laugh. But he bowed — barely. They began. The technique that day was *irimi-nage* — an entering throw. One person grabs, the other moves *in* — not away — and redirects. Marcus grabbed Egbert's wrist. He grabbed it *hard*. Egbert felt his old reflex fire: pull away, get free, defend. He resisted the reflex. He took a breath. He let his weight drop. Then he entered — moved toward Marcus, not away — and turned. Marcus stumbled forward, confused, unbalanced. He looked down at himself like his own body had betrayed him. "How did you do that?" he said. He sounded angry. But Egbert noticed his eyes were not angry. His eyes were *interested*. "You use my energy," Egbert said. "You don't fight it." Marcus grabbed again. Harder. Egbert did it again. Weight down. Enter. Turn. Marcus went down on one knee. "That's not fair," he said. Sensei appeared behind them like he'd been there the whole time. "Nothing about the size of your grab changed what happened, Marcus. Notice that." Marcus stood up. He looked at Egbert differently now. --- > *"Techniques which are visible to the eye are useless. Your body and the kami — the divine spirit — become one through the accumulation of training."* > > — O Sensei --- But it didn't last. The next class, Marcus was worse. He grabbed harder. He pushed when it wasn't his turn. When Egbert stumbled, Marcus made a sound like it was funny. Egbert felt something old and hot rise up in his chest. *He's doing it on purpose*, Egbert thought. *He's trying to make me look stupid.* He felt his center go away. He felt his weight go up. He felt the rabbit-breathing come back. And he pushed back. Not hard. But he pushed. And the moment he did, Marcus grinned. Because now they were having a *contest* — and contests were something Marcus understood. They were both red-faced and out of breath when Sensei's voice came, quiet and clear: "Stop." They stopped. The dojo went very still. Sensei looked at both of them. Not angry. *Curious.* "What just happened?" he asked. Neither of them answered. "You forgot," Sensei said, "that this is not a fight. A fight happens when both people stop listening." He paused. "What were you listening to, Egbert?" Egbert thought about it. "My anger," he said. "I was listening to my anger." "And what was your anger telling you?" "That he was trying to beat me." Sensei turned to Marcus. "Was he right?" A long pause. Then, very quietly, Marcus said: "Yeah." "Why?" Marcus shrugged. Then, so quietly almost no one could hear: "It's the only way I know." --- > *"It is not for correcting others; it is for correcting your own mind. This is Aikido."* > > — O Sensei --- After class, Sue Anne found Egbert sitting outside the dojo. "You handled that okay," she said. "I pushed back," he said. "I lost my center." "You got it back," she said. He looked at her. "How do you always stay centered?" Sue Anne thought about it seriously. "I don't," she said. "I just notice faster when I lose it. And I don't make it mean something terrible about myself when I do." She picked up her bag. "Marcus is scared," she said. "Can't you see it? He covers it with big. But it's there." She walked away. Egbert sat there for a while. He knew about big. He knew about covering things with it. He had tried covering his fear with a punch once. It hadn't worked. --- ### After You Read: Closing Questions 📝 **YOUR TURN — Think about what just happened:** *Sensei asked Egbert "What were you listening to?" and Egbert said he was listening to his anger. What do you think it means to "listen" to your own anger? Is anger always bad information? Or is it sometimes telling you something true?* **Your thoughts:**             --- 📝 **About Marcus:** *Sue Anne said Marcus is "scared" but "covers it with big." Can you think of a time YOU covered a feeling with something else? (Anger instead of sadness? Jokes instead of worry? Being mean instead of asking for help?)* **Write about it — you don't have to share this with anyone:**               --- 📝 **The big question:** *What is the difference between "using someone's energy" (like Aikido) and "pushing back"? Can you think of an example from your own life where instead of pushing back, you could have moved WITH something that was happening?* **Your answer:**           --- --- # CHAPTER THREE ## 1 + 1 = 1 --- ### Before You Read: Opening Questions 📝 **YOUR TURN — Think about this before you turn the page:** *Have you ever told someone something true about yourself — something a little embarrassing — and had them understand instead of laugh?* *How did that feel?* **Write about it here:**               --- 📝 **One more question:** *What does it feel like to be truly listened to? Not just heard — but really, deeply listened to?* **Describe it:**           --- ### The Story Continues It was Egbert who started it. He didn't plan to. It just happened. It was lunchtime, two weeks after the Marcus incident. Egbert was crossing the cafeteria with his tray when he saw Marcus. Marcus was sitting alone. Not at the edge of a group, pretending not to care. Actually alone — at the far end of a table, back to the wall, watching everyone the way someone watches a place they're not sure is safe. Egbert stopped walking. He thought about the day Sue Anne had found him. How she had stepped into the circle of boys. How she hadn't asked permission or announced what she was doing. She had just — moved toward him. He walked to Marcus's table and sat down. Marcus looked up. Suspicious. "What do you want?" Marcus said. "To sit here," Egbert said. "Why?" Egbert picked up his fork. "Because you're sitting alone, and I remember what that felt like." --- > *"I want considerate people to listen to the voice of Aikido. It is not for correcting others; it is for correcting your own mind."* > > — O Sensei --- For a long time, neither of them said anything. They ate. The cafeteria was loud around them — trays clattering, kids laughing, someone across the room getting teased about something. Finally Marcus said: "You used to get picked on." "Yeah," Egbert said. "For your name." "For my name. For being scared. For not knowing what to do with either." He paused. "I punched a kid. Got in trouble. Had to walk home alone. Three boys jumped me." He took a bite. "That's when I met Sue Anne." Marcus was quiet. Then: "Weren't you embarrassed? That a girl had to save you?" Egbert smiled a little. "Yeah. For about ten seconds. Then I was just grateful." "That's not... that's not normal," Marcus said. "Probably not," Egbert said. "But embarrassment is just another energy. You can fight it, or you can roll with it." Marcus looked at him. "That's from Aikido." "Yeah." "Everything with you is from Aikido." "Pretty much," Egbert said. And Marcus — for the first time Egbert had seen — almost smiled. --- > *"There is no enemy of love. There is no discord in love. Aikido is the realization of love."* > > — O Sensei --- The next week, something had shifted between them. Not dramatically. Not like a movie. Just — shifted. In class, when Marcus grabbed Egbert's wrist, he grabbed it honestly instead of hard. There is a difference. Hard is about winning. Honest is about training. Egbert felt it. He entered, turned, redirected. Marcus went with it this time. Smooth and clean, like water. They both stopped and looked at each other. "That was different," Marcus said. "You didn't resist," Egbert said. "Neither did you." "That's called Aiki," Egbert said. "When two people stop fighting the energy and just... move together." He tried to remember Sensei's words. "One plus one equals one." Marcus made a face. "That's not math." "No," Egbert agreed. "It's better." --- > *"The secret of Aikido is to harmonize with the movement of the universe and bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself."* > > — O Sensei --- On a Thursday after class, Sensei Bob asked Marcus to stay behind. Egbert waited outside. He wasn't sure why. When Marcus came out, his face was different. Not broken. Not fixed. Just — *open*, the way a window looks when someone has pushed it up and let in air. "He knew," Marcus said. "About home." Egbert didn't ask how. Sensei always knew. "Is it bad?" Egbert said. "It's... loud," Marcus said. And that was all. But Egbert understood that loud could mean many things that weren't about sound. "You can train with me," Egbert said. "After school, before class. I'll show you the centering exercise. The one for when things get loud." Marcus looked at him. "Why?" Egbert thought about it. "Because Sue Anne didn't have to stop for me," he said. "But she did. And it changed everything." He picked up his bag. "And because," he said, "Sensei Bob says the real dojo is everywhere. That means the mat goes wherever you go. Even into loud." --- > *"Martial arts must develop in an evolutionary manner together with the movements of the heavenly bodies and must not stop even for an instant."* > > — O Sensei --- The following Saturday was a testing day. Egbert had passed his test months ago. Now he watched as two of the newer students were tested — including Marcus, who had moved faster than anyone expected. Marcus's technique was rough. But his center held. At the end, Sensei bowed to each student. Then the students bowed to each other. Egbert watched Marcus bow. Watched him really *bow* — not the barely-a-nod from his first day. A real bow. The kind that meant: *I see you. I will take care of you. We are in this together.* Marcus straightened up and caught Egbert's eye across the dojo. He nodded. Egbert nodded back. Some things don't need words. Some things live in the space between two people when both of them have decided to stop fighting and start listening. That space, Sensei Bob once said, is where Aikido lives. That space is Aiki-land. --- ### After You Read: Closing Questions 📝 **YOUR TURN — Think about the whole story:** *Egbert sat down next to Marcus at lunch without being asked to, without a plan. He just did it because he remembered what it felt like to sit alone. Have you ever done something kind like that — not because you were supposed to, but because you just remembered a feeling?* **Write about it:**             --- 📝 **About listening:** *At the end of the story, Egbert and Marcus don't say very much. But something important passes between them. What do you think real listening looks like when there aren't any words?* **Your thoughts:**           --- 📝 **The biggest question in the whole book:** *Sensei Bob said "The real dojo is everywhere." What do you think that means for YOUR life? Where is YOUR dojo?* *(It might be the dinner table. It might be the school bus. It might be your bedroom when you're trying to fall asleep.)* **Write about your dojo:**               --- 📝 **One last thing — for you, not for anyone else:** *What is ONE thing from this story you want to try in your own life? Just one. Small is fine. Small is actually better.* **Write your one thing here:**         --- --- ## Words of the Master > *"There is no enemy of love. There is no discord in love. Aikido is the realization of love.* > > *It is not for correcting others; it is for correcting your own mind.* > > *The secret of Aikido is to harmonize ourselves with the movement of the universe and bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself.* > > *I want considerate people to listen to the voice of Aikido. It is not for correcting others; it is for correcting your own mind. This is Aikido.* > > *This is the mission of Aikido and should be your mission."* > > — Morihei Ueshiba, O Sensei > *The Founder of Aikido* --- ## A Glossary for Curious Readers **Aikido** *(eye-KEE-doe)* — A Japanese martial art based on harmony. The name means "the way of harmony with the energy of the universe." **Dojo** *(DOH-joe)* — The place where Aikido is practiced. It means "place of the way." But as Sensei Bob says, the real dojo is everywhere. **Gi** *(GEE)* — The white uniform worn during training. **Irimi-nage** *(ee-REE-mee NAH-gay)* — An entering throw. Instead of moving away from an attack, you move *in*, then redirect. **Ki** *(KEY)* — Life energy. The force that flows through all living things. When it flows freely, we feel alive, clear, and strong. When it gets blocked by fear or anger or tension, we feel stuck. **Kokyu-ho** *(KO-kyoo-HO)* — A breathing exercise that teaches how to receive and redirect energy without using strength. **O Sensei** *(OH-SEN-say)* — "Great Teacher." The title given to Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido. He lived from 1883 to 1969. **Osu** *(OSS)* — A word used in Aikido that carries many meanings at once: *I understand. I am here. I am ready. I will try.* **Randori** *(RAN-doh-ree)* — Free practice with multiple partners at the same time. It teaches you to stay centered when everything is moving at once. **Sensei** *(SEN-say)* — Teacher. It means "one who has walked the path before." **Ukemi** *(OO-keh-mee)* — The art of falling and rolling safely. In Aikido, learning to fall is just as important as learning to throw — because when you know how to fall, you are no longer afraid of it. **Zanshin** *(ZAN-shin)* — Continuing awareness. The feeling of presence that doesn't stop when the technique is over. Zanshin means staying awake to everything, all the time. --- ## About Richard Moon and Extraordinary Listening Richard Moon is a 6th Dan Aikido practitioner, executive coach, international peace negotiator, and the author of *Quantum Aikido: The Power of Harmony* (Park Street Press / Simon & Schuster, 2026). He has led peace-building work with groups from Bosnia, Cyprus, and conflict zones around the world. He has coached executive teams at some of the world's largest companies. He has been teaching Aikido since 1974. He wrote the first Egbert story because he believed the principles that were changing his life could change a child's life too. He was right. For more information, visit **www.extraordinarylistening.com** --- > *"The best compliment I ever received was when a student once said to me, 'You're not teaching. You're learning out loud.'"* > > — Richard Moon --- *For the children who sit alone at lunch.* *And for everyone who remembers what that felt like.* --- **© Richard Moon / Extraordinary Listening** *This book may be freely shared, printed, and distributed.* *Our simple request: keep the name and copyright.* *And pass it on.*