In any kind of battle, it is all about attention and what we choose to pay attention to, and the quality of attention, and how we invest that attention. In aikido, it is essential, because if you pay attention to the wrong things, it could be literally life or death.Aikido is an odd martial art, because it is essentially a weaponless martial art, but all of the techniques are based on the sword and the staff. Literally, there is that life or death, existential edge to the practice. In swordsmanship, if one blinks, if one pays attention to the wrong thing at the wrong time, the consequences can be devastating.
http://www.killingthebuddha.com/oral/sp_exercises.htm
