The video 3 guerres totalement absurdes… en apparence[1] (https://youtu.be/r9hbb0aFZ-E?is=PKZSI2LIjwSNpPQh)  starts from an almost ironic question: how can a seemingly insignificant event become the origin of enormously larger consequences? A basket of apples, some Zurich sausages, and a watermelon in Panama seem too trivial to be associated with war, a religious schism, or a political conflict. Yet these three precise objects constitute the narrative starting point of three historical events in which a minor episode enters a situation already fraught with tension, ultimately assuming an importance it could never have possessed if observed in isolation.

The value of the video thus lies also in its title: the three wars appear absurd "in appearance." The absurdity arises from comparing the modesty of the immediate episode with the magnitude of the consequences. However, when observing the situation as a whole, the apparent disproportion begins to become understandable. The small event does not carry within itself, as an autonomous cause, the full force of the subsequent transformation. It enters a configuration in which tensions, power dynamics, interests, and possibilities for development already exist. It thus becomes the point through which what was already present within the situation can manifest and take a new direction.

This is the thread that Werner M., by sharing the link with us, recognizes in the video and which leads him to connect it to his own reflections on Aikidō developed over recent years. His message begins precisely with the image of a "small cause" capable of producing a "large effect" and uses these three historical episodes to propose a reflection on transformation. The question that emerges is not merely about the magnitude of the effect relative to the cause; it concerns, above all, the moment in which an already compromised situation can change direction.

Apples: When a Marginal Episode Enters an Already Tense Situation

The first example is the so-called War of the Apples. A basket of apples from the Abbey of Saint-Martin enters into a dispute concerning the rights exercised by the Duke of Lorraine. Taken in isolation, the issue appears almost comical: why should a conflict arise over a basket of apples?

However, the apple does not explain the war. The apple makes visible something that already exists. Behind the episode lie issues regarding sovereignty, territorial rights, and relationships between differing powers. The small episode thus becomes significant because it intervenes precisely at the point in a situation where the equilibrium is already precarious.

The basket of apples can be conceived as a small element entering a mechanism that is already under tension. Its material weight is irrelevant compared to the forces subsequently mobilized. Its importance derives from the position it occupies within the situation.

This is the first useful key to interpretation for Aikidō: to understand a transformation, it is not enough to observe the magnitude of the intervention. One must observe the configuration in which the intervention takes place. Every detail, even the smallest one that seems insignificant during waza, is important.

Sausages: A Daily Gesture Modifying the Configuration

The second episode involves the sausages of Zurich. In 1522, during Lent, Christoph Froschauer and his workers ate sausages. This seemingly mundane daily act assumed a much broader religious and political significance. The event became embedded in the process that would lead to the Zurich Reformation.

Here too, the sausage, considered as a material object, possesses no inherent capacity to produce a historical transformation of such scale. It is the situation that confers a special meaning upon it. A dietary practice becomes a gesture capable of questioning an established religious and social order.

The small event becomes a point of transformation because it intercepts a situation where questions and tensions are already present. The daily act gains new force through the configuration in which it is performed.

This shift is particularly interesting when transferred onto the tatami. In learning a waza, a minimal gesture can produce a much broader modification when it occurs at the most suitable point/moment of the relationship. A seemingly marginal change in distance, timing, posture, or direction can alter the entire organization of the action.

The issue then becomes identifying where and when that small variation can become significant.

The Watermelon: The Detonation Point

The third episode, the so-called Watermelon Riot in Panama in 1856, makes this mechanism even more evident. An American passenger takes a slice of watermelon from a street vendor and refuses to pay for it. An argument ensues that rapidly degenerates into violence.

In this case as well, it would be difficult to understand the magnitude of the episode by limiting oneself to the slice of watermelon. The instant in which violence erupts is embedded in a situation characterized by economic, social, racial, and political tensions linked to the American presence on the Isthmus.

The watermelon thus becomes the point at which an already compromised situation rapidly changes its configuration.

This image is particularly effective: the decisive moment does not necessarily coincide with the origin of the tensions. It can coincide with the moment in which a previously unstable configuration loses its capacity to maintain itself.

The small event then becomes a signal of a transformation already underway.

From the Video to the Tatami

It is at this point that the connection proposed by Werner with Aikidō becomes particularly interesting. The question is not simply how to produce a greater effect with less force. The question concerns the ability to recognize the situation one is in and to identify the point where a relatively small modification can alter its evolution.

Here, two fundamental concepts of practice can be brought into relation tsukuri 作り and kuzushi 崩し.

Tsukuri (作り) can be read as the construction or configuration of the conditions for action. In the relationship between aite and tori, the situation is progressively organized through position, distance, direction, timing, movement, and relationship. Practice, therefore, does not consist merely in executing a predefined form, but in creating the conditions in which that form can unfold.

Kuzushi (崩し), on the other hand, introduces the image of the collapse or breakdown of the configuration. The verb kuzusu (崩す) belongs to a semantic field that encompasses dismantling, causing to collapse, breaking down, or decomposing a structure. The image of a landslide or collapse is thus particularly evocative: a structure that maintained its configuration up to a certain point can suddenly lose the ability to preserve it.

The transition from tsukuri to kuzushi can thus be viewed as a change in the configuration of the situation.

The decisive point does not necessarily consist in applying superior force. It consists in identifying the moment in which the situation can be transformed.

The Grain of Sand

This dynamic can be represented through the image of a grain of sand entering a complex mechanism.

The grain, taken in isolation, possesses an insignificant force compared to the overall mechanism. However, if it enters at the appropriate point, it can modify its operation. Its effectiveness derives from the structure into which it enters.

This metaphor also allows us to understand the relationship between a small intervention and a large consequence. The grain does not need to create the energy of transformation on its own. It intervenes in a structure that already possesses a specific organization and alters how its parts can continue to move.

In the language of Aikidō, this allows us to observe kuzushi as a moment in which a configuration loses its stability and opens up to a different possibility of movement.

The image of a collapse becomes particularly meaningful here. A mountain is not necessarily brought down by an enormous external force. A collapse can begin at the exact point where the structure has already reached a state of particular vulnerability.

On the tatami, the problem thus becomes recognizing that moment.

Jullien and the Propensity of the Situation[2]

It is here that the reflections of François Jullien offer a particularly useful perspective. Chinese strategic thought directs attention toward the situation and the tendencies contained within it. The effectiveness of an intervention depends on the ability to recognize a configuration in its becoming and to intervene at a point where a variation can guide its development.

The small intervention gains importance not from its intrinsic magnitude, but from the relationship it establishes with the situation.

This allows us to re-read Werner's reference to small beginnings and transformations. What appears insignificant can become decisive because it enters a situation already predisposed to transform.

The strategic question then becomes: where, within the situation, is the point at which a small modification can produce a significant transformation?

This is a question that belongs as much to strategy as it does to the practice of Aikidō.

Uchi-kaiten-nage as a Concrete Example

Werner brings this reflection directly to the tatami through his own uchi-kaiten-nage. This example is important because it allows a transition from historical imagery to physical dynamics.

The action can be observed as a progressive transformation of the relationship. Tori does not necessarily need to counter aite's force with an opposing force of equal or greater intensity. Rather, tori progressively modifies the configuration in which that force manifests.

The direction of the action changes, the spatial relationship changes, the capacity to maintain the initial configuration changes, and, at a certain point, a new dynamic emerges.

The significant moment is precisely when the situation changes its nature. Furthermore, since this form is characterized by a "long" execution, it is particularly suited to illustrate the multiple potential opportunities for triggering transformation—whether after identifying a fault in the execution process or even upstream of it.

This reading allows us to consider waza as something far more dynamic than the simple execution of a technique. Waza can be seen as a body capability developed through practice, capable of intervening in the configuration of a situation and guiding its evolution.[3]

In this sense, the movement of tori (as well as that of aite) can be compared to the small event in the three historical accounts: its effectiveness depends on the situation in which it intervenes.

From Technique to Pedagogy[4]

At this point, the reflection shifts naturally from execution to teaching.

If learning is a process of transformation, the teacher's task may also consist in identifying which small modifications to introduce into the learning situation.

A minimal variation in an exercise can change the student's behavior. A different distance can make an error obvious that previously remained hidden. A change in tempo can bring out a timing issue. A different task can force the student to find a solution that habitual repetition did not require.

In all these cases, the teacher does not produce the result directly. They modify the conditions under which the result can emerge.

Aikidō pedagogy can thus also be viewed as the art of configuring learning situations.

The question proposed by Werner thus acquires a particularly broad scope:

What small thing do we introduce into a situation, and what might arise from it?

The question is not merely about what the teacher wants to convey. It concerns what can happen when a condition of learning is modified at the appropriate point.

The Transition from Compromised Situation to Transformed Situation

The three episodes from the video thus allow us to construct a common sequence. Before the seemingly insignificant event, a complex situation already exists. The situation contains tensions and possibilities. Then, a minimal element intervenes: the apples, the sausages, the watermelon. That element becomes significant because it intercepts the existing configuration. From that point onward, the situation progressively changes direction and can achieve a new configuration.

On the tatami, we can observe something analogous.

Uke brings a specific configuration of movement, balance, direction, and intention. Tori enters the situation and modifies one of its conditions. If the intervention occurs at the appropriate moment, the initial configuration begins to give way. Kuzushi (崩し) represents precisely this transition: the loss of the previous organization of action and the opening of a new possibility.

The fundamental issue then becomes identifying the moment of transformation..

It is not simply a matter of increasing the intensity of the intervention. It is about recognizing when a situation is sufficiently predisposed for a modification to become decisive.

A Possible Reading of Aikidō

From this perspective, the video on the three seemingly absurd wars becomes a small strategic metaphor for Aikidō.

The basket of apples, the sausages, and the watermelon show how a minimal event can take on enormous proportions when entering an already compromised situation. The tatami allows us to observe the same problem on a much more immediate bodily scale: a small variation in the relationship can lead to a transformation of the entire movement.

Tsukuri (作り) thus concerns the configuration of the situation. Kuzushi (崩し) concerns the moment in which that configuration loses its stability and a new dynamic opens up. The practitioner's skill lies in recognizing and navigating this transition.

Jullien's reflections expand the perspective even further: effectiveness can be sought in identifying tendencies already present in the situation and pinpointing the moment when an intervention can accompany or alter their development.

Pedagogy takes this logic a step further. The teacher can design situations in which the student encounters that exact moment of transformation and progressively learns to recognize it through the body.

In this sense, teaching Aikidō does not merely mean showing a form and asking for it to be reproduced. It also means constructing situations in which the student can discover that a minimal variation can modify an entire dynamic.

The Small Intervention as the Art of Transformation

The lesson Werner draws from the video can therefore be stated in broader terms.

A small event can become decisive when it intervenes in a situation already fraught with tensions. Its effectiveness depends on the configuration into which it enters and the timing of its intervention. The fundamental transition is that through which an already compromised situation changes direction and assumes a new configuration in terms of "power relations."[5]

This concept creates a bridge across history, strategy, Aikidō, and pedagogy.

In history, a small event can become the spark that detonates pre-existing tensions. In strategy, an effective intervention identifies the point at which the situation can be directed. In waza, the practitioner seeks the moment when a change in relationship can induce kuzushi. In pedagogy, the teacher creates the conditions under which a small variation can produce a significant change in learning.

The grain of sand thus becomes a powerful metaphor: its importance does not come from its mass, but from its relationship to the mechanism it enters.

And perhaps herein lies one of the most interesting questions for an Aikidō teacher:

What is the small intervention that can change the situation?

This question can apply to the body, waza, the relationship between aite and tori, the structure of a class, or the dynamic among students. In every case, it requires the same ability: observing the situation before acting, recognizing where tension lies, identifying the moment when the configuration can transform, and introducing a sufficiently precise modification for a new possibility to emerge.

The large effect, then, is not necessarily something the teacher produces directly.

It can be something that the situation itself produces after the teacher has successfully altered one of its conditions at the opportune moment..

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[1] https://youtu.be/r9hbb0aFZ-E?is=-iVSuw_rBOqFrjNc

[2] https://www.amazon.it/trasformazioni-silenziose-Fran%C3%A7ois-Jullien/dp/8860303060

[3] See Amici dell’Aikido ASD “Multidisciplinary study on waza” and also the 2026/27 Annual Theme “waza”

[4] See Amici dell'Aikido ASD Annual theme for the 2025-2026 season: "How to teach, what to teach"

[5] See Amici dell'Aikido ASD “Management of power relations” various versions for Treviglio schools both for students and for teaching staff training.