Suwari waza

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[kvnmcwebn]

Hi,
I am new to the forum. I joined because I wanted to get advice on suri waza.
I am not an aikido stylist please forgive me, I only want to learn.
My background art is tai chi chuan and some other related chinese martial arts.
For the last couple years I have been training in bjj. Because rooting was
primary in my background arts I felt awkward getting my base during a kneeling roll. I tried using the common bjj begining postures but nothing felt quite right. I searched around the internet for and found suri waza. Actually it was just the thing I needed. I practiced the basic posture at home as best I could. Just stationary and moving to the left and right. I tried it out on the matt in both gi and no gi rolling. It worked well. I saw on suri waza that the back of the opponent was taken a lot so this waza must lend itself to that. I was able to take the back a few times. The danger i think is getting caught in guard and I have not tried it yet against an opponent that strongly favours the guard. But in my mind I can see that being a big problem. Anyway is anyone on here into this waza and if so are there any pointers you can give me on the practising the postures? It is the leg movements, contact with the ground and posture tips that I am after. I will still be using bjj chokes and locks. I did see a few videos with o sensei where he had his students press on his head from the kneeling posture. This shows that his root and posture is very strong and also shows the weight distribution in the position. I tried to infer the correct posture from that but as you know there are limits to what you can learn from videos.
Thanks in advance

[kvnmcwebn]

I should mention that the bjj combat stance is similar to the postures found in suri waza. But you start off on one knee so your mobility is already limited depending on what knee your on and the base is not as good as being on both knees. The beauty with the suri waza is that you start off with the potential to go in either direction quickly depending on your opponents attack and still have a rock solid base. So it's not a million miles off the bjj combat stance that some of us use it's only way more efficient in my pov.

[mathewjgano]

I'm not familiar with "suri waza," could you post a link showing what you mean? I'm familiar with suri ashi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr-y97j3ePQ)(a kind of foot work) and suri age (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WNXeXMMqKU) (a kind of sword work), but I'm not sure how that relates yet.

Ah...I see now, suwari waza. My "understanding" is that suwari waza is good for getting us to "sit within our base;" to move from the hips and trunk...for whatever it's worth.

[Kevin Morrison]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

There are some poeple who practise both bjj and aikido, but until they come along here are some of the more obvious points.

Suwari waza is a label for a whole class of techniques, it just means both partners are sitting down (seiza or keiza). It's purpose and meaning are something people could debate, but it serves a different purpose to combat base in newaza / ground sparring / "rolling." Horses for courses and all that.

When in bjj class, do as your bjj instructor tells you!

[Demetrio Cereijo]

Jits and Judo player here.

I think OP means suwari waza, but I don't get what his troubles are, in fact I think he's asking for more trouble.

OP: If you keep rolling and taking backs from your knees, your partners will pull guard.

[kvnmcwebn]

thanks for that kevin. In our academy how we start off a roll isn't formal, it depends on body type, flexibility, preferece etc. I should have been more clear, I'm experimenting with starting rolls off using this sitting type of posture and movement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uVEZo-09jw

to set up bjj techniques. I was looking for tips and principles on this sitting posture from aikido practitioners who use it.

[kvnmcwebn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76wDVn9Hl0M

yes thanks I meant suwari waza. What are the principles of this posture anybody?

[kvnmcwebn]

Jits and Judo player here.

I think OP means suwari waza, but I don't get what his troubles are, in fact I think he's asking for more trouble.

OP: If you keep rolling and taking backs from your knees, your partners will pull guard.

Hi yes I meant suwari waza. Sorry for my ignorance. What are the principles of this posture?
Thanks.

Edited to say. By principles I mean weight distribution when one knee is up, what part of the foot is touching the floor, any little tips like that.

[mathewjgano]

Hi yes I meant suwari waza. Sorry for my ignorance. What are the principles of this posture?
Thanks.

Edited to say. By principles I mean weight distribution when one knee is up, what part of the foot is touching the floor, any little tips like that.

Well you did write that on the thread title...maybe if some of us <:o cough...cough> paid more attention...
The main thing I focus on is to imagine my feet more or less tied together. So when one foot comes up, the other follows it. This, I believe, is to get the hips moving together. I go for as equally distributed as possible, but not sure how correct that is. I tend to move on the balls of the feet.

[graham christian]

Hi Kevin.
I have done and do lots of this. When talking principles, well it is useful for practicing many different ones so there is not set hard and fast must be this or that.

The aim or you could call it game is for one person to grab (usually the wrists) of the other and stop them being able to do anything in response to their hold or pin. The other fella, being in seiza is thus unable to move as he would if standing. His job is to learn how to harmonize and respond in such a way as to manoeuver the other person no matter how he tries to stop you.

In Ki Aikido it can be used as a way of developing center and thus learning to move from center and develop power from center for you can't rely on legs. Physically it also teaches how, now that your legs are 'missing' how useless it is to just rely on your shoulders and brute strength and so you learn how to develop hip movement. Subtle hip manoeuvering to generate power.

Many things can be practiced from this position for it is a position where you can't run away for example and yet you have to learn how to be effective from it.

You can also learn to use the paths of energy redirection from it, circles etc.

This can lead on to a practice where another is allowed to attack you, be it to grab, to hit or even to kick from a standing position whilst you must remain on your knees and handle it. Different from suwari waza but I think you'll see the progression.

Put very, very, simplistically and physically you could call it wrestling from the knees or even judo from the knees if you like.

Regards.G.

[kvnmcwebn]

Well you did write that on the thread title...maybe if some of us <:o cough...cough> paid more attention...
The main thing I focus on is to imagine my feet more or less tied together. So when one foot comes up, the other follows it. This, I believe, is to get the hips moving together. I go for as equally distributed as possible, but not sure how correct that is. I tend to move on the balls of the feet.

Ah thanks Matthew. Now that you point it out it makes perfect sense the hips should be moving together, that would allow rotational power. But I don't understand what you said about one foot comes up and the other follows it. I mean if one knee is up that would mean that the front foot is down and the back foot is up or maybe facing backward if you are on the balls of your feet. So I'm missing your point about imagining the feet being tied together which is probably a key. Thanks again.

[Demetrio Cereijo]

Hi yes I meant suwari waza. Sorry for my ignorance. What are the principles of this posture?
Thanks.

Edited to say. By principles I mean weight distribution when one knee is up, what part of the foot is touching the floor, any little tips like that.

Is hard to explain in writing. Basically what Matthew wrote is correct. Plus keep your weight low and your head up (with "look at the ceiling but without actually looking" intent) like when you're inside someone's guard

I suggest you to get both Hiroshi Ikeda's "Za" and Roy Harris' "Takedowns from the knees" videos. Google around a bit, they are easy to find. Combine Ikeda's drills with Harris' techniques.

[kvnmcwebn]

In Ki Aikido it can be used as a way of developing center and thus learning to move from center and develop power from center for you can't rely on legs. Physically it also teaches how, now that your legs are 'missing' how useless it is to just rely on your shoulders and brute strength and so you learn how to develop hip movement. Subtle hip manoeuvering to generate power.

Put very, very, simplistically and physically you could call it wrestling from the knees or even judo from the knees if you like.

Regards.G.

Well Graham, that's exactly what I find myself thinking all the time during bjj rolling from kneeling "now that my legs are missing where is my center" and how can I generate power. I never relied on brute strenght. In my previous traing all of the power came from the hips, snapping them etc, I still use that when we start from standing position but when we start from kneeling I have not been able to generate much power and have felt generally double weighted. As you and Matthew pointed out we can still use the hips with this technique and therefore can generate power. Thanks a million for clarifying this. It is making a lot of sense.
-Kevin

[mathewjgano]

Ah thanks Matthew. Now that you point it out it makes perfect sense the hips should be moving together, that would allow rotational power. But I don't understand what you said about one foot comes up and the other follows it. I mean if one knee is up that would mean that the front foot is down and the back foot is up or maybe facing backward if you are on the balls of your feet. So I'm missing your point about imagining the feet being tied together which is probably a key. Thanks again.

Here's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89W7RQg_CXQ) a pretty good example of what I'm trying to describe. I try for no lag between feet though: his back foot separates a little before rejoining.

I was just watching some other videos on youtube and they explain as an elastic band between feet where the feet do seperate, but only a little. I'm pretty out of practice so take what I say with a grain of salt.

[Alic]

Honestly, if you want to know, best way is to pay a visit to a dojo, pay a drop-in fee, and ask the sensei :p

Suwari-waza is difficult because you need to have proper shikkoho and hanmi (no kamae), in addition to balance and other aspects. You will need a good solid half year of training to get a grasp on it.

I would recommend sticking it out for a few classes. You may find Aikido to be your thing. It never hurts to give it a try.

[Pauliina Lievonen]

Well Graham, that's exactly what I find myself thinking all the time during bjj rolling from kneeling "now that my legs are missing where is my center" and how can I generate power.
Try focussing on your lower belly between your hips and turning from there. Sort of like leaving your legs and hips where they are and turning your torso between them. Sounds counterintuitive I know. And of course if you turn far enough the legs will follow... Gives a tighter turn and more power.

A simple explanation for something that could become more complex, but maybe this is a start?

Pauliina

[Mario Tobias]

Hi Kevin,

For the suwari waza posture, in order to be stable you need to stick your stomach out. This is so you wont easily be pushed or pulled. Its a much more stable position. Try it out with a friend experimenting how the belly affects stability and groundedness, sticking in or sticking out. We also have this "keiza" position (toes) which is a ready/fighting position rather than "seiza".

[sakumeikan]

Hi,
I am new to the forum. I joined because I wanted to get advice on suri waza.
I am not an aikido stylist please forgive me, I only want to learn.
My background art is tai chi chuan and some other related chinese martial arts.
For the last couple years I have been training in bjj. Because rooting was
primary in my background arts I felt awkward getting my base during a kneeling roll. I tried using the common bjj begining postures but nothing felt quite right. I searched around the internet for and found suri waza. Actually it was just the thing I needed. I practiced the basic posture at home as best I could. Just stationary and moving to the left and right. I tried it out on the matt in both gi and no gi rolling. It worked well. I saw on suri waza that the back of the opponent was taken a lot so this waza must lend itself to that. I was able to take the back a few times. The danger i think is getting caught in guard and I have not tried it yet against an opponent that strongly favours the guard. But in my mind I can see that being a big problem. Anyway is anyone on here into this waza and if so are there any pointers you can give me on the practising the postures? It is the leg movements, contact with the ground and posture tips that I am after. I will still be using bjj chokes and locks. I did see a few videos with o sensei where he had his students press on his head from the kneeling posture. This shows that his root and posture is very strong and also shows the weight distribution in the position. I tried to infer the correct posture from that but as you know there are limits to what you can learn from videos.
Thanks in advance
Dear Kevin,
How do you propose to apply Bjj chokes and locks in Suwariwaza?Do you want to apply these from
a position where both parties are seated/on knees ?Suwariwaza is a term denoting that the waza is performed while you[as Tori] is sitting initially in seiza and your opponent [Uke ] is likewise . There can be variation, namely Hamni Handachi where one guy [uke ] is standing up , you [tori ]are on knees.
Aikido pinning waza is usually completed when uke is pinned down, face down on the mat.Control /pressure is then applied to a limb/shoulder joint.Very limited usage of choking.Judo has a bigger repertoire. Cheers, Joe

[kvnmcwebn]

Matthew thanks for the link thats what i was looking for I just never would have know what to call it.

Joe I will try and explain how I used this to apply submissions during training. What do you want to know?

[kvnmcwebn]

Sorry Joe I think I understand what you mean. No I don't intent to apply chokes and locks with an uki as in suwari waza we don't do that in my school.
Instead I tried this posture in full contact grappling, 5 minute single rounds starting from "kneeling" against 3 opponents. From my rough attempt I had a higher percentage of submissions than I normally get. If you want I can explain how i got them. We usually start from kneeling because of time and space constraints. Also there are less injuries from kneeling. Starting from kneeling means you can start however you want as long as you are not standing. There are a number of postures used, it depends on the individuals flexible and game strategy etc.

[kvnmcwebn]

joe here is an example of what i'm talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1KSBYmmxFo

as you can see the guy in red shorts is spending a lot of time standing in a posture that is similar to your suwari waza. It is called combat base in bjj, but you can see that it is not fluid and he is double weighted. That is the posture I usually fight from but i knew there must be a better way of doing it. So now I found it with matthews link. thanks

[kvnmcwebn]

Alic if I ever get the chance I will drop in to a class and ask about shiko. But there are no aikido schools around me that I know of.

[Demetrio Cereijo]

Maybe here?

http://www.ki-shin-tai.co.uk/index.php

Disclaimer: from here I can't tell if their aikido could be useful for your purposes.

[kvnmcwebn]

Maybe here?

http://www.ki-shin-tai.co.uk/index.php

Disclaimer: from here I can't tell if their aikido could be useful for your purposes.

Thats funny I just found them online as well. I had no idea. I may drop in to that class. I don't want to be disrespectful though. Do you know what the translation of ki shin tai is?
thanks.

[Demetrio Cereijo]

Probably something in the line of spirit-mind-body.

About dropping in class unannounced... I'd give them a phone call a pair of days before asking for info.

[kvnmcwebn]

Cheers Demetrio.

[mathewjgano]

joe here is an example of what i'm talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1KSBYmmxFo

as you can see the guy in red shorts is spending a lot of time standing in a posture that is similar to your suwari waza. It is called combat base in bjj, but you can see that it is not fluid and he is double weighted. That is the posture I usually fight from but i knew there must be a better way of doing it. So now I found it with matthews link. thanks

That's pretty cool! Thanks for the link!
Also, I wanted to mention I don't think "shiko" is always a better way of moving around from the knees. I do think it's a great way of lossening and strengthening the hip area while woring on staying deep in the base. I can see where it would be impractical to keep the feet together, paricularly after watching a couple of related BJJ videos.
I really liked this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Oef5PwV10). He shows a kind of shiko with another person attached to it as he transitions into side-mount.

[sakumeikan]

joe here is an example of what i'm talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1KSBYmmxFo

as you can see the guy in red shorts is spending a lot of time standing in a posture that is similar to your suwari waza. It is called combat base in bjj, but you can see that it is not fluid and he is double weighted. That is the posture I usually fight from but i knew there must be a better way of doing it. So now I found it with matthews link. thanks

Dear Kevin,
Thanks for the vid.From what I have seen in I see little if anything done on this vid which can be related to Aikido Suwari waza techniques. Having been a Judoka prior to studying aikido I see a similarity [more than in Aikido ] in Judo.You use Sankaku [triangular ]leg work to defend. No Judoka would start Newaza from a position which resembles a sitting position as shown by the lad in the dark shorts.There is on the vid limited use Tate Shiho Gatame [Upper body pin]and Yoko Shiho Gatame [ pinnning from the side.] Of course this is a drill not a contest so obviously the full range of potential immobilisations or submissions may not be part of the drill.I saw numerous points where choke applications and arm locks could have been applied .
Still the guys were keen enough and showed good spirit. Cheers, Joe.

[kvnmcwebn]

Dear Kevin,
Thanks for the vid.From what I have seen in I see little if anything done on this vid which can be related to Aikido Suwari waza techniques. Having been a Judoka prior to studying aikido I see a similarity [more than in Aikido ] in Judo.You use Sankaku [triangular ]leg work to defend. No Judoka would start Newaza from a position which resembles a sitting position as shown by the lad in the dark shorts.There is on the vid limited use Tate Shiho Gatame [Upper body pin]and Yoko Shiho Gatame [ pinnning from the side.] Of course this is a drill not a contest so obviously the full range of potential immobilisations or submissions may not be part of the drill.I saw numerous points where choke applications and arm locks could have been applied .
Still the guys were keen enough and showed good spirit. Cheers, Joe.

Joe I apologize for my ignorance. It is only because I don't understand the techniques properly that I have to ask dumb questions. Edited to say though that the lad in the dark shorts who is starting from a sitting position similar to shikko is Marcelo Garcia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcelo_Garcia_%28grappler%29)...

Also edited to say that you may note his record shows that he beat Rolles, Roger and Rezo gracie on multiple occasions.

[sakumeikan]

Joe I apologize for my ignorance. It is only because I don't understand the techniques properly that I have to ask dumb questions. Edited to say though that the lad in the dark shorts who is starting from a sitting position similar to shikko is Marcelo Garcia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcelo_Garcia_%28grappler%29)...

Also edited to say that you may note his record shows that he beat Rolles, Roger and Rezo gracie on multiple occasions.

Dear Kevin,
No need to apologise.I have limited understanding of BJJ.I am sure Mr Garcia is competent at his own method.All I am saying is I do not see his art bearing any real resemblance to Aikido . Cheers, Joe.

[Demetrio Cereijo]

Dear Kevin,
No need to apologise.I have limited understanding of BJJ.I am sure Mr Garcia is competent at his own method.All I am saying is I do not see his art bearing any real resemblance to Aikido . Cheers, Joe.

Hi Joe,

In the clip Kevin posted you see things that make no sense from a Judo perspective, but BJJ rolling and Judo randori are different games.

OTOH, there are similarities between bjj and aikido, but they are not evident in the sense of "techniques" (you are not going to see shihonage or ikkyo pins in bjj). The similarities are more in the flowing, movement, management of forces, relaxation...

[sakumeikan]

Hi Joe,

In the clip Kevin posted you see things that make no sense from a Judo perspective, but BJJ rolling and Judo randori are different games.

OTOH, there are similarities between bjj and aikido, but they are not evident in the sense of "techniques" (you are not going to see shihonage or ikkyo pins in bjj). The similarities are more in the flowing, movement, management of forces, relaxation...
Dear Demetrio,
Judo has the same concepts in Ne Waza , ie Tori should be relaxed , he should neutralize the movement of Uke, where required Tori has to manoeuvre /be prepared to change his position in response to ukes defence strategy.So as you say you will not see shihonage in judo/bjj. Since judoka are rarely pinned down, face down,check out Judo newaza Kata, ikkyo is unlikely to be applied.If a judoka turns his back on Tori , the usual primary strategy is to use shime waza.eg okuri eri jime, hadaka jiujime.Possibly M.M.A/B.J.J would use the naked strangle [hadaka jiujime]if no jackets were worn by the combatants??? Cheers, Joe.

[mathewjgano]

The waza is different, but I think there is still commonality that can be used to focus on certan principles. The beginning and the end of some of these techniques (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByN6CR7S3dc) look similar to Aikido suwari waza positions (the approx. 3 to 3:30 minute marks show what I would basically think to be good suwari waza; at 3:17 he even does some shomenuchi :p).
This is a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFDMYi78_II&feature=related) showing a sequence of ikkyo involving the kikyo foot position, which is similar to the shikko shape with the knees off the mat (the knees are nice for poking into the ribs too). I think it might be important because it's a transition point between standing and sitting kamae/postures. I believe it is important to be able to move between them, at will. Between shikko (horizontal hip/spine rotation around the central axis) and the strong vertical alignment of kikyo, I remember having a better sense of my "central pillar" upon which to rest the weight/force of my training partner, as well as to drive into them. Not that I was ever very good at it; but that was the sense I got from it. Hopefully others with more experience can describe what they're doing in suwari practice a bit more clearly (and with more authority) than I can.
Again, I am very out of practice, so please forgive my somewhat ignorant ideas, but my sense of practicing shikko (stepping/walking in suwari) was that it helped me to think of moving with a stable base; using that base to displace my partner; it also helped me to clean up my hip rotation, which I'm now trying hard to reclaim (I'm easing back into suwari/seiza very slowly).
The bad thing I know of is the potential for wear and tear on the knees, which can quickly get pretty bad. I believe this can be avoided, but it's a pretty common problem according to some folks. Too much lateral movement within the knees, for example.
Per my studies of an independant form of Aikido, and lacking though I know my training is, I consider suwari waza to be a major part of developing various parts of the body to move with power. I'm not sure exactly how it would apply to BJJ, but I find the "combat base" to be a very compelling starting point for looking into it further, and believe the principles of a strong and supple posture relates regardless of the particular form of waza.
To my mind, suwari waza is only a half-step away from the foot-forward "butterfly guard" position I used to practice against with my friends. I like to practice kata while moving from tachi to kikyo to seizaho to anzato to newaza ("kohokamae?"). Each height level seems to inform the others with respect to maintaining that strong vertical alignment we generally try for.
My two bits, at any rate.
Thoughts?
Take care,
Matt
p.s. sorry if this is a bit jumbled as I'm juggling my wee lads while I type (my focus needs more focus).

[mathewjgano]

So what do folks focus on in suwari practice? What does it lend itself to? Why do we have suwari practice in Aikido?

[graham christian]

So what do folks focus on in suwari practice? What does it lend itself to? Why do we have suwari practice in Aikido?

Hi Matthew.
The focus for me is purely and only the learning of energy harmonization. The receiving of the 'force', (to center) (accepting) and then the redirecting of it.

For instance, you get a person pinning your wrists to your thighs, you learn to do tenchinage from that position. Now technically, you would have to bow forward slightly, let the opponents force say push your left wrist down (by letting it slide off of the outside of your thigh) meanwhile with your right hand you turn the force in and up center line and out to a circle. Turn them, moving from the knees, maintaining the flow, and pin.

Energy manipulation. Learning the ways and paths of energy motion. Learning the ways and paths of harmonious energy motion. Learning the ways of using center. (and koshi for that matter)

These exercises can be made more and more difficult where the partner is allowed more and more to try and block whatever you are trying to do, however you are trying to harmonize and lead and thus can be done at all levels.

You learn to eventually feel where the 'openings' are and they are always to do with the rules of energy motion.

So that's my use for suwari waza. It's also therefor a great Ki development exercise.

Regards.G.

[mathewjgano]

Hi Graham,
Thank you for replying to my questions! In your opinion, are there any key differences between suwari and tachi waza?
To my mind it's (suwari) been really helpful for creating a feeling for how my hips connect to my femurs...and thus, to some small degree, how to use them in conjunction.
I just got back from OHarae at Tsubaki America Jinja and sat in seiza longer than I have in a long time. Except for the knees, it felt quite good, like my spine was sitting on the ground, giving it a very supported feeling I don't usually get while standing. When I'm standing there is a constant shifting that goes on as certain muscles get tired; sitting seiza and reading norito provides a very still feeling and from that still feeling came a surprising sense of body awareness: my thighs felt "full" and they had a mutual presence with respect to centerline (where they felt like they were pressing on each other while they physically were not touching). Then I noticed this, tried to engage it even more, and it changed the nature of how I was sitting and areas of tension sort of took dominance, diminishing the pleasant effect I had enjoyed.
Anyhoo...my thoughts on seiza ho per today's experience...
Thank you again for sharing your view and approach for suwari waza!
Take care,
Matt

[graham christian]

Hi Matthew.
Good question.

Although my answer, or rather the instance I gave was more kokyu dosa, the suwari waza are an extension from there.

Key differences between that and tachi waza? Well my first thought is none, ideally.However, from the view of learning then there are many things to learn from each.

Suwari waza at first are much harder from one perspective yet surprisingly easier from another. On the one hand they are uncomfortable for those not used to doing anything from the knees. My own view on this is to learn how to move from center, practicing tai sabakis for example until you viryual float around without hardly any pressure on the knees.

One thing it teaches you is that a giant is easy to handle. If you are doing from your knees whilst the attacker is standing attacking then it represents handling a very large person. Weight underside is also very useful here. Short people get to learn how easy it is to bring the other down to their own size rather than be overwhelmed by size.

Anyway, as all has to be done from center and the hips then the reality of such increases, the awareness of alignment increases, the awareness of the basics increases. It's amazing to discover how the 'legs' get in the way of correct movement.

From tachi waza as I said the movement ideally should be an extension of suwari waza. So it's usually what you need to stop doing from tachi waza rather than looking for key differences in my opinion.

From the knees for example you can't do 'too many steps' for if you did you would topple over. You learn to glide more than up down steps.

In fact when I see up down motion through 'stepping or walking' I say that is a mind going up and down, not stable. Same goes for someone bouncing around in front of you 'sparring'.

Thus from standing minimum steps should be used, just like the motion in suwari waza. For example I would discipline someone to do a complete 180 degree tai sabaki which takes you around and behind the opponent to two steps only. Secondly to learn how to glide rather than step thus moving from center rather than head.

So really the only difference I would say is amount of space you can cover from standing in a shorter period of time and that's about all really. Suwari waza and indeed kokyu dosa give you eventually that stability and oneness feeling you should carry through to tachi waza.

Well they are my initial thoughts and responses to you question. Hope it helps.

Regards.G.

[nickregnier1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76wDVn9Hl0M

yes thanks I meant suwari waza. What are the principles of this posture anybody?

Just wanted to comment on the video showing suwari waza and hanmi handachi techniques, that I find the techniques brutal in my opinion. The techniques should be executed with control and LOOKING AFTER our partner not bashing him. Harmony should be found and in this video, I could not see this and the techniques seem rushed with little Zanchin in the end. That said, if these points were taken on board the teacher would execute very good techniques. (That is my opinion).
Coming back to the principles of Suwari Waza, I would say that the back is to be straight and the feet remain together and the movement forward should be done by bring one knee up and then the feet stay together for the backward movement the knees move together (without lift one knee up this time) and spread your knees sideways by keeping the back straight and keeping the same direction (keep your head facing forward whilst moving back or forward). Difficult to explain but easier to demonstrate here...

Hope this helps...

Regards,

Nick

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