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A lot of the work I've been doing over the past month or so centers (pun!) on generating power -- ki -- during atemi and waza. A lot of that power is generated by sinking or dropping one's center during movement. This reminds me of what fighter pilots call "God's G." Fighter pilots make maneuvers that result in forces several times the normal pull of gravity. They measure those forces as "G-forces" or "Gs." Two Gs are twice the force of gravity, etc. But when flying straight and level -- or simply standing up -- there's 1 G. Pilot's use that 1 G, or God's G, to add energy to some maneuvers, or bleed energy away from others.
I can't help but see a parallel with the ki work I've been doing. Previously, I focused mostly on moving my center on a horizontal plane, but dropping my center and taking advantage of God' G adds significantly to the energy I can apply. A natural consequence of dropping my center is acceleration during technique that gives a change in tempo during waza.
Again, a lot of my previous study resulted in a focus on doing techniques smoothly and without cheating by speeding up to get ahead of uke. For that matter, uke were not supposed to get ahead of nage either. This is good training, and that sense of matching speed and giving an appropriate attack is very much a part of training at my new dojo. However, I'm realizing that working at an appropriate speed does not mean that every movement during the waza are done at the same speed!
Dropping my center gives more distance or more power to my movements (maybe both?), but also more speed, which in turn gives my attacker less time to develop a counter.
02-27-2009 06:18 AM 