I Was Wrong
 

In regards to IP/IS I was an extreme skeptic. After spending a weekend training with Mr. Popkin I readily admit I was completely wrong. If you have an opportunity to train with him or Joe Brogna, run, don't walk. He had great things to say about Dan Harden as well.

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Train more, post less. It will be alright. Winding, winding, spiral - puuuulllllling and back bow (trust me - this is way funny in person).

Re: I Was Wrong
 

come on! he couldn't have known about those stuffs. he spent most of his time fishing, and not even good at it! everyone knows that fishing involved the use of explosive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSEuD...eature=related therefore, his knowledge of IP/IS is suspect :D

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Don't worry, the same thing happened to me. :D

Best,

Chris

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Me too. I thought it was all B.S.
Then I learned
Then...I thought the model was a secret to one art!!
Then two.
Oops!! :o
Dan

Re: I Was Wrong
 

That's why I love live:
There are gates to be opened.
In a lot of senses.
Everyday.
Change.

Sorry for my english. In German this could be a poem ... :-)))

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Welcome to the club :)

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Yup, the real pickle is so what are you going to do now?

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Beer, and a lot of it. Might not help, but it can't hurt, right? :D

Best,

Chris

Re: I Was Wrong
 

I try not get stuck in a rut, so I switch between beer, sake, red wine and some nice mixed drinks......:D

Regards,

Marc Abrams

Re: I Was Wrong
 

That's all fine and dandy but meanwhile I'll be stuck sipping Chardonnay with mr. DH the next couple of days....that's what this IP/Aiki fest seems to call for. And I like my beer...:(
Cheers

Re: I Was Wrong
 

I have never been wrong in my life - just not as enlightened as I should have been on many occasions is more like it :D

Greg

Re: I Was Wrong
 

All within the same hour too - you lush :D

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Hey! I resemble that re-marc ;)

Regards,

Marc Abrams

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Oh, you are just so cute when you get witty :crazy:

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Hi Richard- I love me a story. Any chance you can describe a little more the change of heart that you experienced? Was it sudden, like he told you to grab his wrist, and then he shocked and amazed you? Or was it more of a cumulative revalation? Thanks!

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Thanks for the kind words :)

Great group !!! Lots of hard work .

Hope to see you guys soon,

Best wishes,

Howard

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Nah.... before "the others" were wrong.... & now.... "they" are still wrong.... :-)
enjoy
SC

Re: I Was Wrong
 

I was a bit dumbfounded from the get-go. He started off by having us show one of our basic waza and then he showed us what it was like with "aiki". We can get it to work even with a great deal of resistance, but he did it against full resistance seemingly effortlessly. Everything else was just as impressive. His abilitiy to "connect to the ground" was unbelievable. The experience made me reconsider a lot of my views.

I have to say though, the fact that he is down the earth and seems genuinely interested in helping others improve made it such a good experience.

Re: I Was Wrong
 

once Ithought Iwas wrong,but Iwas mistaken

Re: I Was Wrong
 

So, it was aikido, but better? You mention his connection with the ground, and ability to easily perform techniques against profoundly resistant partners. Can you go into more detail?

Most importantly, was he able to convey to you how he did those things? Did he teach you what to do, and have you been able to apply what you were taught effectively?

I am interested. If I had the free time from work, I'd check out a seminar for sure. Folks I know and respect are saying good things about the folks teaching these seminars, but are not saying that they have taken useful stuff out of the seminars and applying the techniques in their own practice. So I am not fully sold on the idea yet. Can you provide anything that would tip the balance?

Re: I Was Wrong
 

That's because it can't be done. :D

Not that there won't be things that you can immediately add on, but basically speaking, this stuff is not an add-on. It's not some extra tricks and twists that you can add on to your regular training and go along on your way.

What we're talking about is a fundamental change in the way that you use and condition your body - that change affects everything else and, eventually, is expressed in the technique (it does take some time).

So...rather than doing an "Aiki technique", you do Aiki and the technique expresses that quality of your body (and mind). If that makes sense...

Best thing is to go try it out! Alan Beebe can't be too far from you, and Dan gets down there.

Best,

Chris

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Howard Popkin Sensei and Joe Brogna Senseis are also frequently in the Seattle.
I know it's a fair distance from you, but they are truely excellent teachers.

Pat

Re: I Was Wrong
 

Good questions. I don't want to speak out of place, but he did provide us with specific exercises to develop these "abilities". We are in the process of joining the Ginjukai as a study group (consisting of both Aikikai and Dentokan members) to try and further develop these skills under Mr. Popkin's guidance.

While I most certainly won't claim to have developed any "aiki" skills after a mere two days or introduction/practice I find myself at a place where:

1. I know it isn't BS
2. It can be clearly applied to my Jujutsu waza (or more accurately my waza applied to it)
3. My waza will always be severely lacking without it

As I mentioned before I was completely skeptical of the whole IP/IS argument. I expected Mr. Popkin to simply have polished, excellent Jujutsu. It was much more than that. I think the entire weekend he only showed us one kata from Daitoryu. As much as I hate to say this, it has to be felt.

Interestingly I felt more correlation between what Mr. Popkin does and my Iai than I do with my current Jujutsu practice.

Re: I Was Wrong
 

I am not looking for add-ons to my technique. I have twenty shitty tricks to make my uke move or hurt more, and I am looking to rid my aikido of those tricks in favor of clean, effective technique. I see what you're saying, move the body differently, ingrain different internal responses to stimulus, and the techniques will naturally change, and you believe they will be more effective and flow more naturally from the stimulus. I am way alright with that. I'd like to learn more about that.

But at the end of the day, yes I am looking to learn that to improve my aikido, in the sense that I am making something that is me and mine, and I will use it in my life, and my expression of my physicality, my way through life with energy that works well. Not as an add-on, but as a change in foundation. And to impress the hot chicks in my aikido class. And beer.

Yes, It Has To Be Felt. When several of my friends are telling me something is the goods, and I read other folks saying they're having good results, I am curious, and want a look. I'm still going to be a skeptic, the metaphors better just be metaphors and be useful metaphors, and I had better feel a quantitative as well as qualitative difference. But I will give it a look. Thanks for avoiding any hucksterism or condescension.