Janet Rosen

 

I tried the shoulder and tuck thing with a little bokken work and tai sabaki this morning. An interesting thing happened: One of my former teachers in SF, Elaine Yoder, was often reminding us to have an awareness of our backs and of the fullness of the space behind our backs as we moved. With these musculoskeletal adjustments, I accomplished that feeling without having to resort to visualization/metaphor.
If I could train tonight I'd try it at the dojo w/ partners attached to self; unfortunately residual from today's dental work means I'll have a wait a couple of days...