Quote:
Gary Welborn wrote:
Ron
The issue for me has never been that the four principles were not descriptions of complex and very useful ideas, rather that the few words to relate them to the general population didn't provide much. The exercises used to connect these ideas to how the body mind worked and worked together were not very helpful either. I remember having graded individuals working us with exercises that I am only now seeing had value, only have value when trained in ways that include having all the blue prints, drawings, reference notes, change drawings, comments, peer reviews, interaction with folks that actually have the skills....all of it. What we got was a picture of the airplane and maybe a ride in it.
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Hi Gary -
I was fortunate when I started training in that Sensei always tied the theory and ideas back to physically feeling what was going on inside as we trained. So when he would tell me to keep one point and then test me by pushing on me he would always have me examine how I felt. Increasing pressure and varying the nature of the applied stress allowed me to become familiar with the different ways I could respond to applied force. When I started to realize the nature of correct feeling as it related to how I felt, I began to see that the phrase was an invocation to call forth the feeling. It's the model I continue to use today in teaching and training.
I think that "Ki testing" is an unfortunate phrase to use in describing the internal work we do. "Exercising Ki", of which Ki testing is only a part, is more accurate in my opinion.
Best,
Ron