Thanks, Joep! That's fascinating, that Yamada Sensei and Tamura Sensei were teaching something related to Qigong. Personally, I found what I did remember very useful for many reasons. Balance, kokyu ryoku, being centered, keeping shoulders down, etc. etc. "all that good stuff" as we say over here. Here I was, at our little YMCA class passing on a bit of Qigong I learned from one of my first Aikido teachers, and at whose dojo I spent the most time...
Oh, by the way, I mentioned being elderly, yes I am, but Yamada Sensei who is older than I by about six years is not elderly, I was thinking of adding later as a correction to my post. I think it may be because of that Qigong. Seriously, I think he always had all that power I was a bit afraid of taking ukemi. I remember one time my friend Edith and I had gotten bronchitis and bowed a little too long and I think Sensei got annoyed we were chickening out....
Fortunate to be in the dojo before things became more crowded there, but my ukemi was not as good as many people. But as far as the power is concerned, my husband, who has studied Shotokan and kung fu, says I picked up some of the power from Aikido, he notices it when he does any of the little tests ....
But for now, it seems to be one of the ways to get back in training and I am grateful to have been able to pick it up somewhat and work on it years later. It was valuable back at the Y, too.
Thanks again, Joep, I will check out your other posts when I have a chance...
