Quote:
Matthew Gano wrote:
 Sorry, Dan, I'm trying to understand, but I'm having a hard time following: Reading what you described about gradually increasing intensity seems like a case where cooperative training is being practiced. It's not overly-cooperative where anything one person trys gets a pass, but in order to let someone work on something using your body as the "target" strikes me as cooperative in nature. Taking into account the other myriad goals individuals might have, I'm confused how there isn't anything mutual going on if you don't already know how to move like O Sensei.
Aything you would be willing to add would be appreciated!
Take care,
Matt |
I think the idea here is simply this: a connected body (which is not aiki, but presumably is a stepping stone to it) is the most fundamental aspect of cooperation, harmony, love, mutual, yada yada, bla bla. If you can't even make, say, your foot cooperate with your hip or your hand, then how is your body going to even begin to cooperate with another body?
You can't be a hornet's nest of unconscious bad movement habits, or you will take your own body apart in movement, well before anyone else does it to you, or you can even attempt to do it to anyone else. In a sense, every bad disconnected movement habit that comes out as a result of you doing something to them is actually, counter-intuitively, them controlling you. You have to practice erasing that a lot in solo practice, dojo practice won't efficiently fix it by itself.
There was some video of O'Sensei with Terry Dobson where he states something along the lines of "We must put our own houses in order..." So, now, if you haven't, and you talk of harmony, what then?