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Old 02-11-2012, 03:43 PM   #5
Rupert Atkinson
 
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Dojo: Wherever I am.
Location: New Zealand
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,013
United Kingdom
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Re: What do you call "technique"?

Technique for me is just going thru the motions using crafty leverage. It is what people do for kyu grades etc. It is grabbing uke's arm and doing something to him. Many never get beyond this - though they do get better at it, just not beyond. After doing lots of kokyu-nage, your technique will change - it will have kokyu-ryoku in it. But it will not change if you are one of those types that sticks to the syllabus like the syllabus is god. Then, after analysing it some, you discover lines of power, lines of weakness, balance, directions, circles, etc, and you begin to rediscover. And finally, you start taking uke's energy into consideration and then you will develop an aiki bent. To an observer, your 'technique' might look like a standard technique, but it will not be so. If you are smart, you will realise that you cannot teach at this level. The mistake that many make is to teach from where they are at right now - they fail to realise that students need to go thru a process, just as they did. Unfortuantely, there is no process built into the Aikido system, and therefore, it is not a system. Process in Aikdio is accidental and can only be found by those that seek, and then, only by chance because they do not know what they seek. They only know that something is lacking, so they seek.

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