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Old 10-13-2009, 10:06 AM   #26
Michael Phillips
Location: Camden, New Jersey
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 12
United_States
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Re: Internal Training in Aikido in Colorado Springs/Denver?

Hi Josh,

"looking back do you see signposts that you didn't then understand?"

I'm not sure. I'm still processing what I saw and felt. It was so different. Probably the closest to this was some of the stuff I felt from Kobayashi sensei, but that was a long time ago and I was very young. I believe Threadgill sensei is doing someing else too. It's very difficult to describe in words. Pressing one arm, palm to palm, through a jo...I couldn't budge the guy. This was something new to me.

"-looking back, do you feel betrayed?"

Not betrayed. I don't think there has been any malicious attempt to withold or deny anything. I just think the combination of depth of understanding and cultural difficulties with knowledge passing has created a void. This has been magnified by the uke/tori relationship where overly cooperative training means we are never training against full resistance. I'm telling you, I really put the juice on Threagill sensei and he walked right through me. It was mind blowing given our size difference. Without a training partner who really resists, how can you learn to do what Threadgill sensei is doing? I asked him this very question and his answer was excellent but so complex I'm not sure I can describe it adequately. Essentially in his art they have a sliding scale that ultimately ends up in full force resistence. He told me one of his top students is the chief instructor of JAA Tomiki under Tanaka sensei in Denver and he said their experience with full resistence in Tomiki has been a big factor in this students progress. Interestingly Threagill sensei was very complimentary of Hiroshi Ikeda's internal skills. Given what Threadgill sensei told me, someone should host these guys together. That would be quite a learning opportunity.

"looking back, do you think you needed to go through all your training only to understand the value of what it is you now see?"

To some degree, yes. I wouldn't give up my past experience but I do wish I had access to this type of skill earlier. I am still confident that some people have pieces of this puzzle in aikido but they have not gathered them together the way Threadgill sensei and some other guys like Akuzawa have. I think the problem is endemic with aikido's method of knowledge transmission. How many times do our teachers, especially highly ranked teachers, take ukemi from their students? I've never had someone as highly ranked as Kobayashi or Utada take ukemi from me. Threadgill sensei was talking ukemi from me so he could feel me and correct me. Always being the uke to a senior tori is inherently limiting if you think about it.

"looking forwards, would you change the way you train?

I think I've answered that in the affirmative.

"do you see that some teachers that you thought had 'IT' in fact do?"

Yes. I think Kobayashi and Saito did. I think Okamoto does. But, have they taught it? I'm not so sure. I felt Pat Hendricks once and was impressed with her power given her small size but I think I could have overpowered her If I had wanted to. Her power generation was very direct like Saito's. Kobayashi's was much more elusive, like Threadgill sensei's.

"did you by chance speak about a book that he was to write with Shingo Ohgami?"

No. Who is Shingo Ohgami? Man, I'm buying the book!

Michael Phillips
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