I've come to notice more and more when I'm training partnered weapons kata that some interesting things are occurring... but I'm at a bit of a loss of how to understand it. I was hoping I might seek some assistance and clarification on this from the community here.
Quite often if I have an engaged and present training partner I'm starting to get a feeling or perception of when they are going to begin their attack, prior to any physical movement or engagement. Its hard to explain exactly whats going on, but when it does occur I tend to begin my movement/waza and if the timing is good I have a slight lead or advantage... if its bad I tend be way far ahead and catch the other person off guard.
Recently I've been attempting to work through John Thomas Reads book... Aikido, Aikibojitsu, and the Structure of Natural Law. In that work he speaks about things such as pre formal intent, and the phase lead of Aiki. I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps this is the same thing I'm experiencing.... albeit in a very limited fashion.
So I was hoping to ask the following...
- Is there a term used in Aikido for this type of dynamic?
- Is the book by Read Sensei a good resource for me to explore this further, or am I a bit off the mark?
I'd be interested to hear your experiences and perspectives.
TW