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Old 07-13-2009, 08:18 AM   #8
Mike Sigman
Location: Durango, CO
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,123
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Re: Attention & Intention - Receiving and Projecting

Quote:
Blair Presson wrote: View Post
Is what you are referring to here part of what is often classified as internal part of the six harmonies?

The Three Internal Harmonies being:

Your spirit or "emotional mind" (xin) harmonises with your intention (yi)
Your intention harmonizes with your breath and physical momentum ("qi")
Your breath and physical momentum harmonise with your physical strength (li)
I'm not really sure that six-harmonies movement totally applies to Aikido, although it is difficult to rule it totally out because of the attendant logic about jin/kokyu-forces. There is always a little bit of everything that will happen if even one factor is legitimately used in the equation.

The three internal harmonies might be better expressed like:

The heart (Xin) leads the mind (you have a desire to move and that desire triggers the mind), the mind leads the qi (this is easy to show physically but too hard to write), the qi leads the strength.

If it is the correct strength that is led/manifested, then it is the jin, which is considered to be a physical manifestation of the qi/ki. "Kokyu" strength is just jin that is developed/accompanied by the power of the body that is developed through breathing exercises, stretches, correct practice, and so forth.

In terms of "alignment" being a big factor, I'd say that such a comment is misleading, if we're talking about the ki/kokyu strengths. Take for instance the photographs of Tohei being pushed by an Uke while Tohei has his back turned, is leaning over, on one leg, and so forth: it's not "alignment" he's using, but "intent". And "intent" means to use the type of strength being discussed in the internal three harmonies.

FWIW, if Aikido used the full six-harmonies, I think Aikido movement would look quite different. Again, though, it's a matter of levels and gradations of these skills.

YMMV

Mike Sigman
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