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Old 07-29-2012, 06:56 PM   #104
gregstec
Dojo: Aiki Kurabu
Location: Elizabethtown, PA
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,110
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Re: hips and shoulders

Quote:
Matthew Gano wrote: View Post
I don't know if I'm helping here, and I apologize if I'm just adding to the distraction, but here's what I have to offer:
I've included hyperlinks to the quote I took of Dan's. I don't know how he could get more clear in expressing how some folks in Aikido do/did indeed express the aiki he talks about (which relates to how to connect and use the hips and shoulders). His argument seems to be that somewhere in the huge expansion of Aikido, the internal methods/relationships were generally missed or otherwise not brought to the forefront. If the internal relationships aren't present or aren't present enough, I can see how understanding things like hip and shoulder relationships might be hit-or-miss, or might not be as well understood as "should" be...of course "should" will also depend on inividual standards and people are entitled to whatever standards they want. Recognizing we will each have our own metrics involved, let's appreciate honest opinions given for their honest intent. Even if an opinion is wrong I don't believe it matters much. All that matters is how we approach our own training and an honest opinion given is yet one more area for us to consider on our own path, whatever it may be.

I'm adding this video of Gleason Sensei, not because of any clue I may or may not have about what it demonstrates, but because I know he's trained in the way Dan is talking about. This video is about 3 years old though so I have no idea how representative it is. However, I really like the first part which I think shows some interesting "shoulder" application.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMRxbSoal-0

Sincerely,
Matt
p.s. I'm adding this video also because I think it provides a great description and example to observe...although, again, I'm very ignorant so make no claim of understanding what I'm seeing
.
Good example of a non-Japanese senior Aikidoka with connection - it is all in the video for those that know what to look for. Absolutely no one else looks the same as Bill after the first half turns to a group session; everyone else is trying to mimic Bill's movements by blending externally with uke; no one else has any internal connection to start with. This video is three years old; Bill is even more connected today

Greg
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