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Old 02-28-2008, 12:07 PM   #164
Tom H.
Location: Rhode Island
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 72
United_States
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Re: Workshop with Mike Sigman on Ki in Aikido

Quote:
Blake Holtzen wrote: View Post
How does one establish a groundpath to neutralize an incoming push when there is no back leg? So if someone was in a parallel horse stance and someone pushed them at 90 degrees on their chest, how would one ground that?
I think it's the same thing, just a little bit more difficult. Your intention sends the incoming push straight to the ground; who cares what shape your body is in (Easy to say and hard to do).

Caveat: I wasn't at the workshop.

Try a progression like this:
* Start in 50/50 weighted hanmi
* Receive a push through an extended arm.
* Check to make sure you're relaxed and grounding.
* Take your arm out of the equation and receive the push directly on your chest. Make sure it's going to the ground.
* Shift your weight over your back foot. Keep receiving to ground.
* Lift your front foot off the ground. Keep receiving to ground.
* Set down your front foot parallel to the weighted back foot. Keep receiving to ground.
* You are now receiving a push in a parallel stance.

The idea is to find a progression of baby steps. Try this sequence or make up your own. Identify where you fail. Try to move the point of failure back; maybe it's when you shift your weight, or maybe you fail while lifting your foot because you can't lift without disturbing your spine. Those are examples. Keeping the force gentle will help isolate the mind control ("intent") component of the failure. Think of it as something akin to a mental block; you already know how to ground, just in limited circumstances.

Spend a couple hours working on this with a partner to see how far you can take it. Revisit again in a week or two. See how much force you can receive before you fail. See if you can push that limit back as well.

I think that once you get far enough along your body will kind of realize that it can remain connected (grounding can be a decent test of that connection) somewhat irrespective of where your limbs, your weight, and the incoming force are.

Like Ron says, particular imagery may help muster the proper intent. "Your imagine must be full," as one Chinese guy puts it.

Last edited by Tom H. : 02-28-2008 at 12:12 PM.
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