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Old 07-30-2013, 09:54 AM   #16
Budd
 
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Dojo: Taikyoku Budo & Kiko - NY, PA, MD
Location: Greater Philadelphia Area
Join Date: Aug 2003
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Re: What is Aiki? Introduction to a method of analyzing Aiki. (Part 3)

I dunno, it could be just as likely the speaker is trying to get at the point of saying "disregard the hands, connect the insides and put power here (the middle)". Translations and intentions get tricky, so I don't see the value in speculating too much whether he was intentionally obscuring things versus not having the vocabulary to articulate what's going on. I think there's more value in offering some input into what's missing (as opposed to proclaiming one's bonafides).

To use my own example, I'd say an important starting point is learning to connect one's body - HOW you do it may depend on your style and or desirable end result (wielding weapons, holding postures, etc.) but the general theme is that the body is connected together (bones, skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments) in such a way that when one part moves, all parts move (that movement may be big and visible or hidden). Certain postures, breathing, movements and light pressure practices can aid in learning to connect one's body (which is why many styles have practices that are common, with understandable twists [hehe pun], across systems - while also having their own proprietary methods).

Putting power in the middle - if your body is connected in the way I start to describe, you can then draw upon more of the body's whole power to achieve things that seem either really strong, unusually strong, explosively strong, etc (depending on ability, conditioning, skill, etc.) and you can access that strength from seemingly strange positions, partly because you generate and source that strength (legs, middle, back) in a way that might seem counterintuitive e.g. move the middle down the leg to move the hand (it's CONNECTED you see??), but wait, you said HAND!! Darn, I meant . . yeah, language can sometimes get difficult, even when we're both speaking English.

But then I think that's where some of the disconnects still reside in describing this stuff, internal strength, aiki, training practices of them versus applications of them.
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