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Old 07-31-2013, 01:15 PM   #22
Gerardo Torres
Location: SF Bay Area
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 197
United_States
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Re: What is Aiki? Introduction to a method of analyzing Aiki. (Part 3)

I personally would not to draw any conclusions from isolated models of aiki as presented in these articles and in many posts here in Aikiweb (they can be useful if you have the required background) -- physics diagrams, "lever" actions, any focus on a particular body part (toes, wrists, etc.) -- because unless you've been educated in the whole-body model they're meaningless as learning tools (and can mislead others into "oh I already do that" type responses). Take for example the Sagawa-related diagram showing the forces balancing on a "support". Looks easy, but without a background discussion of dantian/hara and connection, any mention of "support" is meaningless. The way I see it any illustration of say an arm interacting with a force should be accompanied with a whole-body model explanation of how aiki is enabled and can be expressed via the arm: what the other arm is doing, what the legs, dantian, spine, etc., are doing. Yeah, it's a lot of academic work and perhaps unfeasible to go into that level of detail, but that's why it has to be learned in person (IHTBF ).
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