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Old 09-02-2009, 05:42 PM   #23
Walter Martindale
Location: Edmonton, AB
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 802
Canada
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Re: Inefficiencies in the Aikido Training Method

Hmm. Not sure what is meant by "internal training" but am interested.
My thoughts on the "inefficiency" of training/learning in Aikido is that it's sort of the nature of the beast, and the effectiveness of the learning, and the subsequent effectiveness of Aikido in "encounters" depends to a great degree on the understanding of the learning process, and the understanding of movement principles by the instructor/sensei/sempai/ whomever.

Aikido - in sports terms, would be called an "open" sport - (I know it's not a sport unless you're at Tomiki), where, in reality, you should be able to deal with randomly timed attacks, organised in a random fashion (i.e., no particular order to the sequence of attacks) - maintain "centre" for lack of a better term, and stay in control. "Closed" sports are where you're not having to interact with constantly changing conditions and not having to respond directly to "attacks" - a cross-court topspin drive, or an opponent trying to push a fist through your nose. Rowing or shotput could be considered "closed". Boxing, tennis, volleyball, and the combatives (to name a few) would be called "open" - the skill you're about to execute is dependent on what your opponent does, even if you're dictating the play.

For example, you wouldn't "receive" a tsuki to the tummy quite the same way as you'd "receive" a yokomenuchi. If you don't know what uke is going to present to you before the attack starts, it could be considered "open" practice, or "randomized" practice. If you do know what's coming, it could be considered "closed" or "blocked" practice.

In most training situations that I've seen, the dojo does "blocked" practice - you do a "block" of shomen-uchi - Iriminage, then you do a "block" of something else...

This is relatively efficient at learning a particular technique through repetition, and will be more efficient if the movements are done with good tai-sabaki/movement and good biomechanical principles of movement. It is relatively inefficient, however, at learning to deal with what might happen "out there." You can sleep-walk through another round of shomen-uchi-ikkyo if you're doing the same thing for the 10th minute straight.

Any movements you're learning, whether they're good movements or inefficient/inaccurate movements, you're learning them better each time you do them. You can get good at doing something bad, or you can get good at doing something good - your brain doesn't care, it just learns, and if your learning of bad movements don't lead to overuse injuries, you might have to wait until you're in a "situation" before you learn that what you've learned isn't worth all the money you've spent on an obi, let alone the years of dojo fees.

Randomized training, also called "decision" training, presents the person with no prior knowledge of what's coming - whether it's a slider, fastball, or curve during baseball batting practice; a drop, smash, or attacking clear in badminton; hook, jab, uppercut, or body shot in boxing; or tanto-tsuki, te-gatana shomen, or whatever in Aikido.

Initially, this random attack situation is quite scary, but it does a few things - first - it requires and depends on the Nage having good balance and movement principles. You can't sleep walk through it because you don't know what's coming next until it's on its way.

So your attention / focus goes up a few notches. Then you start watching/noticing farther and farther back in to the attack for the little telltale signs about what's coming. That might be where O-Sensei's "doka" about the attacker's fists telling you where the attack's coming, rather than watching the weapon.

Researchers who study learning say that "randomized" training or "decision" training is better learning, despite its being slower at the start. People who learn by "blocked" training develop more quickly, initially, but then they get passed by the ones in "decision" training.

So - it MIGHT make sense to do combined training sessions - spend some time each day on "movement principles", then a little "blocked" practice of something new, then straight into randomized/decision training.

An example might be - these guys are going to attack with - whatever - and today you use Ikkyo, no matter what the attack. Next time it might be "today you use kotegaeshi, no matter what the attack" and so on. Initially, the practice might be a bit slower, but as the person gets better at reading the attack farther and farther back to the attacker's initiation of the attack, (and perhaps forces an attack by setting up and/or entering a particular way (is that like taking charge of the OODA loop?), the learning starts striding past the "blocked" practice sessions, and what's learned is also more "robust" - more able to stand the test of time where there's no practice, and the test of "stress" where the floor is slippery, or there are more attackers, or the weapons used aren't traditional aikido weapons. Or - maybe even "real" attacks.. "combat" instead of "competition" or "training"...

The other thing that most of these researchers say is that it takes about 10,000 hours of "deliberate practice", or about 10 years at 3 hours a day, to "master" anything, be it language, sports skills, musical instrument, or whatever. Kids learn to run - but they spend most of their time growing up running around/playing/walking, etc., and they get their 10,000 hours of locomotion a lot faster than 10 years. My own Aikido adventure has been very slow.

So much for a short comment - Back to work.... Hope this didn't wander too far off topic.
W

Last edited by Walter Martindale : 09-02-2009 at 05:49 PM. Reason: grammar, spelling, punctuation - random rubbish like that
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