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Old 06-05-2003, 06:13 AM   #27
rachmass
Dojo: Aikido of Cincinnati/Huron Valley Aikikai
Location: Somerset Michigan
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 794
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Hi Jeff,

thank you for explaining this, and I am sorry again that I haven't read the other posts on this thread. McGinnis Sensei worked on what he called tentai (spelling?) movements where you got a low stance and pivoted from one side to the other moving as much distance as possible (on switching from one side to the other) and showed us how that affected both kotegaeshi and shihonage. His emphasis was on hip movement. The kotegaeshi was hard for me to do, but the shihonage was exactly as I was taught, so that one came naturally. Interestingly enough, I find that it is much more comfortable to be pinned in shihonage than to be projected out. It all depends on your upbringing. The shihonage with pin is a very strong technique if done properly, and you do have to learn how to move your body into it as uke, and not to turn away from nage. In any case, McGinnis Sensei has a yoshinkan background and has extremely strong aikido. I find him a terrific teacher also in that much of what he shows has direct bearing to a smaller nage, and shows how much power you can generate even if you are small in stature. One of these is the thumb grab you talk about in shihonage, that really forces uke to move, even if uke doesn't want to!

Thanks for writing back and reitterating what you had in the thread, as I was lazy (still haven't read the other posts), and had just caught part of your topic. Didn't perceive it as apologetic, just explanatory. Thanks again,

Rachel
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