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Old 03-17-2007, 06:13 PM   #1
sefie
Dojo: Glen Waverley
Location: Melbourne
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 21
Australia
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"One Point" - is it gone, or is it a matter of semantics?

When I first started training five years ago, my teachers used the phrase "to extend from your One Point", kind of around your solar plexus or "hara" (centre), when doing techniques. Since my return at the start of this year, I haven't heard this phrase once, but of course, there's a lot of "extending" and "using your entire body/shoulders/hips" to drive movement. The One Point was also mentioned in meditative exercises, like your One Point travelled horizontally during the rowing part of funekogi. There was another kokyu exercise where you imagined your energy pooling in the One Point, then expanding to encompass the universe.

Did something change in the aikikai style to remove the concept of the One Point, or is this just a matter of semantics to make aikido sound less... well... "hippy-like"? I still get the same feeling from doing techniques now than when I was concentrating on the One Point (wherever it was... ). In fact, it feels easier to imagine energy actively circulating through the body and extending out during a technique, rather than all of it originating from your centre.

Thoughts? Corrections?

Thanks!
- Diana
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