Aristeia

Nice post Don. I think we're all talking about more or less the same thing. Eric calls it musubi, we call it timing. Same concepts.
To get this slightly back to the original topic - I spent alot of time working witht he concept of just responding to the attacker with no preset mind in Aikido classes. I encouraged my students to try and invent their own aikido as it happened rather than look for a technique. It worked moderately well. What I found really accelerated my ability to stay in the moment and take what is given was when I started sparring in grappling. I found that environment much more conducive (after a teething period) to developing that mindset. Maybe that's just me <shrug>

Good discussion.