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Old 04-22-2008, 12:21 PM   #15
Chris Parkerson
Dojo: Academy of the Martial Arts
Location: ohio
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 740
United_States
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Re: Daito Ryu, Yoshinkan, Taichi & Secrets

Quote:
Blake Holtzen wrote: View Post
It seems to me that the heavy weighted thing is a specialty of shioda. Many of his dvds show him simply touching a student then a small sudden "heavy weighting" and student faceplants.
-Blake
I tend to call this "heavy Hands" but it is really not about the hands. It is about sequential relaxation and letting gravity take over. Direction is placed with intent and mild body directioning. Thus, I use a sequence as said before, that the mind directs the body and (when uninhibited by tension) momentum/Ki follows.

Here is a clip of heavy hands dropping uke while he is in motion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsYgtrcu1E4

It is a bit harder to do it when uke is static. I have had a lot of success with it over the years and have even developed a form of "vibrating palm" striking from in the process.

I will do a video of it this week if you like. The problem with videoing it is that you have to make the circle so small to accomplish the task that it isn't picked up on video and people will not believe it.

But you can begin the process with a simple small-circle Daito-style throw.

Lightly grasp the two lapels of uke. Relax your body and let the direction come out of your arms like a sword cut. Do not force it. Cut through butter in your mind. I demonstrated this on Sensei Ledyard at Oberland seminar when we were one-on-one and free speaking. (He is certainly a true gentleman.)

Once relaxed, you will feel the compression of the joints. Then move your lower body with a focus on uke's center moving to one of the known throwing points in his posture. Then drop more weight there with your body and your mind. Do not force it, let gravity do it.

Do not watch for the Ikkyo Curve. This is something different as Ikkyo Curve is about a connection the upper torso that places direction with a larger Aikido-style circle. Go directly to the pelvic girdle with compression and then give it direction. Now you are in the small Daito circle. You might see that the shoulders do follow the Ikkyo curve when you do this. But concentrate on this pelvic girdle connection.

You may find that your hips have to "wiggle" in order to accomplish this throw. But the wiggle must effect uke's hips.

In time, you can make this throw so small that you simply drop your hand on a shoulder or lightly place your hand on the shoulder and the whole process occurs. You touch the uke and he falls down.

I will cut some video this week of several stages of the process, unless I start to get blasted by the critics again.
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