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Old 04-28-2014, 11:13 AM   #42
jonreading
 
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Dojo: Aikido South
Location: Johnson City, TN
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Aikido spear- Aikiso

If I am correctly reading Michael's comments, his critical opinion is a disconnect between kata and application, his argument being that transitioning the butt to the front would be less effective than maintaining the spearhead in front. If that's the case, I get where he is coming from. I think this critical observation is consistent with similar observations that kata may not match application. I can think of several military tactics of group deployment that would discourage this transition. But, I am not sure Chris is claiming he is working on battlefield tactics, nor that his kata are transferrable.

I have given up claiming to have any knowledge about actual weapons work. I've had my piece of humble pie just talking and interacting with some great individuals who work on this stuff. There are reasons for battlefield movement. I remember reading a history of warfare that referred to the importance of selecting a battlefield and positioning your troops with the wind to your back to cut the range of projectile weapons. Or the sun to your back. Or elevated ground. I remember talking to someone who advocated the sword entering the body only a few inches, the additional length simply taking longer to stick in and pull out (thus creating a greater duration of vulnerability). I think we are narrowly defining a greater spectrum of knowledge, which maybe could be better worded in criticism.

I think there is nothing wrong claiming what works and what doesn't, but that is a different argument in my mind. Most judo players competitively throw 3-5 throws, yet that does not discredit the collection of judo throws available for training. Rather, it simply highlights a group of throws more effective to the competitive environment.

I met Nolan Ryan as a [very] young pitcher. I asked him how to throw a curve ball like he did. He asked if I had a pretty good fastball. I said, "yes." He said, "then why do you need to throw a curveball?" Talking some of that advice, I often pitched predominantly fastballs until the hitters proved able to hit me. If Michael is simply claiming that the thrust is the predominant application of the spear, I can understand that perspective since I often held the same opinion in my athletics.

To Fred's point (and Keith's), I followed this thread with trepidation that someone who knows this stuff is simply going to read these comments and sigh. Michael, I read a lot of these posts as requests to clarify the scope of your point and not necessarily adversarial to your point. I think your recent confirmation to Carsten about the point you are trying to make may be a greater observation to re-state your claim, if you want to. To be honest, I am applying an conditional statement to my understanding of what you said...

Jon Reading
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