Thread: The Way of Aiki
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Old 10-05-2013, 10:19 PM   #151
Lee Salzman
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 406
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Re: The Way of Aiki

Quote:
Cady Goldfield wrote: View Post
Working the 6 directions pulls (and pushes) you into alignment. It's inherent in the exercise, as I said before. You just aren't thinking about it, because you're working those 6 directions. You can put yourself out of alignment intentionally if you want, and can use the cross-body tensions to maintain your structure to some extent, but again, the exercise is not just "one thing."
Cady, I would be lying if I said working moving intent does not also work structure as an integral part of it. But at the same time, the focus must be on moving intent, otherwise all one is doing is external "IMA". It's moving intent that creates all the weird effects on contact, that allows us to fall apart structurally but still effect people. The structure is not a requirement, so it does not seem a good idea to become terribly attached to it, especially because in the limit, it just gives you a sort of hard power that, while strong, is still going to become undone by soft power. Structure stagnates, intent moves.
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