Thread: goals
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Old 02-26-2012, 08:24 PM   #9
Gary David
 
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Location: Long Beach, CA
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Re: goals

Quote:
Mary Eastland wrote: View Post
You may agree or disagree...or you could talk about and describe your experience as I did and as Carsten did.
Mary
Let me describe the experience I had yesterday visiting John Clodig, a friend in the San Diego area just talking, drinking coffee and working on aspects to relaxation. It is John approach only through total relaxation can the body work as one and truly accomplish the things that we in Aikido claim as our goals. He also said, and this is my experience also, that any unwanted tension in the body as you are moving voids the benefits of being relaxed,,,,,,requiring a muscular forcing of the outcome. While it may not be popular with some on this forum, this is what Dan has been saying also. The other common theme here is the time and work needed to get to the continuous relaxtion while moving and that you have to take the right approach or you will never get there.

As I had brought up aiki age John used that as the model. I grabbed his wrists, held them the first time in a tight grip, braced myself to hold him down...and the next moment his hands were at my chest and his body was end to me with his center under mine. I was popped back several feet landing on shift legs. The next few times I changed my grip, settled myself, tried the one body approach, kept my shoulders down, flexed my knees.....all the things we strive to do.........I still could not feel him move, his hands were at my chest and I was moved back. The difference in the results was I didn't go as far and I had a soft landing. Next I tried to used my intent, trying to mover in and around John with it,,,,,, He still moved and moved me back......the only difference from John's perspective was I was doing something that made me more stable, but it didn't change the results. He said that he does not react to resistance, hence he does not generate in tension in himself and just moves without concern for me. Of course with me I had a hell of a time even getting my hands up without him stopping me. Years of practice with the correct approach.....

John also say that mechanically the grip he uses either aids the relaxation or it sets up tension in uke and normally then results in nage adding tension somewhere in their body and forcing a muscular manipulation.........all of what he is doing is not about manipulation. He uses a soft grip that uke does not respond to until the destabilization is to far gone. John slide his hand down my arm softly and then moved it across my body..... I couldn't stop it even when I knew it was coming. If he squeezed even a little I reacted and he couldn't move me. This all slow. Done at speed I would react to the clamp grip, but could not to the soft grip. This is why I am on this path even at this time in my life.

As for the video of the Ki Aikido that Carsten linked....I was in Ki Society back in the '70 and we had instructors who demonstration of Aikido was exactly the same, waving hands and the like. To me it is no more effective today and it was then.......keeping in mind that none of these folks had the training that Tohei Sensei had......

Just go straight

Gary
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