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Old 11-25-2009, 07:37 AM   #12
davidafindlay
Dojo: Shodokan
Location: London, UK
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 52
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Re: Tanden Usage in Aikido - re Tetsutaka Sugawara

Quote:
Ellis Amdur wrote: View Post
Larry - don't know if you are having a little fun at everyone's expense (ala HIPS) - because I recall it was Tomiki sensei who postulated (I cannot remember the exact wording) - "The whole body as a sword"). I take this to mean that although, form him, tegatana is a good starting point, training device, any point of the body can manifest "IT"
How about another take on it - one perhaps less metaphorical…

IIRC Shodokan hombu dojo lore has Tomiki remembered as saying "there is one technique" and indicating to "tegatana" (handblade) ie the forearm to the tip of little finger. Lets say tegatana means this physical section, not the whole body. Could Tomiki be referring to hiriki - ie referring to the place where kokyu "enters" the arm - at the elbow - and everything from there down is a basic / fundamental manifestation of kokyu?

Further food for thought from:
http://aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15198
The expression "Kokyu wo ire" means "show sprit" use in 37 passages in the 147 techniques. Based on examination of these 37 passages, this expression refers to the usage of the hand blade(s) in order to break balance, and it is the same as the skill of aiki, which is, in Daito-ryu, the skill of breaking an opponent's balance in a flash by straining hand(s).
IMO the shodokan kihon kozo at the beginning of every class (a set of nine exercises) are to essentially train the use of tegatana (/hiriki) - not that they're really advertised as such - amongst other stuff perhaps like timing etc. Two exercises are specifically called hiriki-no-yosei.

I do wonder what "straining" hands might be in Japanese though... maybe furishibori ie to muster (strength) ... ie marshal kokyu/jin in the body?

Edit: If "tegatana" became Tomiki's parlance for "hiriki" (kokyu), then a natural progression would be for "the whole body to be a sword"... though I think this might be getting a bit tenuous.

Thoughts?

Cheers,
Dave

Dave Findlay
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