Hi Joe
No...not really. It doesn't help at all. Why? There is nowhere he isn't employing aiki. Aiki precedes awase and is a constant.
Here:
When asked, his students claimed that when he was escorted on to a mat he had "old man sagging muscles, but when he stepped on the mat, it was like he inflated and became hard as iron."
Why?
How?
What does it mean?
How do you do it?
WHY...would you do it?
How come no one is doing it?
Why isn't it taught in Ueshiba's Aikido?
Why wasn't it researched?
How come no one seems to know- it is an actual teaching and body skill?
What affect does it have on incoming forces?
How does it perfectly match what....he...actually said to do?
How does it resolve your question, this thread and really, three separate threads going on right now?
Any guesses?
Dan