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Old 05-28-2014, 09:20 AM   #17
jonreading
 
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Dojo: Aikido South
Location: Johnson City, TN
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,209
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Re:

Quote:
Hugh Beyer wrote: View Post
I was mulling on this overnight, and I think it's our fault for misinterpreting the word "relax."

When does "relax" ever mean "go limp?" Ever ever ever? If you say to your kid who's keyed up about an exam, does that mean "lay back, don't try hard?" If a coach says to a gymnast before the big event "relax" does that mean "noodle your way through the routine?" If a baseball coach says to a batsman "relax" does that mean "swing the bat in a lackidaisical manner?" Why would we ever interpret "relax" in an Aikido context that way?
This is part of the interpretation fault. It is our fault. To answer your question, at some point in time, we allowed an authority to use the term and we did not challenge the context or require an explanation of the message. We bowed our head and said, "thank you," then proceeded to keep doing something. Before us, that authority received the same instruction from a predecessor and so on back to the original use, which meant something.

The problem is that "relax" itself is not knowledge; the phrase is a mnemonic device used to recall an inherited knowledge. When I played baseball, I never relaxed. When fielding, I assumed the athletic position. When batting, I assumed the athletic position. The athletic position was the knowledge, "relax" was just the device that allowed me to recall what I was doing. Visit a little league, you'll notice coach doesn't use mnemonic devices yet because the kids haven't inherited the knowledge. You'll still hear, "bend your knees," Keep your bottom down," "keep up your head," and "keep your bat back." These are all components of the athletic position, but the instruction is more precise.

Ultimately, the pessimist in me says that aikido chooses not to define this term, nor hold people accountable for their use of the term. I have been ranting about the deliberate absence of success metrics in aikido for a while, no need to get back on that soapbox. Relax is an adequate word to describe the education of proper body usage. But, I bet if you started a thread you could not find a consensus on what, why and how.

"Relax" is aikido's version of "Smurf." There is more variation in the usage and meaning and context of that term that you can quantify.

Smurf into your stance
Smurf when you throw
Smurf when you receive
Smurf your breathing
The secret to kokyu dosa is smurfing
Smurf your shoulders
You need to smurf
It's not like smurfing into a La-z-boy
You're not smurfing enough

See? It works.

Jon Reading
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