Quote:
Matthew Gano wrote:
What do you folks think about the idea of uke "dialing it back"? What are good things to keep in mind for that and when it is not a good idea to do? In my own sense of ukemi, I'm always trying to reach through my structure (from hara outward) to create enough slack for kaeshi, but then not perform kaeshi. As long as I'm reaching through my structure into the connection with nage, i almost feel like I can't really do any wrong as uke...not that that is the reality of things of course.
Another thought I've been having lately as to why some folks might tank more than others (myself probably being one of them) is having a heavier focus on ukemi (which is itself a practice in yielding powerfully). Obviously we don't want to sieze up when nage has superior positioning/power, so we yield and try to move with nage...that's my take on ukemi at any rate. If you talk to a lot of folks they describe themselves as focusing more heavily on one role than another and i wonder if "tankers" might be more likely to identify with the uke side of things. Any observations or thoughts on those ideas? I'd appreciate it.
Take care all,
Matt
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Well, I ain't no tanker, but I sure do focus on the ukemi side of things. For me it is a skill in active listening with my entire body intelligence. My experience is that, at a certain point, my moves became informed from the wisdom of the techniques themselves and not from instructors, unless that instructor was also a skilled listener and therefore can transmit aikido in such a way that I can also hear it through their aligned words and movement. I believe it relates to listening, which anyone can develop from day one.
When it comes to Aikido I don't want to be an 'Ugly American', telling Aikido "all about it", imposing my views on the culture of the technique itself. Aikido is it's own language and I wish to be fluent in it. The only way I've discovered how to do this is to listen,practice,listen,practice..etc......My teachers revere my ukemi and I take that as the highest compliment surpassed only by my students calling me Jensei
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Best