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Old 03-03-2013, 10:16 AM   #1
Mert Gambito
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 202
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Re: The Empty Body

Graham, et al;

The discussion of anatomy primarily comes up in online discussions about IP/IS training methodologies (e.g. Dan Harden, Mike Sigman) because people keep trying to dissect things from armchairs hither and thither. The methodologies don't focus on these details. If fact, Dan gets frustrated that people want to digest everything in Anatomy Trains, for example, to better understand what inside the body does the work (and in any methodology discussed in this thread or elsewhere, of course the bones, muscles, fascia, etc. are technically in play) when the work is fundamentally about intent leading energy which manifests various qualities in the body that translate into superlative leverage, cancellation of incoming force, etc.

Dan has repeatedly said during workshops that Tohei's model is a fine baseline for aiki development that fits within a more comprehensive schema of training methods within and descended from Daito-ryu. In fact, I recall watching a YouTube video in which a Daito-ryu instructor says he thinks of his body as . . . an "empty shell" when executing certain techniques.

Mert
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