Thread: Unbendable Arm
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Old 06-18-2001, 03:55 PM   #8
Steve
Dojo: Salina Aikido Club
Location: Salina, Kansas, USA
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 33
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Quote:
TheProdigy wrote:
Well, I read the article and it's exactly what I used to think. Since I used to think that though, I've seen it done with the arm bent too. So, I dont know if that disproves his theory or not, but if it helps you build ki go for it.

This wouldn't explain the extending of ki though. Really, it would only explain the effectiveness of relaxation to an extent (in my opinion).

In another demonstration of extending ki, the founder of kokikai who weighs only 130lbs, cannot be lifted off the ground at all. When people attempt to he doesn't lift an ounce. It's simply amazing.

-Jase
The unliftable body is a silly example of ki.The supposed unliftable isn't unliftable, it's just relaxed. It has little rigidity. This "soft" body is harder to maneuver in exactly the same way that a sand bag can be more difficult to lift than a plank weighing the same. Want to prove it? Easy enough.

Have the "unliftable" body lie down on a plank, stretcher, door, or any other rigid support. Now lift the support without touching the body. Easily done because the support negates the body's lack of rigidity.

The traditional unliftable body exercise (group of aikidoka gather around sensei laying on the mat and attempt to lift him) is the best example of the worst kind of teaching in aikido. If we are truly trying to learn something that makes us better humans, something that enhances our humanity, then we really need to think about what we are being taught, instead of following blindly. How can we begin to become better humans if we don't use that one tool (the mind) that defines us as humans? -- Steve

Steve Hoffman
+++++++++++
That's going to leave a mark.
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