Quote:
Rob Liberti wrote:
... I was hoping to discuss waza and aiki HERE.
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Tenchinage. Most people jump into to doing it in the extension mode of
asagao (or tegatana) -- which is what they see at the finish when it breaks into the throw. Both the opening asagao in the entry and the closing asagao in the finish are properly aiki. But closing without the opening creates push on push and resistance -- which is not aiki. But the emphasizing the intial entry over the throws proper helps to develop aiki FROM uke's input.
Uke's hands grip the wrists, the force of the push (compression) becomes tension between nage's hands. Nage's hands should feel tension between them -- like taffy taut between the fingertips. As nage begins to enter - he expands this tension as the push is received -- letting one or the other hand rise up and the other sink down to stretch the "taffy" between the fingers vertically, pulling the fingers from the wrist until it suddenly "snaps." This is the sudden loss of uke's effective resistance to the entry. When the push evaporates, then the arms are freed to extend fully in tegatana. You don;t do it -- it happens because it has nowhere else to go, and arms buckle into the form. That release reverberates into the body drawing the center fully into the irimi, and the throw occurs as the center coming into load is projected out through the arms and hands. Teaching points at the happening of the throw
emphasizes the relationship to aspects of funetori.
This large developed movement can then be reduced as a very small opening asagao, and buckling into the closing asagao or tegatana almost at contact.
As teaching points about the development of the tension, uke can attempt to resolve the situation by isolating one connection over the other, (low for example -- trying to release the high connection, or vice versa). Depending on how and which he goes with (or against), the situation may develop any number of ways, resolving the structural stress straightforwardly with a free rotation into the developed moment, or less obviously with a buckling into the shear.
Teaching waza I never describe it this way, although I understand it this way. I do use asagao because it is is an image that is clear and is structurally accurate. When doing happo undo, I emphasize asagao opening on the withdraw/turn and closing on the extension. On funetori I emphasize the aspects of opening on extension and closing on withdrawal.