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Old 05-05-2009, 06:15 AM   #17
Dazzler
Dojo: Bristol North Aikido Dojo
Location: Bristol
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 659
England
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Re: Thoughts on technique

Quote:
Dan Harden wrote: View Post
Hello Daren

Before I start with what we agree on, allow me to counter just one point.
I have yet to meet anyone who got it at the level I am describing through doing "techniques." In fact I do not believe it is even possible. No matter how long or how often they try. And I have trained with men with over 40 to 50 yrs in aikido as well as senior men from many Japanese arts. It is my opinion that it must be trained solo and then in pairs with NO WAZA. Then practiced with waza. I'd be happy to meet someone who is physically able to change my mind on that though.

As for how to's?
There is a way and it is teachable. By coincidence I got a call last night from an Aikido teacher who is training with me going on two years now. He and another teacher from another art who also trains aikido with him had just had the best class of their lives. During the call he shared with me his frustrations in trusting me through the first year. He was doing everything I told him out of trust but not feeling the level of change he was looking for and still was using too much muscle under live load. The reason for the call though was over the recent months it has just continued to change his body and the way he handles loads and gives back and his level of stickiness to the point that he finding it hard to care about aikido waza at all. His students are telling him they feel it is all they can do to take ukemi. I told him to talk with other teachers training here, as his experiences are a) not unique and b) there is perhaps some real discussions to be had about where to take the training in doing aikido as the "way of aiki" instead of a collection of waza.
IMO the more refined this training in the body goes the more you reach a level where you either cannot, or simply need not do waza anymore.

In yo ho (yin and yang)
Your observations are correct. But it is important to state that In/Yo has to be in balance "in you" long before you can talk about resolving an imbalance between you and others. If you receive energy and wish to deal with it without feeling loaded or "caught" by them- the only way out of the physical dilemma is to manage it in you. It certainly negates a lot of the aikido movement that exists where "you" physically have to move out of the way. It also negates the cooperation aspects as the contact point frequently causes a magnetic sticky feel that can draw in, catapult people off or drop them down. The only down side is that sometime the result is an extremely fast dropping or "snapping" energy feel, that has to be throttled back. It is so soft that it can be dangerous if the power differential between parties is too great. it can become dangerous to grab someone good at it who "happens" to be in motion. Moving in perfect harmony to your own body's energy makes it damn difficult to throw you as well.

Last "hard to do?"
Yes, I agree there. But hey we have the option now don't we? That's an improvement over the last hundred years of budo when most didn't even know this training even existed. When I was given the choice of doing waza or working on my body I made a choice and have never looked back.
I have never once regretted it.
Cheers
Dan
Thanks Dan.

Hear what you are saying on techniques - don't feel we are so far apart on this in viewpoint - in experience of course the gulf is wider as i'm yet to reach 20 years in this art..

Although your words differ i think some of the things you say re-iterate classes I had in the early 90's where we were constantly working on 'constructing our bodies' through 'ceaseless kotai' work.

When visitors came to practice and wanted to work with big circles, lots of flow and little else the instructor would smile and say 'you like to play?'.

Those that valued the instruction and content stayed...those that didn't left.

Like you say - a choice.

Thanks again for your thoughts - I'll bring them to attention of a mentor of mine particularly the 'throttling back' ...its something he has said himself.

D
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