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Adam Orr wrote:
There will be (at least in my Aikido exposure) a need to "grasp" (without "grabbing") the back of the hand to control the wrist and direct the center of the uke. The scenario I posed is especially problematic for small hands if trying to do the technique dynamically.
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Hello Adam
I think that for some practitioners, even those situations would be done with little or no contact, not even "grasping", but you know better than any of us what your needs are for the way training is conducted in your dojo.
Quote:
Robin Boyd wrote:
When Pranin teaches, it creates an interesting conundrum. He is an exceptional researcher and historian and when I listen to what he says, I agree wholeheartedly with everything. On the other hand, he is not able to use his body effectively, and he does not effectively demonstrate what he talks about. I think the best thing to do is to "do as he says, not as he does". In this case, I don't think he ever talks about 'being grabby'; he just does it.
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Last year Inagaki Shihan did an interview with
Aikido Tankyu (a magazine published by the Aikikai Hombu Dojo) in which he said the same thing that most instructors who trained with the founder in "the birthplace of aikido" have said:
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Osensei's teaching method began first with tai-no-henko and when starting from katatedori, we would continuously do kanrenwaza (related techniques) from katatedori, and rather than "ki-no-nagare" (flowing techniques), Osensei would make grabbing strongly the centre of the practice.
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...assuming my translation is correct of course.
Inagaki and Isoyama sensei are (to me at least) actually very small old guys with tiny hands and my own meaty paws are much bigger than theirs. It never helped me and I was always baffled by how they could have me in vice-like grips, completely immobilising my whole body, while being so clearly relaxed and smaller than me. The emphasis from day one was always "kokyu power" and the exercises to transfer from regular strength to that
"onaka no chikara" (inner power) involved a cathartic process of losing bad habits. I would say being female with smaller hands is almost an advantage in doing this since, when grabbed strongly, you simply cannot move a bigger person any other way.
When I tried an "Internal Power" style down in Tokyo, I found essentially the same principles in place for "Aiki-age": grabbing strongly and using
kokyu to move rather than out-gripping or out-muscling an opponent. That guy was much smaller than me too, 65kg (143lb) to my 96kg (211lb), but I couldn't move when he grabbed me with his tiny hands. I was glad when I could move his students at least, one of whom was actually very much bigger and heavier than me.
For how-tos, I don't think written description on the internet would do it justice. I'd say get to a seminar or visit a teacher that does this kind of training.
All of these are a far cry from my experience with Endo sensei (admittedly, only one seminar, although I took
ukemi for him a couple of times). I think what he is doing is a different training paradigm that I confess, I do not fully understand.
Carl