Thread: Dynamic tension
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Old 01-08-2002, 03:30 PM   #9
jimvance
Dojo: Jiyushinkan
Location: Mesa, AZ
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 199
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In response to Andy's informed posts

True, but they also have the phrase, "Shu ha ri."

You are absolutely correct. Kind of off the subject, but I doubt the principle of "SHU-HA-RI" is as pervasive as "KATA" is to the Japanese. I have a friend named Boye DeMente who wrote an entire book on kata (with very little to do with the martial arts), based on 25 years of living in Japan. I've got a copy, loaned it out. I will email the title if you would like.
"Appropriate," I'm OK with. But, how can you practice "appropriate" form alone?
I think if you visualize (to the best of your ability) a partner giving a proper attack, stealing their initiative and balance, fitting the correct way to do technique XYZ, then you are practicing appropriate form. This allows a person to pay more attention to their partner by becoming very intimate with the workings of their own body, their balance, posture, breathing, etc., so that these factors are less of a deterrant to performing the "correct technique" you are talking about.
Doesn't one use the "appropriate" kuzushi, though?
If you are thinking that you have to use kuzushi A with attack A so that you can have technique A, not necessarily. At the beginning of training, linking methods of attack to particular balance breaks or entries followed by a technique at the end is good so that we as beginners learn faster. But eventually (and this is part of the SHU-HA-RI principle) testing different applications of entries for different attacks and different techniques is necessary to round out our understanding of the techniques.
In my first post, I meant (kind of sideways) that kuzushi-tsukuri-kake means you can "break down" then "build up" the partner. I think that we must know how to fit with our partners while taking the center at the same time. This does not always mean that the tori (nage) does all the fitting. Again here is where symbology starts to break down; this would be very easy to show, but could take several pages to write out. Good counter points though.

Jim Vance
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