Quote:
David Orange wrote:
Thanks for all your comments and questions, Lee.
I don't think the "player" need necessarily be "in" the column of gravity to use this power if he is tuned to that (up/down) as his prime signal and the other four directions mated with that.
I think that's where you learn to feel the energy and learn to direct the power, but I feel like I could do the unbendable arm while planking between two chairs and things of that nature because I know how to do the unbendable arm.
Also think of the video where Tokimune Takeda is lying on his back and lifted up by several men and he floors them all.
Also I've heard that Forrest Chang will put himself in some very awkward-looking postures and can still use internal power to push people back or make himself unpushable.
I do think that the ki must be connected to the vertical column of up/down gravity. The ki should adhere to the six directions no matter the orientation of your body. And if the ki is tuned in, then the body can snap back to verticality and front/back/left/right very powerfully when it is ready.
And I think you're always at your all-around strongest when you are vertically aligned and your body has the minimum need of effort to maintain position.
Is this a great pursuit? You don't need much than your body/mind/ki and you take all that everywhere you go.
Thanks.
David
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But, like, what if you moved your body into
any of these twisty macaroni shapes? Obviously the body is not a piece of macaroni and can't quite approximate all of those to the degree outlined there, but some of likeness of those come up more often in fighting than merely being bolt upright or a flat horizontal plank, especially in grappling... I mean, like, rather than snapping back to straight, you snapped into a curve, or a spiral, or a ball, or even straight, using the same pressure that would otherwise just form you back to vertical? That is, they are not awkward postures that you are trying to recover from, but first-class postural possibilities that you are at times trying to go to? But is that aiki anymore, or is that something else? That is where I wonder the distinct concepts separated by a similar language issue...
I don't know what to make of gravity most of the time. It seems more present and usable in those aspects where you must move off the vertical, to fall by choice, rather than those times when it is just dropping straight through you and you're doing nothing more than balancing on it. Compared to the forces experienced from another person trying to throw you, it seems a very subtle force to work against or practice against in extension. Even in dropping, gravity is a slow force in terms of accelerating the body, to the extent that it seems like an additive that isn't terribly explosive.
You just need your body, mind, ki, and access to a teacher who knows what they are doing on a regular basis to prevent you from going off into the weeds and a supportive environment of people to give you a reality check on what you are really developing to keep you on the track of progress. Easier said than done sometimes...