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Old 06-30-2015, 07:08 AM   #13
jonreading
 
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Dojo: Aikido South
Location: Johnson City, TN
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,209
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Re: You are giving me the wrong energy...WTF

It's a treat to work out with someone who can control their energy and help you learn through their participation. Much of the time, we are working with some variation of poor juju. I think as a general point of training, one should get used to this frustration and figure out graceful and helpful ways to work with a partner. Generally, the attack shouldn't matter. If you are moving with aiki body, then your body can deal with any form of control. Hunkering down is a form of control.

In kata, you should perform kata. If kata says push, you should push. If kata says pull, you should pull. As part of the education process, participate in the education.

There is a prejudice in aikido that nage wins - Our training method prioritizes nage's success and that prejudice has arguably progressed into a entitlement of success. I have seen as many issues with nage expecting uke to fall down as I have seen uke refusing to participate in kata. There are some instructors that have migrated to a method of teaching that does not indulge that prejudice as much as other methods and I like what they are doing.

My first instructor would simply do what was appropriate, then helpfully say, "I wouldn't do that." In some respects this approach works better that talking because uke often moves how he feels is appropriate. Helping him to understand what is (and is not) appropriate goes a long way in helping your partner to understand why there are better options than what he chose. But, not everyone is good enough to train this way. I am not a fan of changing the equation. "I would punch you and kill you," is a variation of the common correcting verbiage that follows, "like most beginners, you attacked me wrong." If you introduce attack #2, then it is only fair that uke gets attack #2 - this just escalates the problem without solving it. If you are moving with aiki, there is no attack #2, so "giving it" to your partner is permissible because they can't do anything anyway; if you are not moving with aiki, then you are gonna see attack #2 from your partner. Honestly, I advocate 1 of 2 things: 1. admit that you are having issues, and specifically ask uke to help you. 2. do what's appropriate, explain that your responses are not what you want to practice and specifically ask uke to help you practice what you want to practice. If uke is not helping you, that is a different problem.

In application, most of your partners are never going to give you a clinical aikido energy force and direction. Judo, jujutsu, striking arts, etc. generally apply multiple vectors of energy to attacks and they often do not sacrifice balance. You let a judo player grab you and hunker down and you are in serious trouble. Heck, even aikido people are supposed to move in spirals so even when we are moving we're supposed to be moving in a non-linear fashion.

Last edited by jonreading : 06-30-2015 at 07:18 AM.

Jon Reading
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