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Old 07-10-2005, 06:56 AM   #35
raul rodrigo
Location: Quezon City
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 777
Philippines
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Re: The meaning of omote and ura

Quote:
Soon-Kian Phang wrote:
As for height differences, I was thinking about hanmi handatchi shomenuchi ikkyo... could it be different when one is moving via shikko rather than sliding forward when standing up?
My sensei said it wasnt just the height difference; it was the relative length of the arms. In hanmi handachi against an uke who's your size, you can do omote more or less naturally. But my sensei said that in tachiwaza, the South African's arm was so long that even if my sensei read the intent right and blended properly with the attack, there was always a split second where uke with his long arm could reach down and grab his hair. So the correct maai changes depending on uke's length and so your timing and choice of omote or ura also changes.

I had a similar experience against a 6'2" Frenchman, ie, a man 9 inches taller. I did ikkyo omote the way I do against someone under 6 ft and he had just enough length in his arm to inadvertently poke me in the left eye with his middle finger. For someone as big as him, I was late, I should have entered earlier--or else gone into ura and gotten the hell out of the way.
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