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Old 02-16-2008, 08:00 AM   #1
HL1978
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Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

I am excited to announce that Akuzawa Sensei, founder of the Aunkai, will be visiting the Washington DC area on May 31-June 1 to teach a two-day intensive seminar. Spots are limited, so reserve your space soon!

Akuzawa Sensei has developed a unique approach to training from his extensive background in Chinese and Japanese martial arts. Rather than focusing on specific techniques, he and his students work to develop the martial body itself, thus forming a core set of body skills that the practitioner can apply to whatever form of martial art they choose. This seminar is open to all interested students regardless of what art they currently study. Below is a detailed summary of the material that will be covered over the two days of the seminar.

For more information about Akuzawa Sensei and the Aunkai, please see their website at http://www.aunkai.net/eng. Additional information on the Aunkai is available on this thread on AikiWeb: http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12119.

The seminar will take place at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia, located 20 minutes from both Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan National Airports.

Dates:
Saturday May 31, from 10-5pm, and Sunday June 1, 11-6pm

Costs:
$180 dollars includes both days, with substantial discounts available for full-time students. Registrations recieved after April 15 will be charged $200.

Contact:
Hunter Lonsberry at hlonsberry (at) gmail.com to reserve your spot.

*** Main Topics of the Seminar:
- Understanding body principles at a physical level.
- Understanding the importance of working out to "correct the body".
- Explaining the Aun method of "framework of power" .

*** First Day:

- Explain how to train, balance, and correct the body.

- Introduce exercises designed to increase and strengthen awareness of the body's correct frame.

- Through basic/foundational training, explain in depth the nature of "connecting the body as a whole".

- Exercises to increase the potential of your body's movement.

- Partner training will be explained and shown that is designed to allow both parties to understand how the skeletal structure is supposed to correctly settle and react.

- "Agete" otherwise knows as "Kokyu Age" exercises will be introduced as a means to "input power"

- Contact exercises designed to bring awareness to how the body reacts under duress and correct itself through a continuous process.

*** Second Day:

- Review of the first day. Akuzawa will then personally give a hands on check to each and every participant and correct their frames individually.

- Understanding the basics and principles of movement through the exercises of Juji-kou and Shintaijiku. These exercises emphasize the creation of an internal "cross" in the body in order to understand what the body's physical centerline is, and increase the range of motion of the body with the "internal cross" in place.

- Explanation of the principles of "Hard/Soft" within the body. Understanding the use of proper power with an opponent.

- Demonstrations and results of constant training in the principles taught over the two days will be given by Akuzawa with any willing participants.
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Old 02-19-2008, 11:07 AM   #2
ChrisMoses
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

If you can make this seminar, I highly recommend you do so. I got nothing but extremely positive feedback from the seminar we hosted here in Seattle. Many participants commented along the lines that it was some of the best money/time they had ever spent on their training. Don't miss it!

Chris Moses
TNBBC, "Putting the ME in MEdiocre!"
Budo Tanren at Seattle School of Aikido
Shinto Ryu Iai-Battojutsu
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Old 02-19-2008, 11:29 AM   #3
Ron Tisdale
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Ditto. In Spades.

If you have questions, doubts, what ever, I highly suggest you go and form your own impression.

Best,
Ron

Ron Tisdale
-----------------------
"The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind."
St. Bonaventure (ca. 1221-1274)
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Old 03-27-2008, 09:34 PM   #4
HL1978
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

There are still a few spots available. If you are interested please send an email/PM.

A check is required to reserve your space for the seminar.
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Old 05-01-2008, 09:52 AM   #5
Jeremy Hulley
Dojo: Seattle School of Aikido Shinto Ryu/Seattle Icho Ryu
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

I'm coming to the seminar and staying with some family in Clifton. I would prefer not to rent a car and don't really want to be a burden on the family. If some one is coming from or through the Clifton area I would happily contribute gas money, a meal and a tasty beverage for a ride.
please contact me directly at jchulley at msn dot com.
I will be out of the country until May 12 so it may take a while to respond to emails.

Thanks ahead of time.

Jeremy

Jeremy Hulley
Shinto Ryu Iai Battojutsu
Tuesday Night Bad Budo Club
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Old 05-28-2008, 10:32 PM   #6
HL1978
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

If anyone has an airshield please bring it with you to the seminar for some demonstrations.
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Old 06-01-2008, 08:09 PM   #7
Jeremy Hulley
Dojo: Seattle School of Aikido Shinto Ryu/Seattle Icho Ryu
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

I just wanted to thank Ark, Rob and company for a great seminar. Hunter, thanks for organizing it. Thanks for the great training to all the people I met, may your quads rest in peace.

Here's my one pitch if you have a chance to see Ark and you have not get out there and see him. He is a great teacher who has succefully surrounded himself with skilled and generous students.

Jeremy

Jeremy Hulley
Shinto Ryu Iai Battojutsu
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Old 06-01-2008, 08:58 PM   #8
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

I second that Jeremy! It was good meeting you and working with you this weekend!

One of the best things about this weekend was the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. Oh...and learn a few things too!

I was impressed at how far people traveled to come here for the seminar. I only had a ride across town!

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Old 06-02-2008, 12:19 PM   #9
Dan Austin
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Quote:
Kevin Leavitt wrote: View Post
I second that Jeremy! It was good meeting you and working with you this weekend!

One of the best things about this weekend was the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. Oh...and learn a few things too!

I was impressed at how far people traveled to come here for the seminar. I only had a ride across town!
Geez, does anybody know how to give a good seminar review? How about discussing what you guys learned of the Aunkai system, impressions, specifics (did you roll with Rob and how did it feel?), stuff like that - you know, details?
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Old 06-02-2008, 09:03 PM   #10
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

We spent alot of time and money going to this seminar, why would we want to give out all the secrets!

Did I kick Rob's butt? or did he kick mine?

I'll have to answer your questions later...it is hard typing with one hand right now..my other one is hurt and it is hard to move it to type with it. Won't go into the details.

Mainly did some boring body work stuff...website here shows pretty darn much what we did.

http://aunkai.net/bujyutu/index.html

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Old 06-02-2008, 09:17 PM   #11
HL1978
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Quote:
Dan Austin wrote: View Post
Geez, does anybody know how to give a good seminar review? How about discussing what you guys learned of the Aunkai system, impressions, specifics (did you roll with Rob and how did it feel?), stuff like that - you know, details?
Actually any feedback along these lines would be very useful for any future Aunkai seminars. What did people like best? Where there any concepts that could have been explained more clearly or demonstrated more effectively? Are there any particular skill demonstrations you would like to see?

I would also like to encourage everyone who attends any of seminars to take every opportunity to touch Akuzawa Sensei along with Rob or any other students present. In my own experience, feeling these skills firsthand making learning how to move your body in this manner far more accessible. Likewise Akuzawa Sensei encourages it so that one can easily understand the material he is teaching.
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Old 06-02-2008, 09:45 PM   #12
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Hunter,

Sorry I didn't get to say thank you yesterday before I left. Thanks for everything.

I think it was good the way it was done.

The challenge is retention. I know you guys meet on a regular basis in the area. I think the key is taking what we learned, doing the time by ourselves, and then getting together every so often to do some of the partner exercises and test.

It would be nice to get Ark or Rob back here about every 6 months for "adjustment" and "azimuth" check.

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Old 06-02-2008, 11:23 PM   #13
Dan Austin
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Quote:
Kevin Leavitt wrote: View Post
We spent alot of time and money going to this seminar, why would we want to give out all the secrets!

Did I kick Rob's butt? or did he kick mine?

I'll have to answer your questions later...it is hard typing with one hand right now..my other one is hurt and it is hard to move it to type with it. Won't go into the details.

Mainly did some boring body work stuff...website here shows pretty darn much what we did.

http://aunkai.net/bujyutu/index.html
It's not obvious what portion of this if any is serious, but I've seen the website, and obviously without hands-on the exercises aren't likely to be very beneficial. So "secrets" is meaningless, they can be open secrets. The point is that if I go to a seminar that I liked, I think it's a courtesy to the instructor to let people know about my personal experience of the seminar and why I would recommend the instructor. You seem to have found it at least valuable enough to say it would be good if Akuzawa and/or Rob could come around every 6 months, but that isn't likely to happen if everybody who goes to one of these seminars comes back and writes insightful commentaries along the lines of "nice to meet you Joe, I'll get the beer next time!".

Getting people interested in the material ultimately benefits even those who would keep secrets if they could, because Akuzawa's ability to travel around the US is entirely dependent on seminar attendance and interest. Based on the nature of the material, it sounds like plain hard work will see who gets where with it, not secrets, so if you found the material worthwhile it would be worth talking about the seminar in greater detail to help ensure those future visits even if your interests were entirely selfish (which I tend to doubt). Maybe it's a bit early post-seminar to see discussions from those who attended, but I find it amazing that people have time and energy to engage in the most inane topics on this board, and yet where there's a chance to talk about really interesting things you have to get out the cattleprod.
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Old 06-02-2008, 11:56 PM   #14
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

I was just kidding Dan!

In a nutshell, the seminar was good, relevant and worthwile. I'd highly recommend anyone of any martial background a level of experience spend time with these guys.

As to what you get out of the seminar? personal embarrassment of how out of shape you really are within a martial body. You get to see a couple of guys who have developed a martial body and can do simple things you can't do. They show you a few basic things that you can work on to get on the path to developing a martial body.

You then go home with a better understanding of how much work you need to put in to yourself in order to get to the next level of your training. That there are no easy ways to do it other than doing it.

In all seriousness, the website shows pictures of exactly what we did. Think standing in horse stance with your arms extended for long periods of time.

Secrets? Expectations?

no secrets. Expectations about how it will improve you martially?

I think that is an individual question that must be answered by each individual.

getting to the next level? Well it is hard for me to answer that one since I am not at the next level. I think it is best to leave it alone, and take the "shut up and train" approach to doing this, and simply do it.

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Old 06-03-2008, 08:11 AM   #15
DH
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Dan
There isn't a point in discussing details. They will not be relevant if you don't know how to make it work or what to shoot for.

I am not speaking for Rob or Ark!!
Maybe a good overall idea is to consider what would happen if you were able to sustain a central equilibrium within yourself that was highly sustainable as it relies on a union of opposites (in/yo ho). Next were you to strengthen to retain it in all movement? When force comes into you it is managed in a way that is foreign to most martial artists. Instead of needing to do things to people-you manage yourself and THAT greatly affect others. This isn't even addressing what happens when you decide to hit or kick or throw. In a sense you walk through peoples structure and punch or kick through their spine. It can be very damaging.
I gave an example on edudo a while back-post #401
http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthre...=38747&page=27

Of imagining what your budo could do on an anemic, weak person attacking you. You would blow through them right? This training makes capable men feel weak and anemic. Now imagine adding the budo of your choice to attack them or man handle them in their weakened state.

In a practical sense it will work, applied in any fighting venue of your choosing. It won't teach you how to fight (which I have been saying on these boards for ten years) but were you decided to take up MMA or or any more intense work it will be the single greatest advantage you could ever have. Standard disclaimers applied-anyone can be hit, if you can't fight... you can't fight blah blah blah.
Just go learn and form your own opinions bud.

Last edited by DH : 06-03-2008 at 08:24 AM.
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Old 06-03-2008, 08:33 AM   #16
Dan Austin
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Kevin,

No worries, as I said I think it's good for the instructor to have people share their positive experiences. I am curious how different it was in person from what you expected after talking about it on the board, and if you did roll with Rob if you could feel a difference from "normal" people.

Dan,

I understand these things can't be learned without hands-on, so as I said gleaning secrets is not an issue, I understand it's about hard work. Since there aren't many people who can show these skills, the operative question is the practicality of learning it from occasional visits. It sounds like you don't go out doing seminars, so in terms of travel Mike and Akuzawa are more available to people in different geographic areas. The question becomes whether you can take away enough kinesthetic sense of the foundational exercises that you can work them on your own, perhaps tweaking them with online discussion with people who have also had hands-on, and then how often would it be necessary to get together with someone significantly more skilled to keep you on the right track. Kevin mentioned every 6 months. It doesn't look like Akuzawa travels that frequently, but that may depend on seminar interest, which is correlated with local practice groups who could be depended upon to attend for those tune-ups. It sounds like there are enough people in DC to keep the ball rolling there, but to get things jumpstarted in other areas the seminar reviews and discussions are important despite the fact that newbies won't learn anything just from that.
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Old 06-03-2008, 08:47 AM   #17
DH
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Hi Dan
Again, not speaking for Rob or Ark-ask them.
Yes you can learn it in the manner you just described.
You learn it, take it home and that is where the real work begins. It helps to have a group for feedback and to kick your ass in gear when you get lazy. Were I starting out I would travel to get to those who know and do the work as much as possible. But anything you get will not be a waste. You guys should start forming your own self help groups to train with A-W-A-Y from your regular budo training to work on your internals.
Paired partner work is essential for later growth in my view of things. But not everyone agrees. No matter the majority of the work is in solo training.
Simply answer
Go train at a seminar
train at home
go train at a seminar to get fixed and deeper understanding. Call Rob, Write in at the Aunkia web site and ask
Go train at a seminar
Train at home
Seek out fellow students
and....
Train at home.
It's just an opinion, but I think its the best thing you could ever do for martial art training and power. All the rest; waza, tactics, weapons, styles, is just icing on the cake.

Last edited by DH : 06-03-2008 at 08:49 AM.
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Old 06-03-2008, 10:31 AM   #18
Jim Simons
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

First I'll chime in with Jeremy and Kevin on thanking Ark, Rob, Hunter & co for putting on the seminar. Like Kevin said, the materials available online (Aunkai website, Rob's posts here, articles on AJ, and videos on youtube) do pretty much cover what we did, so I could theoretically have gotten started from there. I'm sure I'll be revisiting those in light of the weekend's experience, but being able to get such immediate feedback on my form and my experience within the frames was a valuable way to get started working with these training methods.

Here are some more specific things I got out of attending, my attempt at more of a "good seminar review" but really just a somewhat disorganized collection of observations:

Seeing and feeling Ark was a real treat! I've felt a small handful of aikido folks who seem to have "gotten" this internal stuff to some degree, but none as palpably so as Ark. He manifests power and grace outside of forms, with every movement (whereas the aforementioned aikido folks seem only to manifest it within aikido-related forms, in my limited experience). Ark moves remarkably efficiently, and he looks like he could easily do what he does with a beer in the other hand (yes, Jeremy, you're still welcome to steal that one, but figured I'd stake my own claim to it too ;-D)
Also unlike those aikido folks, Ark has a clear system of pedagogy for what he's "got," and his students are evidence that the system does bring results, even with only sporadic direct contact with the man himself.

I thought it was interesting that he remarked and demonstrated several times, on the application side, that "it's not about timing, it's not about vectors, it's not about technique", much like O Sensei said, much like Dan is saying.

I got a clearer idea that these exercises are about conditioning the body by inducing (or emphasizing) opposing forces (up/down, forward/backward, left/right), bringing about a tendency toward balance, stability, and conservation of energy in the body. Being a bit overly inclined toward the philosophical and abstract, these unifying ideas appeal to me, and I now have clear and specific examples of how they apply to the hard work of daily training.

All around, Ark is a really engaging, entertaining guy, on and off the mat. For me, Ikeda sensei has been the gold standard for setting a positive tone at a seminar, and now I can say that Ark is right up there with him on that standard.

The generosity of the folks who have been doing this for a while was remarkable: Rob, Hunter, Tim, Takeo, Jeremy, Carmen, and probably others I'm sorry to be forgetting at the moment. These guys shared their experience and gave suggestions and feedback freely, earnestly and without a single note of arrogance or condescension that one sometimes encounters on the mat (especially when one is "just not getting it").

I do think there were tips on how to train, specific tips on the exercises that aren't as obvious (to me) from material online, but I'll be interested to go back over that material and see what more I pick up from it now; it's likely I just missed them on the first read-through.

The personal feedback is also obviously not available online: I didn't notice my arms weren't straight there, or that my hands weren't rotated enough here, or that I was leaning forward at this or that point. Realtime reminders that "at this point you should be feeling tension in this direction" are much easier for me to process than written reminders referred to in between repetitions.

I had at least one "aha" moment linking the classic aikido rowing exercise to the aunkai exercise we were doing (punching while maintaining the lower-body arch and connection between lower and upper body), where I think I learned something specific and valuable about aikido training.

Never before have I come away from a seminar with such a clear impression of what I'm taking away from it to work on "at home". Coming away from aikido seminars, I usually have an idea or three that I want to try to remember to apply to my on-mat training, maybe, if I can, if it fits what my own teacher is doing, if my training partners are willing to work on it with me, etc. Coming away from this seminar, I feel like I have a very clear set of building blocks for a solo program of body conditioning and personal research, and the confidence that hard work on those building blocks yields results.

I was lucky to have a relatively short (2hr) drive to this seminar, but if this sort of thing were to happen every six months, I would be there, even assuming there were an alternation between east coast and west coast (which would make sense, given the number of folks who flew in from points west for this one).

Cheers,
Jim
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Old 06-03-2008, 10:50 AM   #19
Ron Tisdale
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Thanks for the review Jim!
Best,
Ron

Ron Tisdale
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"The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind."
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Old 06-03-2008, 11:32 AM   #20
JangChoe
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

I didn't think I'll go to this one, but I actually made it. I was glad I went.

I went to two of Ark's seminars. The D.C. one was my second one. I got a lot more out of the second seminar. I think it was because Ark didn't punish us that much during the seminar with his conditioning exercises but explained a lot more stuff.

Then again, it could be because I was a little bit more conditioned than last time , and I understood the concepts a little bit better. I would advise that if the D.C. seminar was the first Ark seminar you went to and didn't understand a thing Rob and Ark were explaining, try going to a second one--after practicing the exercises a lot--and see if things make more sense.

Anyway, these are the stuff he showed during the seminar. The seminar was mainly five parts:
1. Conditioning exercises--these were the famous Aunkai exercises that we all know and love. You know: shiko, tenchijin, maho, sei no training, etc.
2. Lots of great explanations on what we should look for on each exercises.
3. Partner training stuff: Walking maho, pushout, agete, spear punching, etc.
4. Striking drills.
5. Q&A.

The conditioning exercises were there to condition us. It is used to condition our suit, our connections, our frame, etc. Ark reminded us to keep the 6 direction tensions going at all times. By keeping our 6 directions, it allows our body to settle into place. So the weight of our body should settle into the joints down to the ground.

So as we stand in our static positions, we have to constantly adjust our bodies and relax so we get the correct requirements. Ark and Rob told us that we shouldn't feel much strain on our quads, shoulders, lower back, etc when we have the correct frame. But there's a catch-22 for this. If you're not conditioned, you'll feel strain on your quads, shoulders, etc anyway.

So I guess for beginners is to condition our bodies first--especially the legs and our arms--then we can start to change our bodies to settle into place. Not many of us had a conditioned body to fully understand it I think. And to condition our bodies, we have to do these exercises frequently.

For example, Ark made us stand in maho for about 15-20 minutes. My quads were okay, but my arms were killing me. Rob told us to slightly push our arms back so it'll "sit" on our body. But even if I did that, and no matter how much I was trying to relax my shoulders, my shoulders were killing me. I guess my arms weren't conditioned since I couldn't even hold it up using jin no matter how hard I tried.

Then there were the partner exercises. These were jin exercises for the most part. Ark mentioned that the instant we touch someone, the point of touch should automatically be felt on your foot.

When we're doing these exercises such as agete, pushout, and spearing; we have to do it slowly so we can find where the "blockage" is. IOW, where our qi is being stopped, where we tense up, where the connection gets broken, etc. So when we find that our connection breaks, we have to adjust our body and relax accordingly so it will go straight down to the ground.

So for example, during agete, as you raise your arms, you'll probably feel stress on the shoulders. So you have to stop, relax, and adjust until you feel it back go to the ground, then continue raising the arms. The first few reps was with small amount of force so you can get the jin path. Then on the last rep, the uke piles on the force as hard as he can. The focus was if we can maintain or find our jin-path under hard conditions.

One of the requirements Ark stressed for the partner exercises was to have a relaxed, straight spine. This should help the force transmit to the ground easier. Also to practice the solo stuff a lot.

We also did kicking exercises. This was fun because of my Korean background. The main points I remember were to have keep the cross stable, the planted foot be heavy, and the kicking leg relaxed. We only did front kick, and the kicking leg should swing out like a pendulum. The rebound from the contact should be absorbed into the frame (into the ground). This way we're solid, stable, and balanced.

Most of the striking drills had the similar concept. Making sure at the point of contact, the rebound should be absorbed into you so you won't get pushed back from your own force. Also, you shouldn't lean into the strike because if you miss, you won't unbalance yourself.

The striking drills were primary to feel what happens to you when you strike. And how you should absorb the force when you strike. So we didn't strike hard, it was with light contact mostly.

Overall, this was a great seminar. It was a great workout. I met a lot of cool people there. My back muscles are sore for some reason.

If my information I gave was incorrect (I was writing mostly from my memory), please correct me.
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Old 06-03-2008, 12:16 PM   #21
Ron Tisdale
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Jang, truly excellent review! really appreciated it!

Best,
Ron (this one is going in my notebook...it's a great refresher for the Seattle course)

Ron Tisdale
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"The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind."
St. Bonaventure (ca. 1221-1274)
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Old 06-03-2008, 03:15 PM   #22
Kevin Leavitt
 
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Dan Austin wrote:

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The question becomes whether you can take away enough kinesthetic sense of the foundational exercises that you can work them on your own, perhaps tweaking them with online discussion with people who have also had hands-on, and then how often would it be necessary to get together with someone significantly more skilled to keep you on the right track
Lots of good comments today, I concur with them.

The challenge of course is having access to some one to tweak you and adjust you. It is necessary.

However, my take on this is that it won't do you much good if you haven't put in the time and developed a martial body.

My own strategy will involve a fair amount of yoga this summer. I have access to some decent instruction in my area and I think that a good yoga instructor can help me with my conditioning and overall alignment, posture etc.

That said, I don't think doing yoga will help much with developing the transmission of skill, BUT at least the next time when I get with these guys I may not be so smoked in my quads or able to use my core better.

So, if I had access to nothing else, I'd download the youtube videos, begin to do some basic yoga, and start developing a "conditioned body".

Frankly if you don't have this, I don't see where the instruction is very helpful.

So...say you did the exercises and some yoga and showed up to the seminar in fairly good "yoga" shape....

I would say you'd had been much better prepared to recieve the training than if you hadn't down anything.

I think the worse thing is to not start training, throw your hands up and say I can't do it cause I don't have access to instruction!

Just do the best you can and go from there...it can't hurt.

Many worry about developing "bad habits". another topic of discussion, but I'd much rather do something and take the risk of developing some bad habits vice not doing anything. You will be further down the road with a few bad habits than without a conditioned body and no habits at all!

That is my opinion though!

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Old 06-03-2008, 10:30 PM   #23
Dan Austin
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Here's a good review:

http://www.emptyflower.net/forums/in...ndpost&p=80299

I take it the army combatives guy referred to is you Kevin, so you're busted. I've wondered about Rob's comments about the applicability to groundwork, what's your take on that?
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Old 06-04-2008, 12:13 AM   #24
Upyu
Dojo: Aunkai, Tokyo
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

Thought I'd chime in here,

First off, thanks for everyone who made it to the seminar, I saw more than a few faces that were familiar, and Ark was pleasantly surprised at more than a few people's progress.

I definitely took back more than a few things to mull on/work on myself, thanks to everyone's direct questions. It's very much a learning experience for myself and keeps me on my toes.

Quote:
Dan Austin wrote: View Post
Here's a good review:

http://www.emptyflower.net/forums/in...ndpost&p=80299

I take it the army combatives guy referred to is you Kevin, so you're busted. I've wondered about Rob's comments about the applicability to groundwork, what's your take on that?
Er, about that,
a) Kevin and I didn't have time to really roll, and I have no illusions that the guy could turn me in a pretzel if we were going at it for real.
Hopefully I'll get a chance in the near future when we head back to DC for another round.

b) I was showing an example of how the "connection" could be used to reverse a submission attempt, in this case a Kimura. It was a demo, nothing more, neither of us were going all out.

c) He asked me how I could use the same stuff to get out from under side mount using these skills.
Other than shrimping/controlling the hips, or other "techs" I know for getting out of a side control, I don't have a direct answer as of yet (still working on that one). :-p (Dan H, you wanna spill some tips? )

d) I did roll with one other person, but again, it was a demo, not a sparring match.

Not that he needs me to back him up, but Kevin sucked it up and sweat just as hard, both physically and mentally.

Knowing how hard his training ethos probably is definitely gave me a kick in the rear to keep up my own training...I'm only sorry we didn't get the time to pick each other's brain on the mat for ground work.

FWIW
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Old 06-04-2008, 06:43 AM   #25
Tom H.
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Re: Akuzawa Sensei Seminar in the DC Area/Aunkai

It was great to see you guys again, Rob, as well as meet so many people from these forums. After a year and a half of practice, more and more of the material makes sense, and I have some new ideas to work on.

Tom
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