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Old 04-14-2011, 02:58 PM   #1
senshincenter
 
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Do You Stand Straight Up?

Do you try to get a positive lean in your posture or do you try to stand straight up at all times? Or, put another way, do you use your torso pelvis hinge to throw/pin or do you lock that hinge in a vertical plane to throw/pin?

http://youtu.be/lxhOwrQUYgQ

http://youtu.be/aicHsMC6rxM

http://youtu.be/dUuH_dnnmCU

http://sweeney.ucr.edu/egallery/anonymous.htm

http://artmuseum.arizona.edu/exhibit..._samurai.shtml

David M. Valadez
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Old 04-14-2011, 04:21 PM   #2
RonRagusa
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Quote:
David Valadez wrote: View Post
Do you try to get a positive lean in your posture or do you try to stand straight up at all times? Or, put another way, do you use your torso pelvis hinge to throw/pin or do you lock that hinge in a vertical plane to throw/pin?
Hi David -

I let my posture float and use my joints to facilitate my connection to uke's center. I find that locking a joint enables uke to apply force at the point of the lock whereas a floating joint permits the force to pass through and be dissipated. Also, when grabbed I always present uke with as many angles as possible between his point of grabbing and my center. Angles distribute forces while straight lines (locked joints) channel forces.

Best,

Ron

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Old 04-14-2011, 04:27 PM   #3
David Orange
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Quote:
David Valadez wrote: View Post
Do you try to get a positive lean in your posture or do you try to stand straight up at all times? Or, put another way, do you use your torso pelvis hinge to throw/pin or do you lock that hinge in a vertical plane to throw/pin?
That was not the original critique. I was talking about standing leaning forward, toward the attacker, before he even begins to move.

The torso/pelvis hinge in throwing can be used to some degree but to stand in a leaning stance as you face the attacker is to be uncentered from the beginning.

http://youtu.be/lxhOwrQUYgQ

O Sensei does not lean toward his opponent before the attack and only rarely during execcution of technique in the Asahi video.

http://youtu.be/aicHsMC6rxM

In the link above, tori does not lean toward the attacker prior to the attack and only leans a little during execution of technique. The technique looks like yoshinkan, to me, and Shioda Sensei was always bolt upright before the attack and during the evasion.

http://youtu.be/dUuH_dnnmCU

Here, too, tori is bolt upright while facing the attacker and leans very little during execution.

http://sweeney.ucr.edu/egallery/anonymous.htm

This woodblock really doesn't make much sense. I doubt many of the woodblock artists were budoka or that they would have been able to get enough information to base accurate images on.

http://artmuseum.arizona.edu/exhibit..._samurai.shtml

I can only say that woodblock prints are not a reliable model for martial arts technique.

David

"That which has no substance can enter where there is no room."
Lao Tzu

"Eternity forever!"

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Old 04-14-2011, 04:28 PM   #4
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Quote:
David Valadez wrote: View Post
Do you try to get a positive lean in your posture or do you try to stand straight up at all times? Or, put another way, do you use your torso pelvis hinge to throw/pin or do you lock that hinge in a vertical plane to throw/pin?
Hi,

Are you saying that "standing straight" and locking the pelvic crease are interdependent processes?
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Old 04-14-2011, 05:10 PM   #5
senshincenter
 
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Quote:
David Orange wrote: View Post
That was not the original critique. I was talking about standing leaning forward, toward the attacker, before he even begins to move.

The torso/pelvis hinge in throwing can be used to some degree but to stand in a leaning stance as you face the attacker is to be uncentered from the beginning.

http://youtu.be/lxhOwrQUYgQ

O Sensei does not lean toward his opponent before the attack and only rarely during execcution of technique in the Asahi video.

http://youtu.be/aicHsMC6rxM

In the link above, tori does not lean toward the attacker prior to the attack and only leans a little during execution of technique. The technique looks like yoshinkan, to me, and Shioda Sensei was always bolt upright before the attack and during the evasion.

http://youtu.be/dUuH_dnnmCU

Here, too, tori is bolt upright while facing the attacker and leans very little during execution.

http://sweeney.ucr.edu/egallery/anonymous.htm

This woodblock really doesn't make much sense. I doubt many of the woodblock artists were budoka or that they would have been able to get enough information to base accurate images on.

http://artmuseum.arizona.edu/exhibit..._samurai.shtml

I can only say that woodblock prints are not a reliable model for martial arts technique.

David
Those woodblock prints are more reliable that many believe.

I don't have time to do the whole video, but in the Asahi film, I was able to note the following leaning moments:

:11
:13
:20
:23
1:04
1:10
1:13 (back)
1:15 (left)
1:39
2:13 (left)
2:26 (forward)

If one pays attention closely, the times when Osensei leans forward is during the omote versions of techniques. The times when he doesn't lean forward is when he's not intended to enter and/or when he's doing ura (when uke's enters). For the sake of clarity then, what are these moments in the film called if not "leaning"? Please help me understand.

d

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Old 04-14-2011, 06:14 PM   #6
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Interesting points made about leaning or not leaning.

Having practiced aikido for eight years and now training in a koryu, there is a distinct difference in postures at times. I am finding that I need to have a 'positive lean' especially at the end of a technique or when entering. I am often being told to stop 'rocking back' into a more upright posture.

Just my musings on it.

Dean.

"flows like water, reflects like a mirror, and responds like an echo." Chaung-tse
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Old 04-14-2011, 06:52 PM   #7
David Orange
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Quote:
David Valadez wrote: View Post
...in the Asahi film, I was able to note the following leaning moments:

:11
:13
:20
:23
1:04
1:10
1:13 (back)
1:15 (left)
1:39
2:13 (left)
2:26 (forward)

If one pays attention closely, the times when Osensei leans forward is during the omote versions of techniques. The times when he doesn't lean forward is when he's not intended to enter and/or when he's doing ura (when uke's enters). For the sake of clarity then, what are these moments in the film called if not "leaning"? Please help me understand.
When I say "leaning," I might ought to use the term "bent" as in the very opening of this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5mf7k9tveI

You're standing bent forward before she grabs and you're not moving even for a moment after she grabs. I'm not criticizing the not moving because you're showing something. But you're also showing a very bent posture that violates what the Chinese call "six harmonies" and which should also be clearly expressed in aikido and other Japanese arts. Between 0:02 and 0:06, you're bent forward and that kind of posture appears repeatedly throughout many of your videos.

That's not the kind of "leaning" we see in the Asahi film. It's not what we see in Shioda or Saito and I never saw anything like it in Japan.

There was no need to diverge to another thread with this. It belongs in the first thread.

David

"That which has no substance can enter where there is no room."
Lao Tzu

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Old 04-14-2011, 10:09 PM   #8
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Wow - that? Really? I just call that trying to demo something, the uke comes in with more penetration than wanted for the demo, and letting the technique go dead so one can complete the demo - all while the camera was rolling. I would not call that a structural representation.

Other than that, as I said, there is a postive lean to my Aikido - to my fighting. No doubt about that.

If one needs to be erect to have the six harmonies - which is what I'm understanding you to say - are the six harmonies not present when Osensei is leaning all throughout his Asahi video?

It's interesting that Dean has a different take then yours on the positive lean - though he's practicing a Koryu. How does that fit in? Or is that completely separate?

For me, the erect posture that is quite visible in a lot of current Aikido is something I turned away from. For me, for example, for what I do, it does not lend itself to stressful situations. Under stress, the positive lean is instinctual and impossible to avoid. The erect posture, for me, seems more akin to non-combat training environments. Hence, why, I believe, we see its over-emphasis in arts that make a predominant use of non-combat/not-live arenas of application - like the majority of contemporary Aikido.

David M. Valadez
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Old 04-15-2011, 02:05 AM   #9
Tenyu
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

The Asahi video from 1935 is not representative of Aikido because O Sensei hadn't fully developed it yet. His arms are overly projected and remain so while receiving uke, that introduces significant resistance and also forces him to overextend during the throw. He dropped the resistance post-war when he was able to accept and receive uke's energy entirely, a prerequisite for grounded non-resistant throwing/striking. O Sensei also dropped sacrifice throws which are always ungrounded, uke-centric, and impossible for multiple attackers.

Nage should never go off the vertical axis. Nage's vertical axis can tilt in dynamic movement such as running around a corner of a building where it's non-perpendicular to the ground, but that's not the same as leaning over off of the vertical axis when it's clearly perpendicular to the ground as is the case throughout nearly all Aikido technqiues. Having vertical axis is required for grounding, which is fundamental to any good budo and healthy living in general. It's not easy to find true ground and vertical axis with precision without high amplification or high frequency interaction with uke. If it weren't for his weapons training, sword and bokken aren't sufficient, I don't think O Sensei would've ever discovered or created Aikido.
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Old 04-15-2011, 07:54 AM   #10
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

personally, i preferred stand straight and not lean, even when i did techniques. all my teachers of various martial arts advocated that posture, i.e. don't compromise your structure and make it easy for your opponent. when i do standing post meditation, leaning of any kind will be painful after awhile. when i took Okinawan karate-do, my sensei used to make us stood in horse stand for a long period of time, and every once in awhile, he jumped up and stood on my thighs. in that sort of training, leaning was an invitation for pain.

there are exceptions. take for example Kuroda sensei. he seemed to be bent in combat mode, especially, when he has a sword in his hands. but i looked at his body bending like a drawn bow with stored potential ready to unleash on moment notice. however, his overall structure isn't compromised as he could freely move and quite fast too. there is this article (in French which i wished it could be translated into English) http://budoshugyosha.over-blog.com/a...-65641305.html. the article shown a bunch of pictures of Kuroda sensei in various stage of movements. methink, with a sword in your hand, you would crouch like a tiger (yup movie time!) to make yourself a smaller target and to setup for spring load moment.
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Old 04-15-2011, 11:34 AM   #11
David Orange
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Quote:
David Valadez wrote: View Post
Wow - that? Really? I just call that trying to demo something, the uke comes in with more penetration than wanted for the demo, and letting the technique go dead so one can complete the demo - all while the camera was rolling. I would not call that a structural representation.
You could have done that with an erect posture--and you would have if that were your habit and a central focus of your training. But you show that posture virtually all the time in pretty much all your demos.

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David Valadez wrote: View Post
Other than that, as I said, there is a postive lean to my Aikido - to my fighting. No doubt about that.
And as I said, first, it's not a lean: it's bent posture; and, second, it betrays an aggressive mind-set that Morihei Ueshiba described as "throwing your spirit away," which is opposite the centered spirit of aikido.

Quote:
David Valadez wrote: View Post
If one needs to be erect to have the six harmonies - which is what I'm understanding you to say - are the six harmonies not present when Osensei is leaning all throughout his Asahi video?
He does move his body in the direction of the throw, but it's nothing like what you're doing, standing very bent before the attack comes.

Quote:
David Valadez wrote: View Post
It's interesting that Dean has a different take then yours on the positive lean - though he's practicing a Koryu. How does that fit in? Or is that completely separate?
Dean has eight years of aikido and I think he has less than a year of koryu. Also, his statement is not entirely clear: "...there is a distinct difference in postures at times. I am finding that I need to have a 'positive lean' especially at the end of a technique or when entering. I am often being told to stop 'rocking back' into a more upright posture."

A "positive lean especially at the end of a technique" may be appropriate, but not a bent-over body. And I do believe that "positive lean" in entering is a mistake, but a bent-over body in entering is altogether different. That's not even an error in kihon waza: that's "pre-kihon" error that permeates all your kihon waza. Further, Dean's statement that he is often being told to stop "rocking back" into a more upright posture sounds like the end of the technique.

So to be clear, we're not talking about a "straight-body forward lean," but about a body that is bent forward from the hips, which betrays an intention to move forward and which an experienced person will use to draw you off your center because, standing that way, you're already off your center and your mind is even further forward than that.

I noticed this the first time I watched one of your videos. "Wow!" I thought when I saw your irimi: "That guy is really bent over!" But I didn't say anything until I read your comments about children sucking, which also show a very aggressive attitude.

Quote:
David Valadez wrote: View Post
For me, the erect posture that is quite visible in a lot of current Aikido is something I turned away from.
I don't know too much about that. I use Sokaku Takeda, Morihei Ueshiba, Kodo Horikawa, Yukiyoshi Sagawa, Minoru Mochizuki, Kenji Tomiki, Yoshio Sugino, Gozo Shioda, Morihiro Saito and many others as my standard of aikido. They all demonstrate upright posture in receiving attacks. And I have another standard: a 71-year-old judo teacher who always shouted, "You're leaning, David!" just before he put me several feet behind him with an effortless throw. "You'd better quit bending over!" he always said as I got to my feet.

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David Valadez wrote: View Post
For me, for example, for what I do, it does not lend itself to stressful situations. Under stress, the positive lean is instinctual and impossible to avoid.
Not so, David. The difference in budo and mere streetfighting or wrestling is the penetration of the sub-conscious to recondition "instinctual," "involuntary" and "impossible to avoid" reactions. I would highly recommend that you read Peter Ralston's Principles of Effortless Power for a look at how that is accomplished. Remember that the powers of fire and water are Ueshiba's primal powers of aikido. And the water power goes straight down. You lose half of that (and more) by bending over because then you have to use more than half of your fire power to keep yourself from falling over: the two become mixed up and confused. One can still work that way, but it's all muscular effort and not the "effortless power" of aikido.

Quote:
David Valadez wrote: View Post
The erect posture, for me, seems more akin to non-combat training environments. Hence, why, I believe, we see its over-emphasis in arts that make a predominant use of non-combat/not-live arenas of application - like the majority of contemporary Aikido.
I have not interest in "contemporary aikido," whatsoever. To me, that simply means "divergent aikido" that has lost its root. If you look at the real roots of aikido, upright posture is the external hallmark. The internal hallmarks are much harder to see and understand.

"That which has no substance can enter where there is no room."
Lao Tzu

"Eternity forever!"

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Old 04-15-2011, 11:49 AM   #12
David Orange
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

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Phi Truong wrote: View Post
personally, i preferred stand straight and not lean, even when i did techniques. all my teachers of various martial arts advocated that posture, i.e. don't compromise your structure and make it easy for your opponent. when i do standing post meditation, leaning of any kind will be painful after awhile. when i took Okinawan karate-do, my sensei used to make us stood in horse stand for a long period of time, and every once in awhile, he jumped up and stood on my thighs. in that sort of training, leaning was an invitation for pain.
Quite true.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...%3Divns&itbs=1

Quote:
Phi Truong wrote: View Post
there are exceptions. take for example Kuroda sensei. he seemed to be bent in combat mode, especially, when he has a sword in his hands. but i looked at his body bending like a drawn bow with stored potential ready to unleash on moment notice. however, his overall structure isn't compromised as he could freely move and quite fast too. there is this article (in French which i wished it could be translated into English) http://budoshugyosha.over-blog.com/a...-65641305.html. the article shown a bunch of pictures of Kuroda sensei in various stage of movements. methink, with a sword in your hand, you would crouch like a tiger (yup movie time!) to make yourself a smaller target and to setup for spring load moment.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...w=1152&bih=750

The character on the right is a master. He kills the other fighter. But one of the best moments in the movie is when this character goes and sits under a tree to wait for the bandits. When they approach, he stands and steps out in front of them with his sword undrawn. And the way he stands is fantastic: straight up and unperturbed. The enemy, on seeing him, almost falls down. The master draws his sword in a flash and cuts down two men.

And this material, by the way, was choreographed by Yoshio Sugino, master of aikido and katori shinto ryu.

I suppose what I see in David's stances on the videos is that his mind is not at rest. It's over-eager and appears incapable of centering.

Best to you.

David

"That which has no substance can enter where there is no room."
Lao Tzu

"Eternity forever!"

www.esotericorange.com
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Old 04-15-2011, 12:04 PM   #13
RonRagusa
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Maruyama sensei demonstrated, time and again, that mind and body coordination can be present no matter how the body is configured. He would stand on one leg and have us push on him, bend over from the waist and have us push on him, lean backwards and have us push on him; it didn't really matter. The fact is that he didn't move because he internalized correct feeling and so was in his strongest possible state no matter what position he put his body into.

With correct feeling (internally correct posture) the body is supported and remains strong regardless of external positioning.

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Old 04-15-2011, 12:40 PM   #14
David Orange
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

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Ron Ragusa wrote: View Post
With correct feeling (internally correct posture) the body is supported and remains strong regardless of external positioning.
But when nage commits his weight onto the other person, as I see in David's video clips, that's a lack of centering, which can be used against him.

David

"That which has no substance can enter where there is no room."
Lao Tzu

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Old 04-15-2011, 01:23 PM   #15
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Phi, not great but here you go
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Old 04-15-2011, 06:26 PM   #16
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Most sensei I've had, had excellent posture and usually gave me a good beating whenever I leaned forward. Or at least a stern talking to...
W
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Old 04-15-2011, 09:06 PM   #17
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

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David Orange wrote: View Post
But when nage commits his weight onto the other person, as I see in David's video clips, that's a lack of centering, which can be used against him.

David
Hi David -

I understand what you're saying. Might not nage commit his weight onto uke and be centered at the same time? As has been observed many times before, it's just not possible to experience what uke is feeling from looking at video clips.

It's been my experience that there's a big difference between leaning into an uke with correct feeling and leaning into uke in the absence of correct feeling, even though outwardly both appear the same.

Best,

Ron

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Old 04-15-2011, 10:06 PM   #18
David Orange
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

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Ron Ragusa wrote: View Post
I understand what you're saying. Might not nage commit his weight onto uke and be centered at the same time?
Well, I'm using "commit" your weight as to "lean on" uke so that he has to support you because you're not supporting yourself.

Weight transference--where you put your weight into him, but don't commit it, outside yourself--is another thing, more what I think you're talking about.

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Ron Ragusa wrote: View Post
As has been observed many times before, it's just not possible to experience what uke is feeling from looking at video clips.
Here, I'm not so concerned with what uke feels. I'm concerned with what nage is doing.

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It's been my experience that there's a big difference between leaning into an uke with correct feeling and leaning into uke in the absence of correct feeling, even though outwardly both appear the same.
But again, I'm not talking about "leaning," which you can do with a straight body, but about bending over, which requires extra muscular effort, which saps the power of the body.

You mentioned Maruyama Sensei's being able to remain un-pushable in some unusual postures and it sounds a lot like what Forrest Chang shows in his "Stupid Jin Tricks," but it takes a lot of development and he only shows it as a "trick," or example of possibilities. I don't know of anyone who regularly works from a distorted (bent) posture or advocates it as the "correct" way to work. Note Phi's comments above.

It's a theoretical and "debatable" point as long as training itself is theoretical. But when real forces come into play (as in judo randori) a bent posture quickly breaks down.

Did you check out the link I posted to David's videos? Do you have any examples of Tohei ever operating like that? And the further back you go to aikido's roots, the more impeccable the erect posture is found.

I have always found that a bent-forward posture is accompanied by an over-eager mind. It works with cooperative ukes, but when the attacker gets a little sneaky, it's easy to make a bent nage fall into a hole.

Best to you.

David

"That which has no substance can enter where there is no room."
Lao Tzu

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Old 04-16-2011, 10:21 AM   #19
RonRagusa
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

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Well, I'm using "commit" your weight as to "lean on" uke so that he has to support you because you're not supporting yourself.

Weight transference--where you put your weight into him, but don't commit it, outside yourself--is another thing, more what I think you're talking about.
Quite correct. It's the essence of weight underside.

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David Orange wrote: View Post
You mentioned Maruyama Sensei's being able to remain un-pushable in some unusual postures and it sounds a lot like what Forrest Chang shows in his "Stupid Jin Tricks," but it takes a lot of development and he only shows it as a "trick," or example of possibilities. I don't know of anyone who regularly works from a distorted (bent) posture or advocates it as the "correct" way to work. Note Phi's comments above.
When we practice this kind of work it's done mainly to illustrate the fact that mind/body coordination is possible regardless of one's physical positioning. The goal is to strengthen internal posture without resorting to stable external posture as a base from which to work. It's fairly advanced stuff. We like to get beginners squared away on correct external posture before introducing the the concept of internal posture. We then link the two and move on to the development of internal posture from a variety of unstable physical positions later on.

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David Orange wrote: View Post
I have always found that a bent-forward posture is accompanied by an over-eager mind. It works with cooperative ukes, but when the attacker gets a little sneaky, it's easy to make a bent nage fall into a hole.
It's interesting that you say this. As I get older I'm finding that the nature of my attacks is changing, especially the grabs. I can move into a nage with energetic slowness, grab and then sort of melt away as he goes to apply a technique if he hasn't first taken my balance. I'll give beginners the freebie, but see no reason to roll over for advanced folks. I had a judo guy who used to study with us and I would slip into this attacking mode whenever he got flustered in randori and resorted to attempting a judo throw. I didn't realize what I was doing until years later; I just knew I didn't want to be flying over anyone's hip.

Best,

Ron

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Old 04-16-2011, 05:49 PM   #20
JW
 
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Hi Ron, let me see if I get you right:
Quote:
Ron Ragusa wrote: View Post
Maruyama sensei demonstrated, time and again, that mind and body coordination can be present no matter how the body is configured.
...
The fact is that he didn't move because he internalized correct feeling and so was in his strongest possible state no matter what position he put his body into.
Can you please tell me if you agree with this rewording: Maybe it's more correct to say that he was in a "strong enough" state no matter what external position he put himself into, because he internalized correct feeling. (he stayed strong despite the compromised positions) Or, do you really think, as in the quote, that he retained a true "strongest possible state" throughout the bent-over push tests? (he was not affected at all by the compromised positions)
Might seem like semantics, but these 2 different points of view have different practical ramifications and are important to me.

Also, I don't get this:
Quote:
Ron Ragusa wrote: View Post
When we practice this kind of work it's done mainly to illustrate the fact that mind/body coordination is possible regardless of one's physical positioning. ... It's fairly advanced stuff.
I thought like David O said, that this kind of demonstration was to show development state. If it was "advanced stuff," then it sounds like your tradition would agree with that.
But you seem to be saying that it is not advanced stuff in terms of physical conditioning, only in terms of mental skill. Is this correct? Thanks!
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Old 04-16-2011, 06:19 PM   #21
RonRagusa
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Quote:
Jonathan Wong wrote: View Post
Can you please tell me if you agree with this rewording: Maybe it's more correct to say that he was in a "strong enough" state no matter what external position he put himself into, because he internalized correct feeling. (he stayed strong despite the compromised positions) Or, do you really think, as in the quote, that he retained a true "strongest possible state" throughout the bent-over push tests? (he was not affected at all by the compromised positions)
Might seem like semantics, but these 2 different points of view have different practical ramifications and are important to me.
Hi Jonathan -

I would have to say that, based on what I felt when testing him, that he was not affected at all by the compromised positions. I say this because he could move freely from position to position while being pushed and all the while I felt as though I was pushing on a boulder. When we do this type of exercise in class I am able to maintain mind/body coordination throughout as I move from one position to another. So from the other side of the exercise what I am feeling is my uke trying to push but having nothing to push against. His force has no where to stop and apply itself when I have correct feeling.

Quote:
Jonathan Wong wrote: View Post
I thought like David O said, that this kind of demonstration was to show development state. If it was "advanced stuff," then it sounds like your tradition would agree with that.
But you seem to be saying that it is not advanced stuff in terms of physical conditioning, only in terms of mental skill. Is this correct?
What I was trying to get at was that with beginners I have found that progressing from correct external posture, to correct internal posture with correct external posture, to correct internal posture regardless of external posture is a learning sequence that works. Because we see no differentiation between mind and body, it is a bit of an artificial construct but teaching it that way allows students to experience the feelings in a logical progression. So when I say it's advanced stuff I am speaking in terms of a student's progression through the sequence.

Sorry for the confusion.

Best,

Ron

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Old 04-17-2011, 07:19 AM   #22
Walter Martindale
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Re: Do You Stand Straight Up?

Structurally, when you "drop your weight," which happens with some degree of bending your legs, if you are to keep your centre of mass over your feet, your body will bend forward slightly from the hips while the butt goes out backwards a little, but the centre of mass stays in line with the base. There's a difference between this and "leaning forward" which puts the centre of mass out over the toes.

Most instruction I've had and most experts I've seen "sink their weight" with good posture to "finish" a throw, finish a cut, or whatever - I've used it to assist in splitting logs and driving iron posts into ground with a sledge hammer.

If your concept of "leaning forward" is the former (slight bend at the hips while your weight drops) you're probably good to go. If your concept of 'leaning forward' is the latter, where the line of your weight does the equivalent of going out over your toes, then that's probably not good to go, and you'll be ponderous, you'll have trouble doing a tenkan without a wide swing, and you will have trouble changing direction.
Most good martial artsy types I've seen (and I DON'T count myself in this group - I consider my self mediocre) have good posture and are able to move their balance forward and backward within a good base while absolutely wrecking the balance of the person they're working on.
Cheers,
W

Last edited by Walter Martindale : 04-17-2011 at 07:23 AM.
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