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Aikido Winter Intensive: Day 4, part 2

Saotome Sensei's Morning class:
Oh my frack. George Ledyard is the fastest person I've every trainined with.
I got the whole 1.5 hour class with him. I was lucky to be standing next to him when Sensei calls our "Bokken". He turns to me and says, "let's play".
"Sure" I said. While in my head I though, yea, you play, while I freak out behind my mushin face because you are so above my pay-grade.He's a Rokkudan, and me a little shodan. Well I have it a good collage try. But seriously, he's so fast you have Nooooo idea.
Saotome's starts class with a pronoucement. Dan grade students must now train with a tsuba. People are getting away with sloopy bokken grips. no more!
Then he grabs his kattana. Yea, it's going to be that kind of class...
We were doing basic two sword forms, single cut counters ect ect. Same ones we did in Missoula in October.
But doing them with George...intense George...different story.
First he expects a strong and intent-full strike. My shomen is so slow by his standards it was embarassing. I'll be working on thaaaat!
I have the basic theory right, but have to turn up the speed about (seriously) 4x...?maybe more. raise, cut step all at almost once instantly.
Once I was delivering faster strikes, Ledyard started to open up on me. His read of my body language was so creepy right-on.
First of all I was working on content from his last class on Monday (day2) with totally relaxed body to generate the fastest strike possible. So i'm relaxed, but in a ready state. Ok, so the 1/10th of a second after the thought crosses my mind to strike, he's read it and done the counter. NO really. The moment my bokken raised half way to cut him,he was done with me....i'm dead. I'm still a bit stumped. I was trying my hardest to hide as much as humanly possible.
Smooth face, relased arms legs, spine, eyes ect ect. No matter. The moment after I think about raising the bokken, BANG! Kiai, two cuts and i'm dead.
Meanwhile Saotome's waving the katanna around and lecturing about modern society's lack of personal responsibility. There's no one on the battlefield to blame when you die exept your self.
Then we trasfer over to empty hand training, keeping the same feel and intent as the bokken training. Strong shomen/mune-tsuki, nage brushes aside and strikes.
But I'm doing this with Ledyard. Plenty of excitement with someone 2x my weight, and 6x my rank.
Then we switch to front kicks. And for the life of me I can't dodge his kick. He tracked 100% of the time.
I was soooo unused to that attack I had no idea what to do. Not that it was much different from a strike. But I was all locked up.
After some good coaching from Ledyard I finally relaxed enough to not tense up by his 2x the size "column of force" projecting towards me.
With a relaxed stance, and simple half turn/pivot on the back foot I was finally brushing off his kicks. But dear lord do I/we have a lot to practice.
It was by far the most intense 1.5 hours of the whole seminar...and totally worth the price of admission alone.
I need more training...

but wait, there's more

Part 3 is next

Aikido Winter Intensive: Day4, part 1

Aikido Winter Intensive
Day4: What a day!

Ledyard Sensei's morning class:
Focus on empty hand uke-waza, through gaishi-waza practice. This definitely complimented and extended content from his seminar in Bozeman, so I had fun.
I got to train with Katrina most the class. Good lord is she sensitive! I have to totally recalibrate my force scale just to get in the ballpark of where her neutral space is.
Class started with a tenkan-irimi practice we did at the seminar. But wow, there's a lot going on in there. I definaly want to bring this back to my class.
This is where parters are cross hand palm to palm, and the first person tenkans, the second follows, then rolls reverse with NO disconnect.
First there's the center connection...backflow (as he puts it) during all parts of the tenkan from one partner to the other. Add to that proper posture and ma-ai, martially speaking. Then after a few turns uke throws an elbow into the chest to see if nage is connected and flexible.
And in here lies Ledyards concept of "all-ready". Timing and being faster makes no sense if you are all-ready "inside" their attack, and your counter/throw is created from the attack, to which you are connected and physically enformed. "Inside" and "allready" are tough concepts to type into text...but after this class I think I understand them better.
So after the elbow strike test, we get into raising uke up slightly and rolling their palm up, back and down into a simple throw. I tried with a bit of success in raising uke with just hip rotation breath movement...just bearly. What was interesting though is to practice more of the "hip release" Ledyared alway's mentiones. I think this means (for example) from a connected to uke hanmi stance, without letting the connection flow stop or change, releasing the hip so the whole hip girdle changes positions to setup the next force vector.
The last exercise we did was the, cross body connection excercise from katate-dori. To this he added moving from one grasp (katate-dori) to uke grabs a second place on nage's body, and nage switches but maintains the cross body connection. Very worthwile!
So the big take-aways from the class, after training with Katrina were many.
NOT GETTING TENSE is a HUGE one. I have to unlearn all my instincts and years of training. It totally get's in the way as uke and nage.
Once I let go though, knowing that even when things feel bound up, that moving uke is still possible if it's in their dead-space is something new I need to start having trust in.
Spiraling internally from shoulders, arms down through the chest and into the ground does work. This is Olson sensei's drop the belly technique in practice...but once you do that, you have to move it somewhere.
I need more training!...

Aikido Winter Intensive: Day3

Day 3:
Off-Day
Only trained in Pee-Wee's 6:30 am class.
My alarm clock scared the $#@! out of me, but I got up and made it to the mat.
Pee-Wee's a very short (shorter than Saotome) southern gentlemanly-type who must be in his late 70's maybe...? Totally cute, and then he hits you ;)
The class was a long warm up, and basic techniques. Really just a place and time to move around.
Finished class with kokyu-tanden-ho. I did this with I think a gentlemen my age from Turkey. There was a whole troupe of them! Good for them.
I need more training...

Aikido Winter Intensive: Day2

Aikido Winter Intensive
Day 2:
The morning class was taught by Kevin Choate Sensei from Chicago. Boy is he a trip! Is movement reminds me a-lot of Olson sensei, if you took out all the "techiques" and judo training.
All that would be left is posture changes (really small) and incredible subtle center sinking ability that takes uke's legs away. Choate sensie is obviously American, but he's adopted some very Saotome-esque speech manarismas, to which one must add some wierd facial expressions.
Add that to his tall frame and you get a funny looking (movement and otherwise) sounding guy!
I had the pleasure of training with Peirre Musy, where you practice keeping uke from getting up off the ground.
I also training with a nice and instructional Sensie from Tampa (Steven-sensei) who showed me how to split people energy as they're trying to get up.
Very cool stuff to try back home.
The training was quite nice! The focus was on the listening aspect of aiki. Listening to uke, before during and after an attack/techique.
I like the way Choat sensei put it. If uke doesn't want to do ikkyo, then find something he does. This removes any thought of sticking with a given technique, even as you start to struggle against it. I enjoyed class very much, and find it's complimentary to Ledyards theory's, and also takes the stance as an attempt to explain and demonstrate an aspect of what makes Saotome's art, work. Which we all need.
Between this and the next class I had fun free training in Choat sensei's class content "stuff" with Dan Penrod sensei from Beaverton's dojo. (budodojo.com)

After Choat sensei's class was Saotome's pre-lunch class.
Shugyo - sincere training. That was the word of the day. Focus was on advanced level training, take-musu-aiki, and striking-based counters attacks.
Attack and defense are one. Something I enjoy, as I have found that aspect in weapons training very fulfilling.
Given a strong tsuki, the next step would be a center connecting and grounding entry of the outside hand. Interesting, but not suprising the hand's shape make a big difference.
Sensei showed the palm slightly turned towards uke, as a pausing strategy to setup the next movement, which he then added variations to for the rest of the class.
I was interesting to note different uke skills as I roamed around the mat, from front to second row people. It's cool to feel where you are in the space of things with the uke's you train with. Sensei finished class with a classic sincere "peeesed-off" lecture. Hummm, I need more practice.

Aikido Winter Intensive: Day1

Aikido Winter Intensive
Day 1:
the first class I attended was Sensei John Messoure's morning class.
His class focused on the initial extension we should make upon the onset of an attack, within the context of "real world" engagements. Or as Katrina put it last night, with martial correctness.
In this practice we moved away from pre-defined attacks, and let go of the left-right-left-right pattern uke uses. This, in the attempt to better train our initial movement response to be a sincere extension to connect to uke as the attack is unfolding from any direction possible.
I really enjoyed this type of training! You get to let go of any technique and just move, enter, connect.
When I got into "the zone" I could feel as if uke's pre-attack wind-up would start pulling my body forwards toward uke.
I'm reminded of Ledyard observation about timing, and how you don't have to be faster than uke, just "inside the attack".
Sensei Messours made a nice point when he said uke basically has 2 movements they have to make in order to attack.
1) the load 2)the strike But that nage should only need really 1 movement, the extended entry into uke's space, so they are at a big advantage.
I've seen Youtube clips of a tactical fighting training course that's centered around this type of initial response training.
The idea is that our survival instincts are faster than conscious thought, and serve us best if we can train them to one simple movement up and out to deffend ourselves.
Especially if you can do so in a way that puts you at a martially advantageous position. This is exactly what Messoures Sensie was doing.
It was a great first class. Then we switched to yokomenuchi with shinai, and I my uke had no physical tells before movement. Just one move, and thwak, he'd hit me.
More training needed...

The second class I attended was Saotome's evening class.
I'm so thankful to Ledyard Sensie for providing some vocabulary, both verbal and physical for what Saotome's doing!
I am deluding my self a bit, but I swear I think I understand a bit more how (in theory) he's moving people.
One example Saotome used was about the neutral space between people, and that it must stay loose. Like two object, if you press them together it becomes hard (due to friction) for one to move. But if you back off a little, and leave some neutral space, each can still move. In this case, it leaves nage free to move and allign his center ect ect. I felt this again last night in class.
But how do you create neutral space without making an opening? You can't just back off after making initial contact...
I'm now playing with that feeling after first contact, first center connection, where my center drops and I breath out. I think it's the same hole Ledyard was showing during the seminar, and the same low center Olson sensei throws with.
And then there was the lecture part about paying attention and seeing the techniques. Saotome's usual diatribe on sincere learning ect ect...
But this time I'm seeing context of his despair after reading Lowry's In the Dojo. The conflict comes from his expectation for how he learned from O Sensie, and consequently the settings for and how most classic koryu was taught and learned, verses our westernized business model dojo structure.
But to be honest, I think he's really trying hard to teach his art. He's using the right words, (sparingly). But between the 2 minute's between training and his next lexture, and the deep internal aspect of his principles...it's pretty hard to apply what you learn on the spot.
Need more training...

Answers from Ledyard Sensei

A few posts back I tried to summarized my understanding of aiki as taught by George Ledyard sensei. I think I had about as many questions as I had insights.
So I wrote an e-mail to George asking for clarification. Here's his reply.

George Sensei,

I'm still buzzing from you seminar in Bozeman!
And even better the magic is still flowing, though at 1/10th the rate. I'm calling it my new-aikido, as I have total beginners mind once again. Thank you!
But...would you mind clarifying a few things?

I'm working on kata-dori. In-Up-Out into tenkan.
My questions are:
1) To achieve center-touching connection, that moves across the others frame from near shoulder to far shoulder to far hip to far foot, I think I need hips. Is this where pelvis rotation up (that's directed by the fingers) comes in? Or is that more for generating step #2 "Up"? Or is the hip rotation more in the horizontal plane, not the vertical (yet)?
There are a number of ways that these connections can be made. Despite the fact that what I showed folks seems like advanced technique, it really represents only the start towards real internal power per the discussion on the web. So. To start with go for connection using weight shift and subtle rotation of the pelvis forward and backwards to get he up anf down. Use weight shift side to side and subtle hip pressure to get the horizontal. The big deal with internal power training is to develop the ability to make this happen with no visible outer movement but rather by using the myofascial connections inside your body.

2) Is the "Up" generated by breathing in and/or (?) pelvic rotation up. We did both so much I can't recall the order/steps.

The in breath expands you, fills your body with “ki” (in other words, energizes the myofascial structure). The out breath can be part of the “receiving” process, allowing the partner’s energy to come into your structure. The pelvis is merely giving direction to the energy of he connection. So it’s going to move in the direction you wish the partner to go when you want him to go there. It is very subtle. Evenetually, it’s really an energizing of the structure rather than an overt movement. That’s why you can’t see Ikeda Sensei or Saotome Sensei actually doing what I am talking about. This is just a foundation to get people connecting properly.

3) The "Out" is where I'm failing the most. My first step in the out-phase is to pinch my shoulder blades and subtly exhale.

This is the “receving stage”. The shoulders bring the incoming power to the spine. The out breath allows you to be relaxed and soft so you don’t clash with the partner

That elicits an unbalancing feeling in uke. I see people shifting weight or wobbling around, which is a good sign, but not enough to move into anything. And the second I do I totally loose the connection...dohhhh.

Without feeling it, I can’t say exactly but 99% of the time, people start ok and then lose the forward flow to the partner’s center when they try to turn him. There must be constant flow to the partner’s center. That’s why all movement is from te body, not the arms. If you try to moe him with your arms, you will loser the center to center connection.

Can you explain the release of a hip, in the context of what it's doing before it releases. Is it tight, holding either a hanmi stance tailbone tucking action? And then is free to rotate around the other hip, thus creating an axis of rotation...? Any hint/clues? :)

When you “connect” and brong the power of the attack to your center vertical axis, if nothing else happens, all that power simply grounds out and the attacker is essentially pushing oin the floor through your structure. We donb’t really want to stop at that point. So just as the center to center connection creates a small pressure zone between you, you release one hip (just relax it… this isn’t a big hip turn, it’s a release of tension). The partner will go in the direction of he hip you released. Using weight shifting, you can set up different nuetral pivots points so that either hip can be the axis of rotation. Once again… the REALLY good people don’t shift the weight, they do this internally. I can do it a bit but it’s too hard tyo teach people who don’t already know what’s going on. Ikeda Sensei was doing this the last time I saw him and I think I was the only person in theroom whoi had any idea what he was doing.

For more context, I just posted the extended version of my internal conversation and questions to my class-blog.

I'm having a blast, you should know, uncovering this new-to-me principles that I can see will add an incredible amount to my Aikido.

Unfortunately, these are new to almost everyone principles. A lot of what I am teaching is material that is “hot off the presses” so to speak. I am passing it along as fast as I can figure it all out. There are some people I am hoping to train with next year who are off the charts oin this stuff.

Happy holidays!!!!

- George