After Ledyard's seminar, I am having to re-evaluate (among other things) appropriate levels of resistance. At first I struggled with the idea that in order to feel, get and learn these more subtle levels of internal aiki, that we had to have an uke who provides the perfect level of both connection and resistance. But I keep remembering what George said about having to relearn this stuff from a basic starting point before moving on, and that having a cooperative uke to help is an important part of that process.
So that get's me started thinking about my own progression as uke and the different orders of resistance we can apply.
I'm using the word "Orders" here like I would "orders of magnitude" or "third order differential equation", or "fifth order polynomial approximation"...you get the idea.
First Order:
I could not get out of this mode to save my life until about 4 years of training. I don't know if I was just too nice, too soft or too whatever. I was a compliant uke, offering nothing but strikes and force in one direction, rarely connecting constantly to nage. This is a nice place to be for learning kihon waza through about Nikkyu exam.
Second Order:
This is what I'm going to call the ukeme required to learn the subtle internal aiki techniques we learned at the seminar. The ittaika one-body, bridge connection. This has underlying martial principles of connection and sensitivity to nage. Once the uke-nage connection is made, it's kept until the last possible moment before receiving the throw. More importantly, and what set this up as different from the next order of resistance is that resistance to unbalancing is minimal enough that nage is allowed to get a rough feel for success using subtle aiki technique. Once a movement is induced that would break your balance, you do not try to regain it.
Third Order:
Add to the second order resistance. Now when nage connects and you move let's say forward a very little bit, you try now to reset and resist by going the other way equally. Nage has to sense and shift from forward unbalancing to rear, or what ever direction is required to throw to fully unbalance and throw.
Fourth Order:
Let's just call this bastard ukemi for now.
In this mode I try to not move under any circumstance. I'll use all my internal structure, frame and center finding tricks to undo nage's power and leverage.
To these order of resistance, there of levels of course. Roughly...too soft, just right, and too hard.
I usually spend most of my time doing third order and a little too hard for my(and our) own good.
I want to move back to second order so that we can start building on successful applications of proper soft aiki power. I'm afraid that if we don't start back there, we'll loose that feeling of "can-do" we found during the seminar. I think it takes a more compliant, but better connected uke than we're used to...
That's my theory for the week...
And now for something completely different:
Some OUTSTANDING randori.
Be sure to check the 5v1 with bokken around 1:00 mark.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
In, Up, Out
In
Up
Out
That has been my beginners mind mantra since the seminar.
Sounds easy...
But the "How" for each queue involves some new internal techniques that I'm struggling to put all together. I've been focusing on kata-dori for a common point of reference that I can internalize and start each class with.
So here's what I have so far:
In --> I can do OK. A center-touching connection as uke or nage, from a flexible extension. I really like the feeling of proper attacking "intention" that achieves the single-body bridge feeling. This is an alive feeling, where attack and defense flow because of the connection.
Once I know the bridge has been formed, I will move on. At the same time I'm trying to find how to minimize the force requied to make the "bridge" connection that immobalizes the person I'm attached to. Ittai ka, check.
But here's also where my first question falls. 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 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)?
Up--> I can do too, with either breathing in or with pelvic rotation. But to be honest I'm shotgunning with both because I'm not sure exactly how to use each...
As I'm figuring that out, I'm still very focused on keeping a neutral force connection at the point of contact so nothing get's telegraphed across. This element is perhaps the biggest relevation of the seminar for me. It makes so much sense and explains so very much about the potency of Aikdo that to date has totally elluded me. Aiki prinicples do-not-require strength to achieve!
Out --> Here's where I'm falling short. My first step in the out-phase is to pinch my shoulder blades and subtly exhale. 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.
So here's where my attention is focused on understanding futher.
Towards that end, there are 3 things I'm working on. Breath release, shoulder pinching, and rotation by realeasing a hip. The hip release is the one that I have hard THE hardesting time feeling....
But the good news is that each time on the mat, I have at least once been able to generate that magic feeling of taking uke with no force purely by internal/energetic means. I just can't explain everything I'm doing yet, and thus can't really share the theory effectively.
Thus, I shal continue to practice and study, and study and practice...becuase this stuff is awesome!
I appreciate your thoughts, epiphanies, revelations, feelings and feedback.
See you on the mat!
My textbook reference comes from the two PDFs George Sensei sent out prior to the seminar.
They are Here: "The Principles of Aiki" and Here: "Elements of Connection"
But the "How" for each queue involves some new internal techniques that I'm struggling to put all together. I've been focusing on kata-dori for a common point of reference that I can internalize and start each class with.
So here's what I have so far:
In --> I can do OK. A center-touching connection as uke or nage, from a flexible extension. I really like the feeling of proper attacking "intention" that achieves the single-body bridge feeling. This is an alive feeling, where attack and defense flow because of the connection.
Once I know the bridge has been formed, I will move on. At the same time I'm trying to find how to minimize the force requied to make the "bridge" connection that immobalizes the person I'm attached to. Ittai ka, check.
But here's also where my first question falls. 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 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)?
Up--> I can do too, with either breathing in or with pelvic rotation. But to be honest I'm shotgunning with both because I'm not sure exactly how to use each...
As I'm figuring that out, I'm still very focused on keeping a neutral force connection at the point of contact so nothing get's telegraphed across. This element is perhaps the biggest relevation of the seminar for me. It makes so much sense and explains so very much about the potency of Aikdo that to date has totally elluded me. Aiki prinicples do-not-require strength to achieve!
Out --> Here's where I'm falling short. My first step in the out-phase is to pinch my shoulder blades and subtly exhale. 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.
So here's where my attention is focused on understanding futher.
Towards that end, there are 3 things I'm working on. Breath release, shoulder pinching, and rotation by realeasing a hip. The hip release is the one that I have hard THE hardesting time feeling....
But the good news is that each time on the mat, I have at least once been able to generate that magic feeling of taking uke with no force purely by internal/energetic means. I just can't explain everything I'm doing yet, and thus can't really share the theory effectively.
Thus, I shal continue to practice and study, and study and practice...becuase this stuff is awesome!
I appreciate your thoughts, epiphanies, revelations, feelings and feedback.
See you on the mat!
My textbook reference comes from the two PDFs George Sensei sent out prior to the seminar.
They are Here: "The Principles of Aiki" and Here: "Elements of Connection"
Monday, November 9, 2009
Beginners Mind
This last weekend's seminar with George Ledyard Sensei has left me with a profound feeling of "beginners mind". I now get to rebuild my Aikido. Sincerely, thank you Ledyard Sensei.
For months now training in Saturday morning "Breathing" class, Sensei has been hinting at the power that lies when you choose to let go of conflict. I realize now that I have so much to unlearn. I can't just do it during randori practice at the end of class, I have to start back at the beginning, on everything. Olson Sensei has showed me what's on the other side of the brick wall, a lush garden of Aiki possibility. Ledyard sensei has handed me, and everyone else on the mat this weekend the instruction manual to dismatle that wall.
In, Up and Out.
It will take me a while to figure out exactly why these new techniques work. But when they work, it feels incredibly magical. It's so hard to not think they were flukes, or that uke just bailed for you. The most incredible experience for me by far was on Friday night, after working through breathing and hanmi excercises. Ledyard called on me to uke for katate-dori tenkan.
I was so excited to get to plant a "spine-touching" uke-waza attack on his wrist. I was planted, grounded and felt like I was not going anywhere. And then without feeling any sensation in my wrist or arm, when Ledyard breathed and shifted into me, inexplicably I felt myself go up. Not much, maybe 1/4", and then when he exhaled slightly, I felt like I fell about a foot as he easily turned around me and pinned my feet to the mat. It was one of the most profound uke experience I've had.
After spending the whole weekend practicing the rescipie for this type of fundamental aiki techique, I'm so excited to keep working on it. It's going to be hard for me to not spend my entire time on the mat looking for those perfectly relaxed but extended movements of hip and breath that let us tap into uke's unconscious movements. This is in fact my challenge in the Intermediate Class. How do I teach my "old" aikido, while wanting to learn "new" aikido at the same time. And once I to have a grasp of the true subtle nature of this aiki, how much should/can be taught to those only beginning on their path? It's obviously incredibly important. How do you teach that the unseen and unfelt is more important that the big movements that we've been doing for years?
I don't have the answer, but I'm going to go looking for it.
I hope you'll all come along with me.
For months now training in Saturday morning "Breathing" class, Sensei has been hinting at the power that lies when you choose to let go of conflict. I realize now that I have so much to unlearn. I can't just do it during randori practice at the end of class, I have to start back at the beginning, on everything. Olson Sensei has showed me what's on the other side of the brick wall, a lush garden of Aiki possibility. Ledyard sensei has handed me, and everyone else on the mat this weekend the instruction manual to dismatle that wall.
In, Up and Out.
It will take me a while to figure out exactly why these new techniques work. But when they work, it feels incredibly magical. It's so hard to not think they were flukes, or that uke just bailed for you. The most incredible experience for me by far was on Friday night, after working through breathing and hanmi excercises. Ledyard called on me to uke for katate-dori tenkan.
I was so excited to get to plant a "spine-touching" uke-waza attack on his wrist. I was planted, grounded and felt like I was not going anywhere. And then without feeling any sensation in my wrist or arm, when Ledyard breathed and shifted into me, inexplicably I felt myself go up. Not much, maybe 1/4", and then when he exhaled slightly, I felt like I fell about a foot as he easily turned around me and pinned my feet to the mat. It was one of the most profound uke experience I've had.
After spending the whole weekend practicing the rescipie for this type of fundamental aiki techique, I'm so excited to keep working on it. It's going to be hard for me to not spend my entire time on the mat looking for those perfectly relaxed but extended movements of hip and breath that let us tap into uke's unconscious movements. This is in fact my challenge in the Intermediate Class. How do I teach my "old" aikido, while wanting to learn "new" aikido at the same time. And once I to have a grasp of the true subtle nature of this aiki, how much should/can be taught to those only beginning on their path? It's obviously incredibly important. How do you teach that the unseen and unfelt is more important that the big movements that we've been doing for years?
I don't have the answer, but I'm going to go looking for it.
I hope you'll all come along with me.
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