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...