aikido log
I taught today, the first of 3 Monday classes. This was less a case of "be the change you want to see in the world," and more that a) our senior instructor is following Sensei around the country, b) our other senior instructor is on paternity leave, and c) our other regular instructor, less senior than the other two, but quite estimable in her own right, has a busted leg.
Anyway, I tried to emphasize a few things that don't come up quite enough in class.
1) Bunny hands. Vicka talked about this last week, and I expect she will bring it up again, but it's worth repeating, especially to the lower belts and the upper belts. You don't want to grab stiffly, but you want to keep relaxed open hands, right in front of you. We started with the yokomenuchi kokyunage where you drop uke right in front of you. This is a great line technique, and a great freestyle technique, because bunny hands mean that you drop uke quickly (and definitely), and you're ready for the next uke.
2) The big expansive feeling that Dan McDougall and others have talked about. Even little people can be big when they get the big feeling. One of our beginners is a short, slightly built Indian woman, who can be plenty big when she wants to. Or take Vicka - Vicka is big, has big ki. So we did the kosatori (cross-hand) kokynage that sensei started MIT seminar with. Uke has your wrist - so what. You do that nice wrist twist, and move behind uke, all the while leaving your wrist out at the end of uke's arm. In the end, you're behind them, they're completely extended, and you can do the scarf technique throw.
3) Knowing when you have uke's balance. I forgot to discuss this until midway through the class, but it's something I try to impress upon beginners whenever I work with them. It's important to know how to take uke's balance, because that allows you to throw them, even if they're much bigger than you. But it's equally important to know when you've got uke's balance, because then you can throw effectively, without undue force. It also gives you what Sensei calls the "coffee break moment", when you don't have to do anything, because you own their ass, and you can drop it on the mat at any time. So I discussed this in relation to ryokatatetori tenchinage ("heaven and earth throw"), but it's broadly applicable.
What else? We did tsuki ikkyo, where I emphasized both the bunny hand and the big expansive feeling. One side effect of the big feeling is that it keeps you in proper posture - you should be able to be ki-tested at any point during the technique. Tsuki kote gaeshi - ditto, but even more bunny hand. Incidentally, the fashion in kote gaeshi seems to have swung back to going way behind uke, rather than staying in close, and wiping their arm across their back.
After class, I had a conversation with a recently-returned lower-belt about appropriate levels of resistance. Our dojo has a reputation for being hard-ass, because we learn from Dave, and Dave can resist anyone (except Sensei) if he wants to. But I was chewed out at seminar by no less than Gary Snyder (Dave's sensei) for being too hard. It doesn't help you or your partner learn the technique properly, it invites nage to try a different technique, at it authorizes nage to throw hard - you resist hard, you can expect to get thrown hard. Not to say that you shouldn't resist, because that doesn't help your partner learn the technique either, but it should be an appropriate level of resistance.
Anyway, the time passed well enough, and I'll willingly do it again next week.
Anyway, I tried to emphasize a few things that don't come up quite enough in class.
1) Bunny hands. Vicka talked about this last week, and I expect she will bring it up again, but it's worth repeating, especially to the lower belts and the upper belts. You don't want to grab stiffly, but you want to keep relaxed open hands, right in front of you. We started with the yokomenuchi kokyunage where you drop uke right in front of you. This is a great line technique, and a great freestyle technique, because bunny hands mean that you drop uke quickly (and definitely), and you're ready for the next uke.
2) The big expansive feeling that Dan McDougall and others have talked about. Even little people can be big when they get the big feeling. One of our beginners is a short, slightly built Indian woman, who can be plenty big when she wants to. Or take Vicka - Vicka is big, has big ki. So we did the kosatori (cross-hand) kokynage that sensei started MIT seminar with. Uke has your wrist - so what. You do that nice wrist twist, and move behind uke, all the while leaving your wrist out at the end of uke's arm. In the end, you're behind them, they're completely extended, and you can do the scarf technique throw.
3) Knowing when you have uke's balance. I forgot to discuss this until midway through the class, but it's something I try to impress upon beginners whenever I work with them. It's important to know how to take uke's balance, because that allows you to throw them, even if they're much bigger than you. But it's equally important to know when you've got uke's balance, because then you can throw effectively, without undue force. It also gives you what Sensei calls the "coffee break moment", when you don't have to do anything, because you own their ass, and you can drop it on the mat at any time. So I discussed this in relation to ryokatatetori tenchinage ("heaven and earth throw"), but it's broadly applicable.
What else? We did tsuki ikkyo, where I emphasized both the bunny hand and the big expansive feeling. One side effect of the big feeling is that it keeps you in proper posture - you should be able to be ki-tested at any point during the technique. Tsuki kote gaeshi - ditto, but even more bunny hand. Incidentally, the fashion in kote gaeshi seems to have swung back to going way behind uke, rather than staying in close, and wiping their arm across their back.
After class, I had a conversation with a recently-returned lower-belt about appropriate levels of resistance. Our dojo has a reputation for being hard-ass, because we learn from Dave, and Dave can resist anyone (except Sensei) if he wants to. But I was chewed out at seminar by no less than Gary Snyder (Dave's sensei) for being too hard. It doesn't help you or your partner learn the technique properly, it invites nage to try a different technique, at it authorizes nage to throw hard - you resist hard, you can expect to get thrown hard. Not to say that you shouldn't resist, because that doesn't help your partner learn the technique either, but it should be an appropriate level of resistance.
Anyway, the time passed well enough, and I'll willingly do it again next week.