The impact of waves
While working on various sections of the koryu no kata, and I couldn't help but notice that there are on occasion certain techniques that involve entering right as uke has started to commit his energy forward. The effect feels somewhat jarring, and comes as close as I've ever felt aikido come to any kind of force-against-force situation.
And since aikido largely eschews the force-against-force approach, these occasions puzzled me somewhat. I had always thought of the movements of aikido in terms of poetic devices like water, flowing around, over, behind, never struggling or fighting but blending with its environment.
But then I thought of a wave as it smacks against a rock. If you've ever had the opportunity to stand before a sizable wave as it comes crashing into you, you'd know that it hits with considerable force! But the interesting thing to me is, immediately afterward, it dissolves, it flows around, over and behind again, slipping past as smooth as ever.
Those techniques I mentioned feel the same way: a momentary impact—sudden, jolting, disorienting—followed by tori immediately "disappearing" around, over or behind uke. A smacking against a rock—then nothing.
And since aikido largely eschews the force-against-force approach, these occasions puzzled me somewhat. I had always thought of the movements of aikido in terms of poetic devices like water, flowing around, over, behind, never struggling or fighting but blending with its environment.
But then I thought of a wave as it smacks against a rock. If you've ever had the opportunity to stand before a sizable wave as it comes crashing into you, you'd know that it hits with considerable force! But the interesting thing to me is, immediately afterward, it dissolves, it flows around, over and behind again, slipping past as smooth as ever.
Those techniques I mentioned feel the same way: a momentary impact—sudden, jolting, disorienting—followed by tori immediately "disappearing" around, over or behind uke. A smacking against a rock—then nothing.
sometimes getting off the line is just causing them to diverge while you continue to stay put
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ReplyDeleteYes, thank you Nick! Great way to think about it.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you, Martial Art Schools, I appreciate it!