Training to be Vulnerable by "The Grindstone"
[Discuss this article (2 replies)]
[Download this article in PDF format]
This column was written by Tarik Ghbeish.
After class one night, I trained with an enthusiastic old judoka who
now trains in our dojo. We practiced a form of randori, wherein we
each tried to reverse one another's techniques (kaeshi-waza) without
sabotaging them with muscular strength or by changing speed.
I could not seem to convey clearly to him the value of not relying on
strength, pain, or speed to make his techniques work or to stop
resisting my techniques with the same methods.
So I made what might perhaps be a foolish decision and allowed my
ukemi to become passive instead of dangerous. I let him trash my
wrists... simply to make my point. After nearly breaking one wrist
with sankyo without being able to move my feet more than a few inches,
I gave him my other wrist to practice yonkyo on.
I have come to believe that resistance in training is futile and
cultivates something that I believe is contrary to good aikido, so I
did not resist. It hurt, but I didn't respond to the pain, nor did I
try to throw him. But I was NOT resisting his technique at all, no
pushing back, nor even refusing to move when he tried to move me.
Instead I was so relaxed that he could move me around any way he
wanted, but he wasn't connected to my center at all and seldom moved
more than one of my feet.
Several times while he was trying to make the technique work I would
casually reach out and touch his nose or tap his chin to point out how
vulnerable he was. Had he connected to my center, I would have
crumbled easily to the ground.
Finally after being convinced that he wasn't going to throw me with
pain, power, or simply 'technique', he was finally open to finding out
what I was actually trying to work on (I let him know to let me know
when he was ready).
We worked on being relaxed as uke so that any energy input from an
attack would simply move you or knock you over if you didn't step to
recover. No pushing back, no added tension.
Then I showed him how to attack me gently with that same
feeling... and when he did I would move my feet perhaps an inch or
so... just enough to cause him to rise or drop depending on the
direction I chose to move in. Not throwing, just breaking balance
(kuzushi).
Later he said to me (and I paraphrase): "that was scary, because I
felt really vulnerable being that connected to you... like you could
read everything in my body, my intent, my ego, everything".
Yeah, my friend, that's the point. When I am that relaxed, I CAN read
you and your intent, whether you are that relaxed or not, and THAT is
what I am working on, not who succeeded in the technique.
Exciting stuff (to me).
[Discuss this article (2 replies)]
|