protectivearts

PALISUT FLOW DRILL

In other posts I have reflected on my concern regarding Aikido’s use of the knife. My concern is that while Aikido has beautiful flow and sensitivity drills, when it comes to tanto-dori, their use is under-developed. Moreover, because a knife is a commonplace weapon, in horrible circumstances it could be one a practitioner would needContinue reading “PALISUT FLOW DRILL”

REVERSED EFFORT AND THE KEY TO MASTERY

The more I teach, the more I distrust my own methods. I vacillate between two instincts: to explain everything, the Western compulsion toward clarity, and to say almost nothing, as my Japanese teachers did. Both seem inadequate. There is a paradox in learning that unsettles: The more effort one exerts to master, the more elusiveContinue reading “REVERSED EFFORT AND THE KEY TO MASTERY”

AIKIDO AS A FORGE

I have been focusing on tanren-geiko and drawing out a muscular pressure from both uke and nage in order to cultivate honest training. “Whatever has value in the present world has it not in itself, according to its nature—but rather because it has been given value, and frequently because it was regarded as valuable byContinue reading “AIKIDO AS A FORGE”