protectivearts

PERCEPTUAL SPEED

As I grow older, I worry that my vision will continue to degrade. During my last eye exam, my optometrist asked me my age, 50, I answered. “Ah, your eyes will continue to go to shit until about 65 and then it will level out.” Candid, but not reassuring. Eyesight is very important to meContinue reading “PERCEPTUAL SPEED”

Elite Competition

Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage,Black and murderous, that cost the GreeksIncalculable pain, pitched countless soulsOf heroes into Hades’ dark,And left their bodies to rot as feastsFor dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will was done. Begin with the clash between Agamemnon–The Greek warlord–and godlike Achilles. So opens the Illiad. Homer focuses our attention on the combatants: this isContinue reading “Elite Competition”

JOINT CONTROL

Any martial artist must study the use and limitations of the body; its structure and mechanics – and specifically its joints. (The banner image shows the major synovial joints of the skeletal system.) In Aikido, we are principally concerned with the control of the opponent’s “center” but the techniques achieve this by working from theContinue reading “JOINT CONTROL”