Aphorisms are not conclusions. They are stepping stones. Each must be tested in practice, hammered into the body, or abandoned. And of course, I could not resist my own commentary for each.
Category Archives: Class Notes
WEAPONS INFORM MOVEMENT
In a prior article, I explained ikkyo and irimi-nage arise from the moment of contested weapon access—the effort to draw and the counter-effort to suppress. The last Saturday weapons class continued that line of thought, focusing more precisely on ikkyo and nikkyo as a means to draw the katana in a contested encounter. Protecting theContinue reading “WEAPONS INFORM MOVEMENT”
IPPON-KEN
Atemi (当て身) is often misconstrued as a generic term to mean a “strike” or “hit,” but it means “to strike the body” and with the implication that it is striking a specific target. Without any denigration of the sweet science – the pugilist art of Western boxing – which has incredible history and strategy, ultimately,Continue reading “IPPON-KEN”