THRUSTING TRIANGLE

In an earlier discussion of the eight universal lines I had alluded to the “thrusting triangle.” This requires a brief reminder that the 8 universal lines are a basic representation of the lines of motion – both on the vertical as well as the horizontal planes. I have provided examples from European fechtbuchs (links below) asContinue reading “THRUSTING TRIANGLE”

TACTICS – BEYOND THE ONE HIT KILL

“There are no primary attacks in a knife fight.” This is an important reminder for Aikidoka who are habituated to the one-hit one-kill training mentality. In a knife fight attacks can be gambits, ploys, set-ups to elicit responses. Boxers must contend with similar complex encounters. Stratagems of deception and non-linear methods of attack are not Aikido’s forte. Aikido’s premise narrows theContinue reading “TACTICS – BEYOND THE ONE HIT KILL”

OODA LOOP

I was introduced to John Boyd’s OODA loop when taking a defensive fire-arm class. Boyd was a successful fighter pilot in the Korean War – he also had an analytic bent and distilled his experiences in a series of briefings. Boyd never wrote down his ideas about the OODA Loop in a formal paper; he onlyContinue reading “OODA LOOP”