Book Five of the Iliad contains some of the most outrageous acts of combat in all of Greek myth: a mortal wounds a god. Homer opens the Iliad with the anger of Achilles and his retreat from the field of battle. His mother, Thetis, bargains with Zeus, and the war is no longer a simpleContinue reading “KAIROS AND THE GEOMETRY OF TIMING”
Tag Archives: sen
INITIATIVE: TERMS AND CONCEPTS
Timing and initiative are related concepts, especially once one steps onto the mat and is required to embody them rather than merely discuss them abstractly. In my earlier article, Jo v Bokken article, I deliberately used traditional budō terminology, rather than exclusively use concepts from George Silver, Bruce Lee and John Boyd. That choice wasContinue reading “INITIATIVE: TERMS AND CONCEPTS”
THE AXIS OF THE ENCOUNTER
Aikido pedagogy has a recurring failure mode: it introduces words long before it stabilizes their referents. Terms like center, connection, and timing are used frequently but imprecisely, because they are experienced with the body (somatically). The very point of practice is to refine how those concepts are felt, both individually and in a partnered exchange.Continue reading “THE AXIS OF THE ENCOUNTER”
Protective Arts 