Morote Dori Meanderings

 

Morote Dori is a bit of a strange exercise for many people.  I didn't get it right away.  I remember complaining, "But I would just let g-"... as the elbow hit me in the teeth.  I remember having issue at the beginning with being asked to move Uke with one one arm when I had two perfectly good legs for kicking and another perfectly good arm for striking.  In terms of combat - I had this image that always makes me smile:

There I was, in the bar minding my own business, and up walks Bubbah, lookin' real ugly and mean-like and he says to me, "Boy!  I wanna hold your hand!  It's your hand or your life!"

So, what a silly waste of time, right?

1.  The first movement in the 4 corners work above, I am doing something more basic out of Yoshinkan.  I also looks alot to me like Shomenate.  So, my Uke's neck stays in one piece while I get to practice a palm strike to an imaginary chin with power.  The Sokumen Iriminage movement gets practiced with solid resistence without Uke's neck getting broken.

2.  Circular movements have a new meaning.  If someone grabs my right arm in classical Morote Dori, if I circle underneath and up I have his left arm coming to Ikkyo and his right arm to Shihonage.  If I circle overtop, I have his right arm in Ikkyo and his left arm in Shihonage.  Play with that idea, and a thousand ideas come out.  As the circle continues, a long laundry list of classical movements becomes possible - in my own little world I started to call it a line.  There are decision points where the circle can change and find another line.

3.  Two people grab Morote Dori, and each hand has resistence and needs to be fully explored and expressed.  So, I can practice bringing my hands together against Ushiro Ryotekubi Dori with strong resistence without needing to find a pro wrestler to practice with.  Both Iriminage hands need to be expressed, both Shihonage hands need to be expressed.  With one friendly partner, I might never need to develop a large portion of a technique because it still works - until it doesn't.  I get a good sense of where my holes are in my basics, and I get to ramp up my structure practice without putting my partners at higher risk.  My bum left arm doesn't get to hide behind my right.

4.  Carrying on from the multiple attacker grabbing practice, I learn that one simple way of moving should be stable and powerful in multiple directions.  This is huge in randori.

5.  Ikkyo = two hands on one arm.  Nikyo = two hands on one arm.  Kotegaeshi, Shihonage, Sankyo, Yonkyo, Gokyo; you get the idea.  Morote Dori movements are the foundation of all wrist lock reversals.

6.  Tanto Nage, hand gun retention = Morote Dori practice.  Throwing with Kokyu Ho while holding a sword too.  Now I get to not be focused on my grab, but rather my ability to cut.

7.  If I can't hold with power and structure, none of the rest of the wrist locks matter - weak grip, poor structure: no Shihonage, no Kotegaeshi, no Sankyo...  This gets practiced by attacking Morote Dori sincerely.

8.  Jodan, or raising the hands up.  Chudan, or opening or closing.  Gedan, or sinking the hands down.  I get to play with these ideas against power.  I was told a million times before Aikido, "Lift with your legs, not with your back."  I did the flutter-the-arms-upward-and-downward movement at the start of the Taiji form many times.  Nothing informed the subtle points of the motion like having someone grab my arm who could bench 400lbs.

So, to round out the 12 Days of Tandoku and satisfy the requirements of the challenge - basics are the foundation of advanced material.  The silly exercises from the first class - they contain a huge amount of material that keeps giving and giving with more practice.  The lessons from the first class - those might be the ones you never outgrow.  Simple broken down structure and body movement work, whether with or without resistence - this is the foundation of moving with power.  Take the most advanced practice you know, and when you dissect it you will see your basics.  This is what might become a way of life.  As Musashi wrote, "your combat walk should be your everyday walk."  How your arms connects to your body and how they are best used - who cares if you never get in a fight?  These are the positions for carrying groceries, for pushing a door closed, for helping a patient to the bathroom.

Or, as a very smart blogger shared this week:

 

Those lessons that teach you better are likely your basics.