Aiki-Freudians

I came across this article  written by a Yoga teacher.

I love her approach.

I was in a seminar with a teacher I never met before.  I took ukemi for a Shihonage Ura version and felt my entire folded arm from my shoulder to my wrist in contact with his abdomen.  Then, we broken into partners for practice.  I moved as best as I could to replicate what I had felt, having not actually seen the technique demonstrated.  The teacher ran over, yelling angrily at me in front of the class.  Not telling me to practice more slowly, or more safely, and definitely not telling me that he had taken an extra step to close the distance between him and his Uke - a unique variation that I had to steal.  I forget the words he used.  Something that communicated along the lines of:  my soul was a black fetid pit and that no one would ever love me for the rest of my life.

It happens.  I've seen it happen to others, and it wasn't the only time this happened to me.  I'm not clear what benefits are to be derived from such discourse.  How is this type of "feedback" actually seen to be helpful feedback?  "You'll never be able to do Katate Dori Tenkan properly until you've had a decade of psychoanalysis?"  Maybe the teacher is hoping the student will quit.  

I've had Aikido, Yoga, and Tai Chi teachers fall into psychoanalysis and it's ugly.  For starters, the years involved in getting a black belt very rarely involve training to be a therapist or a substitute religious leader.  But, as instructors we are responsible for several aspects of a student's growth as a person.  Something happens, and becomes a reason to pass judgement on a student's psyche.  Paraphrased, usually "You're a cold-hearted, overly aggressive, viscous person who doesn't have emotional and spiritual depth."  Sometimes the comments are worse.  It's character assassination masquerading as "help."  I've certainly never seen a student become a better, more well adjusted individual as a result of being singled out and derided even if the comments were accurate.

I'm certainly not saying that emotionally or cognitively harmed individuals don't find their way to the dojo on occasion.  I've seen people bearing scars of emotional abuse, or people trying to find a way to better deal with stress, anger management, and even PTSD on the mat.  We offer growth and peace, and people come looking for this who know they need it.  That can lead to challenges on the mat for everyone, and the instructor has to maintain some control.

Emotions and thoughts are linked to our physical bodies.  The Mind leads the Body.  Slouching, hanging one's head, looking at the ground, hands drawn inward or arms crossed - these things are associated with a negative emotional state like fear, anger, or depression; with a desire to be kept apart.  Looking people in the eye, standing upright head raised with an open chest - this is associated with confidence, or with arrogance and being challenging.

As martial artists posture is associated with improved perception, more effective breathing, better biomechanics, more relaxation and better integration associated with faster movement, improved response time, and more power.  A student might already tend to have a more confident appearing posture due to the sum total of their lives, and maybe their character will reflect this.  There are good, concrete physical reasons for good posture.  It's how our bodies are built to function most efficiently.  And, corrections can often be very concrete or at the very least allow students to save face.

The young man in the Yoga article did have his demons, and had been facing them with some difficulty.  His teacher didn't insult him or break him down further.  She gave him a real gift - acceptance and a way to move forward.  She created an environment for positive growth and gave him a transformative practice through her patience and empathy.  

Breaking the mold in Tenkan

From Morihei Ueshiba's Budo:

Precautions for Training (often translated as Rules for Practice)

5.  In daily training, begin with basic movements to strengthen the body without overexertion.  Spend the first ten minutes warming up and there will be no fear of injury, even for old people.  Enjoy yourself in training and strive to comprehend it's true purpose.

Often I come across something recommending Katate Dori Tenkan as that beginning practice.  One thing I remember from Sensei was being shown a very specific way of doing Tenkan, then practicing that way for months, then he would show something very similar but fundamentally different in some way.  Would we be slightly in front, slightly behind, wrapping Uke around us, or still able to face Uke and strike during the movement?

When I go to a seminar, one of the biggest barriers to learning certain techniques is Tenkan practice.  This is a very important exercise, but the solo 180 degree version seems to drive home an exact variation.  This seems to be more of a Tohei lineage practice, but it is common and pervasive.  Then, the mat gets crowded and we fit so much better together to do exact 180 degree Tenkan practice.  There are philosophical ideas like, "See the world from Uke's point of view."

Whether Tenkan is about Redirecting, or Leading, or Blending for a student the movement is about manipulating a relationship with someone else.  How fast, or how forcefully, or how high, or how long is Uke's arm, or what vector Uke moves in can change what Tenkan actually should look like.  If we don't reach 180 or go much further, I sometimes hear criticism of Uke.  Maybe Nage is right where they belong though.

I'm just throwing out a few videos as examples.  Of course 180 should be practiced, but in the "Getting off the Crack" theme (this is another exercise I was often asked to find a crack in the mat to follow).  I started to play with differing circles.  An Ikeda Shihan student showed me to do Tenkan to 135 degrees, and this works very well for Kotegaeshi leads for me.  Morote Dori Iriminage Chudan works much better for me if I open to 90 degrees - really, coming directly from the side is the weakest angle for Uke's stance.  I love so many of the 270 degree projection turns.  One visiting teacher loves to do Shihonage Ura with a 450 degree opening.  When I watch YouTube of any of the greats, 180 seems to have specific utility.

I just enjoyed giving myself permission to go a little less or a little further - back to something similar to Four Corners.  I was surprised to find that some movements got more effective.  I have videos here of shallow movements, but of course there are many examples out there of people turning much more than 180.

Yamada Sensei doing a 90 degree Irimi Tenkan

Yamada Sensei doing a 45 degree Tenkan opening to Katate Dori Nikyo

Getting off the Crack

The Yang Family San Shou as taught by Chen Man'Ching was a very strange form for me to see for the first time.  Often times the San Shou paired form is taught as a solo exercise, and even then the movements bear little resemblance to the Solo Yang 88 move long form.

I learned the long form pretty much as demonstrated - repeated Wave Hands Like Clouds and repeated Repulse The Monkey movements could be done back and forth in a narrow hallway.  The same is try for Wild Horse Parts Mane.  In fact, I do remember picking a crack on the floor and following the crack across the room step for step.  

The performer is almost always facing forward or posing with the left or right profile as though demonstrating to an audience.  Movements like Grasp Sparrows Tail face the same compass direction repeatedly.

Rules are out there like always beginning and ending in the exact same spot, or taking the exact same amount of time with each repetition of the form.  Eventually, the choreography gets more strict.  The pattern the form makes on the floor is an important part of the form in several different arts.  Arthur Murray style dance step diagrams start to appear.

Arthur Murray

From Nakayama's Best Karate series, Book 5

I guess what I found so weird about the San Shou form when I compared it to the solo form was the constant change in weighted leg, moving off the line frequently and setting up a stronger attack angle, constantly changing the spatial relationship with the partner.  Years of basic push hands had taught me Aikido and Taijiquan were different, but the San Shou certainly shows Tenkan, Tenkai and Irimi Tenkan movements.

I use this to justify my "getting off the crack" when I do my long form now.  I get off the line and push to a variety of angles and I try to fit my movement to an imaginary partner rather than a chart on the floor.  I don't try to root in place, and I sometimes think I am closer to the intention of the form because of it.  Why not let my form move to a different direction?  Of course, I often go back to what I was first taught, but bringing the advanced form ideas to my basic practice has been illuminating and fun.