A link?

Well, about a bazillion things to say, martial arts wise, this week. I'll spare you most of them.

Aikido gives me the framework to address taiji and taiji gives me lots and lots of new ways to think about aikido. It's a very cool kind of reciprocal relationship.

As posted earlier, I'm finding the hip joint (kua) to be more and more related to what's going on. I'm playing with it and testing it daily.

On the one hand, it seems to be a source of power. This makes sense for, among a number of reasons, it's pretty close to the Dan Tien. On the other hand, I'm also starting to feel the kua as merely a link between my center and the ground.

Briefly, during push hands the other night -- just a moment or two -- I felt absolutely rooted. Looking back on it now, I seem to sense that the center (Dan Tien/Kua area) was not the source of power but the conduit of it (if that makes any sense). In my mind's eye at least, the source of power seems to have been the earth. My center, which I had always thought as the "main thing," was just my main link in that chain.

That would mean we don't ever really own this ki, we just make use of it. Even if, on one level, we produce it or store it. On another, we are just manipulating the energy that is available in the universe. The better we are at doing that, the more ki we seem to "have," but in fact, we don't possess it at all. I guess we just make use of it for ever longer periods of time as we improve our skills.

In aikido, I am also feeling more in the flow of things. I think during these moments, mindfulness of the balls of my feet starts to take over from mindfulness of the center. It's sort of like the feet are at one end and the torso/head are at the other and the center connects the two and makes them come alive.

I'm not sure if this idea is correct or even really important, but it was a flash of something, anyway. I'll figure it out sometime.

Confluence

Things are starting to come together.

I decided to start tai chi because I believed and hoped it would improve my aikido. The fact that I am starting to love it as a marvelous art in it's own right is a bonus.

Practically every day I'm gaining new insights into aikido from tai chi. Now that I'm starting to understand the kua (hip joint/region) a little and how to "energize" and "release" it, I am wasting no time putting this knowledge into aikido to the best of my ability.

This joint/area is not one we pay much attention to in the West. According to Rick Barrett, there are not many nerve receptors in this area so we may not be as aware of it as other joints. I also heard this area is not easily injured, making it even easier to ignore.

Releasing the kua occurs in the moments when one wants to send the ki/qi down. It's basically relaxing and closing the joint. Now that I'm looking for it, I'm finding lots of such moments in aikido -- and not just the obvious ones.

This is how the sempai are able to create that drawing power, I think. It's the kind of thing that, once you are caught in it, you can't get out. These moments are extremely brief and easy to miss, which is probably why I had missed them up until now. In tai chi, the time over these moves is expanded, which makes the subtle points easier to notice and focus on. (Note I didn't say easy.)

Energizing the kua is just the opposite. It is done in moments when the energy is activated (used, extended) in the body and technique. CC Chen says this starts from the toe. You know, it works in a kind of cool way? Thinking of a throw coming from the "center" certainly has helped me. But now, the energizing of the kua has begun to make it more powerful. It gives the throw a rotational quality that is pretty powerful. I think this is how guys like Luke Machado can throw with such explosive force with out much lateral movement, which had always stumped me. I'll be working with this more to find out for sure.

Speaking of CC Chen, he was explaining about switching the energy from the toe, energizing the kua at a point in the form, when he said, "Of course, this is how it looks in the form." Then he walked over to the wall. "On the street, it's like this," and he gave a vertical mat some pretty explosive punches -- fa jing, the explosive expression of energy. It would be impressive at any age, but I believe the man is 73. Wow.

Restoring balance to the universe

I didn't bring my A-game to tai chi class yesterday.

Things started off OK. I woke up early and ate properly. Took my vitamins and hydrated myself. (I have a routine to prepare for aikido class everyday. Usually, lack of sleep or food will wear me down.) But when I got to class, I just couldn't start the engine. Oh well, someday it will be like flipping a switch, but not today...

Even so, it was a good class. Rick Barrett is one of those guys who was born to teach. He just loves it. He also has the ability to see the humor in life -- a very important and underrated skill, especially in the internal arts; it means he's on to something.

And it may be a strange set of coincidences, but the guy just seems to read my mind. I've noticed whenever I have some kind of realization or "significant" thought, he will invariably bring up the topic, with no prompting from me.

Over the past few days, I've been thinking a lot about yin and yang and how it applies to what I practice. In aikido, we're very good at teaching the yang aspects of the art: Lots of extensions, projections, flowing energy, movement, etc. But we're a bit less articulate on the yin side. I've noticed some higher-ranked sensei absorbing energy (not just moving around it), but it is rarely explicitly talked about.

I remember I asked Eran Vardi about something he was doing to lower his center while in seiza (where one doesn't have the option of bending the knees), and he showed me a kind of sinking thing he did with his center. I thought it was kind of cool, and I knew it was important! I tried to do it a few times, sitting and standing, but promptly forgot it until recently.

Now that sinking thing is something I'm trying to work into my tai chi form. I can see how that would be very applicable to aikido, too. Often we lower the center and I usually accomplish that (when I remember to do it) by bending my knees. That is fine. But I think if that's accompanied by this tai chi energy sink, it'll be a lot more effective.

I was also thinking about the yin side of every technique we do. Basically, I think most times when we take uke's balance, we are doing it with yin to counteract the yang of the attack. Once kuzushi (the principle of destroying one's partner's balance) is achieved, the aikidoka then goes yang and applies a technique or throw.

Think of a simple tenkan. Uke comes in. That's yang. Nage gets off line and pivots, that's yin, isn't it? It's a different dynamic, a different flow of energy. Once uke is off balance, he's now yin and the technique applied is yang.

A properly executed aikido technique, therefore, restores balance to the universe. :) I'm sure this is the same for push hands or tai chi applications, but I don't really know those yet.

So this is how my mind was ruminating over the past few days, when Rick made pretty much the same point in class last night (sans the balance-to-the-universe part). It's not the first time such a thing has happened.

Either Rick's picking up my wavelength, or I'm just making "obvious" conclusions as led by his instruction. I'm not sure which, maybe a bit of both. I'm just not going to be too surprised by it anymore.

In the Zone

A very busy weekend. Friday night, I attended a seminar by Rick Barrett entitled "From the Inside Out: Deepening Your Martial Arts' Practice" at the New York Open Center.

Rick is a popular tai chi instructor in New York and a renowned push hands champion. He has put all his years of experience into his very fine book, which was discussed earlier, "Taijiquan: Through the Western Gate." Rick's seminar went through much of that material, with practical demonstrations and lots of class participation.

Right off the bat, Rick told us how he liked to "give it all away," and not make a student suffer for many years before he'll share his insights.

He then went through several demonstrations on what he calls "energetic coherence," which is basically the aligning of the otherwise chaotic energy flows in the body/mind. This is easily demonstrated by various push tests, which are similar to the routines the Ki-Aikido folks use to demonstrate the power of ki. I forgot to show Rick aikido's "unbendable arm," which is right in line with his methods. I'll have to mention it to him sometime. I'm sure he'd appreciate it if he hasn't seen it already.

Participants learned how to use energetic coherence to increase their ability to hold their arm against opposing pressure. There was also much talk of rooting, with everyone learning how to use proper posture and energy flow to become much more stable. This is a sure way to be a hit at martial arts parties.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable and instructive evening. Everyone seemed pleased with it.

The next day, Ruth taught a nice class as usual. We focused on ushiro ryotedori attacks. I was able to use extra time needed going around nage to really stay focused.
Sunday's class was a real treat. Tobias taught in his clear, strong style, as always, and we again spent most of the time with ushiro ryotedori. I was partnered with a fellow who is a very good aikidoka, though he likes to practice a bit on the slow side.

I have to say, that was just what I needed. Slowing up allowed me to put all the principles I've been trying to work on into practice. I was able to make sure I was centered, relaxed, extending with connection. Most of all, I'm having a great time on the balls of my feet! It has made a world of difference (at least in my own mind).

Of course, I wouldn't want to practice that way all the time, but it's good to practice at varying speeds. The slower practices allows me to use my energy more in the way I'm supposed to (coherently, we might say), rather than being scattered when I am trying to control a maniac uke. Also, I am able to use my energy properly, rather than just trying to keep up the pace.

Though I hate to say it out loud, I find myself a bit more "in the zone" these days. I think the tai chi is helping, just as I hoped it would. I'm looking forward to the future!

The Tao of Budo

It is interesting where the path will take you if you let it.

I'm always looking for ways to improve my budo practice. One way I do this is to always be on the lookout for good books or other information. Now I know, no one ever learned a martial art from a book, but sometimes one can find good ideas.

On this blog just last week, I had commented on ki cultivation and development and how I thought it was sometimes neglected in aikido practice. A few days later, I happened upon "Taijiquan: Through the Western Gate," written by Rick Barrett. Well, this book addressed all the things I had been thinking about recently and a lot more, too. Though I'm "familiar" with a lot of the basic tenants of tai chi/qigong, "Western Gate" presented them in a very practical, down to earth manner that I found very useful.

I usually look in these books to find some sort of "trick" I may be able to add to my repertoire. A new method of meditation, a phrase or two to get me thinking along new lines, etc. I was not prepared for Mr. Barrett's book, which was the kind of work that upends one's viewpoint and puts it down in an altogether new place.

I say it's a new place, but at the same time, it is also a familiar one. Time and time again, while reading the book, I found myself thinking, "I always thought so," "I suspected as much," or even better, "I never thought of that, but it completely fits!" It is a rare treat when a book resonates to such a degree.

Now here's where coincidence gives way to something else: Looking up Rick Barrett on the Net, I found that he teaches just a few minutes from my home. When things just come together like this, I suspect karmic forces are at work. I had to go to a class.

At the very beginning, Rick began talking about qi flow, relaxation, and body alignment and posture. Sound familiar? Readers of this blog will know I've been hammering away at these very points. But he didn't just say, "do this" or "not like that," but he took the time to demonstrate the whys and wherefores of all the points he was making. Although I was very aware that all these things are correct, I can't say I understood the reasoning behind them until a few light bulbs went off last night.

For example, I was amazed at the difference in my stability when I aligned my head properly; all the talk of posture lately, and I never even worried about my head. Also the dramatic difference in posture when standing on the balls of my feet -- and I thought I was standing on them already! We are always told the ball of the foot is the way to go in aikido.

But the really great moment was when we were working on the form a bit. We were transitioning the weight from one leg to the other, keeping grounded. Suddenly I realized I was in the middle of a perfect aikido throw. (You know, the thing which has been driving me crazy lately?) I've blogged about poor posture and not being grounded more than once during the past few weeks.

In the final analysis, aiki principles and tai chi principles are the same. I think this allied study will be very beneficial in a lot of different ways.

I am reminded of something I heard Henry Kono-sensei say once. He got the chance to ask Osensei, "Why can't we do what you do?" Osensei simply answered, "That's because you don't understand yin and yang."