VKS KI TRAINING NOTES, OCTOBER '97 NOVEMBER 97 vKS TRAINING NOTES INTRODUCTION The purpose of this document is to provide a dialog between students and the instructional faculty on training issues and answer questions regarding technique or training practices or procedures. It is NOT a forum for dealing with philosophy, except as it applies to training, nor business issues associated with the VKS. NOTICES: NOVEMBER INSTRUCTOR'S CLASS Class will be held on 23 November at 2:00pm. The class will be held by Sensei William Reed as I will be in Pittsburgh for a seminar and testing. CAMPS Its section will be reactivated next spring when the Camp Season resumes. GUEST COLUMNISTS Ki Notes The Nature of Attack - As aikidoists, one of the things we are learning in our training is how to deal with an attack. We learn ways to deal with different strikes and kicks. We have techniques to deal with weapons and multiple attackers. We know how to defend ourselves against different grabs and holds. Are these the only ways that we can be attacked? What exactly is an attack? The dictionary gives the definition of attack as: "to set upon violently; to blame or abuse violently." These definitions imply the expenditure of a great amount of energy to carry out the attack. While this may be true for certain types of attacks, e.g., military or crime related attacks, is this necessarily true for all the ways in which we are attacked? I don't think so. I think we can be attacked in a lot of different ways, some subtle, some not so subtle. If this is true, then clearly our definition of attack is somewhat lacking. I propose we define "attack" as "any interaction with another person that leaves us feeling worse after the interaction than before we went into it." With this new definition of attack, let's look at some of the ways we are attacked. The first and most obvious is the physical attack. There are many ways someone can attack us with the intent to do us bodily harm. In aikido class, we learn ways to deal with these types of physical attacks. We're pretty familiar with these types of attacks, so I won't spend any more time talking about them. The next types of attacks are non-physical and represent a much larger group of attacks that we must deal with. What do I mean by "non-physical" attack? I'm talking about things like guilt trips, i.e., being made to feel guilty for one reason or another, or made to feel stupid. Someone being disrespectful or rude to you, or being judgmental, has just attacked you "non-physically." You could be berated or humiliated by someone. You've just been attacked. Someone could tease you or call you names. You've just been attacked. We take Ki class to help us deal with these more subtle forms of attack. Why should we consider these types of interactions to be a form of attack? And what exactly have these people attacked? For one thing, these interactions fit our definition of attack. Each one of these interactions would leave us feeling worse at the end of the interaction than we felt at the beginning. Why? Because our perception of who we are has been attacked. Someone attacking us in one of these ways has singled out some aspect of who we think we are and said, in effect, "there's something wrong with you." They have attacked that part of us, and so, have attacked us. Why would a person feel the need to attack us in this manner? Because some aspect of their being feels threatened or weak. They are striking out at you before you have a chance to attack or hurt them. So someone who makes you feel stupid is threatened by your intelligence and has probably been told they were stupid at some time in their life. As aikidoists, the question them becomes "Is there some way I can interact with people in such a way that they do not feel threatened by me?" Or better yet, can we interact with people in a way that makes them feel stronger? The first thing we need to do is ask ourselves "Am I attacking others in any of these subtle, non-physical ways?" "Am I disrespectful or rude to you?" "Have I been judgmental about some aspect of your life?" "Have I made you feel guilty about something you've said or done?" If I can honestly say yes to any of these (or any other) forms of attack, then, obviously, I need to stop attacking people in these ways. How often do we contribute to another persons attack against us by attacking them first (consciously or unconsciously)? Okay, we've stopped attacking the people we're interacting with. What else do we do to keep them from attacking us? On the mat, we go into a technique with a totally open mind, with no preconceived ideas about what we will do or what uke will do. This "empty mind" gives us the freedom to move in any direction and respond appropriately to anything uke decides to do. We get there (this state of "empty mind") by understanding and applying the four basic principles of mind and body unification and the five principles of aikido with mind and body coordinated. The same principles apply in our interactions with people off the mat. We can use these principles to approach each interaction with an attitude of complete acceptance of where that person is at that moment (a totally non-judgmental attitude). Someone who feels that acceptance will not feel the need to defend themselves or their actions and is less likely to attack you. Let's look at what we've done here. Just by our actions and attitudes, we've prevented an attack before it happened. Is this aikido, or what!? Congratulations. You've just taken your aikido to the next level. You now know how to interact with people in a way that makes them unlikely to attack you. We've looked at the different ways we get attacked and how we attack and are attacked by others. We're starting to understand why attacks happen and how we can use what we learn in the dojo to prevent them from happening. We also asked ourselves if there was something we could do that would make people feel stronger. There is. But I think I'll save that discussion for a future article. See you on the mat! Next month: The Geometry of Aikido Alan Cyr has been studying Ki and aikido since 1990. Let him know what you think of the ideas expressed here. You can stop him in the dojo; he'll be glad to talk to you. You can also e-mail him at the below address. alan.cyr@cwi.cablew.com TEACHING TECHNIQUE, PURE AND SIMPLE by William Reed Have you ever taught a technique only to find your students doing something else? Instructors often forget that instructions are not easy to follow. How many good computer or software manuals have you read lately? Have you ever had to ask for road directions twice? What you have learned today you can teach another tomorrow, if you can remember it well enough. This doesn't happen as often as it should, mostly due to confusing instructions. Leaving Students in the Lurch The traditional approach, and one which Tohei Sensei rejects, is to demonstrate a technique two or three times in silence and then say, "Practice, please." This take-it-or-leave-it attitude leaves students in the lurch. It assumes that demonstrating is sufficient, and that serious students are expected to learn by closely observing and imitating the instructor. Oddly, it encourages wide variations in style and creates the impression that anything goes.=20 If you teach a technique wrong for a period of time, it begins to feel right. All kinds of reasons can be invented to justify why a technique should be done a certain way, one danger of over-intellectualizing. Encountering a new explanation for a different way of doing the technique, a student may either resist or get confused over which way is correct. New instruction should clarify, not confuse. Instructors should point at the problem, not the person. Pulling rank, publicly criticizing another instructor, or otherwise putting a person down is letting personality interfere with performance. Students will disconnect with an instructor who cannot show respect. Authority, like respect, must be earned. Making Ourselves Clear The commonest problem in Aikido instruction is confusing the student with too much talk. Everything you say might be right, but to students hearing it for the first time, unless you make it crystal clear it can go right over their heads. Every technique can be broken down into three questions: What?, How?, and Why? Watching an unfamiliar technique is like watching a freight train go by, mostly a blur. Even highly trained judges observing a Taigi competition find it a challenge to pick up on the important points of a technique. You can make learning much easier for your students if you just answer these three questions, and in that order. "What?" deals with the major steps of what you do in the technique. You may talk through it as you demonstrate, but use as few words as possible, and avoid the temptation of explaining how or why the first time you demonstrate. How few words? You should be able to describe the major steps as you do the technique at normal speed. There is plenty for the newcomer to take in just in watching an unfamiliar movement at normal speed. "How?" describes the key points for each major step. These tell how to perform the technique, pointing out the details which lead to success, safety, or knack of performance. Here again you should limit your explanation to key words and be consistent. Don't paraphrase yourself or no one will remember the key points. Avoid the temptation to explain the reasons for the key points, because it will make it difficult to remember the points. You may slow the technique down to let the students get a good picture of each point, but don't explain them just yet. "Why?" describes the reasons for each key point, which should be obvious once pointed out, and therefore easy to remember. Because the reasons spring >from the key points, it is tempting to explain them together. However, this defeats the purpose of giving the mind a clear picture of what, how, and why. Just because it is clear to you as the instructor does not mean that your students, much less newcomers will understand it as well. Explaining the art in 3 stages while you demonstrate makes your teaching as clear and compact as possible. But you aren't finished yet. Checking the Student's Understanding Before you ask the class to practice what you have just explained, check the understanding of your uke, to whom you have just taught the technique. This should be done in 4 steps. 1) Ask your uke to demonstrate the technique on another person in silence. Don't say anything, except to correct an error in the technique. 2) Ask your uke to do the technique at normal speed while saying the major steps. Be sure that he or she uses the same wording that you did. 3) Ask your uke to do the technique in steps, stating the key points of each step. Again, insist on the same wording. 4) Ask your uke to do the technique one last time in steps, stating the reasons for each of the key points. You have now demonstrated the art 3 times explaining what, how, and why it is done that way. Then you had your uke do the art 4 times on someone else demonstrating correct performance and understanding of what, how, and why. Showing a technique 7 times is probably more time than you usually give before having students practice it. Yet if you boil everything down to key words and expressions you probably will have talked less. If use these words consistently they will be easy to understand and remember. Consider how often we have to go back and reemphasize what we thought we had explained after giving a rough-and-ready show and tell of the technique. Breaking it down beforehand saves time and avoids confusion in the long run. A Sample Lesson Plan - Munetsuki Kotegaeshi Tanto-dori Major Steps: 1. Turn and lead 2. Break balance 3. Take knife Key points: 1. Turn and lead a) pivot b) from shoulder c) hold lightly 2. Break balance a) vertical (down then up) b) wait for feet (down) 3. Take knife a) fingers open b) parallel to mat Reasons: 1. Turn and lead a) pivot-to get out of way of knife b) from shoulder-to avoid missing the wrist c) hold lightly-to avoid colliding 2. Break balance a) destroy body integrity b) take control of uke's movement 3. Take knife a) fingers open-to avoid cutting fingers b) parallel to mat-to prevent opponent from holding knife This explains a fairly complicated technique in under 60 words, though some are repeated as you demonstrate. Much easier to understand. Much easier to remember. Much faster to learn. Is it Right to Standardize Aikido Techniques? Who decides what are the major steps, key points, and reasons behind any given Aikido technique? Don't techniques evolve over time? Won't this lead to rote memorization of technique rather than spontaneous response? Shouldn't the reasons be given first, and then the method explained? These are questions which Western students are prone to ask, and which demand an answer. Aikido is certainly an evolving art. Many techniques have been eliminated or modified completely over the last 20 years. In the Ki Society, Tohei Sensei has always set the pace, and has drawn considerable support from Western students because of the inherent logic and effectiveness of his approach. When he teaches he sometimes emphasizes different key points, but the recent efforts to standardize the Taigi reflect his desire to create a system of standards. But to teach with understanding, each instructor must analyze the techniques for himself. In this way a single technique can provide more than enough teaching material for an hour's class. Try to avoid using more than 3 major steps or key points, simply because it becomes difficult to remember. If students are basically familiar with a technique and able to perform it competently, then special focus can be given to one of the steps, to the pin, to variations in attack, or to other techniques. Reasons (why) should be explained after the student has seen the steps (what) and grasped the key points (how), which put the reasons in context. Experienced students may object that such an approach is too mechanical, preferring to practice with a more fluid approach. This model is presented as a way of teaching the essential elements of basic techniques. Unless these elements are present, the technique will not work under resistance testing. A skilled practitioner can abbreviate the technique without eliminating the essential elements. However, it is almost impossible for students to learn using abbreviated techniques as a model. If you leave out any one of the essential key points, you will produce a sloppy imitation. Ultimately, the real test of advancement is how well you can teach, not how well you can show off. Students will be more motivated to practice if you leave them with the essence of the technique in the form of Aiki-taiso to practice at home, along with its daily life applications. Beyond this, feel free to add anecdotes and personal experiences which put your personality into the class. This teaching method is deceptively simple, because it takes lots of experience to master. But it will help you better understand the techniques you teach, and make you a more effective teacher both on and off the mat. NOTES FROM THE INTERNET On a tape I have about flying business jets, the guy (John King) says something like this. He had lots of experience flying single engine piston planes, but no time in anything as fast as a jet (even a Cessna Citation...also known as the "Slowtation" and rumored to suffer from bird strikes...from *behind*... ;^). His instructor told him, "You don't have to worry about crashes in this plane." "Why's that?" John asked innocently. "Because you're so far behind this plane that you won't even hear the boom when it goes in..." In flying, being "behind the plane" means that you are busy reacting to things that are coming as surprises...playing "catch-up" all the time, stomping out fires so to speak, rather than anticipating what will be coming up and being ready when it does. You want to be "ahead of the plane" by at least the next three tasks. Getting behind means you are overworked, and you will eventually lose and something vital won't get done...and then you may die. There are rules to prioritize things to prevent this (ANC - Aviate, Navigate, Communicate is one), but the real fix is to anticipate what's coming, and use spare moments to get ready ahead of time, and to follow the same plan each time to let habit be a help. In Aikido I've heard here that you aren't supposed to anticipate...that you want to react as things happen, not before. I can see where this would be good in avoiding being fooled into the wrong reaction by having your mind be led astray, but I also know that there's a lag in reacting to anything. If you aren't at least slightly ahead of the other person in terms of planning, you will be too late when the time comes to react. So, how are we supposed to solve this dilemma? Anticipate, so you can start reacting early enough not to get hurt, and you may have been fooled about what is coming next and have the wrong reaction underway. Fail to anticipate and you won't have time to get your reaction started before it's too late and you are hurt. In class there's no problem, at least at my (beginner) level, since I *know* what's coming...we just had the instructor show us (ignoring slight variations based on us ignorant students getting the demonstrated technique wrong of course ;^). What about randori? How do you handle the tradeoff when you don't know in advance what technique will be done? =B7 Mike "or do you just count on the goodwill of your partner?" Bartman- TRAVELS: I attended the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Rocky Mountain Ki Society in Denver. The seminar was conducted by Kashiwaya Sensei, member instructors of the Midland Ki Society Federation and yours truly who taught an hour of what they called "Dino Training" which is purportedly for the older and slower members of the organization although, in truth, most of those who attended were young and vigorous. There was a banquet at which those who had been major contributors to the success of the organization over the past 20 years were recognized. There were two video composites of activities at the various dojos and some hilarious footage of Kashiwaya Sensei trying to get to Boulder on foot to open the first dojo. Here are my training notes from the seminar: Denver Seminar Notes OPENING EXERCISES Rolling and Rolling with standing Ki Health Exercise Wrist exercises All done with 2-8 counts, students calling second 8. TECHIQUES: KASHIWAYA (SATURDAY) Tenkan in movement Kirikaeshi Practiced walking backward, w/Ki forward, then completing the throw Kata tori nikkyo -- take hand coming in and apply, no step back w/forward= leg Front choke -- Knuckle in chest and step back If arms to short, draw other arm backward like drawing bow then shihonage take down Munetsuki -- knuckle in uke's side (slip in with forward hand, no punch) Add kotegaeshi LAEL KEAN Ushiro to kokyunage tobikomi VIC MONTGOMERY Tenkan -- raise leg before stepping in (no conflict) Tenkan, tenkan udeoroshii -- palm outward like ryotemochi. BILL BICKFORD Ushiro tekubitori -- sankyo uragaeshi kotegaeshi (hand behind back) RUSSEL JONES Katatetori kokyunage tobikomi KASHIWAYA (SUNDAY) Stretch over the back of another while in sieza Bokken -- hold in right hand, point down, test, draw out and replace smoothly draw and arc to hold, test Shomenuchi, zenpo nage, ken taking Jo -- poke, allowing jo to move into forward hand only, test (no drooping) between 2 & 3 move hand to middle of jo, ready for 3 strike (teach tool) during transition from 4 to 5 test forward and backward Ki. On October 18th Norma and I traveled to Middletown, Virginia where I conducted a one day seminar for Sensei Don Slayter. The seminar was well attended and the students enthusiastic. Since they are an Aikikai Dojo I focused on Ki application to Aikido. We even did a small excursion into unraisable body as some of them had never seen that being taught. On October 29th Norma and I were in Edwardsburg, Michigan to present Jim Karaffa'a Sho Dan Certificate and teach a 1 and =BD hour class. It was good= to be on the mat with Jim again and renew our friendship as well as train with the club there. On October 31 and November 1 Norma and I visited Sensei Mike Hogan and presented a seminar at his two dojos, one in Kitchener and one in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. In addition to nine hours of training there was a pot luck supper on Saturday evening at the dojo. He has done a very good job in teaching his students and instilling them with an Aiki Spirit. Norma and I will attend the I Ulu No Ka Lala I Ke Kuma (The branch grows on the tree) Seminar in Hilo, Hawaii. I am looking forward to seeing some old friends and representing the VKS at this important event in the history of Aikido in America. We will travel to Pittsburgh and Charlottesville later in the month.