VKS KI TRAINING NOTES JANUARY 98 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: JANUARY INSTRUCTOR'S CLASS There will be no instructor's practice class in January. There will be a session at Maxine's home to review the SODEN. A date will be selected at Kagami Biraki. CAMPS Its section will be reactivated next spring when the Camp Season resumes. OTHER TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES SEATTLE: US OPEN TAIGI '98 will be held Jan 30, 31 and Feb 1 with the competition held at 2PM on the 1st. Fee for the seminar is $75 or $25 for one class. Contact me for a registration package. HAWAII: The Honolulu Ki Society is sponsoring the Annual Ki Society Seminar in August, 1998 in Honolulu Hawaii. A welcome party for Master Tohei will be held at 6PM on the 15th. Training schedule is: 16 Ki Aikido 9-12 & 2-4:30 17 Ki Aikido 9-12, Kiatsu 2-4:30 18 Adv Ki Aikido 9-12 & 2-4:30 19 Ntl Instr Workshop 9-12 & 2-4:30 20 Ntl Instr Workshop 9-12, Ki Testing 2-3, Meeting 3-5PM 21 Day of Rest 22 45th Anniv Banquet 6-10PM 23 Picnic Cost: Compl pkg: All sessions, welcome party, banquet, T-shirt, lunches $970 W/o instr workshop $750 W/o Adv and instr workshop $550 Kiatsu only $200 Welcome party only $50 Anniv Banquet Only $80 T-shirt only $15 There will also be an event on Maui but the times and fees are not firm except that it will be during the period 27-30 Aug. This will be an opportunity to study with Tohei Sensei and/or his son and take examinations for Shoden, Chuden and Joden. The host Dojo is requesting an estimate of the number of folks who plan to attend so please let Sensei know by the end of January if you plan to attend. Space is limited so please decide early. GUEST AUTHORS Notes Ki The Geometry of Aikido In the last article I said we'd talk about the Geometry of Aikido, but we'll also get a little physics into the discussion. A more appropriate title then would be "The Science of Aikido." We'll look at some straight lines and when it's important to keep them straight in this most circular of martial arts. We'll revisit the levers of physics class, with their fulcrums and mechanical advantages (or disadvantages). We'll quickly look at triangles and ninety-degree angles to see where they are used. And finally we'll examine circles from several different angles (so to speak). The first straight line I want to talk about is the one that runs from the top of your head to your one point to the center of the earth. This line is very important. Our bodies are designed for standing upright. When we are standing upright, our weight is supported by our skeleton, i.e., our bones are holding up our bodies. When our bodies are aligned so that the top of our head is lined up with our one point, the balls of our feet, and the center of the earth, we can relax. We don't have to use our muscles to hold us up; our bones are holding us up. As soon as we lean over, some of our muscles have to contract to keep us from falling in the direction we are leaning. And most of the time when we contract our muscles, we don't just contract them, we tense them, which keeps the Ki from flowing through them. While it's possible to contract our muscles and keep them relaxed, it's fairly difficult for most of us beginners. By keeping our bodies vertically aligned over our one point, our muscles don't have to work as hard to hold us up and can stay more relaxed. We can concentrate on other aspects of our practice, like extending Ki or keeping weight underside. If we can maintain good posture throughout the technique and let our skeleton do what it was designed to do (hold us up), it will be easier to stay relaxed from the beginning of the technique to the end of the technique. Being relaxed allows you to feel uke's energy and flow with it more easily. You never knew all those years your mother told you to sit up straight and don't slouch, she just wanted you to be a better aikidoist. The next straight line is the one that runs between your one point and the one point of your uke. In aikido, there are two ways we deal with an attack. We can move around the point of attack (tenkan), or we can get inside the point of attack (irimi). (The point of attack being the point where uke grabs you, the end of uke's fist, the edge of uke's sword, etc.) The quickest way to get inside the point of attack is in a straight line toward uke's one point. (The shortest distance between two one points is a straight line.) Once we get inside the point of attack, we need to do something. Otherwise, we'll be subject to another attack. Here's where we need to talk about levers, fulcrums, mechanical advantages and disadvantages. First, let's define our terms. The dictionary defines a lever as "a bar or rigid body used to lift weight and operating on a fixed axis or fulcrum." A fulcrum is "the support on which a lever turns in moving a body." We use levers all the time. Every time we move our bodies we are using levers. Our bones are the levers and our joints are the fulcrums (or pivot points). There's also a lever between us and our uke. The lever runs between our one point and uke's one point and the fulcrum is somewhere along that line. Where on that line we put the fulcrum (or pivot point) often determines whether the technique succeeds or fails. There are mainly three places the pivot point can be. It can be at uke's one point. It can be at the point the two of you have engaged each other, i.e., where you have grabbed uke or uke has grabbed you. The pivot point can be at your one point. So where do we put the pivot point or fulcrum? It doesn't make sense to put the fulcrum at uke's one point. Since the fulcrum is the point the lever moves around (remember our definition - the fulcrum is "fixed" or doesn't move), you would end up moving around uke and only succeed in throwing yourself. If you put the pivot point between you, there is no way to prevent uke from moving the pivot point from uke's side of the lever. So, of course, your one point is the fulcrum. When your one point is the fulcrum, it is immovable. You have control of the pivot point. You have control of your center. You have control of yourself. You have control of uke. How do we use this lever to gain the most "leverage"? How do we get the most mechanical advantage from this lever? Or the least mechanical disadvantage? I think I'll have to save that discussion for the next article. So far we've learned the importance of good posture and why we need to keep our bodies aligned so our bones and not our muscles are supporting our weight. We've started our discussion of levers and know why the fulcrum needs to be at our one point. (So we become the calm center of the technique.) Next time we'll finish our discussion of levers and how to use them to gain the most leverage over uke. We'll finish our discussion of triangles, ninety-degree angles, and circles, as well. 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 Changing the rules Years ago, I remember the gossip coming back from an Aikido seminar held in the U.S. back in the late 70s was that, "They have changed the Taigi, again." The real question to ask is what really changed? Trusting to memory? The history of Taigi has been a process of development and change from the beginning. Even now they are making changes, which at this point involve mostly fine tuning. The taigi are Tohei Sensei's creation to begin with. They were and still are taught largely as an oral tradition, passed on directly from teacher to student. The video is a helpful reference, but no certainly no substitute for actual training. Although the Taigi contest has been conducted in Japan for several years, until quite recently there has been no detailed description of the arts (criteria) or official video record of the Taigi. Individual memory is a fallible commodity, and collective memory is not much better. In this sense, all questions of competition aside, the Taigi contest, criteria, and Soden video package are a giant step forward in terms of preservation of Tohei Sensei's contribution to the art. Personally, I would prefer to rely on, or at least start from the authorized version, rather than a hodgepodge of individual interpretations of what it is supposed to be. The principle of non-dissension There seems to be a lot of concern over how the idea of competition will effect attitudes, and whether or not it is consistent with the principle of non-dissension. As long as people and personalities are involved, the issue of competition will probably remain a hot one. Tohei Sensei once commented that avoiding competition does not necessarily mean practicing the principle of non-dissension. It is perfectly possible to be politically correct on the outside, and not so on the inside. I have no dispute over the evil side-effects of competition. Just read history. However, Tohei Sensei cautions that an incorrect understanding of "harmony" can lead one to a life of superficial compromises with individual people and relative points of view, rather than a life of harmony based on universal principles. Lots to learn Because the taigi criteria have only recently been articulated, I expect that many people will find themselves too busy trying to absorb all of the new information to worry about competing. Prepare to empty your cup! -Will Reed SCHEDULED EVENTS On January 27th at 7:30PM we have been invited to present a demonstration at Borders of Tyson's Corners while Carol Shifflett, our resident author, will be having a Book Signing. Sensei Reed will be present, signing copies of "Ki, A Road That Anyone Can Walk". If you are pictured in Carol's book you are especially invited to participate - you may have an opportunity to reprise your demonstration in the book and sign your name in the book. On February 28th we are planning to have our third Annual Taigi for St. Judes. This year we will use the Kitei Taigi with judging to be conducted by the Chief Instructor, Sensei Reed and the Senior Instructors of the participating clubs. For those of you who are new to this program, participants register to participate and pay an entrance fee which will be donated to St. Judes Children's' Hospital. While the minimum donation for participation is $10.00 during the past two years the donations have averaged about $2,000.00 for the event. Details will follow during January. Start practicing now for this event which benefits one of the finest children's hospitals in the nation. TRAVELS During December Norma and I conducted a class at Potomac High School in Prince George's County. We were assisted by Sensei Bob Gardner in communicating Ki Principles as a partial solution to classroom disciplinary problems. We also traveled to Philadelphia to visit Sensei Hal Abramson and his students and conduct testing. They have a nice, new mat in their basement location. Their testing revealed that they are progressing very nicely in their Ki Development and Aikido. In January I plan to visit Seattle where I will be meeting with Kashiwaya Sensei and assisting in the judging of the Taigi Open.