Bruce Lee's Grave

When I was 19 I went through my Bruce Lee phase. I was determined that if I ever went to Seattle I would visit the humble shrine to his mortal shell. It took a few years, but with the help of Nick Ushin Lowry's Zen magic, and Jason Mix's knowledge of Seattle - the mission was accomplished

Myth - why people flip from kote gaeshi

Kote Gaeshi, the wrist return is a classical aiki throwing form. The physics of it seems irrational to the new student. How could a person be thrown from a wrist connection into a head over heels flip?

The answer that is given by many Aiki teachers is

"People have to take the fall to avoid having their wrist broken."

In my humble opinion training with this view on the mechanics is a huge heap of manure. What they are really saying is, "I have not figured out the mechanics of the throw yet, so I conditioned this guy to jump over for me."

To be a real and effective technique kotegaeshi must affect uke's center, distort their structure and break balance. Any pain on the wrist comes from stylistic temperament and ethics, improper use of power, or flawed application of mechanics.

Application of the lock should transmit energy through uke's elbow, shoulder, and torso. Kote gaeshi is not a wrist break, it is a connection from one center of balance to another's. Pure and simply it is connection. The best artists can do this technique without any pain, and virtually no detectable pressure for the proprioceptive nervous system of uke to register. This, in my opinion should be the highest goal of all artists: no pain, minimal pressure.

So why do people flip out of the technique?

Simple answer is because they were told to. For the vast majority of kote gaeshi throws actually an easy back fall would suffice. In the past five years I have only been forced to choose a flipping break fall maybe twice. Sure I bet someone out there can really nail it, but for the several hundred thousand of other practitioners, we are playing make believe when we take these throws. Yes there is collusion in the way aikido is often practiced. It is ok, as long as you recognize it, admit it and are using it as a tool to get to the next level.

A few years ago I was at a dojo and a man was fervently arguing that a flip was the only proper and safe way to get out of kote gaeshi. He was upset that I could always take a easy back fall out of the technique. "Really? Ok I will tell you what, I will throw you ten times as hard as I can and you have to take the flip, and you can throw me ten times as hard as you can, and I will back fall. That way we can see which method of ukemi is superior" He agreed. I bowed off the mat, put on some slippers and walked outside into the parking lot. "Where are you going?" the man asked. I responded "We are doing it out here on the concrete." I casually kicked some broken glass, and sharp rocks out of the way as he declined the invitation to demonstrate the superiority of his technique in non ideal conditions.

Sure I know, your Sensei could throw me and make me flip. I know, I know. There are many circumstances were this condition happens, but the flipping ukemi is one possible falling reaction, not the rule.

So why do most aikidoka flip out of kote gaeshi? I believe it is the collusion that flaws much of our practice. There are artists that can make it happen, yes. So we, the humble students, try to copy the example without understanding the mechanics. We have to justify the flipping action great sensei got that alludes us so we rationalize an excuse. We tell people they better flip or their wrists will break, and we perpetuate a false myth about the practice. We then practice aikido that looks like the way the high level teachers do it, but it is a pale imitation. The collusion kote gaeshi techniques are a mere phantasm of aiki. They are a faux reflection lacking the substance and mechanics of a martially valid expression of principle.

You can probably write a book about what happens to a person going through a masterful kote gaeshi. "Flipping out to avoid the wrist breaking" would not be in it.

Merritt Stevens Video

Meritt Stevens was one of the guys to bring Tomiki aikido to the USA.
A film has just been digitized of him teaching. This is another Tomiki lineage treasure to surface on YouTube. He brought the practice to Ohio and it spread. Ohio is one of the focal points of Tomiki aikido in the USA because of his work. The only two states with more Tomiki based dojos are Oklahoma and Texas.


This film was made in 1983.

Headlocks for Throws

I have been having a conversation about headlocks on Rum Soaked fist the Chinese internal arts forum. Apparently a lot of artists don't use it, so I was exploring it.

Questions posed by member JohnWang

- How to break (or take advantage on) his strong body structure/alignment?
- How to take advantage on his waist wrapping arm?
- How to destroy his balanced horse stance?

My findings

- How to break (or take advantage on) his strong body structure/alignment?

I assume we are talking about when the opponent is standing before we lock happens. I used the model of head misalignment and spinal rotation. The entry into the head control rolls the head around, and I scoop the head to my shoulder, so it is connected to me. This moves the head away from its normal position on both the X and Y axis. Matl Sensei demonstrates this well. Now the opponents head is connected to my body as I rotate my body the opponents head-spine-hips are all misaligned robbing him of virtually all power.

The only problems I sometimes faced was the entry as my partners knew what I was shooting for. I found as long as I had a grip on their sleeve with my non head locking hand, I could manipulate their shoulders as I entered reinforcing and causing more structural distortion in my opponent.

- How to take advantage on his waist wrapping arm?

I did not find that is was a big issue - at least with the players I was with tonight. (of course there is always someone better out there) If the above step was done correctly. The two problems we found, was if you did not distort the posture correctly you found yourself in position for counter Tani Otoshi (valley drop) throw. If the head lock was performed well this was not an option, as the spine was too distorted to generate the counter.

The other issue I found once my partners saw what I was trying to work on, they predicted the entry and pushed away my hips with the "waist wrapping hand". This was difficult for them to do, but the times they were successful it propelled me into an outside reap or drop (osoto gari or osoto otoshi) yes it negated the headlock entry, but it fell well within the chain of renzaku (continuous attacks based of partners reactions)

As to issues of the kidney punch. With the twisted head a spine my partners could deliver virtually no energy.

- How to destroy his balanced horse stance?

I found this one was the easiest. Our conclusion - there is no balanced horse stance in a grappling situation if you are with people who understand triangulation and center drop who is holding a person with a misaligned head and twisted spine. Once the head lock (head misalignment and spinal twist) was in place the two partners have a shared center of balance. We were connected. If I moved my hips just a half inch it rocked my partners balance to his heels. Stepping through him caused structural collapse. Stepping behind either of his feet caused either a reap, or a trip with center drop. Stepping forward was a ashi guruma throw. Stepping to the sides caused versions of Tai Otoshi. As long as the head a spine misalignment happened at the first stages - you were pretty golden. When it didn't happen I had to go into a barrage of foot sweeps to make up for the mistake.


Conclusion

I am higher ranked in aikido than judo, so I prefer to deal with the problem before it gets to tight grappling and wrestling. If typical aiki strategies fail and the opponent gets close enough, moving in with the hips and feet are the way to go. Judo time! To insure the hip and foot attacks will be successful the structure of the person has to be broken. We have to bend the spine somehow. Controlling the head seems to be a good option. While there are problems and counters, it is the skill and talents of both participants that will shape the unknown future into a technique or failure. I personally will keep the headlock in my arsenal of tools to train with. A perfect tool, no - but in martial arts I haven't found one yet.

My recommendation is to train longer and be more skilled than your opponents.


The elements I felt tonight (but may change on my next practice)

Head control

1. the opponents head must be taken off its alignment in at least two dimensions
2. the opponents head should be embraced to your own body

Spine control
3. The head now off alignment and attached to another center. Now the body adjusts to continue the spinal twisting in the opponent, effectively robbing them of power and options.

Foundation Control - attack with the hips and feet.
4. Now that the two people's structured are attached and the opponents structure has been crumbled - there is an endless variety of angles to drop center, reap feet, trap feet preventing recovery. In my techniques the majority of opponents stance crumbling at this comes from hips moving in, or my opponents feet being moved by my reaps.

The most effective head locks I have thus far made seem to start with the head, move down the spine, affect the hips and then feet - then the whole structure comes crumbling down.

Homemade Training Dummy

Look at the above picture. Ip Man is way cool. What do those Chinese artists have that I don't have?

Cool uniforms?...no I got them. Plus I have magician clothes.


Styles based on the animals?...no my wife says I have perfected Drunken Ass.


I know, the cool wooden dummy.

Wooden dummies are just plain neat. I have wanted one since I was 14. I got to play around on one when I was a Wing Chun student, but really I have not had the time to trance out on one.

A few years ago it occurred to me that I was never going to shell out the money to buy one. The traditional dummies do not move in a way that would be helpful to my current martial training anyways. Then a spark of inspiration hit. I have so much crap in the garage. I bet there is a training dummy in here somewhere. 3 hours later I had a pretty good workable first version. Cost - free. I worked out on it for about an hour. I gotta say it was nice getting back to some sweaty garage training. This was the way I used to train 12 years ago - just losing myself, by myself. My current art form has the nice space, the students and all that, but there is something cool about having a little space at the house you can go trance out at.


Here is a video and picture of mine. My dummy is quite versatile.




Here is a collection of photos and videos from the net of other artists dummies. You can do it!


Inspiration

Right Here, Right Now

I first encountered this poet and calligrapher when I lived in Japan. His name is Aida Mitsuo. Some of my Japanese friends introduced me to his work, and tried to convince me of his cleverness. Above we see a piece of his work. His calligraphy is child-like and almost burped out onto the page. He even childishly uses the kana or phonetic alphabet rather then the refined kanji, or Chinese characters. On the surface I do not like this piece. BUT, I have remembered it for ten years...I have recreated it, I have found it's wisdom. OK, I like it.

It says "Ima Koko" - Now, Here. In the English language it is often translated as 'Right Here, Right Now'. This is a Zen idea. I reminds us that the past is gone, the future is unknown, and truly all we ever have is the right here and now. All thought, action, change, and work only happens in the now. Living in the past or for the future is not the way, because we will never be in the past or future, only the now.

For those of into Zen or the martial arts, we like to build myths about teachers. Eventually the teachers that came before us become symbols of what we can achieve if we follow the way. Often the teachers take on a quality of purity and perfection. For those of in the martial arts they become enlightened or invincible.

Ima Koko - 'Right Here, Right Now' beckons us out of the fantasy and mythology. So what is Mr Monk or Mr Teacher was so great? That was their path. That was their practice. The only practice and person you can ever be responsible for is yourself. Budo, the martial way and Zen did exist in the past, but largely it is irrelevant to you and me practicing right now. We stand on the shoulders of the great teachers that came before us, not so that we can copy their art. We don't try to become them, or deify their lives. We stand on their shoulders so we can practice the art and spiritual paths, right here and right now and come to our own own conclusion. Nothing else matters except what you do this moment.

So remember fellow travelers on the path. Live in the now and seize the day. Make every encounter with your teacher, student, coworker, wife and child meaningful. Show them who you truly are, and what you are working on becoming. The teachers that came before are mere legends. The teachers that are to come have not been shaped yet. There is only you - and you perpetually exist in the here and now.

"Do not look back. And do not dream about the future, either. It will neither give you back the past, nor satisfy your other daydreams. Your duty, your reward--your destiny are here and now."

~Dag Hammarskjold

Enso

Zen teachers like to draw circles. Sometimes they draw them around from right to left, sometimes around from left to right. These circles can represent emptiness, fullness, or the moon. Or they can represent the practice. The circle that goes around from right to left-against the path of the sun on the sundial - represents the hard way of practice before any glimmer of understanding appears. When it goes around left to right, following the path of the sun, it represents the easier way of practice after a glimmer opens the Way. But both before and after glimmer, the practice requires investment and conscientious diligence.

-Robert Aitken


Here is one of my humble attempts. Again, photography cannot capture the 3 dimensional quality of this painting.