Spinedoc
Brown Belt
So, traveled up to the main dojo on Sunday for an advanced class that takes place every Sunday at 11 am.
I got there a little early and was invited to join the "magic" class that the yudansha all refer to. It is an invitation only class, and is usually only attended by the most senior students and instructors who are invited. They invited me to participate....
The man leading the class has been doing Aikido, along with japanese jujutsu, some chinese internal arts, and other studies for the past 35 years. He's a retired FBI agent, and has seen a LOT. His techniques are impeccable.
But this class wasn't about techniques....it was about slight changes in body position, and using very small, almost imperceptible movements to disrupt an opponents balance. Working completely neutral foot posture, and structure and using no pushing or pulling movements to disrupt someone.....
I watched him do it to someone, and my first thought was "********, that can't be real, and cannot really work"....
So he practiced with me, and without grabbing, we just made contact with our hands outstretched on each others forearms. I resisted a little, and next thing I knew, I didn't see him move barely at all, and I was falling forward......WTF? So, I resisted even more, and this time ended up on the floor. He explained that the movement is still there, but it is simply very small spirals/circles, and slight shifts in posture and weight. He said "It's really not magical at all, but does take a lot of practice". I tried and tried, and was able to make him move a little, but nothing like he was doing to me. He laughed and said, "remember, I've been working on this for 30 years".....Most of the other advanced folks could barely do it as well, which made me feel a little better.
It was the strangest thing I'd ever experienced, and if I watched it on YouTube or some video, I would call complete BS, but having experienced it, I am now thinking about it constantly and trying to figure out just how the hell he did that......
I got there a little early and was invited to join the "magic" class that the yudansha all refer to. It is an invitation only class, and is usually only attended by the most senior students and instructors who are invited. They invited me to participate....
The man leading the class has been doing Aikido, along with japanese jujutsu, some chinese internal arts, and other studies for the past 35 years. He's a retired FBI agent, and has seen a LOT. His techniques are impeccable.
But this class wasn't about techniques....it was about slight changes in body position, and using very small, almost imperceptible movements to disrupt an opponents balance. Working completely neutral foot posture, and structure and using no pushing or pulling movements to disrupt someone.....
I watched him do it to someone, and my first thought was "********, that can't be real, and cannot really work"....
So he practiced with me, and without grabbing, we just made contact with our hands outstretched on each others forearms. I resisted a little, and next thing I knew, I didn't see him move barely at all, and I was falling forward......WTF? So, I resisted even more, and this time ended up on the floor. He explained that the movement is still there, but it is simply very small spirals/circles, and slight shifts in posture and weight. He said "It's really not magical at all, but does take a lot of practice". I tried and tried, and was able to make him move a little, but nothing like he was doing to me. He laughed and said, "remember, I've been working on this for 30 years".....Most of the other advanced folks could barely do it as well, which made me feel a little better.
It was the strangest thing I'd ever experienced, and if I watched it on YouTube or some video, I would call complete BS, but having experienced it, I am now thinking about it constantly and trying to figure out just how the hell he did that......
