In The Quieter Moments, A Foot Placement

Bill Mattocks

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As we discuss the 'big things' that make martial arts interesting and engaging and (for some of us) a lifestyle and not just something we do to get fit, learn to fight, or socialize with our friends, I sometimes find myself doing much smaller things.

Like thinking about, working on, and testing a movement of a foot. The arc it covers, the purpose that arc serves, the settling movement, and relaxation into a solid stance. The breathing that accompanies it. The position of the shoulders, the elbows, the hips, the hands. The timing of the movement, what the eyes cover as the movement begins and ends.

I spent two hours just moving from one stance into another from one kata. Over and over, testing and probing and asking myself how it felt, how solid it was, could I do it better, more smoothly. Did my breathing match my movement, what if I got hit or someone tried to offbalance me at the moment of the movement; where did that leave me? Move just the feet, ignore the hands, let them hang by my sides. Keep the head erect, check foot position only after settling. Face the mirror, then face away. Practice both ways. Practice with the opposite foot, same movement, even though the kata doesn't do it that way.

Again, and then again. Take the first stance, settle, breathe, relax, move to the second stance. Settle, check position, relax, check stance.

Over and over.

Then sit and think about it for awhile.

Then again, moving from the first stance to the second. Practice smooth transition. Make the movement more subtle, hide the back leg behind the front leg, keep the one-point, keep the center of gravity, test balance.

So.

Stance.

Balance.

Breathing.

Center of gravity.

Settling.

Calmness.

Seeing and Hearing.

Mystical? No. It's just moving from one stance to another. Over time, though, as I move through the motions, I get to that 'mushin' state, where I'm not thinking about the rent, or my boss, or the noise the garage door has been making lately, or whether my dog is getting enough cheese. Just the movement, just one foot. Tiny differences in placement, tiny differences in the arc of the travel from one stance to another, tiny differences in stability and openings. Just movement, settling, balance, breathing, calmness, and a foot.

Some days, I think about the bigger things. Some days, it is just the movement of one foot, transitioning from one stance to another and what it all means, and why it matters.
 

Gerry Seymour

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As we discuss the 'big things' that make martial arts interesting and engaging and (for some of us) a lifestyle and not just something we do to get fit, learn to fight, or socialize with our friends, I sometimes find myself doing much smaller things.

Like thinking about, working on, and testing a movement of a foot. The arc it covers, the purpose that arc serves, the settling movement, and relaxation into a solid stance. The breathing that accompanies it. The position of the shoulders, the elbows, the hips, the hands. The timing of the movement, what the eyes cover as the movement begins and ends.

I spent two hours just moving from one stance into another from one kata. Over and over, testing and probing and asking myself how it felt, how solid it was, could I do it better, more smoothly. Did my breathing match my movement, what if I got hit or someone tried to offbalance me at the moment of the movement; where did that leave me? Move just the feet, ignore the hands, let them hang by my sides. Keep the head erect, check foot position only after settling. Face the mirror, then face away. Practice both ways. Practice with the opposite foot, same movement, even though the kata doesn't do it that way.

Again, and then again. Take the first stance, settle, breathe, relax, move to the second stance. Settle, check position, relax, check stance.

Over and over.

Then sit and think about it for awhile.

Then again, moving from the first stance to the second. Practice smooth transition. Make the movement more subtle, hide the back leg behind the front leg, keep the one-point, keep the center of gravity, test balance.

So.

Stance.

Balance.

Breathing.

Center of gravity.

Settling.

Calmness.

Seeing and Hearing.

Mystical? No. It's just moving from one stance to another. Over time, though, as I move through the motions, I get to that 'mushin' state, where I'm not thinking about the rent, or my boss, or the noise the garage door has been making lately, or whether my dog is getting enough cheese. Just the movement, just one foot. Tiny differences in placement, tiny differences in the arc of the travel from one stance to another, tiny differences in stability and openings. Just movement, settling, balance, breathing, calmness, and a foot.

Some days, I think about the bigger things. Some days, it is just the movement of one foot, transitioning from one stance to another and what it all means, and why it matters.

I think this is one of the unsung values in having forms. Because they are precise, it gives someplace for this intellectual pursuit. I do Upchurch the same thing (though not nearly as patiently as describe - I don't manage to stay on one movement for an hour) with specific responses and defenses. I examine a given point in the response and ask myself how I would be affected if the person reacted differently than I'm planning for. What if they step back, pull up, have a knife in that hand, the other hand, a buddy, giant arms, training in BJJ/Aikido/Kyukoshin/Judo/Penchak Silat/Escrima, they were drunk, etc.

For me, this serves three purposes: the purely intellectual examination that can improve comprehension and mastery, looking for holes and opportunities that may not be exposed by attacks and responses in the dojo, and (as a teacher) a better understanding of the cause of a student's failure in a specific moment.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Touch Of Death

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Just an aside, but, how something feels is not the best indicator of strength and power. Working hard and pushing a tech, may take strength and therefore feel strong, but it is only your Uke that will truly know the difference between one way of punching, or the other.
 

Gerry Seymour

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Just an aside, but, how something feels is not the best indicator of strength and power. Working hard and pushing a tech, may take strength and therefore feel strong, but it is only your Uke that will truly know the difference between one way of punching, or the other.

The ponderings and experimentation mentioned here aren't instead of working with a partner. They are a way to work out what you might need to work on with a partner. I doubt anybody accepts blindly anything they "discover" during one of these sessions, but once you've put enough time and energy into your training, you can expect to be reasonably accurate in what you surmise during these times. I've actually fully re-worked forms and techniques in my head and in solo practice, with no partner available, then polished the changes once I had a partner to work with. Usually, the changes are great. Occasionally, I've misinterpreted what a change of weight shift (for instance) would do, and had to either discard the proposed change or simply had to make more changes.
 

Koshiki

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I'm far too tired to add anything meaningful, but I wanted to note publicly that I like what you've all written thus far. Sometimes (most times) it's the shorter, less popular threads that contain the good stuff.
 

Buka

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I haven't stopped thinking about the things in this thread since it was posted, because I do the same things, like forever. And to me, it's got nothing to do with Kata. And I mean that in the most positive and wonderful way.
 

Gerry Seymour

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I haven't stopped thinking about the things in this thread since it was posted, because I do the same things, like forever. And to me, it's got nothing to do with Kata. And I mean that in the most positive and wonderful way.
I actually caught myself doing this last night, experimenting with some movement variations for a technique while planning today's class, to better explain the "why" and "why not".
 

JP3

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I really liked reading Bills O/P. I sometimes do similar stuff now, but I've never thought about doing the shifting stance work he was describing. More on the aikido side of things, I like to stop every once in a while, sometimes in the middle of a class I'm teaching (with the whole class or just a student or two) and do a sort of slow-motion work, forward and backward through a particular action, reaction, transition.... asking the students to feel the changing things happening on both sides of the "equation" if you will, forcing them to ... feel what is happening rather than just looking at it int he other person. Lots of insight is gained, by everyone, when we do this for a minute or so, sometimes up to an hour or more. Neat stuff.
 

seasoned

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This is one of the awesome aspects of learning martial arts. It is as much of an outward expression as it is an inward learning experience. It is part of the awareness factor most crucial in martial arts training.
 

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