With Takeda shihanIt was a wonderful experience being able to attend Takeda shihan's seminar. This seminar was a different sort of seminar as Takeda shihan asked us to put aside the waza that we have learnt and instead will teach us to harness what we all have, chi. He thought us how to gather concentrate and project our chi, extend our chi and gather chi. As it was an abstract practice we were asked to visualize what we want to do, to put an image that we are gathering chi.
This kind of practice is meant for training and we all should take it with an open heart. As aikidokas we are taught to "empty our glass" whenever we attend any glass so that we may receive what the sensei wants to teach us. Aikido is a constantly evolving martial arts and as students we ought not to question what has been taught but to receive the sensei's teaching. We all have to start off at the stage of "shu" which is a process of self negation. By practising self negation we operate as a sponge, to absorb what is being taught to us. There are many senseis with many preference and styles and it is good to receive their teachings for one may not have the chance to meet or learn form them again. Later on when we make a trasition to the next stage of "ha" we can then affirm what was being taught to us.
Still, this kind of teaching is hard to receive as we are trained to be empirical. So it is difficult to practice what you cannot see. Some may feel but some cannot feel it, this thing we call chi.
It was quite a sight, to see Takeda shihan throwing his uke without them touching him or vice versa. Another sight still to see him move and cause to fall a group of 20 solid men.
We have to put an image in our minds that as we train with our aite, he must have the sincere intention to attack you and project that energy towards you, as the nage you receive and gather his energy, connecting and locking it with your and blend with your uke. Tap unto his frequency was one of the examples he use to make us visualize and once you lock your energy with your uke, then both of you can move as one. One very important thing to remember is not to break musubi, even if there is no physical contact.
To achieve something like what Takeda shihan cannot be done overnight and it is normal that some students feel that it does not work or it is not practical. It is a form of training and Takeda shihan said that we can use this to throw attackers away in a real life situation. We are training within the safety of the dojo and must make a disntinction. Hopefully there will a chance to learn more from Takeda shihan in the future!
This kind of practice is meant for training and we all should take it with an open heart. As aikidokas we are taught to "empty our glass" whenever we attend any glass so that we may receive what the sensei wants to teach us. Aikido is a constantly evolving martial arts and as students we ought not to question what has been taught but to receive the sensei's teaching. We all have to start off at the stage of "shu" which is a process of self negation. By practising self negation we operate as a sponge, to absorb what is being taught to us. There are many senseis with many preference and styles and it is good to receive their teachings for one may not have the chance to meet or learn form them again. Later on when we make a trasition to the next stage of "ha" we can then affirm what was being taught to us.
Still, this kind of teaching is hard to receive as we are trained to be empirical. So it is difficult to practice what you cannot see. Some may feel but some cannot feel it, this thing we call chi.
It was quite a sight, to see Takeda shihan throwing his uke without them touching him or vice versa. Another sight still to see him move and cause to fall a group of 20 solid men.
We have to put an image in our minds that as we train with our aite, he must have the sincere intention to attack you and project that energy towards you, as the nage you receive and gather his energy, connecting and locking it with your and blend with your uke. Tap unto his frequency was one of the examples he use to make us visualize and once you lock your energy with your uke, then both of you can move as one. One very important thing to remember is not to break musubi, even if there is no physical contact.
To achieve something like what Takeda shihan cannot be done overnight and it is normal that some students feel that it does not work or it is not practical. It is a form of training and Takeda shihan said that we can use this to throw attackers away in a real life situation. We are training within the safety of the dojo and must make a disntinction. Hopefully there will a chance to learn more from Takeda shihan in the future!
Location of the seminar, Indosat building
With Takeda Daiyu sensei, son and deshi of Takeda shihan
With Jean-Rene Leduc sensei, Takeda Shihan's deshi
With Berin MacKenzie sensei, Takeda shihan's deshi
With Kaoru Murase sensei, Takeda shihan's deshi
With Imanul Hakim sensei, dojo-cho of Aiki Kenkyukai dojo, Indonesia.
P/S: Congratulations to Hakim sensei, Shanti sensei and members for their tireless effort and a job well done in organizing the seminar. It was well organized and enjoyable!
2 comments:
One very important is not to break musubi, even if there is no physical contact.
What is musubi?
Musubi means knot or tie together. In the context of training it may connote the connection between the nage and the uke, where there is some sort of a link between the two to allow for the smooth execution of techniques. Maintaining musubi is important for awase.
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