Porres.com – Eric's Humble Place in Cyberspace

Very small class this evening; some teaching, some training. Had the junior folks work on rolling, in particular, backwards rolls and overcoming fear of broken necks from rolling on either side. As an exercise, if someone is having a hard time rolling backwards on one side, apply omoto gyaku and help them pull through the roll. It will give them confidence that they can in fact roll in that direction.

Techniques
Kihon happo – Using good footwork will always replace muscling technique. If you apply good footwork (and good overall taijutsu), you will take the balance of your opponent; he or she will stop fighting you and start fighting gravity. Once gravity sinks in, very little effort is required.

Sanshin no kata – Developing the movement in ‘flow’ …the entire motion should be in one movement rather than snapshot parts.

Sword on sword – From hasso, lure in opponent to cut your left shoulder; as he cuts down, pivot the sword and cut his wrists, moving in as you do so to affect his balance.

Bo on sword – Down, up on one side, down, up on the other side, bring bo back, pivot bo on your hips to strike the legs, then bring the bo back up in horizontal twirl as if you attack your opponent’s head, then strike down again at his legs. If your bo work is good you may not need to go through the whole sequence. When defending a bo hit with a sword, it is generally a good idea to duck behind the sword if and when a strike comes towards your head; the bo can generate great power and can snap your sword or very easily drive through your defense if your head is at the same level. This is what we call “bad.”

On another note….
Every technique should feel new in that each technique should give you the opportunity to learn something new about yourself or about your opponent. The ‘take it for granted’ attitude (“oh, I know that”) misses the point of training; you are there to learn as much as you are there to teach. Your technique should be a reflection of you.