'Nuther class update...

Tuesday's class went well, as usual. I spoke a bit about some of the things I picked up at Dale's "Back from Japan" seminar I attended last Saturday. Then, I started off with a basic Kukishinden Ryu kata from that seminar, which began with the attacker doing a right punch, right kick, and right punch sequence. I explained that in Feudal Japan, especially on the battlefied, your sword hung at your left hip. So, you became efficient at being able to fight from the right side of the body while protecting the left side where your swords hung. Thus, the attack sequence being limited to the right side of the body is a logical approach to being able to attack your opponent without putting yourself at risk of having your weapons grabbed.

This attack sequence could very well be used as a 'breaking down', prepatory move designed to create proper distance and put the defender in a weakened position for an eventual draw and cut with the sword.

However, the kata is in response to such a tactic. So, the defender blocks the attacks, shifting positions each time to control the distance and angle. Once the final punch is completed, the defender then slips in and does a throw. In this case, the throw was either a Koshi Nage (hip throw) or toppling move like Ganseki Oshi, where you off balance them over their far leg, then step through (buckling their outside knee) and they fall away.

At Dale's seminar, he talked about how Nagato Shihan (during Dale's recent Japan trip) said the densho version of many kata are dangerous to memorize exactly as they are recorded. Many things are purposely left out that, without them, make the person doing the kata vulnerable. This kata was a perfect example. If you just did what was written for the kata, you would have to enter and throw an attacker who only has had their limbs blocked. They easily would be able to counter the forward motion of the defender and the attempted throw would leave a very easy vulnerability, especially since the defender's back would be against the attacker.

So, I showed many of the things Dale taught which make the throw possible - and safe - to execute. Some of this involved using initiating strikes before moving in, but others had more to do with 'drawing out' the attacks so that the attacker would be off balance. The moving in action to throw would occur as the attacker was attempting to 'right themselves' from their off balanced position. This was something you wouldn't see on paper or even video, unless you felt it yourself or someone actually pointed it out to you. Thus, the importance of training with the right people firsthand.

I tied some of this feeling with our current direction of exploring the Kumi Uchi. As the attacker would come in with a committed attempt at Kumi Uchi, you would move in such a way to control the space and angle so that they would still get the Kumi Uchi, but be terribly off balanced. From this position, the attacker has nothing left to do any follow up technique, so they have to move in to recapture their balance. Of course, while they move in, you change direction to where they have no balance again and they often will fall on their own. Throw in some juicy strikes during all this interplay and you have a great technique!

Notice I mentioned the strikes come after you establish all the other base elements and effects on the attacker. This is where people misunderstand kata. They see them in reverse. They see the strikes, or any physical 'thing', as the catalyst to getting that effect. But, in actuality, those are just decorations...

One of the things noted was that when the space (or "kukan") was controlled correctly and the attacker achieved getting the Kumi Uchi applied, their loss of balance caused them to use the Kumi Uchi as their support. So, instead of using the Kumi Uchi to take balance, they used it to try and recapture their own! If they tried to remove a hand to strike, for instance, they would fall because their hand was their support.

I spoke about how you want to be in a position where they rely on you for their security, or you control that which they are using for their security. You have the choice to take that away at any point and leave them completely disrupted and confused. This puts you in complete control. Psychologically, if they 'feel' secure with something, they won't be trying to change it. So, they will actually work to maintain that security, even if it continues to put them in your control. The subconscious mind works that way. All it knows is what it feels. So, if it feels safe, it will try and control the person to maintain that safety - even if the reality is not so 'safe'.

Another more fundamental lesson that came out of the class was the importance of doing things correctly at every point. When doing long sequences, especially with counters, every point has to be done correctly or the end result won't happen or it won't make sense. We were doing counters to Kumi Uchi and other attacks and at some point, suddenly the counters began failing to work. I watched them struggle for a while, then I had them stop and go back to the beginning. The conclusion was they were not doing the initial attack correctly, because that was no longer the 'technique'. This is a common mistake I see all the time with many people. You go through the attack pattern so many times, you get used to having it be countered, that you let up on the intensity or foundational skills in that initial attack. Then, the subsequent counter fails because the conditions are no longer appropriate for that counter. Such was the case here.

So, every time a part of the technique wasn't working, I had them stop and back up to the beginning. Every time I did that, suddenly everything worked! The counter itself was never really the problem. It was all the actions which make the counter logical!

All in all, it was a great class.

This Saturday I am planning on going to Alex's class and train with his guys. Most of my Intel group is planning on going, too. This should be a great opportunity to get in some foundational training before heading off to Japan in 3 weeks!