Comments regarding recent class training... :-)

For those who have been coming to class last week and this week, you'll notice the emphasis has been on using the hip. The hip is known in Japanese as "koshi", just like Koshi Nage means "hip throw", etc. However, if it is written a little differently, then we have "kosshi", which means "essence" or "marrow (center of bone)" or "essentials".

When we speak of "marrow" as in the skeleton, we are not confusing koppo, which relates to bone. In fact, the kanji "ko" in both koshi/kosshi and koppo is actually Kotsu, which means "bones". It's equally interesting to note that in Zen Buddhism, a Kotsu is a wooden scepter awarded by a teacher to a disciple when they have been granted permission to teach. It has an s-shaped curve, like a human spinal column. So, here we see the connection between the hips and the spine, which is also very evident as a core of movement behind Soke's budo.

What is important to understand is that the first three kata of the Kihon Happo are called Koshi Sanpo, not Kosshi Sanpo, although there are some versions that mix the two.

What I have discovered is that there isn't any difference between "kosshi" (essence) and "koshi" (hip). In fact, I have learned that in taijutsu, the essence or foundation of movement and power comes from the hip.

This was the first point of my training.

Whether you are doing ground or standing techniques, with or without weapons, the role of the hip is paramount. It controls the angle or plane of the body, provides the stability and balance, and powers the strikes. When we move off the base of our hips, our balance suffers. When we strike without our hips, our power suffers. When we attack our uke's hips or take away the balance, stability and power of their hips, they become vulnerable. Therefore, if you look at controlling the hips (yours and your uke's), you see the essence inside a technique.

The second point I have made in class is the topic of "sensory information". Your body perceives, adapts and learns through what it feels. Your mind, although it can control the body, operates seperately. This is why you have subconscious actions that happen when the conscious mind is distracted or 'turned off'. In the beginning of class, we worked on what I call "survival training". These are ground defense techniques that are physically challenging, with plenty of sensory information. They get internalized quickly because of the amount of data the body is receiving through the physical contact involved. Then, when we do our standing taijutsu, we do drills that involve the whole body, to provide more sensory information data your body will internalize.

What's important to note here is that your taijutsu relies on sensory data. In early training, this data needs to be physical. As we advance, our bodies become adept at perceiving sensory data that is less and less physical, as displayed in the sakki test given for godan ranking.

In our training, we look to also use this against our uke. By using softer movement and contact, we strip away what sensory data we give our uke. By lowering our kamae, changing angles to "off" angles, etc, we deprive the uke's subconscious of the sensory data it needs to adapt. When there is a lack of data, all that remains is confusion. Even a simple thing like a wide stance provides data. For example, stand at punching distance to your partner and look at his face. You will only see the upper torso of his body with your field of vision. However, if they extend a leg or arm out any direction, it expands their body into your field of vision, giving you more data. So, you can see how wide postures actually provide more sensory information the subconscious mind uses to adapt the body. Narrow postures and correct positioning/distancing/angling reduce the amount of data and confuses the uke's ability to adapt subconsciously. They have to look, to make a conscious act, in order to gain information. That gives you the timing gap you need to do something else. You can also provide false information so that they adapt incorrectly, but that's a further expansion on the topic we may approach later.

I hope this makes sense and helps you to understand what we are doing in class.


Gambatte!