Monday, January 28, 2013

"Wait, you weren't supposed to do that..."

Let me first start off by saying I have been guilty of many of the things I am writing about.  Likely, there will be times I catch myself being guilty of one or more of them again.  But, regardless, I would like to address an important aspect to training and the problems that happen that inhibit development of martial skills.

I have previously written on the roles and purposes of the Tori and the Uke in training.  At different times during class, I have seen this work perfectly.  Other times, I have seen it work terribly - or not work at all.  The main reason for the failure of the Tori/Uke training has to do primarily with two things:

  1. One or both persons fail to stay focused on what role they are in (i.e. Uke or Tori).
  2. One or both persons fail to focus on their own learning, or the role of Deshi (student).
Whether Tori or Uke, each person has to work within the confines of what role they are playing.  As Deshi, or a student, the underlying purpose of their Tori or Uke role is entirely devoted to their own learning and development of attributes associated with that particular role.

For the Uke, they must work on learning to move correctly, with intent, and not "pre-disposed" to the actions of the Tori.  For instance, it is very common for an Uke to launch an attack on Tori with their mind and awareness not on their own action or attack, but on the action or technique of the Tori.  Their punch, for instance, really is just an offering of their limbs so that the Tori can execute whatever kata is being worked on.  Since the Uke is the receiver of the technique, they are already in a kind of Ukemi Mode, meaning they are going into the "attack" already with the mindset and body adjustment to receive the counter.

This is a terrible habit of training.  The Uke needs to develop their attacks, keep their mindset focused on the attack, and not think about what the Tori is going to do.  Their focus needs to be on what they do.  Ukemi should happen naturally, as a response to what Tori does, not what their preconceived ideas or expectations tell them.  That is not "receiving" in the true sense of Ukemi.  Ukemi is adapting to the situation, so you first have to have the situation.  Otherwise, there's no adapting, only doing, and it may not match the situation.  For instance, you are working on Omote Gyaku.  The Tori has your hand or wrist and starts to move to your outside.  Knowing you will be thrown backwards, you start to soften your knees and turn your body to begin your backwards roll.  The Tori 'feels' you moving ahead of his control or wrist control.  He feels your balance is intact.  He feels your structure or kamae is still good as you are moving.  So, he adjusts and changes to Ura Gyaku.

Guess what?  You just rolled yourself right into a painful wrist break (well, maybe not quite a break, since it is training).  Your Ukemi suddenly has to pop on in the moment to change your roll to go forwards to get away from the wrist lock and pain.

Your first reaction was not Ukemi.  It was Kaiten (rolling), but not Ukemi (receiving/adapting).  The second reaction was more of a pure Ukemi, since it was unexpected, in the moment, and the body had to operate ahead of your thoughts (your mind would still be in the "What the heck is going on?" mode).

In training, you want to replicate conditions as much as safely possible.  As Uke, you want your Ukemi to really build.  Building Ukemi is two-fold.  First, you must build good technique for rolling, break falls, and other mechanics to avoid injury or to counter a technique.  Second, and more at the root or essence of Ukemi, you have to build that innate sense of perception in your body.  Your mind is not good enough or fast enough for it.  In fact, most likely, your mind will be in shock & awe.  It's your body that has to save you in those moments.  That's where true Ukemi exists.

In regards to attacking the Tori, you need to develop the attack.  If the kata I am studying involves a grab and a cross punch, for instance, I need to explore using proper taijutsu to even enter and grab the lapel.  Then, I need to explore using proper taijutsu to throw the cross punch to the specified target (head, gut, etc).  Lastly, is my punch 'form' correct enough (right down to the alignment of the fist) and conditioned well so that if I did connect as a real punch, would it really smash my target - or break my hand?

There are many lessons and challenges for the Uke.  If you know that your punch, for instance, lacks in enough power and structure to really crush someone's face, maybe you need to spend more time hitting the target pads or heavy bags, practice form by punching at your reflected image in a mirror, or other self-training methods.  If your grab is weak, maybe you need to practice grabbing heavy things with just your fingers, or squeezing clay, or ripping bark off a tree with your finger tips, or anything to help build your hand strength.

There are many ways to practice to develop strong attack mechanics.  No Uke should ever see his role as sacrificial.  They must train so that they can really attack with the intent to really succeed.  However, the timing and control is put into their delivery so that the Tori can work on their technique and not be injured due to a deficiency in their own Ukemi or skill.

But, (and here is another major problem in training) controlling your force and speed to work with the Tori's level or desired training tempo does not mean to let go of those things that make your attack strong!  In our grab and cross punch attack, for instance, you are required to enter, grab and punch with correct form, balance, and energy/force delivery - but at a speed that is agreed upon between you and the Tori.  You may even need to stop something for a few seconds so that the Tori can figure out what he needs to do at that moment.  But, stopping or slowing down does not mean relaxing the arm or hand, straightening your legs, and losing the life out of your attack.  Stopping or slowing down simply means just that - stopping or slowing down your attack technique, without losing it.

That is a hard thing to do, especially when you have been attacking over and over again to the point that your legs are wobbly from entering low, your arms tired from firing out, etc.  That's a good opportunity to work on your physical conditioning instead of losing patience or giving in to being tired.

Or, giving up your role as Deshi (student) and becoming Sensei (teacher) by trying to teach the Tori.

Now, this last part is a tricky one.  As Sempai (senior ranked), it is customary to help the Kohai (junior ranked).  The Kohai may also ask the Sempai to help them figure something out or fix a flaw in their technique.  There are also many moments where the Kohai actually helps the Sempai!  These are all perfectly fine, as it breeds a healthy training environment where everybody works together and learns from each other.  But, the trick is to maintain the primary purpose of being a Deshi first.  That means that, even though you might be helping or instructing your partner on how to fix his technique, or even to clarify how to do the technique, you cannot give up your purpose as Uke and Deshi.  You have to view these instructional moments as interruptions in your training.  You might be learning the technique by teaching it, but if you are not developing the attack required for the technique, then you and your partner really are both trying to play the Tori.  That imbalance breeds little actual understanding and growth, since it is half the lesson.  Even when the Uke is executing his attack, if his mind is focused on being the Sensei (teaching), focused on what the Tori is doing (to try and 'help' them with their technique), then they are not focused on being the Uke and attacking correctly.  The Ukemi will not be natural and their taijutsu will be weak.

If the Uke sees the 'helping' of the Tori as a pause or break in their own training, and their focus is to get the most benefit from their own training, then these moments will be brief.  They will key in on a particular piece to help the Tori find their way, or to discover the answer, and get back to attacking correctly (just slowly and maybe with a brief stop point along the way for the Tori to get something right).  If the Uke is spending more and more time 'helping' the Tori, they do so at the risk of losing the focus on their own training.  Thus, they won't develop their attack and the "pauses" in their own training will become longer and longer.  (It becomes "More yakkin', less smackin'")

Here's another point regarding the Uke's role in attacking:  The level in which both Tori and Uke learn and evolve in their taijutsu is a direct reflection in the quality of attack performed by the Uke.  Yes, it all starts with the Uke.  No matter how sloppy the Tori or slow the training needs to be, as long as the Uke is consistently attacking strong and with correct technique, the Tori will develop their technique at a faster and higher quality of performance.  As the Uke attacks with the focus on improving their taijutsu and attack technique, their own level of taijutsu will increase.  It becomes a circle of upward evolution.

Higher quality attacks from the Uke = higher quality techniques from the Tori

And, to add a 3rd benefit:

= higher quality Ukemi from the Uke!

And, a fourth benefit:

= higher quality reversals, counters, henka from the Tori!

And on and on and on...

This is all about harmony and relationship between Uke and Tori, starting with the Uke and ending with the Uke.

So, as you can see, the role of the Uke is paramount to learning, for both partners.  Yet, the tendency is to cheat this vital role so that it becomes nothing more than a detractor to quality growth.  It becomes a platform to teach, or just a necessary speed bump to get to the technique of the Tori, or some other lesser form of training.  Simply put, it is a waste of energy and chokes off the life energy of being a real budoka.

So, train hard at all the attack skills required of being an Uke.  When your Tori stands in front of you and you are called to throw that punch, throw a punch that is reflective of the level you are, but at the tempo reflective of the level they are.

And let them make those mistakes and learn from them.  You may even point out a small detail or fix a sticking point that you see them struggling with.  Just keep giving them quality attacks and developing your own skills in those attacks along the way.





Don't forget your primary focus in being an Uke and Deshi is that you are an Uke - and a Deshi.