Infinity Minus One
A newbie and a shodan are practicing together some simple tai-sabaki (body movements). The newbie is a stiff, older man. He has no previous experience with any martial arts. He does not have much body awareness, but he is highly enthusiastic.
I have been stressing with the class the importance of a solid attack. Maybe because of that, as the newbie attacks, he holds his partner's wrist very tight and shoves at the partner's direction. The force is so strong that the shodan stumbles back. I think the shodan is a bit shocked by his partner's strength. In response, he stiffens up, stands his ground and pushes back. Now that his whole body is engaged in the shoving game, the shodan finds himself stuck in place and he cannot move. His face gets redder and redder, and he does not know what to do.
I see it and go over there to help. We do a reenactment of what just happened. When we get to the point when he got pushed very hard, the shodan says, "I have no choice but to push back!" Really? Does he really have no choice? When the partner is pushing so hard, his strength and weight is all aligned along one straight line. The attack is the strongest along that direction. Anybody reacting by pushing back along the line of strength is asking for it.
Think about the point of contact: there are infinite number of lines that can go through that point. All one has to do is to not exert any force along the same line as the attack. The number of choices you have is essentially (∞ - 1). And that, you call it "having no choice"? I think it is more accurate to say that the shodan just made a bad choice. Out of an infinite number of choices, he picked the worst one. Because the partner's strength is so clear along that line, it provides such strong feedback, ironically, the worst choice often ends up being the most tempting choice for most people.
Aikido is like a diorama of life. I find it interesting that many of the dynamics we see on the Aikido mat plays out in everyday life in pretty much the same way. Many times friends tell me about their stuck situations. They feel so trapped as if there is absolutely no way out. Quite often, they do exactly what the shodan did. Just because there is a very obvious option, even though it is a really bad one, people go for it like a bee for honey. Their minds and senses are so obscured by this bad option that they fail to see other possibilities.
Note to self: Even in despair, stay calm. There has to be a way out. Often times, there are way more than one.
I have been stressing with the class the importance of a solid attack. Maybe because of that, as the newbie attacks, he holds his partner's wrist very tight and shoves at the partner's direction. The force is so strong that the shodan stumbles back. I think the shodan is a bit shocked by his partner's strength. In response, he stiffens up, stands his ground and pushes back. Now that his whole body is engaged in the shoving game, the shodan finds himself stuck in place and he cannot move. His face gets redder and redder, and he does not know what to do.
I see it and go over there to help. We do a reenactment of what just happened. When we get to the point when he got pushed very hard, the shodan says, "I have no choice but to push back!" Really? Does he really have no choice? When the partner is pushing so hard, his strength and weight is all aligned along one straight line. The attack is the strongest along that direction. Anybody reacting by pushing back along the line of strength is asking for it.
Think about the point of contact: there are infinite number of lines that can go through that point. All one has to do is to not exert any force along the same line as the attack. The number of choices you have is essentially (∞ - 1). And that, you call it "having no choice"? I think it is more accurate to say that the shodan just made a bad choice. Out of an infinite number of choices, he picked the worst one. Because the partner's strength is so clear along that line, it provides such strong feedback, ironically, the worst choice often ends up being the most tempting choice for most people.
Aikido is like a diorama of life. I find it interesting that many of the dynamics we see on the Aikido mat plays out in everyday life in pretty much the same way. Many times friends tell me about their stuck situations. They feel so trapped as if there is absolutely no way out. Quite often, they do exactly what the shodan did. Just because there is a very obvious option, even though it is a really bad one, people go for it like a bee for honey. Their minds and senses are so obscured by this bad option that they fail to see other possibilities.
Note to self: Even in despair, stay calm. There has to be a way out. Often times, there are way more than one.
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