"Let Body Body!"
This is one of the signature teachings of Robert Nadeau Sensei. The first time I heard him say that at his seminar, I was dumbstruck. "What??? What is he talking about?" It took me a long 5 seconds to remember that Sensei was from California. "Let body body." "Body does body things. Mind does mind things." "Get the I out of the way." All of a sudden, everything makes so much sense.
A couple months ago, when I was in California, I seized the opportunity to see Sensei at least one time. It is always a delight to watch him move and learn more from him.
This time, his emphasis was on "form" and "flow".
My understanding of what Sensei was trying to teach us is that we need to learn solid basic movements to make up the physical form. It is like building a strong, structurally sound vessel. Yet, the vessel cannot take us anywhere by itself because it relies on flow to move it. It is like how a boat rides on water current. Both elements have to be there, and they both have to be strong before we can go far.
Nadeau Sensei did a great job in showing the form he wanted us to explore for the night, and then demonstrated how to generate the flow to move this strong form so that a technique may happen. It was beautiful and effortless. I can never have enough of this kind of practice.
What I also love is Sensei's Q & A time. "Questions? Any dumb questions? I love dumb questions!" What an Aikido shihan! Given I don't see him every day, I would be really dumb to not ask my many dumb questions. I have a good stash of them.
"What were you thinking while you were doing the technique, Sensei?" Nadeau Sensei turned to look at me as if I just grew a horn out of my head. While staring at me with his jaw slightly dropped, Sensei said, "I was NOT thinking about anything! You shouldn't really be thinking anything at all. " I chuckled and said, "Actually, I do understand, Sensei. But since you let us ask stupid questions, I thought I would try this one. Some students really have a hard time not thinking about anything while they are on the mat. So, if they MUST think about something, what would you suggest that they think about?"
A couple months ago, when I was in California, I seized the opportunity to see Sensei at least one time. It is always a delight to watch him move and learn more from him.
This time, his emphasis was on "form" and "flow".
My understanding of what Sensei was trying to teach us is that we need to learn solid basic movements to make up the physical form. It is like building a strong, structurally sound vessel. Yet, the vessel cannot take us anywhere by itself because it relies on flow to move it. It is like how a boat rides on water current. Both elements have to be there, and they both have to be strong before we can go far.
Nadeau Sensei did a great job in showing the form he wanted us to explore for the night, and then demonstrated how to generate the flow to move this strong form so that a technique may happen. It was beautiful and effortless. I can never have enough of this kind of practice.
What I also love is Sensei's Q & A time. "Questions? Any dumb questions? I love dumb questions!" What an Aikido shihan! Given I don't see him every day, I would be really dumb to not ask my many dumb questions. I have a good stash of them.
"What were you thinking while you were doing the technique, Sensei?" Nadeau Sensei turned to look at me as if I just grew a horn out of my head. While staring at me with his jaw slightly dropped, Sensei said, "I was NOT thinking about anything! You shouldn't really be thinking anything at all. " I chuckled and said, "Actually, I do understand, Sensei. But since you let us ask stupid questions, I thought I would try this one. Some students really have a hard time not thinking about anything while they are on the mat. So, if they MUST think about something, what would you suggest that they think about?"
Sensei shook his head and let out a sigh. After a short pause, he rolled his eyes, and said, "Hmm, you really should not be thinking about anything, ya know. However, if you MUST think about something, think about being more open, and more open, and even more open . . . " He shifted his weight back and forth while rolling his hands over each other in front of his center, making a bigger and bigger circle.
After he answered my dumb question, Sensei turned to the class and announced, "When you are on the mat, you should be using your body, not your brain. If you like to think so much, wait till class is over, go sit at a coffee shop and think as much as you want. Don't do it on the mat, please."
After he answered my dumb question, Sensei turned to the class and announced, "When you are on the mat, you should be using your body, not your brain. If you like to think so much, wait till class is over, go sit at a coffee shop and think as much as you want. Don't do it on the mat, please."
Brilliant Meipo! Sensei also talks about the energies that promote that flow, he mentions they are male - female, yin - yang, or in your case a boat and a river, both with oposite enrgies that meet at a certain point to create ome true energy.
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