(71 posts)
Oct 19, 2009 12:44 pm
One ounce of pressure
I have heard it said in class a couple of times that our techniques only need one ounce of pressure for them to work. Does anyone know where this came from?One ounce of pressure
Started by Doug Durst · Oct 19, 2009 · 8 posts
(583 posts)
Oct 19, 2009 4:22 pm
Chuck used to say stuff like that alot and he probably picked it up from kg-- on the face of it , it is probably wrong as an absolute statement. More accurate to say that under most circumstances , with many many techniques, if kuzushi ( the balance break) is right, and tsukuri( fitting/ blending) is right, then one ounce is often overkill to complete the kake (the throwing action) -- the better you set things up at the start the lighter it is at the end
(81 posts)
Oct 19, 2009 10:25 pm
I heard it from the artist formerly known as kg as well as a few others, but it didn't become apparent to me until I studied the yonkata for several years, and now Im a big proponent of it. It helps my students to learn to affect a technique with as little power as possible.
Im not sure if yonkata just falls during the appropriate time in the evolution of your training or if studying it earlier would produce similar revelations... ????
Im not sure if yonkata just falls during the appropriate time in the evolution of your training or if studying it earlier would produce similar revelations... ????
(583 posts)
Oct 19, 2009 10:48 pm
i was first introduced to yonkata about green belt or so and it was instantly my favorite-- most of the tomiki world learns the first seven of yonkata (called shichihon no kuzushi) from the get go in lieu of the 8 releases --
(71 posts)
Oct 20, 2009 2:38 pm
Thankyou. I was wondering if there was an old Tomiki research article or something about that. Seemed to be a real precise amount and didn't know if there was more to it.
(81 posts)
Oct 20, 2009 6:08 pm
cool... i didnt know that.. im going to try it with some of the lower rank students to see how it goes..
(106 posts)
Oct 20, 2009 8:35 pm
I believe the original idea comes from the Tai Chi classics - probably the best Aikido book ever written.
Of course I have no idea about chinese weight systems, but it is usually translated as it takes 4 ounces to turn a thousand pounds.
Of course I have no idea about chinese weight systems, but it is usually translated as it takes 4 ounces to turn a thousand pounds.
(71 posts)
Oct 22, 2009 12:10 am
I guess another question here would relate to the execution of a technique. Since one of the ideas in Aikido is to not harm your opppnent, the lighter you can be, the less likely you are to cause harm. By having the goal of a technique being an ounce, it removes a lot of variables as well. Strength, weakness, and speed would be good examples. Any thoughts?