You can see a definite progression of ideas in what we do. The walking kata is about you and gravity. Its about using your own balance, posture, and center as a weapon. Your maintenance of these three things in relation to what another guy wants to do to your center provides the energy that makes things work. The walking has a deep relation with two manned exercises we call the releases. Or it could be the first 14 moves of Yon kata, or the old sotai dosa. That's how the progression goes: a relationship between you and the pull of the ground. Then you add another person who wants to break your relationship with the ground. You take this energy and ride it out. Somewhere in this ride there is a all encompassing maintenence of posture, and balance, and center. This is where techniques start cropping up like wild onions.
Mentally, you should be hungry like a wolf . You ate a little for breakfast, but not enough to make it til noon and you have two bucks. See the world as things that push on you, pull on you, and things that make you stay still. Your feet move you in relation to how things pull and push on you.
Its all about the feet.
That Aikido dude George Ledyard talks about Burning the Clutch. I like how that sounds, even though I don't use the phrase the same way he does. Burning the clutch is putting your weight on the balls of your feet to the extent that you can slide that proverbial piece of rice paper between your heel and floor.The spirit of prewar aikido is in koryu dai ichi. That first move where you provoke a movement out of the other guy. You pick up this movement somewhere along its course. Your point of contact tells you what the guy is doing, whether you keep going or veer off, or turn. You are always burning the clutch, going in a straight line down the road until the road forks, There is something in the way on one fork so you take the other. Movement in the walking is about going straight and taking forks.
Don't treat the kata like a shinto ritual. Mix it up and play with it. I like to use my hands some on the first three steps. This helps me find my center. When I say center, I'm talking about what Yang Jwing Ming calls the true center which is a point outside my body. Put your feet in clutch burning mode, then place both hands about the level of your belt, slowly extend them outward until you feel yourself about to tip over your toes. If you went further you'd have to step or faceplant. If you step you keep that outside center out there where it belongs. If you don's step then it disappears and so does your balance. Forward motion is the first fork.
Now put your hands in that center and clasp your hands and draw your hands back to your your belt knot, until you feel your heels start to sink down.(you should have been in clutch burning mode to feel this.)That feeling you get is that outside center, connecting with your inside center. This what the hakama folks call connection. You take the guys outside center, and put it into his body. But as far as the walking kata goes your feet should move into a backwards stepping before your outside center touches your inside center. Backwards motion is the second fork
As far as posture goes always point your shoulders and hips the same direction. Make sure your shoulders up is in good shape. Most of us suffer from rounded shoulders, it comes from living the modern beat down life that we do. Its just not a set up straight and tall thing. Its a shortened muscle thing that may take a couple of years to correct. You tube rounded shoulders and you'll see what I mean.
Posture is really metsuke. That eye contact thing. When you have your shoulders and hips facing the same way that is the same as looking at something. Most folks turn their head one way, hips another, and shoulders another. This is a physical manifestation of distraction. You are leaving the room through the north trying to get to work on time, a good looking blonde enters the east, and a pizza delivery guy comes from the west all within a few seconds of each other. Your hips may be facing one way, the shoulders another, and maybe the eyes another. Always listen to your hips, before your shoulders and eyes.
Watch the Aikido between Mr. Hand and Spicoli. Notice how Spicoli's posture alone threw Mr. Hand into offbalance and how his posture is superior to all other students in the class. Notice how Mr. Hands posture is initially broken, but how he skillfully reacquired his posture. The lesson of The walking kata is that you will get your posture broken, but when you reacquire it, or maintain it, you create situations where you can win.
In budo, the hips and shoulders always face the one object of attention. The thing that threatens the true center. Multitasking is for dead men. If your hips face or turn from the blonde, that's whats on your mind. Or it could be the pizza, or work. The hips always reflect the mind. Not wanting to pay attention to the blonde, is the same thing as paying attention to the blonde. It's a zen thing,
Pretend something pulls you and threatens to take away your outside center. Then you drop step into the pull.Try doing the forward walking steps on your tip toes with your heels raised high. Extend or contract your hands and drop as you feel your center being messed with. Then dial it down til you get to that sheet of paper, clutch burning mode.
The walking is about your mind. How it affects your posture, and balance, and center. Aikido is about how your superior maintence of these factors lead to situations to where you can dump the other guy in a hole of his own making. Understand the zen riddle of being both Spicoli and Mr.Hand at the same time, and you understand the walking.
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