The Jan/Marsha episode of Texhomiki Aikido.

There have been many occasions as I was looking up from the mat, looking up at the Judo guys crotch. Pondering the upward punch in the balls technique,  That I began to see the Aikido in Geis-ryu as Jan Brady. And the Judo as Marsha Brady.  Every time Jan would try to be herself, here comes Marsha, or somebody mentioning Marsha.

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.  Judo, Judo, Judo.

In fact the statement I have heard the most in my Aikido study is: If you do it that way a Judo player will.....(fill in the blank with a Judo move I have probably been victimized by.)

Jan Brady was not a happy camper, and in fact I think this entire blog could have been written by her.

In fact, that subjective feeling, that Wow, oh shit feeling you get when you are thrown anywere on the Judo Menu.  That Judo woosh that proves somebody elses well founded point.  That"s the way I think Aikido should be.  

Aikido should be able to prove somebody elses well founded point. With a wow, oh shit, and a woosh.

I started my Jan Bradyness with the idea that because no one could give a definite reason why we did anything on the walking kata with out mentioning Marsha.   That the Aikido that I was being taught was half-assed aikido made better by Judo practice, and Judo insights.

You can hang out with Marsha.

You can hang out with Marsha and Jan.

But never, ever, hang out with Jan.  Jan can't carry the story on her own.

Anyway.  Look at this old school Tomiki Walk. He tells a story about the walking hand motions.  The sword motions say it all.  But the part where he makes a point to show his hand held high, middle and low.  The Jodan, Chudan, and Gedan.  Those are important to figure out the mystery of the walking kata.

Also look at Senta Yamada clip.  This is basically the way we in the Geis-Ryu Tomiki do it with a few changes.  Here's Nick Lowry demonstrating.

The thing you may notice is the quality of the Geis-ryu footwork.  It's slower, much more deliberate. The thing about Geis-ryu is, and this is my interpretation, it chooses not to undo any Judo fundamental or insight.  Jumping around doesn't make sense against a Judo guy.  And more importantly it doesn't make sense to a Judo guy.

The thing I want to say is that Geis-ryu Tomiki is an older version of Tomiki Aikido.  I think I'm correct, or pretty damn correct, when I say that it was given to us by first generation Tomiki Students.  That is the first people to actually learned Aikido from Tomiki when Tomiki was trying real hard to find the best to teach Aikido.  When he was trying to apply a Kano model to it.

But unlike the Senta Yamada Schools in Europe who absorbed things like Tanto Randori and the if's, and's and but's that go along with it, and entails a departure from an Uke responding like a Judo player, Geis taught Tomiki's Aikido as if a Judo player was always present.  Either as Tori or Uke.  As observer, teacher, and student.

Take a look at these releases.  Here lately I've been reintroduced to doing things this way.  I think it helps clear up some walking kata mysteries.

What these guys are doing is three step walking.  I went over and did this with the Himes the other night.  It is just like that Judo exercise where the guys  walk around the room feeling for feet.  Everytime a footfalls there is a move made. The releases here don't dial in until about ukes third step or so.   There are positions here where off balances can happen.  Making the Uke take a step he doesn't want to take.  That is  make him move his foot to where he places it off the line of his walking. His footfall should have been here, but now he's taking it there.  It took me five fudging years to figure that out.

Notice the under the arm movements.  We call them release 5, 6, 7, 8.

Now check this out.  It's my favorite dude Nariyama.  He is demonstrating what appears to be the same thing as in the release movemnets.  But instead of the uke walking it out.  Nariyama dials it on the first motion or step.  Also, notice that the first two movements are omitted in the Geis version.  They appear in Yon kata, which is what Nariyama is doing here.  But the omission of the first two release motions make understanding the walking kata and explaining it a little more difficult.

Look back up at Tomiki remember the low, middle, high.  What Nariyama is showing is the high, movements first. Jodan kuzushi. The two things omitted from the Geis releases.  They are represented in the walking kata by the overhand and underhand circle movements.  I always wondered what the Jodan, Chudan, Gedan was. Jodan is in reference to your hand, here it is overhead. It also represents diverting a sword up out of center.

Chudan releases are next.  That's the pet the dragon , deliver the pizza movements.  They are the first two releases.  It's important to point out that the instructional emphasis appears to be the hand motions straight from the walking and the hips and upperbody working in unison.  Chudan means the contact point is in the middle, and the that the sword is diverted from side to side.  By doing so it off balances the uke.

Gedan is the next two motions.  The hipswitch motions.  Its a sword struck down out of center low. And with the diversion offbalances the uke.

If it doesn't match the walking kata exactly its because the first part, the movements 1-7 are the first part of the motion. The second part of the motion is in the counter techniques.

Here is some European folks showing both parts slowly.  Its the walking hand motions.  Also look for positioning that the Senta Yamada version of the walking kata illustrates.  All the side movements and turning are there.

The walking kata was made more basic.  Geis Ryu folks got the Cadillac version that attempted to show the whole circle of possibility.

It's said that Tomiki Aikido is a combination of Daito-Ryu and Kito-ryu.  The release actions are the Daito ryu.  Movements made to strengthen your structure while at the same time weakening the other guys.  I hear a lot about kuzushi on first touch.   I have mistaken this for some sort of lightness.  It can be. If you are super damned good.  But the releases done the way Nariyama demonstrates  show that Kuzushi is brought about with one unified body movement, at first touch. I  think that is the point.  The Throw in the Kata just illustrates where the structure is weak.  The actual "release"  is the action that simulates the sword cut.  It throws the opponent in to another kind of kuzushi a released kind.

A unifed body movement at first touch as opposed to kuzushi brought about by disturbing a planned stepping pattern.  That is the difference between Geis-ryu and Shodokan interpretations of Tomiki's movement system.

There are other things to consider, that we know, but don't explicitly teach because they lay out of the fundamentals of the curriculum.  The accepted way of explaining things and demonstrating, and advancing understanding.  The hand sweeping ideas, for one, are  fundamental part of Kuzushi. The pretty boys in the Hakama's do it all the time.

When kuzushi is considered deviating a sword, or arm out from its center things change in Aikido movement.  The fact that they are combined with body movement from the center in the walking kata is a principle lost and only found in a cool variaton that no one has to demonstrate to make rank.  I think  that the way Geis ryu illustrates this, the cross arm sheering offbalance, is correct.  But I think it is a pedagogical adjustment to keep folks from shoving an arm out of the way expecting to disturb someones balance.  The sweep gets lost.

Also, You have to consider the way kata is taught.  Geis ryu tries to teach as many things as possible in kata..  It may not represent the spectrum of movement, but it tries to address the  spectrum of principle.  Shodokan chops up the principles one kata or exercise at a time.  The 17 kata in Shodokan is about the first contact twisting of the arm, or body on first contact, with one motion. Body manipulation mechanics.

Anyway, I figured out the walking so I probably won't worry about it so much anymore.