Empty your Cup...

[tallgeese]

As for the statement that I made the comment about ealier... sure, I can see what they are getting at, I did have to read it a couple of times. But it's stuff like t his that's taking the simple and adding complexity for no reason.

It's about fighting. Period. Either you're trainig to do it our not.

Martial arts and sd should be synonomous. They aren't, but that's more the fault of practitoners and insturctiors (more heavy on the insturctors) than it is the art. There are arts that tend to lend themselves better to sd than others due to the choices made by the people either creating them, or those that re-vamped them for the modern age. Some have lost praticality through no fault of their own, or that of their insturctors, the tradional weapons arts fall into this catagory.

[Wa-No-Michi]

I agree it is about fighting, but I wouldn't say Fighting Period. Thats too narrow minded for me.

I also agree about the western mind versus the eastern mind. I am not Japanese (although many of the senior instructors in my group that I train with are), but I also dont think that when in comes to Budo the eastern mindset is very different from the west.

They come at it from a different angles maybe but the end result is the same.

Look for example at the word meditation - exclusively eastern I don't think so. Most western athletes have been using these methods to get in the zone for decades.

Edit: spelling due to typing in a rush trying to get out the door for training.

Edited October 14, 2008 by Wa-No-Michi

[joesteph]

Try practicing your karate katas like a Tai Chi form, feel all of your muscles working together as you move and see how bad your balance may be.

What I learned from Taiji that causes me to do hyungs differently from the past is the slower, more deliberate, speed that I use. In the past, it was to do the form fast and strong; now, it's to get it with balance and precision. Sometimes I've wondered if doing katas/hyungs quickly just masks errors; doing them more slowly points out errors in forms to you yourself, not even waiting for the instructor to catch them, and balance is tricky when movement is slowed--but it's also more controlled.

You can always speed up as you grow more proficient, particularly with a new kata/hyung.

[moriniuk]

Joe, I agree with you completely.

[bushido_man96]

I don't think speed really masks errors. Whether slow or fast, I can usually pick out the nuances of a hand or foot technique. When it comes to grappling or joint locks, its a bit tougher for me to tell when it is done faster, though.

When there is an aspect of a form or move that I want to concentrate on, I'll slow things down. However, my goal is to be able to do the movement quickly, because that is most likely how it is going to be the most useful to me.