The following link to a TED talk contains a fascinating concept regarding what the brain is for, and how it is linked to movement. It perhaps explains why training in uncertainty, like Random Flow, is so powerful.
Flow training, or other training that is random and unpredictable, gives a wide range of input to add to our memory bank, so that new stimulus inputs can be guaged more efficiently.
Of course this does mean that getting RELEVANT and CONTEXTUAL input during the flow is important, and why true flow training is a skill set that becomes pointless if it strays too far from reality or gives no useful feedback.
Interesting observations about escalation also ....
http://blog.80percentmental.com/2012/03/daniel-wolpert-on-why-you-have-brain.html#.UPE5-WeZh8F
Friday, January 18, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Same Same, Part 3: The Retraction
To reiterate, edged weapons, like swords, have ...... edges, and they also have points. These features drive how they are used, as does the context in which the weapon was made and the opposition it was designed to be used against.
The time taken on a committed line of attack is dangerous, whether you succeed or whether you miss, because the sword is busy cutting, and not able to protect you. You must rely on footwork, body angle and timing to stay safe.
Pulling the blade, retracting it, or recycling the cut to something else, is a very important part of the game.
Getting stuck through inaccurate targeting or technique is bad, as is getting trapped or disarmed.
Committing without a plan for a fail is bad.
Throwing strikes that will not connect is often a dangerous waste of time and energy (unless you baiting).
One can hack and chop, stab or slice, but it is important to combine the entry with thoughts of the exit - Slices and power swings need to be recycled, pokes may need to contain twists to enables the blade to be pulled out easier. Some systems have weapon forms that include kicks, some of these are for push kicking away the opponent to extract the sword.
Whichever way you do it, getting the blade back into play after a hit - to make the next strike, to move to the next assailant, or to defend yourself - is key.
It should be noted that many people like to follow a retraction back towards their opponent to create safe passage for an attack of their own. .... Which means, of course, that a retraction can work as a bait also .... to pull your opponent closer .... if you know how to play it.
So the question becomes .... If the retraction is a key part of the cut, if the retraction itself can be used as a bait, and an insert should only attempted if there is safety .... where does defense end and offense begin?
The time taken on a committed line of attack is dangerous, whether you succeed or whether you miss, because the sword is busy cutting, and not able to protect you. You must rely on footwork, body angle and timing to stay safe.
Pulling the blade, retracting it, or recycling the cut to something else, is a very important part of the game.
Getting stuck through inaccurate targeting or technique is bad, as is getting trapped or disarmed.
Committing without a plan for a fail is bad.
Throwing strikes that will not connect is often a dangerous waste of time and energy (unless you baiting).
One can hack and chop, stab or slice, but it is important to combine the entry with thoughts of the exit - Slices and power swings need to be recycled, pokes may need to contain twists to enables the blade to be pulled out easier. Some systems have weapon forms that include kicks, some of these are for push kicking away the opponent to extract the sword.
Whichever way you do it, getting the blade back into play after a hit - to make the next strike, to move to the next assailant, or to defend yourself - is key.
It should be noted that many people like to follow a retraction back towards their opponent to create safe passage for an attack of their own. .... Which means, of course, that a retraction can work as a bait also .... to pull your opponent closer .... if you know how to play it.
So the question becomes .... If the retraction is a key part of the cut, if the retraction itself can be used as a bait, and an insert should only attempted if there is safety .... where does defense end and offense begin?
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Same Same, Part 2: The Target
In this day and age of practice weapons we forget that one of the hazards of inaccurate sword technique is getting stuck during the cut ..... Anyone who has split wood with an axe can probably imagine the consequences of getting the axe head jammed had they been on a battlefield and the log had been an adversary holding a blade ..... and it had friends .....
So when you are using a sword, you must have to have an awareness of anatomy - where the bony bits are and where they are not, also of what your opponent would have been wearing in the context you are playing, and importantly what kind of sword you are using - Single or double handed? Strong or weak materials? How sharp? Thin or wide? Primarily for cutting or poking? Curved, straight or combo .....?
Sword designs have all evolved from the type of fighting they were expected to do and the environment* they were used in - town, open field, jungle, cold climate, hot climate, at sea, etc.
The environment dictated clothing and movement too ... and clothing and movement, and sword design dictated how to cut, and at what targets.
In the end, whatever the strike, and whatever the target, the blade must travel through it, or into it and back out again. Basically, the strike must have a possible exit in mind as it enters and the parameters of the sword will dictate what is possible.
For example, a thin, long, stabbing, blade can exit fairly easily along the same path as it went in, but the longer the blade and the further it goes in, the more this becomes the only option. Conversely, the shorter it is especially if it has sharp edges, the easier it is to pull out on a different line.
Power cutting blades must cut through the target using a single blade angle - change the blade angle in the target (twist, lift or drop), and the blade starts to bog down, and may have to be pried out. The wider and longer the blade, the more important this is.
None of this is an issue with short pokes, slashes and gouges, but is a very important piece of the puzzle for the play to bear any resemblance to it's origins.
Make sure your 'in' is sensible, accurate, and in context, and most importantly, that is has an 'out' ....The 'out' is really important and often forgotten.
* - Thanks to Mac for getting me to think on this.
So when you are using a sword, you must have to have an awareness of anatomy - where the bony bits are and where they are not, also of what your opponent would have been wearing in the context you are playing, and importantly what kind of sword you are using - Single or double handed? Strong or weak materials? How sharp? Thin or wide? Primarily for cutting or poking? Curved, straight or combo .....?
Sword designs have all evolved from the type of fighting they were expected to do and the environment* they were used in - town, open field, jungle, cold climate, hot climate, at sea, etc.
The environment dictated clothing and movement too ... and clothing and movement, and sword design dictated how to cut, and at what targets.
In the end, whatever the strike, and whatever the target, the blade must travel through it, or into it and back out again. Basically, the strike must have a possible exit in mind as it enters and the parameters of the sword will dictate what is possible.
For example, a thin, long, stabbing, blade can exit fairly easily along the same path as it went in, but the longer the blade and the further it goes in, the more this becomes the only option. Conversely, the shorter it is especially if it has sharp edges, the easier it is to pull out on a different line.
Power cutting blades must cut through the target using a single blade angle - change the blade angle in the target (twist, lift or drop), and the blade starts to bog down, and may have to be pried out. The wider and longer the blade, the more important this is.
None of this is an issue with short pokes, slashes and gouges, but is a very important piece of the puzzle for the play to bear any resemblance to it's origins.
Make sure your 'in' is sensible, accurate, and in context, and most importantly, that is has an 'out' ....The 'out' is really important and often forgotten.
* - Thanks to Mac for getting me to think on this.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Same Same, Part 1: The Joke
One of the jokes of physics is that every time you are using your sword to cut, slice or poke your opponent, it cannot protect you - at least not much of you, because it is doing something else - attacking a target.
Wherever your blade is not, you are open, and when you are in the midst of a cut, that means everywhere where the trajectory of the cut is not.
It turns out that one of the most dangerous time intervals in dueling is the time it takes to attack, and that means right from the moment your blade and/or arm become too busy attacking to defend. Your sword is doing one, single thing once committed, and thus has lost it's ability to adjust to changing circumstances.
Hopefully, during this interval, your opponent will be so worried about getting hit that they will not be attacking you, but if they are good, they will use body angle and footwork to evade, and not waste their weapon on such dreary things, instead, use it to take advantage of the opening you created, and try for a counter hit as soon as a target presents itself.
Even if they do use their weapon to block or parry your attack, their riposte may be faster than your ability to retract, and until you have returned to a defensive line, you are open.
(The other thing that happens sometimes is that the weapon gets trapped by your opponent, but that branch of inquiry leads in another direction so I will pass over it for now.)
This leaves 2 main options to increase your safety during an attack -
1) Be sure the opponent has no way of countering - say, their blade is still in mid strike and cannot be redirected.
Or
2) Attack them as they are attacking you, using evasive techniques of body and feet
Basically use the fact that they are committed to your own ends.
It should be noted, however, that either way, you must still be able to return to a defensive line as soon as possible, because there is an 'after' to every attack .... there is always an 'after'.
If you miss .... then in all probability they are going to attack, either during or after your attempt, and if you hit them .... they are not 'dead yet' and can counter at least once, either with precision or with any number of flailing strikes as they 'fall'.
Getting the hell out of range would certainly seem like a good idea for these moments, but you need to cover this escape or risk getting hit, and remember .... the closer you got to them to get your hit in .... the further you have to move to escape their reach.
Wherever your blade is not, you are open, and when you are in the midst of a cut, that means everywhere where the trajectory of the cut is not.
It turns out that one of the most dangerous time intervals in dueling is the time it takes to attack, and that means right from the moment your blade and/or arm become too busy attacking to defend. Your sword is doing one, single thing once committed, and thus has lost it's ability to adjust to changing circumstances.
Hopefully, during this interval, your opponent will be so worried about getting hit that they will not be attacking you, but if they are good, they will use body angle and footwork to evade, and not waste their weapon on such dreary things, instead, use it to take advantage of the opening you created, and try for a counter hit as soon as a target presents itself.
Even if they do use their weapon to block or parry your attack, their riposte may be faster than your ability to retract, and until you have returned to a defensive line, you are open.
(The other thing that happens sometimes is that the weapon gets trapped by your opponent, but that branch of inquiry leads in another direction so I will pass over it for now.)
This leaves 2 main options to increase your safety during an attack -
1) Be sure the opponent has no way of countering - say, their blade is still in mid strike and cannot be redirected.
Or
2) Attack them as they are attacking you, using evasive techniques of body and feet
Basically use the fact that they are committed to your own ends.
It should be noted, however, that either way, you must still be able to return to a defensive line as soon as possible, because there is an 'after' to every attack .... there is always an 'after'.
If you miss .... then in all probability they are going to attack, either during or after your attempt, and if you hit them .... they are not 'dead yet' and can counter at least once, either with precision or with any number of flailing strikes as they 'fall'.
Getting the hell out of range would certainly seem like a good idea for these moments, but you need to cover this escape or risk getting hit, and remember .... the closer you got to them to get your hit in .... the further you have to move to escape their reach.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Theory of Relativity
2 objects moving at the same speed in the same direction are, for all intents and purposes, standing still relative to each other.
It thus follows that if something is coming towards you, say a ball in flight, you can create more time to catch it accurately by moving in the same direction in which it is flying as you set up the catch.
Same with merging into traffic - get up to the same speed as the traffic and you have much more time to choose where to merge, and less adjustment you need to make to blend in.
Moving at the same speed as someone makes amazing things possible, especially if you also have the ability to modulate your own speed, in other words accelerate and decelerate so precisely that your changes in speed are close to imperceptible.
Other benefits -
- Our prey reflex is triggered by fast and jerky movements .. which is why predators move so smoothly and stealthily until they are in range to pounce. Move smoothly and you will be less visible, especially if you blend with your opponent's speed.
- Fast acceleration ans deceleration are more volatile to control, think catching a fast ball, or aiming to shoot.
- The smaller the differential, the more control is possible.
It thus follows that if something is coming towards you, say a ball in flight, you can create more time to catch it accurately by moving in the same direction in which it is flying as you set up the catch.
Same with merging into traffic - get up to the same speed as the traffic and you have much more time to choose where to merge, and less adjustment you need to make to blend in.
Moving at the same speed as someone makes amazing things possible, especially if you also have the ability to modulate your own speed, in other words accelerate and decelerate so precisely that your changes in speed are close to imperceptible.
Other benefits -
- Our prey reflex is triggered by fast and jerky movements .. which is why predators move so smoothly and stealthily until they are in range to pounce. Move smoothly and you will be less visible, especially if you blend with your opponent's speed.
- Fast acceleration ans deceleration are more volatile to control, think catching a fast ball, or aiming to shoot.
- The smaller the differential, the more control is possible.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Meaning
Cliches, truisms and other sayings resonate for a reason ... they have a basis in truth. Their downfall is that they only really make the sense they are meant to, once the truth and the reality are actually experienced, and the subtleties involved understood. Up until that point, the words can mean whatever we decide they do. Same for all written and spoken knowledge.
We can only see and understand out of our own eyes after all, and we all possess the human trait of trying to make sense out of the input that we get by comparing it to what we already believe ... hence the tendency we all have to see patterns and recognize points of reference, even when they do not exist.
Here are some famous sayings from Sun Tze's Art of War:
"To know your enemy, you must become your enemy"
"Opportunities multiply as they are seized"
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win"
"Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across"
"All warfare is based on deception"
These all make sense to me in the context that I have experienced them, and they all seem to me to be very important keys to understanding tactics. But who knows, in the future my 'truth' could morph into something else, and I will look back and realize how limited it was before ....
We must be careful to not get too fixed in our understandings .....
We can only see and understand out of our own eyes after all, and we all possess the human trait of trying to make sense out of the input that we get by comparing it to what we already believe ... hence the tendency we all have to see patterns and recognize points of reference, even when they do not exist.
Here are some famous sayings from Sun Tze's Art of War:
"To know your enemy, you must become your enemy"
"Opportunities multiply as they are seized"
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win"
"Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across"
"All warfare is based on deception"
These all make sense to me in the context that I have experienced them, and they all seem to me to be very important keys to understanding tactics. But who knows, in the future my 'truth' could morph into something else, and I will look back and realize how limited it was before ....
We must be careful to not get too fixed in our understandings .....
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Kazushi
The Japanese are particularly good at creating simple words that encompass big ideas - Ma-ai comes to mind, as does this fabulous one - Kazushi.
It means 'To Disturb' - a fabulous martial tactic ... And can refer to a disturbance in mind, body or spirit (seeing as they are not truly separate).
From sword training, it is obvious that there are 2 key elements to being able to disturb - being seen ... and not being seen.
Both create a situation where the opponent is chasing something that you will deny to them - either their center of balance, contact with the sword or a perceived target, but 'being seen' and 'not being seen' each has a different feeling, and perhaps deserve separate attention.
- Being seen means I physically manipulate or interact with you to cause a reaction - I take your balance, and you naturally try to regain it. Whether or not you try, I can make you fall.
Another way would be to yell at you and call you names - make you angry, or provoke you in some other way to make an error.
- Not being seen means not being where, or what, you think I am ..... reacting in an unpredictable manner, physically. mentally or emotionally. Being a 'ghost' or a threat in the darkness ....
Most people think of the first way ... but the second is also useful. It's weirder and more disconcerting, perhaps more difficult to learn and pull off, but certainly worth looking at.
I recently found out it is pronounced with the last 'i' silent, which makes it even more fun ........ KAZOOSH!
It means 'To Disturb' - a fabulous martial tactic ... And can refer to a disturbance in mind, body or spirit (seeing as they are not truly separate).
From sword training, it is obvious that there are 2 key elements to being able to disturb - being seen ... and not being seen.
Both create a situation where the opponent is chasing something that you will deny to them - either their center of balance, contact with the sword or a perceived target, but 'being seen' and 'not being seen' each has a different feeling, and perhaps deserve separate attention.
- Being seen means I physically manipulate or interact with you to cause a reaction - I take your balance, and you naturally try to regain it. Whether or not you try, I can make you fall.
Another way would be to yell at you and call you names - make you angry, or provoke you in some other way to make an error.
- Not being seen means not being where, or what, you think I am ..... reacting in an unpredictable manner, physically. mentally or emotionally. Being a 'ghost' or a threat in the darkness ....
Most people think of the first way ... but the second is also useful. It's weirder and more disconcerting, perhaps more difficult to learn and pull off, but certainly worth looking at.
I recently found out it is pronounced with the last 'i' silent, which makes it even more fun ........ KAZOOSH!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)