Sunday, October 12, 2008

When we receive a hit we breath it out but if we cannot breath because we are gagged, chocked or underwater we need to use movement to let the strike move and clear out. Start by breathing normally and having your partner stop you at any time according to what he sees as right (too much air, too little or anything that catches the eye) now start by pushing and as you hold your breath you move just enough to move the hit out, down or up and away. Keep this until you cannot hold your breath anymore and than change places. Do this for a while and than do a few rolls to clean the body of accumulated tension and repeat the drill using hits. Build this slowly to avoid harming each other and allow yourself to move freely without judgement to find out more about your movement under tension. This is not a complex drill but simple is not always easy.
Posted by ransuru at 15:05:49 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Swing your arm from the shoulder back and forth. Note your hand and see if it rotates a bit naturally if the shoulder is relaxed and the movement comes from the body. Note if your elbow is also moving on the axis of the elbow. Now place your fist over the height of your shoulder and let it drop either on the wall or your partner's chest. Let the forearm advance naturally and avoid keeping it in a fixed angle from the arm and you will gain a lot of relaxation and effect. Let the shoulder rotate a little so you are more comfortable and more whip can travel from the body to the fist to the target and keep it relaxed and let it sink or move if you are hitting a wall or your partner is tensed up. If you feel a bounce coming back it means your fist is too tight as well.

It is better to work in pairs or threes and count the hits each one makes so your mind is not asleep as you work.
Posted by ransuru at 12:55:51 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday, October 06, 2008

Place a stick on the back of your neck and support it with your wrists so your body is free to move and any bend in the spine is shown through this. Have your partner swing a stick to tap your shins and knees lightly so you feel the impact of hard on hard and than have him swing at your legs. You move either inward or outward with a step and lift the other leg in place (where your body is) and keep moving with it to both deflect the stick (letting it move on it's course and adding something to it) and completing the second step and keep walking or running according to what is needed. A few suggestions are to change the angle between you both so you avoid aligning yourself with the stick and getting hit harder (do not face either the partner or the stick, find a path to walk), avoid defending the air and do not face the stick with your shin but deflect right away. Keep moving and not just in one direction. Turn and it will help you survive the hit without harm and remember, if you can avoid it altogether it is better but if not, do not let it become important and just keep moving and changing your line of sight.
Posted by ransuru at 22:42:50 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday, October 03, 2008

Have a partner hold your hand and you work on moving up and down and walking without letting him know you are moving. Every time he feels you move (you can make him honest by closing or covering his eyes) he hits you by leg or by arm. Next have him relax his arm and shoulder but still hold your hand and you work with your free hand and arm to find out all the options you have to lever him by relaxing and feeling where the tension lies and where you can move. Again keep the shaken hand in place although you can move your body as long as he does not feel the movement in the hand.
This drill comes to learn to lever and to keep one of his points of reference stable. Why do we do this ? Try to work on levering each other by holding one arm with both of yours and moving both of them. Your partner will find it easier to follow with his body and stay free than if he has one point that is stable and the rest is moving. Work on experiencing the levers on you and remember not to press with your arm alone. You freeze and get hurt this way. Just relax it and walk.
Posted by ransuru at 18:33:43 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

To learn to find and use pressure points as people call them or tension points as they are in structure, simply have a partner lie on the ground and roll forward using just light touch of your finger tips. Relax your wrist as you do the elbow in hitting and allow it to sink and roll into the body to encourage the partner to roll. Remember to keep yourself comfortable in order to be aware and than repeat with you facing away from him and roll him backwards as you squat and walk with no knee contact with the ground. This way you learn to use this with some tension already in the mix and you learn not to sacrifice your alignment in order to chase a spot.
Posted by ransuru at 17:59:16 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Have a partner walk around and through you. You work on staying free from focusing on him with your eyes and add a hand or two moving on your body or to your head in a way which is not speedy or aggresive. In this way you learn to move so you can more easily survive without increasing the intensity of the conflict. For example you can dust off your sleeve, adjust your glasses or streatch. Avoid lifting a hand and forgeting about it. Keep moving and have purpose in your movement. It is easier to be alive than to come back to life.

Let your fear help but avoid letting it control you.
Posted by ransuru at 17:53:13 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Write a list of five basic actions you take and than do them very slowly twice. We do them twice in order to let the body and mind feel the difference and we do it slowly to expand our attention to more of what is happening and to become aware of our weaknesses.

For example: Climbing a flight of stairs.
                    Typing on the keyboard
                    reaching overhead for a plate or a shelve
                    tying your shoe laces
                    putting your wrist watch on

Check where your eyes are and do you really need them there? How are you breathing, how is your alignment, are you tensed up without need, can you do it in a more comfortable way and so on.

Another way to do this is with a partner who tells you to freeze whenever something "pops" in his eyes and you have to gather something for yourself within the freeze and only them move ahead with the task.
Posted by ransuru at 10:47:56 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Have a friend come to hit you as he walks through you. Your job is to move your body away so the arms are free to move and to continue walking with him and closing the distance between your bodies without interrupting his movement.

The next drill is doing the same only now you add to this another direction of your own after you move with him and feel where he is not dense or aware. Have patience and keep breathing as you move and avoid focusing your eyes where your hands rest. Let them see for themselves.

Next have him come at you without pause and without stop and you have to blend with his movement and only do your work to bring him down when you feel you are safe and relaxed. Note the distance between you and check if your arms are defending the air around you or working. Many evade the first strike and than fall into a struggle in place working like a screw left and right. Avoid that by not giving any support and you will survive.

Posted by ransuru at 17:34:55 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Take a partner or better yet your child and sit or stand comfortably with them. Relax your eyes by avoiding focusing on one thing or traveling from one thing to another all the time and see his chest and throat move with the breathing. Observe for a while and than start to breathe with him and follow his changes in breath. Feel if there is a difference in your interaction and than with your partner or if your child is grown enough work on a drill like take downs or hitting and while you do this observe the breathing again and note to yourself how this works for you.
Posted by ransuru at 15:37:39 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Wear clothes you do not care too much for and have a partner do the same. Walk around each other and check where you can hold onto the clothes and slowly pull and push and twist. Use first only one hand and than both.
Now have one person walk  and you walk alongside him and than you hold onto his clothes and change direction of your walk. Feel with your hands where he is less full and aid him in meeting the ground. Don't forget that the work is never over and guide him so he is not looking at you and his legs are not in kicking position toward you.
Now repeat the drill only you close your eyes and he comes and bumps into you and than you start to work. Remember to use the collar for chocking, the pockets for twisting and pulling and above all your own movement. Keep moving and you will find a way.

Posted by ransuru at 18:01:46 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |
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