(no subject)
So, approximately a month ago (towards the end of June) I joined the Aikido club. Aikido is nothing short of awesome. Really, it is. Basically, Aikido is more of a peaceful/defensive form of martial arts, focusing on using the attacker's force and weight against them to deliver the throw or pin, while the defender maintains balance and calmness. More philosophy here, if you're interested. Also, I'll try to explain more later. Jonathan had suggested I read Morihei Ueshiba's The Art of Peace, which I regretfully have not done yet. When I do, I promise a longer post on theory.
When I first started, I was so aware of not understanding where my feet were or where my balance was. This is significant, because I've always felt that I had good balance. However, I think a lot of my development of balance has been tied to things without feet--horseback riding, biking, even swimming. I'm starting to gradually learn about my feet and keeping myself balanced over them, although often I still find myself off balance after I perform a technique. (usually in the sense not having moved my feet enough and my balance being too far forward over my feet).
The falls and forward rolls are starting to feel more natural and I hesitate less. The one thing I am completely stuck on is the backwards rolls. I did a bunch of them on Monday evening at the beginning of practice, most of them disastrous. Half the time I end up rolling on my head/neck (which is a big No), and the other half of the time I don't have enough momentum and end up either falling over to the side or flailing around like a helpless turtle stuck on its back. Really, it ain't pretty. However, there were one or two instances that just clicked--and felt totally right. Really, this is a case of must practice more.
The lack of power to complete the backwards roll I find really interesting, in that it's not that I don't have enough momentum, speed or power. It's that I don't have enough of that lightness of driving energy. I end up on my neck, or falling to the side because of an incorrect utilization of power and posture. In short, (for all practical purposes,) I lack impulsion (in this sense of the word). I have more of a theory on this, but fear I will bore you. However, if you think about the phrase "lightness of driving energy," I think that's a good sense of what I mean.