Here is an introduction to Tandokudosa 11 and 12. I’ll probably re-film and re-publish this later. But for now, this gives an idea of what is involved.
You’ll notice that the center camera is crystal clear. Thank you to my Patreon and Paypal supporters for providing the means with which to buy a good central camera. You can probably see that one of the angles isn’t quite up to the quality of the other two. Given time, I should be able to solve that problem as well.
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10 Comments
fred veer · February 17, 2020 at 7:53 am
Thanks Allen.
very clear movie.
Will take several viewings to digest.
One question for now, how did Shirata sensei teach this.
Did he do the whole series from 0 to 13 in one set or did he focus on individual exercises ?
And how many repetions did he do/advise ?
Fred
Allen Dean Beebe · February 29, 2020 at 6:58 pm
Hi Fred,
When I was in Yamagata he would run through the whole series with the whole group as part of Aiki Taiso. Often there were little variations, for example in TDD 4 – 6 he would sometimes zig zag as opposed having each successive step procede in a straight line.
He would also relate parts of waza to parts of TDD when he was teaching.
As a warm up, we would often just go through all 13 TDD once on each side. Sometimes we would do many repetitions turning the “warm up” into the “work out.”
When Nakajima shihan first introduced me to the TDD in the summer of 1987 he also wrote me a book of sorts in Japanese. One of the admonisments in the book was to perform every movement (all movements, waza, etc.) first something like 100K times slowly with no power, then 75K times slowly with “some” power, then 25K with “some” speed. Basically, the idea is not to rush power or speed. The power and speed will naturally develop as one becomes more accurate and effecient with the movement.
This isn’t as unrealistic as in may sound at first. Shirata sensei kind of loved 1K as a benchmark number of times for a repetition. I think that people make the mistake of thinking that “practice makes perfect” and therefore doing something thousands of times will, in and of itself make, create perfection. This is wrong. Many repetitions will build and reinforce motor patterns. However, for those motor patterns to lead to “perfection” one must engage and direct one’s mind to be constantly monitoring one’s progress, adjusting and working towards “perfection.”
Just about anyone can be made to do some rudimentary movement thousands of times, but few have the patience, willpower and fortitutde to engage in the process of developing their mental endurance to face fully challenge themselves to purposefully manifest their intent thousands upon thousands of times over many, many years.
Allen
adarsh · February 17, 2020 at 1:32 pm
Hi Allen,
Just wanted to say thanks for this video.
Allen Dean Beebe · February 29, 2020 at 6:59 pm
Thank you Adarsh!
Craig Moore · February 18, 2020 at 12:31 am
Wow, what a journey to TDD 11 and 12. Thanks for all your effort to present and share these.
Allen Dean Beebe · February 29, 2020 at 6:59 pm
Thank you for your continued support Craig!
Craig Moore · March 6, 2020 at 9:44 pm
A while ago you mentioned possibly writing about O-Sensei’s kagura mai. I’ve read Ellis Amdur’s section about it in his book and the couple of other articles online. I’d be interested (and I’m sure others would be too) in any additional info or thoughts from your own perspective/research, or if Shirata Sensei mentioned anything relating to it.
Allen Dean Beebe · March 6, 2020 at 10:39 pm
Great Idea, thank you!
Mark · May 19, 2020 at 2:42 am
Hello Allen! Im fascinated with all this stuff. You mentioned a few blogs ago that the movement starts with the mind. I understand that this means intent. So does this means that we should “imagine” our body into doing the movements? What exactly do we need to think about when doing stuff?
Allen Dean Beebe · May 29, 2020 at 4:32 pm
Hi Mark,
I think using imagination develops one’s imagination. Imagination is certainly important, but it isn’t what I am talking about here. When I say “starts with the mind,” I mean that body movement is initiated through neurological signals. Some neurological signals are localized, some run to different neurological “servers” and some originate from, or circulate to and from our “CPU” (Brain). Since bodily movement depends upon these, it makes sense to train these. Now, intent is step further. Some mistakenly equate it with imagination, but this is a huge mistake. Intent, in this case, is the act of activating specific (therefore previously identified) neurologic resources. The neurological resources are specific to the performance of a certain act. Therefore, that act must have previously been experienced and the neurological resorces associated with that act identified. Only then can one “intend” the act and consequently call upon the specific neurological resources. At that point, the practice of “intending” not only can reinforce the pattern of activation, but it can (if the “call” is sufficient to necessitate an adaptive response) strengthen the neurological activation as well.
A gross example would neurological activation involved in competative weight lifting. One trains to develop muscle, tendon, ligament and bone strength, but arguably more importantly one trains to call upon maximal neurologic activity activating as many muscle cells as possible at one time. Individuals high on PCP for example can exhibit seemingly super human strength. It isn’t because suddenly their muscles, tendons, ligament and bones develop. It is because they have unleashed the fullness of their intent. In other words, often to the detriment of their own body, they can fully activate its resources even though it may result in outward and inward damage. As is evidenced at times in sports, one can activate one’s muscles to unleash force beyond the capacity of one’s own tendons, ligaments, and even bones to suport.
This is the paradox of internal training. One must (when there is no previous experience) imagine/try/blunder one’s way into actual desired experience (normally repeatedly) before one can begin to successfully repeat the experience and therefore increasingly begin to truly train their intent. So, intent is a real thing, but specific intent is only real after one already has developed the capacity to activate the neurological resources specifically related to the specific intended action. Before that, all one can “intend” is to attempt to experience the action, repeat the action, and THEN begin utilizing the specific intent related to the action. This is intention to learn, leading to learning, leading to specific training.
I first began my Aikido training in a “Ki Aikido” dojo. There it was common to hear one’s seniors admonishing students to “use Ki,” “extend Ki,” “use more Ki,” etc. That, of course is fine IF one has a clue as to what they mean by “Ki.” If not, the instruction is really usless. I used to, being the trouble making critical thinker that I am, say, “Sing the Hungarian National Anthem.” And recieve blank looks (not training Hungarians). So, then I’d say, “Come on . . . just relax and let the Hungarian National Anthem Flow!” Everyonce in a while someone (because this was when there were real hippies at the time) would begin to make song like noises . . . at which point I could (in pretended frustration) shout, “What is that?!?! You call that the Hungarian National Anthem? That is just noise! An insult!”
My point of course was, without knowledge of what it was I was asking for it was highly unlikely, theoretically possible, but highly unlikely, that anyone present could spontaniously burst forth in the desired song. Now, truth be told, if one had, I wouldn’t know it either because I don’t know the Hungarian National Antherm either. So, in that case it was athe blind leading the blind, blindly. Which is, I belive, a very appropriate metaphore for many individual’s training.
Now, unlinke some, I believe that virtually everyone has the capacity to learn, given that one has the will to learn, one has a knowledgable instuctor (one can only teach what one knows), and that that instructor is skilled at teaching.
With just about 40 years of teaching under my belt, the best advice I can give is, “Experience is King!” Get an experience, or create circumstances for a student to have an experience, and one stands a fair chance at being able, in time, to replicate that experience. The simpler the experience, the better. Build from one experience to the next. Work from success to success. Failure is only useful if the experience of failure leads to repeatable success.
So, you think about what you intend to do . . . but having previous successful experience doing what you intend is key!