Control Through Feints

An excellent study of the feints of Bruce Lee:



And notice how his roundhouse comes from beyond the periphery of the opponent is his doing face time with Lee…  Lee steps in too close normally, but he has the roundhouse already in play…

Magnificent.

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Bringing the Lake to the Mats

We are again at the point when the temperature of air and water are 10 degrees apart.  Instead 68 degree water and 78 degree air, we are at 58 degree water and 48 degree air.  The air has dropped 30 degrees, the water ten.

I want to nuance this idea of "bringing the lake to the practice" that is the experience of cold water swimming, such as it is, to inform the experience of practicing aikido.  I've spoken about the role of adrenalin in the practice of aikido.  It takes time to get to that point on the mats, and when it is there, the herculean powers must be noticed and controlled to keep the practice within bounds, and power trimmed for appropriate response.

This practice is hard to achieve, but necessary for acting in the real world, when using aikido as a martial art, when on the street and experiencing "game on."  The super powers that conflict precipitates must be already well under control, so you execute a well-timed ten-kan and not spin wildly into a face-plant.

The dive into the 58 degree water brings on the self-defense adrenalin immediately, with the entire body in response to the existential threat of water too cold to be acceptable to a system that is a tribute to a billion years of evolution, or more likely, designed by a God who loves us.  Either way, adrenalin presents.  The act of swimming is not optional, and discipline in movement is clearly advantageous in this situation.  As the body signals fight or flight to the brain, and the powder monkeys haul out adrenalin and the stack it where most handy, the spirit says "quiet down, I've got this."

That's what is going on, and it brings a small improvement to the practice.  To what degree the improvement manifests doesn't really matter, we can all use any improvement we can get.

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Misogi & Training

Misogi training is no doubt grounded in a spiritual exercise, but I've come to it simply through sports.  I began swimming in Lake Washington every day last summer, and have not quit.  The Lake water temperature is now in the 50s, the air temp is dipping into the 40s, but, obviously the air temp does not matter.  I am not dealing with air temperature, a lesson in economy of motion.  Don't respond to what is not fighting you.

I am no longer diving straight in since the lake is giving me a tiny popsicle headache at the base of my skull, so I step down the ladder off the dock plow backwards into the lake, adjust my body to the water and then let my head go under water.  Then comes the headache until I warm up in the water.

My guess is misogi training informs aikido in practice. My aikido is to a degree becoming an extension of swimming in Lake Washington.  I practiced in SF last Friday night, a brown belt was trying to resist the visitor in the techniques (I love practicing with brown belts the most, they don't hold back! And they know how to fall...) I gave him the experience of diving into cold water.  Hard to explain how that is, but I brought it to the technique, and he had the look I feel after I am swimming.  Curious, fun, scary, ouch, safe enough...

Watched a movie in which a woman in Ireland went swimming...  must have been 40 degree waters...  but it was unremarkable...  yes it is what you are used to...  Indians in Seattle were mostly naked when the Yeslers and Dennys showed up....  it is what you are used to...  (mostly...)  so this swimming in the lake is no big deal.  And I am not sure how low I can go.

But it is surprising how little it takes to pick up a new edge.

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Bruce Lee's 1 Inch Punch

Bruce Lee did important work on punching while living in Seattle teaching and studying Gung Fu.  Over the last forty plus years it was fairly easy to practice or work with his first students, James Demile, Skip Ellsworth, Taki Kimura, Jesse Glover (who wrote a book on those years).  James Demile in particular took Lee's punch style in a fascinating direction you can still learn from Demile.

From left to right are Jesse Glover -- Bruce Lee -- Skip Ellsworth -- Tak Miyabe -- 

Jim DeMile -- LeRoy Garcia -- and Taky Kimura.

http://www.skipsbeachresort.com/about_dewelle_ferguson.htm

(Of the seven people in that picture, I've met four: Glover, Ellsworth, DeMile and Kimura.  DeMile I have trained with, and I studied log cabin building with Ellsworth.  Kimura ran a grocery store he lived above, and Glover is still teaching in Chinatown.)

While sparring Lee would not form his fist until the instant before he would strike.  Sparring with golden gloves champ Ellsworth who took the classic form with closed fists in the ready, Lee left his hands relaxed and open.  How odd. Then the match began, with each bobbing and weaving and throwing punches. The open relaxed hand gave Lee the optimum speed that can be achieved when relaxed (in aikido "relax completely")  It is a concrete expression, albeit in a fighting art, of the "relax completely" imperative.  He tagged the naturally gifted boxing champ Ellsworth before Ellsworth could react. And then of course, with undoubtedly the gift of ADD, he reversed the lesson and developed the one inch punch, wherein he just collapsed all process of a solid punch into the last one second of time and space.

Drawing upon both physical and neuro power, Lee’s devastating one-inch punch involved substantially more than arm strength. It was achieved through the fluid teamwork of every body part. It was his feet. It was hips and arms. It was even his brain. In several milliseconds, a spark of kinetic energy ignited in Lee’s feet and surged through his core to his limbs before its eventual release.

Acting as uke in demonstration for aikido hombu chief instructor ju-dan Tohei Sensei, you would find this kind of power responding to your attack.  Aikido can be lethal if the uke does not know how to fall, and part of practice is the nage controls the uke's fall to keep uke from being injured.

But it takes practice, relentless practice, over and over, fall down, get up.

And also spending time with excellent instructors.

L-R Wally Jay, James Demile, Bernie Lau Schooling Yours Truly, circa 1980.

Wally Jay taught Bruce Lee judo/jiu jitsu, James Demile is a Bruce Lee original student still teaching, Bernie Lau received his first two degrees directly from the aikido founder, and subsequent degrees from his son.  (Note Lau Sensei has trapped my foot.)

Few people know this, Bernie Lau is full blood French native, and speaks French well enough in a pinch.

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Just One More Misogi Observation

Or three...

1. As it gets colder, the water gets much clearer, I can now see the bottom of the lake, about 12 feet down from where I dive in.  They drop the level of Lake Washington in the winter a foot or two but it is clearing faster than it is dropping.

2. After the laps, while I am practicing diving, I get the same acid in my mouth that I get on say day five of a week long fast.  The acid also comes with a particularly grueling workout, which is often tough to achieve while practicing in most dojos.  A doctor told me that the body burns junk first and then gets to work on good stuff (so you can go too far.)  In any event, that acid taste is a sort of ashes of burnt junk.  Interesting I can get there in less than ten minutes by swimming in 65 degree water (I almost said "cold" but that would mean nothing.)

3. I do breathing exercises as I approach the lake, in through the nose, out through the mouth, aikido style (another thing you rarely see practiced in dojos).  Swimming the breathing tactic is exactly opposite: in through the mouth, out through the nose.  Aikido breathing will get you drowned in swimming.  Not sure what to make of the difference, but it only dawned on me today.  Perhaps someone can find significance in that.

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More Misogi

There was a fellow a few years back who swam in Lake Washington every day for 365 days.  Even when he was sick.  Worried his friends.  But in any event, he did it.

I can't because I travel too often, but I can every day I am here.  I was in SoCal Friday through Monday so I was not able to swim in lake Washington, but I did swim in the Pacific Ocean, Friday at Zuma in Malibu,  Sunday at Santa Barbara and Monday at El Segundo.  In both cases the water was warm, the air was about 80, but in El Segundo the waves were crushing and kicking up sand... so it was like getting beat up and sand blasted.  No fun.

Today back in Seattle, the air temp was 52 and humidity 58, and water temperature is 65, so it is abut 12 degrees warmer than the water.  For this reason, after my swim, I do a round of dives, and the water is most welcome warmth compared to the air through which I pass between dives off the board.

But the laps were difficult with on 6mph winds because the even small waves throw my stride off.  Harder work so less laps.  Also, I played hard in California, practicing aikido at a couple of excellent dojos in SB and LA.

A curious phenomenon on my walk back form the lake is my body heats up wonderfully, probably still trying to save me from exposure in the lake.  Another thing, a doctor told me long ago hot showers are detrimental, especially since the water in Seattle is so poisoned by the water authorities with chlorines and fluorides.  He said cold water is better, and to be in waterfalls and lakes and oceans give you (I cannot remember, is it positive or negative) ions which promote well-being.  Well, I am taking probably 20% of the showers I was taking before this swim regime began in early July.  (Funny to think I didn't start swimming until it "warmed up enough" in July!!!)  And my well being is better, as far as I can tell.

Misogi training is based on cold water.  is 65 cold enough to count?  Who knows, but I every night I look forward to that morning cup of coffee and a swim in the lake.

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Immigration & War

We've been here before...

Austin offered Parker the opportunity to move to Nashville, Tennessee, where music was becoming big business, but for reasons unknown Parker turned him down.^[9] Instead he decided to stay in Temple Terrace, Florida with his family, perhaps to avoid having to fill in paperwork that could expose his illegal status.^[9] Within a year, however, he had the opportunity to become a legal citizen within the United States by way of the 1940 Alien Registration Act;^[10] a bill passed by the United States Government to allow illegal aliens the chance to become US citizens in return for their promise to fight for the country during World War II, if required.^[10] Parker decided against registering, possibly to prevent his previous Army record from becoming public.

A great place to find good fighters, immigrants.

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