I have gotten a few consistent days of futari garami practice. Consistency is good because it promotes learning. For example, on the first day I realized that I was too far away from uke to be effective. The second day I was able to correct that but then I found I often got jammed up a bit and relied on my size advantage to push through. Today, I think I might be on to the answer to that problem.
The problem is getting stuck. I don't know what uke will do until he does it. At that point if I have already decided what I am doing and it doesn't agree with uke's plans then I might clash. If on the other hand, if uke moves and after seeing what he is up to I make an informed decision, well, then it's already too late.
We regularly practice kihon waza from a static hanmi position. In hanmi we are neutral. We can move either way. Since it is only basic practice that is fine. I don't have to think about it and neither does uke. We are both just rehearsing the mechanics.
But jiyu waza is different. We are in motion. We are dynamic. I am not standing still in neutral hanmi waiting to be attacked. At least I shouldn't be because then it will be too late. If I want to avoid confrontation I am backing away or walking around my antagonist. If I must engage then I am circling or taking it straight to him. Whichever way you look at it, I am in motion, dynamic and although a snapshot of the action will probably show me in hanmi, it is not a neutral hanmi. I am moving so my weight is always shifting one foot to the other, same as walking. So at the moment of engagement it is already automatically determined for me which foot is moving next. There is no need to hesitate, no decision to make.
It is difficult to describe various tai sabaki in words, so I won't bother here. My point is that I need a simple drill to take all the thinking out of the moment of engagement. No matter which foot is coming down at the moment of contact (there are only two options) and no matter what sort of atemi uke is choosing, I need a few automatic patterns of body movement to steal the advantage and put me in position to pick technique.
This is the simple solo drill I came up with. I pick two clear points on the floor that I can pace back and forth between. They have to be very clear so I can see them peripherally without having to look at the ground.
Starting from one side, I look across to the other and envision my opponent. Since it is a solo drill, I decide what sort of atemi my imaginary uke will throw and from which side. As if holding a sword, I walk straight at him, bringing up my guard (raising my sword) as I close the gap. The instant my foot crosses the line, that is the moment of engagement and I immediately and without any thought step into the next logical tai sabaki taking whatever technique is natural. With just a few minutes practice the drill starts flowing and it becomes obvious that for the most part it doesn't matter what uke throws because the basic tai sabaki patterns remain the same.
I want to very carefully analyze the possible patterns and compare them to see if they are really consistent regardless of uke's attack. I also want to check their consistency with regard to whether I am leading with my inside or outside foot at the moment of engagement. I plan to start playing with this about ten minutes a day. Then I can take it to the next level by making it a two person exercise.
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