First off, Advincula Sensei
is a character. He’s 68 years old and full of ‘piss and vinegar’. I
think he’d be fun to hang out with for the sheer volume of stories and
anecdotes. I’m willing to bet he has plenty of military stories,
considering he’s basically Mr. USMC. It’s interesting to hear him tell
about his first-hand account of “Tatsuo”, someone who I have seen on the wall
of a dojo, but someone whom he has known as a real person with a family.
I took some notes on some of
the drill and tips he had us practicing. Unfortunately, I was without pen and
paper until after his opening talk containing history factoids.
Here’s a list, in my
ill-conceived shorthand:
Reinforced block
– hand not on the fist. Placed upon the palm-heel, weight is better
transferred.
End-of-Sanchin
– open-palm push-out should be closer to your center of mass.
Toraguchi –
greater pushing power when palm is held concave and fingers are not close
together.
Kunde – kanji pattern for rice, drawn like an asterisk,
8-directions that power can come from. (more on Okinawan-Wonder website).
I-Ching – 3 types of changes: 1) non-change, 2) sequential
change, 3) cyclic change.
Bend the hand and extend fingers in the desired direction of
motion for more power. (illustrated using slow, arm-to-arm blocking)
Muchimite – ‘sticky fighting’, constant contact
Drills punching flat-footed and with rear foot’s toes curled and
knee bent, like a sprinter’s block.
Several positions on the rear foot, with the heel touching the
ground, the heel up in the air, and a much deeper stance with only the ball of
the foot touching the ground
Don’t always copy the instructor’s movements without
understanding why – his students were shaking their fists after punching during
katas because he was doing so. He has a tremor on his right side and
doesn’t shake it on purpose.
Southern Chinese thought appears to be more prevalent in Southern
Japan (Okinawa) whereas Northern Chinese thought is more prevalent in Northern
Japan.
Anti-telegraphing – don’t go backward to go forward. Use a
stance that is not telling of any intent.
3 main self-defense targets: eyes, groin, throat. Go for
all at the same time.
Kiai – kanji represents steam, indicating breathing.
“Fall seven times, rise 8 times” – good parting quote.
All in
all, there were some good tips and demonstrations about proper alignment of the
limbs when performing techniques. However, there was certainly much more
to the story than he was able to impart in the seminar.
One
could see how Advincula Sensei moved and knew that there were some major
elements such as spinal positioning and moving from the pelvic crease.
After
the seminar, I asked him about his thoughts concerning the alignment/use of the
spine in transferring power. He smiled and said that there are plenty of
ways to explain this very important element of martial movement, but that what
we need to know has been conveyed through Sanchin.
Advincula said that Shimabuku Sensei said to do Sanchin everyday,
that the concepts where there via testing (such that when you provide
resistance to the person doing sanchin, their hands shouldn't leap forwards
when you release them).
That’s
all I can remember at this point. My main focus at the seminar was not
necessarily to retain every bit that was thrown at us, but to contrast and find
similarities with the body mechanics training I’ve been working on for the past
6 months. I’m certainly going back for my 3rd Advincula
seminar next year.
I’d be
interested to hear about your alignment work, as I’m trying to have these
concepts explained to me in every way possible to see if I can latch on to
something in a more concrete manner.
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