About Practice/關於練習

關於練習 By B. Y.

對於我們來說，練習是件以心傳心的事情

較勁心態在哪都會有，只是分享跟交換資訊帶來的樂趣，遠勝於較勁本身，特別是，個體不同，每個人有不同優勢劣勢跟擅長技術，與其費神較勁藏招不如大家都能成長學習，讓這個體系更加完善跟茁壯。

我們練習的標準是不配合不抵抗，常常需要自問：「我剛剛抵抗或配合了嗎？我剛剛是否專心還是分神了？」

在特定狀況下，配合夥伴是可以允許的，例如，為了讓夥伴練習招式順序、或是在招式分段練習中，讓夥伴可以專心練習後半段技術而配合前半段技術的部分，但這些特例都需要讓夥伴知道：「現在是配合狀態。」

我們真心希望每個成員都能深入學習，瞭解自己犯錯的部分並予以調整，如果只是為了滿足夥伴完成技術的膚淺喜悅而配合夥伴，實際上是害了夥伴，讓夥伴失去正確理解自身錯誤的機會，從而也錯誤理解了招式的技術，這件事是我們極力想要避免的。

招式做失敗在我們道館是家常便飯，身體没暖開、不夠專注、理解力不足、狀況不好、天氣變化大等等都會影響當下的心態而導致失敗，受挫跟失落的心情也都一定會有，這些都是必須習慣的事情。

拋下過去的失敗，專注於下個練習機會，才是真正需要費神的部分，唯有正確練習做出正確的技術，才能成功，成功的喜悅來自身心理解了技術本身，是否放倒夥伴根本不重要，練習的過程彷彿無數個大大小小的自解謎過程，常常解鎖一個也會解鎖其它技術，大東流的系統本身就是巨大的拼圖，收集的碎片越多，看到的面貌更多樣化，解鎖某個層面就會發現還有不同維度的深度正待探索，身體、結構、控制力、穩定性等等各種變量，都整合出最適合自己而可以觸發正確作法的方式，

練習的型是技術一部份，能夠完成型的身體結構，跟配合上身體的心態想法，全都合一的心技體協調，才是大東流技術的表現，換成現代語言:硬體、演算法、跟最適合的情境，全都搭配的天衣無縫才能發揮工具的最大效益。

對於練習的夥伴，借出身體才讓我們得以練習技術，因此我們更加珍惜夥伴，少一個夥伴的身體，就讓我們少一個機會可以研究技術在不同個體差異的反應，特別是讓夥伴受傷這件事，更是要極欲避免的，測試自己招式並不代表要傷害夥伴，練習中的意外難免，但大家都是抱持謹慎心情看待夥伴，如果無法理解這段話而只想尋求勝負結果，可以去別的地方學習。

關於對練

自我鍛鍊能夠學習很多身體的運用，但對練更加更加困難，面對對手的體重、體型跟肌力，仍要精確控制自己身體的活動度，是非常困難的，舉例說，當面對無人的空間，要往前踏出穩重的一步是毫無問題的，但面對對手佔據了空間，多數人下意識都會避開，又或是，想像中自己可以控制雙手，但實際上遇到稍微的阻礙就會難以自制的用出不必要的力量而讓身體僵硬。

根據所理解的大東流技術，力量是來自軀幹及臀腰腿，雙手只是傳導，更精確說，是與軀幹斷開的附加件，在我們所謂的肢體整合，不是讓肢體合成一體，而是讓四肢跟身體同時移動，因為大東流用來控制對手的技術，就是透過控制點讓對手全身僵硬成整體以便於摔投或壓制，那麼在放鬆狀態下，如何正確練習呢？

在不具備其它前提之下(例如timing，特別的抓握方式)，受者必須不配合也不過度抵抗(或是說不刻意朝反向做抵抗)，只是用自重努力維持自己平衡，猶如健身房設備一般，將自己身體借給練習者鍛鍊技術，而練習者努力在上述放鬆前提下，設法破壞受者平衡。

受者配合是害了練習者，讓練習者得到錯的反饋，進而練習者控制自己肢體的方式也會跟著錯誤，當攻受練習互換時，錯誤反饋會擴散，整個道場以至於整個流派都在錯誤反饋中學習。

為了避免此事，獨立思考是重要的，而且作為練習者跟受者，必須時時留意自己是否配合了對方？身體四肢是否按照大腦想像的執行命令？是否身正而自然？是否哪裡緊繃或是做了多餘動作？如何把多階段動作合併成更少步驟？...如此一直修正自己。

但對練中的過度抵抗，也會導向錯誤的練習模式，對於練習者來說，遇到過度抵抗只能更換招式，原本要練習的招式將無法正確練習，對於受者來說，只是想著要抵抗而無法正確感知，也無法幫助練習者得到正確的回饋。

正向且正確的回饋能夠讓雙方深入探索技術，正如同柔道創立者兼偉大教育家嘉納治五郎所說：「精力用善，自他共榮」，對練應該是彼此在正確方式下互相幫助的，即便是受者也是在過程中觀察自己是如何被破壞重心，從被施展技術過程理解怎麼正確施展技術，在每一次練習中，練習者跟受者雙方都是在學習而受益。

在我們的練習中，有一件事情是必定會不斷重複出現： "上次施展技術的成功法則，在下一次依樣照做多半會失敗"，理由很簡單，多數技術很憑肢體感受(瑜伽用語:覺肢)，人體為了正確執行上次技術時，往往其它没留意的細節就漏掉了，因為我們必須在不斷的挫敗中找出原因，不斷更新身體對於感受的認知，直到技術法則固定在身體上為止，因此我們會在上一次的見解上堆積新的見解，不斷挖深技術法則，不滿足於現在的知識見解的強烈求知慾，則是我們鑽研技術的動力，不侷限於所獲得的技術，而是深信可以從所獲得技術中，推疊更深層的技術，故每一次練習我們都會獲得新的體會，練習從來不只是複習，而是學習跟歸納。

For us, practice is a heart-to-heart thing

 The competitive mentality can be found everywhere, but the fun brought by sharing and exchanging information is far better than the competition itself. In particular, individuals are different. Everyone has different advantages, disadvantages and skills. Instead of worrying about hiding tricks, it is better for everyone to grow and learn, making this system more complete and stronger.

The standard for our practice is non-cooperation and non-resistance. We often need to ask ourselves: “Did I resist or cooperate just now? Was I focused or distracted?”

Under certain circumstances, it is allowed to cooperate with a partner, for example, to allow the partner to practice the sequence of moves, or to allow the partner to concentrate on practicing the second half of the technique while cooperating with the first half of the technique during move segmentation practice. However, in these special cases, the partner needs to know: “We are now in a cooperative state.”

 We sincerely hope that each member can study in depth, understand where they have made mistakes and make adjustments. If we cooperate with our partners just to satisfy the superficial joy of completing their skills, we will actually harm our partners, causing them to lose the opportunity to correctly understand their own mistakes, and thus misunderstand the techniques of the moves. This is something we try to avoid.

 Failure in performing moves is a common occurrence in our gym. The body is not warm enough, the concentration is not enough, the understanding is insufficient, the condition is bad, the weather changes greatly, etc. will affect the current state of mind and lead to failure. There will also be frustration and loss. These are things that we must get used to.

Putting aside past failures and focusing on the next practice opportunity is the part that really requires effort. Only by practicing correctly and making the right techniques can you succeed. The joy of success comes from understanding the technique itself physically and mentally. It doesn’t matter whether you put down your partner or not. The process of practice is like countless self-solving puzzles, large and small, and you can often unlock one. To unlock other technologies, Daito-ryu’s system itself is a huge puzzle. The more fragments you collect, the more diverse the appearance you will see. When you unlock a certain level, you will find that there are still different dimensions of depth to be explored. Variables such as body, structure, control, stability, etc., are all integrated into the method that is most suitable for you and can trigger the correct approach.

 The kata practiced is part of the technique. The body structure that can complete the kata, and the mental and physical coordination that match the body’s mentality and thoughts, all in one, are the expression of Daito-ryu technology. Translated into modern language: hardware, algorithms, and the most suitable situation, all are matched seamlessly to maximize the effectiveness of the tool.

 For practicing partners, lending their bodies allows us to practice techniques, so we cherish our partners more. One less partner’s body means we have one less opportunity to study the response of technology to different individual differences. In particular, injuring a partner is something that must be avoided. Testing your own moves does not mean hurting your partner. Accidents during practice are inevitable, but everyone treats partners with caution. If you cannot understand this paragraph and just want to seek the outcome of victory or defeat, you can go to other places to learn.

About Partner Practice  

I believe that self-training allows one to learn a great deal about body mechanics, but partner practice is even more challenging. Facing an opponent’s weight, body type, and strength, while still needing to precisely control your own body’s range of motion, is extremely difficult. For example, when stepping forward into empty space, taking a steady step is no problem at all. But when an opponent occupies that space, most people instinctively avoid it. Or, although you imagine you can control your hands, in reality, when you encounter even slight resistance, you may uncontrollably use unnecessary force, causing your body to become stiff.

According to my understanding of Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu, power comes from the torso, hips, and legs, while the hands are merely conduits. More precisely, the hands are appendages disconnected from the torso. What we call body integration does not mean merging the limbs into one, but rather moving the limbs and body simultaneously. Daito-ryu’s techniques for controlling an opponent work by using control points to make the opponent’s whole body rigid, making it easier to throw or pin them. So, how do we practice correctly while staying relaxed?

Without other prerequisites (such as timing or special gripping methods), the receiver should neither cooperate nor resist excessively (in other words, not intentionally resist in the opposite direction), but simply use their own body weight to maintain their balance, like gym equipment, lending their body to the practitioner for technical training. The practitioner, under the premise of relaxation, should try to break the receiver’s balance.

If the receiver cooperates, it harms the practitioner by giving them incorrect feedback, which in turn leads to incorrect body control. When roles are switched, this incorrect feedback spreads, and the whole dojo, or even the entire school, ends up learning from incorrect feedback.

To avoid this, independent thinking is important. Both practitioner and receiver must constantly be aware: Am I cooperating with my partner? Are my limbs executing commands as imagined by my mind? Is my posture correct and natural? Is there any tension or unnecessary movement? How can I combine multi-step actions into fewer steps? … In this way, we continuously correct ourselves.

However, excessive resistance during partner practice also leads to incorrect training patterns. For the practitioner, encountering excessive resistance only forces them to switch techniques, making it impossible to properly practice the intended technique. For the receiver, focusing only on resisting prevents them from perceiving correctly and from helping the practitioner get accurate feedback.

Positive and correct feedback allows both sides to deeply explore the techniques. As Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo and a great educator, said: “Maximum efficiency with mutual welfare and benefit.” Partner practice should be about helping each other in the correct way. Even as the receiver, one can observe how their balance is broken and, through experiencing the technique, understand how to execute it correctly. In every practice, both practitioner and receiver are learning and benefiting.

In our training, one thing inevitably happens repeatedly: “The method that succeeded last time will usually fail if repeated in the same way next time.” The reason is simple: most techniques rely on bodily sensation (in yoga terms: body awareness). To execute the technique correctly, the body often neglects other details that were overlooked before. We must find the reasons through constant setbacks and continuously update our bodily awareness until the technical principles are ingrained. Thus, we build new insights upon previous ones, constantly deepening our understanding of the techniques. A strong desire to go beyond current knowledge is our motivation for technical exploration. We believe that from the techniques we have learned, we can derive deeper techniques. Therefore, every practice brings new realizations; practice is never just review, but always learning and synthesis.