I like things to be easy. One of the hidden gems of studying a martial art is there is the built in method of making the difficult easy – a gem called “technique.”
A technique to a martial artist is like a hammer to carpenter. It’s a tool that makes a difficult task easy (or at least easier). The great thing about this little gem is that it really isn’t the sole province of a martial artist – but a martial artist’s study is literally about collecting and perfecting technique in a way that isn’t as up front in many other areas. ANYONE can use the concept of technique to make something – a task, a conversation, a blog post – quicker and easier to get to the result we’re seeking.
The video below demonstrates the technique for making a simple breath throw (aiki nage in Japanese). This is a common technique for throwing I teach in my youth classes. We take two key principles – bend the knee and keep the arms extended – to make this simple movement very effective in causing our partner to lose their balance and fall down.
There are many ways a novice Aikido student might try this technique (believe me – I’ve seen many of them tried), mostly using their strength. Typically the student will stand in one place and try to force the partner down by applying force to the arm. This doesn’t work and they get frustrated. The technique teaches us to use a distinct methodology to cause the partner to lose their balance.
In everyday life, many things can be really hard without a technique. The one that sticks out in my mind is a push-up. Yep, a push-up. Eons ago in junior high school, one of the truths of our lives is that girls couldn’t do push-ups. We’d lay on the floor and push mightily with our arms and our shoulders would rise and while our hips and legs lay like limp rags on the floor. Then we would gather our strength and stick our butt up. It was a LOT of effort. Two or three of those and you’d be done. The boys on the other hand, would crank out 10 to 15 reps and laugh at us.
Years and years later, I joined a Cross Fit gym and one of the first things they taught me was to do a push-up. At that point, I’d spent almost two decades in the martial arts and when the Frank, the instructor showed me the technique, I was amazed. By following the technique, which was placing the arms and hands rotated slightly in toward the shoulders and (most important), engaging all the muscles of the body to firm up the posture I was able to do 10 pushups. The real kind – full out with my whole body rising and lowering like a plank. Oh, yeah. Women were finally taught about planks in the years since I was in junior high. A push-up is simply a plank where you lift your body with your arms.
It’s a technique – a tool that gets a result in the easiest, most efficient way possible. Take this idea into your daily life and become aware of the many techniques you use. Increasing your awareness, slowing down and identifying a better technique in almost any task can allow you to use your energy wisely – and have more of it throughout your day.
A technique to a martial artist is like a hammer to carpenter. It’s a tool that makes a difficult task easy (or at least easier). The great thing about this little gem is that it really isn’t the sole province of a martial artist – but a martial artist’s study is literally about collecting and perfecting technique in a way that isn’t as up front in many other areas. ANYONE can use the concept of technique to make something – a task, a conversation, a blog post – quicker and easier to get to the result we’re seeking.
The video below demonstrates the technique for making a simple breath throw (aiki nage in Japanese). This is a common technique for throwing I teach in my youth classes. We take two key principles – bend the knee and keep the arms extended – to make this simple movement very effective in causing our partner to lose their balance and fall down.
There are many ways a novice Aikido student might try this technique (believe me – I’ve seen many of them tried), mostly using their strength. Typically the student will stand in one place and try to force the partner down by applying force to the arm. This doesn’t work and they get frustrated. The technique teaches us to use a distinct methodology to cause the partner to lose their balance.
- As the partner attempts to pull on the student’s arm, the student turns and takes a long step – keeping their knee bent, weight forward and, and arms extended. Immediately, the partner/attacker starts to feel their balance give way.
- Immediately, the student/defender takes another long step, again keeping the knee bent and arms extended. The partner/attacker can no longer keep their balance and falls down (keep in mind that the attacker knows how to fall – with technique).
In everyday life, many things can be really hard without a technique. The one that sticks out in my mind is a push-up. Yep, a push-up. Eons ago in junior high school, one of the truths of our lives is that girls couldn’t do push-ups. We’d lay on the floor and push mightily with our arms and our shoulders would rise and while our hips and legs lay like limp rags on the floor. Then we would gather our strength and stick our butt up. It was a LOT of effort. Two or three of those and you’d be done. The boys on the other hand, would crank out 10 to 15 reps and laugh at us.
Years and years later, I joined a Cross Fit gym and one of the first things they taught me was to do a push-up. At that point, I’d spent almost two decades in the martial arts and when the Frank, the instructor showed me the technique, I was amazed. By following the technique, which was placing the arms and hands rotated slightly in toward the shoulders and (most important), engaging all the muscles of the body to firm up the posture I was able to do 10 pushups. The real kind – full out with my whole body rising and lowering like a plank. Oh, yeah. Women were finally taught about planks in the years since I was in junior high. A push-up is simply a plank where you lift your body with your arms.
It’s a technique – a tool that gets a result in the easiest, most efficient way possible. Take this idea into your daily life and become aware of the many techniques you use. Increasing your awareness, slowing down and identifying a better technique in almost any task can allow you to use your energy wisely – and have more of it throughout your day.
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