Nana korobi, ya oki – Fall 7 times, get up 8.

I have just spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday completing the 3^rd dan grading syllabus for Hakkoryu Jujutsu (I will discuss Hakkoryu in detail in the near future). I should feel relieved, but instead I am feeling very frustrated with myself. I have the 3^rd dan requirements pretty much down pat, but continually failed to pull off a 2^nd dan technique – which is of course a prerequisite for, and leads into several of the 3^rd dan techniques. How is it that I could execute this technique properly for the past few months, and now have so much trouble with it? I had several high ranking instructors assisting me with mastering this technique, yet still only had intermittent success.

The technique is called Mune osae dori, a defence to a simple grab of the clothing at chest level. Sure, I have learned a bunch of ways to defend this prelude to a violent attack, but the Hakkoryu way is to defend attacks without any strikes (except for soft distractions or pressure point strikes) or injuring the attacker in any way. It looks for a higher level of self-defence. I will discuss this, and Hakkoryu in more detail in the future. The technique is simply to hold the hand in place, break the attackers balance then control them in a flow of locks. Here is an official video of the technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhQ_ga_Qlc4

I understand the basic body mechanics behind the technique. So why can`t I do it? Here is the technique: First, keeping correct posture (a work in progress), you encapsulate the offending hand in a shape that resembles a 3 sided square, with the hands and chest forming the sides of this shape (not the 2 sided triangle I had been using). This grip keeps the attackers wrist straight in line with the rest of the arm, allowing the lock to simultaneously control the wrist, elbow and shoulder. A poor grip will result in the wrist only being locked. Next is to break the balance of the attacker by lightly revolving the arm or elbow. I have mastered this section of the technique. The next part is to slightly expand the hara while releasing all muscular tension in the arms (except a small amount of tension in the little finger), allowing the weight of the limbs to execute the lock. This is not working for me. And the more trouble I have, the more strength I tend to use, leading to a vicious circle.

Muscular tension is the enemy of efficient jujutsu. Attempting to force a technique by using any strength at all will lead to unnatural structural biomechanics. Any tension in the arm will cause the shoulder to rise, which renders most techniques ineffective. Using muscular strength will stiffen the elbow joint, leaving the executor of the technique extremely vulnerable to counters. Tension in the wrist opens you to the simple yet excruciating gakkun technique, which I will explain someday. Anyway, the moral of the story is to remain completely relaxed, and trust in the technique and gravity to succeed. I know this. But for some reason, this weekend I couldn`t do it!

I will focus on trying to master this technique. I previously had another technique, tekagami that I was having similar issues with. Now it is probably my most effective move. Once I have determined the cause of my failure, and correct my error(s), I know it will give me a deeper understanding of the system, leaving me a better martial artist and more qualified instructor. But for this weekend, I guess I need to just be content with one step forward, two steps back.

On a brighter side, the Hakkoryu instructors have shown a great deal of interest in my perspective of karate, or striking, and have been asking a lot of questions and requesting many demonstrations. Many Hakkoryu techniques can be found in karate technique and kata, if you search for them. The past few Hakkoryu sessions have all ended in a few minutes of Chris`s Karate Corner. All good. Like I said: `Teach anyone, learn from everyone`.