tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post2564131378654173798..comments2024-02-25T12:49:53.561-05:00Comments on The Budo Bum: KoshiThe Budo Bumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17829768452637120001noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-52801380731193136632015-11-13T21:26:07.372-05:002015-11-13T21:26:07.372-05:00"Koshi is fundamental. Nowhere is this more t..."Koshi is fundamental. Nowhere is this more true than in empty hand arts. I was watching some budo demonstrations on youtube, and what consistently stood out to me was that nobody had good koshi. Everyone demonstrating had weak koshi."<br /><br />If you want good informal material, there are very few on youtube. You can try these series:<br /><br />3 Major Schools of Okinawa Karate - Uechi-ryu, Goju-ryu, Shorin-ryu:<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpKqI9DlVF0 <br />The Dynamic Techniques of SHOTOKAN KARATE - check all of them<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K71HFDrbX8o<br /><br />Old but good. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17463820592382433497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-34002461078093244342015-08-10T19:53:58.152-04:002015-08-10T19:53:58.152-04:00Not long ago I found an interview with Kishimoto C...Not long ago I found an interview with Kishimoto Chihiro Sensei<br />Somewhere in the text it was one thing that confirmed again how important the breathing is ...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17463820592382433497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-1348066485868852272015-08-02T10:17:49.147-04:002015-08-02T10:17:49.147-04:00Chbedok,
That feeling of lightness is one expressi...Chbedok,<br />That feeling of lightness is one expression of good koshi, yes. To me, there should also be a feeling of connectedness so that you can direct the rest of your body by adjusting your koshi (I'm not sure how much sense this description makes. Sorry)The Budo Bumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17829768452637120001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-31035998794986047772015-08-02T10:15:02.987-04:002015-08-02T10:15:02.987-04:00Joseph,
Thanks for pointing this out. I'm not ...Joseph,<br />Thanks for pointing this out. I'm not sure I would say that flexibility is the key, but certainly it is one of the foundational building blocks. All the strength in the wold will be useless without the flexibility to direct it where it needs to go.The Budo Bumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17829768452637120001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-47148902993366370472015-08-02T08:21:20.557-04:002015-08-02T08:21:20.557-04:00The feeling one gets when one has good koshi, is i...The feeling one gets when one has good koshi, is it a feeling of lightness throughout the body when the structure is set? The feeling that one could stand for long periods of time without feeling sore?chbedokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15186352993288000731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-33210158624721161472015-07-29T08:17:14.341-04:002015-07-29T08:17:14.341-04:00A little late to this, apologies, work is kicking ...A little late to this, apologies, work is kicking my koshi, unfortunately.<br /><br />I'm starting to think that the key for koshi is flexibility. I'm always struck how Judo and Aikido have very little emphasis on flexibility, sumo really emphasizes it, but it's pretty much ballistic stretching rather than relaxation of muscles. Of course, top judoka often have pretty amazing flexibility (I remember a video about the Saito-Yamashita rivalry, with Saito warming up with side splits, and I also trained with a Russian when I was in grad school who had obviously spent a lot of time developing his flexibility) Of course, with iaido, it's really hard to think you are going to work on your flexibility while your sword is waiting to be drawn...<br /><br />I've started doing Tai chi and the amount of time stretching to actually doing tai chi is at least 2:1. I just wish I'd spent more time earlier developing some flexibility.<br /><br />Joe Tomeihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13563352043481876209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-38605585625302792015-07-18T04:05:59.975-04:002015-07-18T04:05:59.975-04:00It all sounds a bit wishy/washy to me, but that...It all sounds a bit wishy/washy to me, but that's probably because I don't understand. How do you engage a "muscle"/area that isn't even clearly defined? Am I meant to keep my pelvic floor, butt and abs tight at all times? But won't I be too tense then? Or should I just develop a strong pelvic floor, butt and abs and engage them in cuts?<br /><br />Could you please elaborate? It's really quite difficult to find good koshi-related exercises and advice. Thank you!<br /><br />Iannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-27309616017944457792015-07-15T15:46:35.287-04:002015-07-15T15:46:35.287-04:00Peter is always on about Koshi with me. My tradit...Peter is always on about Koshi with me. My traditional exercise teacher is always talking about engaging the core. We tend to listen with half our head to this advise. Like so many things in our lives we tend to ignore what we hear too often, at first because we do not understand what the words mean in terms of our bodies, then because we have heard it too many times. Like my students used to say when I repeat some bon mot for the millionth time, "It's all good Mr. Frye" and then they just lump along like usual. The point that made me really take the koshi/core advice to heart was working with Sensei Peter with his kusarigami practice. We watched the video and while watching the demonstrator carefully, I SAW it, he moved the chain around the bokkan by using his koshi, not his arm, which is the "rational" way to swing it around. It made all the difference. I now consciously engage my koshi when ever I exercise, riding my bike, doing squats, walking, doing iai. I am much more stable, you can feel the difference it makes.Rick Fryenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-91563841263358086032015-07-14T11:59:33.607-04:002015-07-14T11:59:33.607-04:00There's part of the confusion - dantian is als...There's part of the confusion - dantian is also a concrete physical structure without connection to philosophical concepts, just in terms of physical arts - although there can be crossovers to the more esoteric once you get into health and meditative disciplines. My experience has been that Japanese budoka go to "koshi" by default but that the explanations tend not to be as fine grained as they could be.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15748586065184192896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-67805682431916494132015-07-14T10:42:00.222-04:002015-07-14T10:42:00.222-04:00Thomas,
I have to strongly disagree with you. 丹田 ...Thomas,<br />I have to strongly disagree with you. 丹田 dantian is very different from 腰 koshi. Koshi is very concrete physical structure with no connection to philosophical concepts that are dantian and the cinnabar field. There is no deformation. Traditional Japanese medicine and movement arts (including budo) are very familiar with dantian. When they mean dantian, they say so. When budoka refer to kyoshi, they know the difference and choose the term that is most appropriate for what is being discussed.<br />The Budo Bumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17829768452637120001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2648987284969270841.post-33104760882439032252015-07-14T10:00:43.888-04:002015-07-14T10:00:43.888-04:00It is perfectly normal. Japanese MA really suck at...It is perfectly normal. Japanese MA really suck at this. <br />Koshi is to Dantian what Budo is to oriental philosophy.<br />An edulcorated deformation.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12630013280118378473noreply@blogger.com