That "Ki Test" feeling ...

[Adam]

You know, sometimes you just gotta hit me upside the head (actually, I'm able to do it to myself quite well, thank-you-very-much).

A ki test is a tool to give you the feeling of ... a ki test, nothing more (if you think about it). You have to do the rest. Once you get the feeling of what it's like to have an incoming force affecting your body, that's the gold right there. The incoming force is something to play with. Do you stand there and brace yourself against it? Do you just "relax completely" and see what happens? Do you think, "I must not fail" or do you think, "how can I best redirect this push through my one-point, into the ground, with a relaxed body"?

Now, we're not talking about a show-stopping demo with two people shoving into your body while you're standing on one leg. Too strong of a "push" might encourage using all the wrong things (take with a grain of salt, when you see one of those silly instructors demonstrating  ). We're just talking about a measured push that will give you enough of a reason to start thinking about what you're doing. In class, you might be asked to adjust your posture, relax your lower abdomen, OPEN YOUR EYES or lower your shoulders. The test is not hard (yet), so don't fight it. Let it "speak" to you, then "listen". Make your adjustments, remember the "feeling" and don't forget it.

So how do you get better with ki training using the ki test? Hopefully you can remember the feeling of the test. Take it home. Take it with you wherever you go. Perform any (ANY) exercise you've learned in class and have that ki test working on you at every moment. Don't even think about "passing". Think about what you need to do to adjust to it. To make it comfortable. On the outside, funekogi might look the same, but on the inside, your brain should be working on how each step of the movement would measure up to the test. It must be ever present. This is training, remember?

There's more, but this is plenty to work on, if you can find the time  . We can only expect to understand this in theory (maybe), unless we train everyday (at home) with this in mind. Then, back in to the dojo for more feedback. Rinse, repeat ...

I know, I know, it seems like you've "heard" this all before. If you did, were you listening? Are you really training every day (and I don't mean techniques at the dojo). I know I wasn't. But now I am. We'll see.

thanks,
Adam

[Adam]

Excuse me, this is just a "bump." It appeared that there was a DB issue when I posted it.

[Saint Louis Ki Society]

Wow Adam,
I don't think of you as being so deep and rambling in your thoughts. In movement you seem more to the point. I hope this doesn't reflect a bad influence from me . I always hope people pick up on my teaching points and not the rambling way I often express them. But rambling or not, I see evidence when you are on the mat that you are changing and improving. That's great!

These days I am amazed at how I use ki in daily life. I use the most basic and simple teachings. If I find myself tense or upset, I think one point and change it. I do take a moment to feel it, low down, by the pubic bone where there is no muscle to tense up. But other than that, that's it. If I lose focus, I think extend ki, that's all. I've spent a lot of years developing a feeling for what one point and extend ki means and feels like. I guess that's necessary, but it seems so convoluted. It's really just as simple as I was first told it was.

But there is nothing better than using daily life for training. The stuff I do on the mat can stand a lot of improvement, but I feel pretty good about it. Ah, but I feel like an intermediate student in daily life - working way too hard to do what should be easy.

[Adam]

These days I am amazed at how I use ki in daily life. I use the most basic and simple teachings. If I find myself tense or upset, I think one point and change it. I do take a moment to feel it, low down, by the pubic bone where there is no muscle to tense up. But other than that, that's it. If I lose focus, I think extend ki, that's all. I've spent a lot of years developing a feeling for what one point and extend ki means and feels like. I guess that's necessary, but it seems so convoluted. It's really just as simple as I was first told it was.

Simple != Easy
 

[Saint Louis Ki Society]

Yeah right, easy.

"I understand means I can do."
--Koichi Tohei