Last weekend there was the usual yudansha training in the dojo. As we did already many times the "8" sotai dosa, it seems not many people understood very well the purpose of these exercises. It is without fully understanding very difficult to transfer the "hidden skill concept" in those exercises to the different facets of Tomiki Aikido ( randori, shiai, kata, goshin,.....). Last weekend we discussed verbally but also physically the skill of body shifting, inside turning movement and outside turning movement. There was the case of "hiki taoshi" starting movement. A very difficult movement, but somewhere came it out of nowhere : the skill used in sumi otoshi - how to use the body and not how to throw - was also the skill to develop a strong hiki taoshi. The trigger was that simple exercise from the sotai dosa and an open mind. Skill development needs an open mind and sometimes syllabus (for grading...) is a mental block for creative aikido.
