aikido vs. kung fu. not lame . . er. . at least i don't think so

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i was reading the aikido works thread and on the third page there was a link to the taichi classics followed by some passages taken from the art of peace.

i found two statements that seam to contridict each other which bring up an interesting topic. we have briefly had this coversation before in another thread, but i wanted to see if we could get more out of it on a post dedicated to the subject.

art of peace:

"The key to good technique is to keep your hands, feet, and hips straight and centered. If you are centered, you can move freely. The physical center is your belly; if your mind is set there as well, you are assured of victory in any endeavor."

taichi classis:

"Sinking to one side allows movement to flow;
being double-weighted is sluggish.

Anyone who has spent years of practice and still cannot neutralize,
and is always controlled by his opponent,
has not apprehended the fault of double-weightedness.

To avoid this fault one must distinguish yin from yang."

maybe i'm misunderstanding something here, but it sounds to me like they are discussing being rooted 50/50 on each leg and prefering 60/40 or greater. in fact i wonder if i am misconstruing something because right before the quote i took from the taichi classics it says "Stand like a perfectly balanced scale and
move like a turning wheel." any clarification would be appreciated, but i am mainly interested in discussing the benifits of rooting 50/50 vs. having a heavy and light side.

i personally am taught to stay 50/50 most of the time (my sifu has crosstrained in differant styles so it can depend heavily on circumstance). it's easier to maintain stability, leaves you with far fewer weak angles, and i find it to be just as mobile when you get used to it. the key is learning not to drag your roots with you when you move and replant them as soon as your foot settles again. i guess that's true of a 60/40 stance too, but less noticable.

[shaolinboxer]

Perhaps 50/50 for stillness, one side having more weight for movement. Logically it seems you can't walk if you have your weight even on both feet. So perhaps movements are a transition between many states of weightedness.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

sb ...

right, but i meant what you are aiming for most of the time. obviously when you are stepping there is no weight on that leg, but when your leg returns to the ground do you often settle 50/50 or keep a little more weight to one side.

again everyone is going to do a little of both, but depending on style and preference you will do one or the other more often.

[Braden]

I'm almost always 100-0. I can think of a few good reasons for this. Rooting comes up from one leg. A useful ability is yielding like a revolving door, which necessitates one side being empty. You protect your legs by keeping them empty. An empty leg can attack. Good things happen when you shift.

Off the top of my head, I wouldn't say 'standing like a balanced scale' refers at all to equal weight being on both feet.

[shaolinboxer]

Ah, I see what you mean. Well, I think it depends on the goals of standing still...are you trying to enter and redirect/overcome an attack, bringing your sphere of control to them, or ar you letting them come to you, drawing them in, or are you trying to simply be still. As the body follows the mind, I think you weight distribution will come out on the side of your intent.

[diego]

and one thing i got was, 50/50 in the mind, i have a visual of this but i'm basic so i have noidea:) ....plus you never know what they were smoking.

[diego]

is doing fullwieghted leadleg bowstance's and punching without overextending my root, now it's easy to punch and not lean tomuch but what if someone pull's you after they deflect your attack, i think that's what the thaiclassic's were on!.
You always need to have a yin/YANG Equilibrium...50/50.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

braden . . the revolving door analogy was neat, and i can see your point there, but there is no reason you cant kick with a leg that has 50% of your weight on it. its cumbersome at first but it doesn't take much getting used to. your root is transfered to one leg at that time. your leg also doesn't need to be empty to guard the legs, it just requires that you don't slow yourself down by trying to drag your roots with you. you empty that side as needed and it does happen instantly with practice. like i said though .. i see your point in yielding like a revolving door but think you can accomplish the other two things you listed while double weighted.

i have also found it allot easier to generate power and remain stable in attacks this way, but that's likely because it's how i train most of the time.

[Braden]

Sure. That's just the way we do it.

[Mr Punch]

In aikido centering is based on physical concepts, but also on the idea of always keeping your mind/spirit in the tanden. The idea goes that you can move 50/50, 60/40, whatever, AND remain concentrated on your centre of balance. In practice, too many people concentrate too much on this aspect and not enough on strong changes of stance. Most people only train 60/40.

The 'revolving door' concept is also key to aikido.