PDA

View Full Version : Most Difficult Techniques



cheunglo
27th May 2003, 09:13
I have recently been thinking about which techniques have taken the longest time and greatest effort to learn. Why? Because I see the same mistakes being made by each generation of students and I ask myself what is it that makes some techniques harder than others and can the learning process be facilitated? It is taken for granted that everyone will have a learning curve, but are future generations doomed to experience the same frustrations?

I would like to start by defining what constitutes a difficult technique. This is a matter of opinion but we must start somewhere. The most difficult techniques are those that take the longest to learn from the point that they first appear on the syllabus for that grade. In addition, "learning" means being able to feel your way through the technique to apply it correctly on 95% of people, 95% of the time. For the remaining instances, you must be able to feel that the technique is not working and change to an alternative.

Here are my top 3 and reasons why.

No. 3 : Gyaku Gote
I had a difficult time choosing the number 3 spot. There are other worthy candidates such as Kiri Gote and Konoha Gaeshi, both of which may be technically more complex than Gyaku Gote but, my final choice went to this Yonkyu technique because Kenshi have no other experience upon which to help them master Gyaku Gote.

No. 2 : Sashi Komi Ashi Jun Zuki
I have picked simple Jun Zuki for the number 2 spot for the level of difficulty in making the correct Umpo Ho. Jun Zuki is supported by the back leg, in particular, the back heel must be grounded. All too often, I see raised back heels in a kind of shoulder-lead lunge punch. This is especially pronounced if Jun Zuki is preceeded by Sashi Komi Ashi.

No. 1 : Keri Komi
This is distinct from Komi Keri where you skip forward and immediately execute Jun Keri. Keri Komi has the order of motion reversed. You start Jun Keri and skip forwards during the kick, ie. the kick precedes, not follows, the skip-jump.

Why are the above 3 techniques particularly difficult? There must be many reasons and not everyone will find the same thing to be hard. However, I believe that one of main reasons is that all three require that you be able to feel your way through the technique by reflex alone. A similar thing occured when I tried to learn windsurfing. I kept being thrown by the sail everytime the wind changed or gusted. My instructor tried to explain how to read the wind but the explanations went over my head. I did not not have enough experience to distinguish between different events in wind and air patterns.

It strikes me that the same problem occurs in Shorinji Kempo, and indeed, any other complex skill-based activity. When a Kenshi is particularly frustrated by a technique, I assure them that one day, it will click and that everything will fall into place. I have done this without understanding how and why this happens, merely that it was how it happened with me. I now believe that it happens this way because, at some point, you suddenly learn how to distinguish between minor differences for a particular technique. You are able to read the wind.

What are the implications for this? I am afraid it is a good news / bad news scenario. First, the bad news: it takes time to learn how to distinguish between the minor differences that makes a technique succeed or fail. As Dan Kenshi, we must hold back from trying to teach our understanding of the feel of a technique. Conveying the "feel" of a technique is not possible, it must be experienced by each individual. The good news? Well, remember that learning can be fun. Making mistakes can be fun. Allow others to learn through their own mistakes. After all, it is a way better teacher than us all.

What are your 3 most difficult techniques and why? And how can that knowledge be used to help others?

Robert Liljeblad
27th May 2003, 09:56
Hi,

My most difficult technique is katate okuri gote •ÐŽè‘—?¬Žè given that it is presented early in the syllabus but I still find it hard to execute on certain people. Sometime I think that this technique is not made for people in the west (which probably is true :)).

Regards,

David Dunn
27th May 2003, 11:03
Cheung,
good question and good answers. I'd have to put okuri gote as the most difficult of juho waza. It is that much more frustrating when you see the likes of Mizuno Sensei or Mori Sensei making it work on 100% of the people, 100% of the time. What makes it a difficult technique is that you can't rely on pain, and you can't simply rely on your form being correct. You have to be very aware of what is happening to the opponent, and adjust accordingly. It is also the technique I've seen the most variations on. I think it's a 'paradigm' technique, gyaku gote being the other fundamental one.

I agree that unpo ho is very difficult to master. I think it's easy to be a bit complacent and believe that you have it, and a bit of self-criticism is needed. The last couple of years sensei has been really concentrating on beginning all movement in the hara. It means that ashi sabaki is more that making it look right, it also has to feel right inside yourself. Sashi komi ashi jun zuki is a very hard technique indeed.

I can't nominate a third specific techinique. I'll just say that the more basic something is, the more precisely you have to try to do it, so even after ten years you ought to be meticulously checking your form. For me the things I was first shown are the things that I still spend the most time on, so perhaps I think kihon is difficult per se.

Oh, I forgot about randori.

Tripitaka of AA
27th May 2003, 12:05
An excellent thread Cheung, most thought-provoking, with well considered conclusions.

Did someone recently compare a good Martial Artist with a good Golfer? The basics might be all there, but you need to be good at all the variations in order to be a consistent champion. As a student, you occasionally experience moments of "revelation" when everything just clicks. This is often the spur to redouble your efforts to make the fluke into the norm. A Golfer will rarely experience a hole-in-one, but can hope to achieve under-par performances on a regular basis. It is an endless journey toward an impossible "perfect" round.


Discussion of the most difficult "shot" would therefore be an appropriate comparison to Cheung's opening post. But perhaps in the Golfing analogy it is easier to come to the conclusion that the tricky shots can only be learned by experience and through practice, not by good teaching alone.




I'm drifting and .. it must be admitted.. waffling. I can't add anything to Cheung's original post. I liked it and wanted to join in, forgive my ignorance :nw: :smilejapa :nw:

tony leith
27th May 2003, 13:26
As somebody who has reduced even Mizuno Sensei to cuffing me about the head in exasperation at my ineptitude, I'm tempted to say all of them to Cheunglo's question. However, being a bit more selective:-

1) I'd go along with the emerging consensus that okuri gote is up there - it seems to me that while gyaku gote presents similar initial problems in terms of grasping fundemental mechanics, once you have some idea it seems to be consistently easier to apply them across a wider range of physiological types than is the case for okuri gote. It is consequently also a harder technique to teach, and you do periodically encounter people with very flexible shoulders etc. that it's well nigh impossible to get the damn thing to work on.

2) I'd nominate another 'paradigmatic' technique from the kyu grade syllabus - kiri gote. Another techniuqe with pretty much inexhaustible learning potential.

3) from my own current syllabus - furisote omote nage. One of this techniques which will not 'kind of' work - you either get it or you don't. Also depends critically on an attacker actually providing a committed attack, which I think is actually why a lot of techniques fail, particularly with juho.

One thing that occured to me in training the other day is that while it's natural to look for familiar reference points from your existing repertoire of techniques to help you learn new ones, these can sometimes blind you to what's actually going on.

Tony leith

luar
27th May 2003, 14:16
When I first started SK 3 years ago, I remember every senior in my dojo giving you a timeline as to how long each Juho technique takes to learn appropriately with 2 years being the norm for Gyaku Gote and Okuri Gote.

Gyaku Gote is something I learn proficiently within a year or at least that was what I thought. After attending a recent seminar this past weekend, I am always amaze how much I have to go back and relearn the techinques again. Not review it but relearn it - Do you see the difference?

Good Okuri Gote always eluded me but only within the past few months did I finally understand it enough to know how I can become more proficient and efficient on my own. Now I can do it without thinking about it and fairly rapid. Of course along will come a visiting sensei from Japan who will send me back to the starting line and challenge me all over again.

From the Heart,

David Dunn
27th May 2003, 14:36
I remember every senior in my dojo giving you a timeline as to how long each Juho technique takes to learn appropriately with 2 years being the norm for Gyaku Gote and Okuri Gote.

I wish that were true. Ten years for gyaku gote and even longer for okuri gote was the timeline I had in mind.

Tony - I agree that kiri gote is another 'paradigm' technique, and so too is johaku dori, which is the earliest reference to that shape of arm (ko no ji).


Sometime I think that this technique is not made for people in the west

Mizuno Sensei might disagree Robert. I've never seen him stumped by anyone for okuri gote, and believe me in his dojos there are plenty of difficult cases. Ask Steve Williams or Kid Antwi :)

jonboy
27th May 2003, 14:53
Very good question. I hope I am not just repeating what others have said, but I am also about to comment on okuri gote. It is the technique that I have done the most work on over the last few months with little noticeable improvement in understanding. Here is why I think it is difficult...

We all get taught the principles, which is fine, but as a 4th Kyu with not much experience all you see is the start and end point, no matter how hard you look. This means you are always looking for ways to get there without necessarily taking the correct route. Therefore you are always looking for new methods and tricks, rather than principles.

In the four years since I obtained 4th kyu, this is exactly what I was doing and quite often I just said to myself 'It just doesn't work on some people'. However I realise now that it is just a lack of understanding on my part.

I am also teaching more now and I think I find okuri gote the hardest technique to teach at any level up to shodan. As was said previously it is difficult to explain the feel of a technique and so I always go back to telling them the principles (which is what you should do) without explaining what the technique feels like. This frustrates me as I can see that the current 4th kyu will have the same problems we all seem to have with it. I wish I could help more.

Robert Liljeblad
27th May 2003, 15:24
Originally posted by David Dunn


Mizuno Sensei might disagree Robert. I've never seen him stumped by anyone for okuri gote, and believe me in his dojos there are plenty of difficult cases. Ask Steve Williams or Kid Antwi :)
Hi David,

I have no problem in believing that he would disagree. I have had the opportunity to see Mizuno Sensei execute gyaku gote with only one hand…

Regards,

David Dunn
27th May 2003, 15:30
I have had the opportunity to see Mizuno Sensei execute gyaku gote with only one hand

It's good to see isn't it? I was on the receiving end of that at the recent University Training Seminar here - it is irresistable even though there is no pain at all.

tony leith
27th May 2003, 16:18
It sometimes almost does require a conscious effort to remember this, but Mizuno Sensei is always at pains to point out that nothing he does is anything we're not capable of (if we were very much better at Shorinji Kempo). Kempo is mercifully pretty much devoid of the pseudo mystical psionic powers claimed for the practioners of some martial arts. That being said, from my experience as both an instructor as student, you can only be taught so much - the point at which you get your moment of satori about a technique is when that knowledge becomes your own, and fits in your own overall map of understanding. I know George (Hyde) has been studying much more deeply into these matters than my dilettante's interest, but I would say this is true independent of the student's bias in terms of learning types - kinesic, verbal or visual. However you assimilate the information that's presented to you in class, your understanding has to be corroborated by application.

Another thing that can be hard to accept is that these moments of satori are just way stations on the journey, not any kind of final destination. Your understanding will change, and paradoxically in my experience this often means that your existing model of how to apply a technique falls apart until the application catches up with your new understanding. This can be very frustrating, and I think that reassuring students that this is in fact a normal part of the process rather than some kind of freak aberration on their part can be very important. It took me a long time to figure this out for myself, and when I did it helped me face these difficulties with more equanimity (this is not claiming as much as it might seem - the base line for comparison is important here...)

Tony leith

David Dunn
27th May 2003, 16:40
Following on, I have the following entry in my notebook:


(20th July 1995, Euston dojo) Sensei said that when we were go or yonkyu we felt very confident that we could do gyaku gote. Now we are frustrated - `how can I do it on this person?'. He said ``this is true progress", because the understanding is more sophisticated, and we are more self-critical than before. The main problem is
stopping to think all the time. Each person has a weak direction, and you can experiment to find it, but you must keep going when you actually apply the technique.

Or


Kenshi come to me and say 'Sensei I can't make this technique work'. My reply: of course not, you're doing it completely wrong.

Tony's right that sometimes you have to go two steps back to go one step forward. If you examine gyaku gote and find that you're relying on strength, then you may have to accept that, in order to improve it, you will be able to apply it on less people before you can apply it on more people. Alternatively, we might feel like we've gone backwards, but it is just an increase in self-criticism.

As for learning, I think a lot of us forget that one of the most useful ways is to have the technique done to you, many times consecutively, by someone who can do it.

Another useful method. Get a shodan (for instance), to catch you, and then have him or her lead you through the technique: i.e. you don't apply it, they simply 'playact' what would happen to them if you were to do it correctly. Gradually get more proactive.

tony leith
27th May 2003, 17:04
quote (from Dave's last post)
_________________________________________________________________

As for learning, I think a lot of us forget that one of the most
useful ways is to have the technique done to you, many times consecutively, by someone who can do it.
_________________________________________________________________

Painful but true. I seem to remember reading somewhere (WSKO website, maybe?) that this was Kaiso's favoured teaching method - when he was teaching in his house, the teaching space was only large enough to admit one student at a time, so students would hear the sounds of the current beneficiary being thrown around while awaiting their turn.
This would also doubtless have been a good test of heijo shin.

The readiness to have pain inflicted on oneself (rather than just other hapless victims) is I think a fundemental element in the reciprocity that characterises both the philosophical and technical content of Shorinji Kempo. This kind of testing in adversity is part of what makes S.K. a gyo or path of spiritual development, or at least it has been for me, especially in terms of developing my capacity to trust (some) other people.

Tony leith

MikeCarew
28th May 2003, 13:08
Cheung,

Good thought this thread. Do bear in mind that if any of this was easy then the value of it to us would be that much less.

While I agree that all of the techniques here are difficult, and the effort required to learn them is great, I would like to point out something that I have felt.

Possibly the simplest instructions that could be issued are "Sit still and breathe" this is also called Zazen. I find even this seemingly simple feat very difficult. My legs go into spasm and my back begins to ache. If sitting still and breathing should be so difficult it should come as no surprise that some of the more advanced techniques that involve moving should be even more so. I am thankful that chewing gum is not part of the sylibus of Shorinji Kempo.

tony leith
28th May 2003, 15:37
I think we can be consoled by the fact that zazen meditation is as much a technique integral to our discipline as uchi uke zuki or gyaku gote. Like any other technique, it takes time to 'master' (a happy estate that I wouldn't claim to have attained chinkon any more than with the rest of the technical content). The fact that it requires real discipline to maintain the posture, and as for getting to the point where the posture can be maintained without conscious effort and you can concentrate (if that's the word) on the spiritual/psychological benefits that are supposed to flow from chinkon practice, that's probably a lifetime's study. I have found myself on a number of occaisions thinking "Hey, I'm meditating !". Then you're not any more.

Rather than get depressed about this, I think the only sensible approach is to try and get incremental improvement - chinkon is something you can practice on your own fairly readily, after all. I've found that my route to getting more out of chinkon is to approach it primarily as a breathing control exercise. Some times I do feel that it clears my mind, promotes heijo shin etc (interesting there is neurophysiological evidence from brain scans that meditation promotes brain activity in an area of the brain associated with feelings of tranquility - "Buddhists are happier say scientists" - not a suprise, but again it indicates that you don't have to resort to the mystical for explanations of chinkon). If I don't feel that subjective benefit, I still have the other benefits of zazen practice.

Sorry if this reply is a bit heavygoing for a lighthearted post, but chinkon is one of our more difficult techniques, and one that we spend relatively little time each class practicising. I'd probably also agree that it shares the characteristic that the ostensibly simple things - sashi komi ashi jun zuki for example - that are actually the most profound and difficult studies.

Tony leith

John McCollum
28th May 2003, 16:56
Hi all,

Not that I would presume to end this discussion here and now, but...

It's all difficult.

As Mike mentioned, the whole point of doing this activity is that it is inherently difficult, and requires a lot of dedication to become halfway competent. (Which I'm not, by the way!)

I had studied Shotokan Karate prior to starting Shorinji Kempo, so the juho part of the curriculum was something totally alien to me. In particular, the balance breaking aspect caused (and still causes) great difficulties for me.

Having just about grasped the most basic principles of kuzushi, they now throw this Goju Ittai malarkey at me...argh! This week, I have been mostly struggling with:
Uwa uke nage
Shita uke kote nage

I must say though: kudos to the good folk who brought us the article relating to Mori Sensei's teachings. It gave me a multitude of new ways to screw up okuri gote! :)

George Hyde
28th May 2003, 19:36
Yeah... right... Just to echo some of the thoughts on this particularly delicate little puzzle of a technique.

One of the reasons I think okuri-gote is so difficult is that it manages to elicit the most natural of proprioceptive (there's that word again) responses from the recipient. If you're on the receiving end of it from a novice, you (or rather, your body) tend to have plenty of time to take that tiny step to correct balance or intervene with a slight shoulder dip to prevent what's supposed to happen from happening.

These entirely natural, automatic and unconscious responses are so slight that they manage to totally frustrate the efforts of the defender - because that's precisely what they're designed to do - however cooperative the attacker may wish to be. Proficient practitioners don't allow the opportunity for proprioception to intervene, and REALLY proficient practitioners actually use it to their advantage.

However, if you know it's there and are willing to suspend disbelief in the idea that you should 'allow the technique to happen' there's a lot to be learned.

Later,

Gary Dolce
28th May 2003, 21:16
I have to agree with others here that okuri gote is the winner for most difficult technique. I have often said (only partly facetiously) that one indication of the difficulty of okuri gote is how many techniques there are for situations where okuri gote is failing (e.g., okuri maki tembin, okuri hiji zeme, tsuri otoshi, okuri tembin dori, okuri shishi dori, etc.).

George raises an interesting point that I think is a source of frustration for many a beginner. When experienced Kenshi are in the attacker's role, they will sometimes create a situation where the basic technique the defender is trying to apply simply won't work, without realizing they are doing it. This is particularly a problem when the beginner is doing the technique slowly (giving the attacker time to adjust) and does not have the benefit of knowing any variations or alternate techniques to deal with the attacker's adjustments. I think this is the source of a lot of the problems Kenshi have with techniques like okuri gote.

luar
29th May 2003, 01:23
Hey Gary,

Asakura Sensei honored us with a visit to our dojo last night before he headed back to Japan and was asked to lead the class. He reviewed the 32 ways to do Uchi Uke Zuki which was one of the topics from this past weekend's seminar at Camp Cornell. At the end of class he told us that he strongly believe that the Uchi Uke Zuki is by far the most difficult technique because its movements are the basis for Gyaku Gote, Okuri Gote and Oshi Gote.

LOL

Gary Dolce
29th May 2003, 05:30
Well, I did learn this weekend that I have been doing uchi uke zuki wrong for more years than I care to think about, so maybe Asakura Sensei is right. :D

Indar
29th May 2003, 08:05
Personally, I would have thought that the most difficult technique is "live half for yourself, and half for others";

assuming that philosophy is technique, and vice versa?

Indar Picton-Howell

tony leith
29th May 2003, 11:13
Indar is right that the challenges we're presented with in the dojo probably pale into insignificance beside the challenge of 'doing the right thing' in the big bad real world. John is also right that for most of us it's all difficult, and that's kind of the point.

quote:
___________________________________________________________________

He reviewed the 32 ways to do Uchi Uke Zuki which was one of the topics from this past weekend's seminar at Camp Cornell. At the end of class he told us that he strongly believe that the Uchi Uke Zuki is by far the most difficult technique because its movements are the basis for Gyaku Gote, Okuri Gote and Oshi Gote.
___________________________________________________________________

Only 32? The last part of luar's post is tantalising - I don't know if he'd care to elaborate. I know all to often it's pretty hard to transmit this kind of instruction face to face never mind via e-budo, and this maybe isn't the place for detailed technical exposition, but I'd like to hear more...

It's fantastic when a senior Sensei quietly tells you your basic techniques need to be rebuilt from the ground up, isn't it. For a number of years we had the good fortune to have a Japanese 5th dan - Tomo-san (he wouldn't let us call him sensei) - resident in Glasgow. It took a long time before he felt able to be fully candid about the state of our techniques, but when he did, oh dear god - the most devastating commentaries would tend to start with the innocent seeming comment "what technique is that?" You knew you were in trouble when the response was "oh really?", said with polite incredulity. His parting comment to us when he left was "I hope your techniques improve". So do we.

On balance I think I'm more inspired by the knowledge that there are no end of things to learn about the most ostensibly simple techniques than depressed by it, but there are times...

Tony leith

Tripitaka of AA
29th May 2003, 19:48
Nice One Tony L :)

luar
30th May 2003, 03:43
Yes it is difficult for me to explain. Well the only elaboration I can give you is what I stated above - that Uchi Uke Zuki uses a twisting motion that is crucial for performing Juho techniques such as Gyaku Gote and Okuri Gote. Uchi Uke Zuki is really a good study on how we use the principle of the fulcrum and how power, efficiency and speed comes from the hips. In fact most of this seminar was really centered on the movement of the hips.

In addition there was a long discussion about how you use your hip to aim your strikes. What does this mean? Well when you peform Uchi Uke from hidari, you point your lead hip to your opponent. This causes you to chamber your rear hip and once you completed the block, you then release all havoc and punch away. According to sensei, this relatively simple action is not easily mastered. This same hip aiming concept can also be applied to good Jodan Zuki

As far as what are the 32 ways to do Uchi Uke Zuke, I recommend everyone experiment and explore the possibilities. The only hint I will give is that 16 of them are done by switching stances.

Hope this was helpful

tony leith
30th May 2003, 11:03
I'm never sure whether to use real names or e-budo nomme de guerre, but thanks to Paul for the further information. This means that John McCollum is our prize winner for the day, because he correctly surmised in training last night that hip action was the link.

I've often suspected that the ordering of the syllabus is because the more fundemental (or paradigmatic if we're going to use the buzz word we seem to have alighted on - at least in this context it makes some kind of sense) techniques come first, not the easy ones. I've often said (and not entirely in jest) to yellow belts that the reason they're grappling with okuri gote now is so that they might be able to get to work in about ten years. It shouldn't therefore be a surprise that we end up continually revisiting them.

Tony leith

David Dunn
30th May 2003, 11:33
Thanks Paul

Or Raul even. Which is Luar in reverse :D

tony leith
30th May 2003, 16:59
Apologies to Raul. Either I can't read or I can't type...

Tony

Steve Williams
31st May 2003, 20:44
Consider this.......


Some techniques you can get to "work" perfectly
Then a new person arrives at your branch, or even an experienced kenshi just visiting.... you "perfect" technique suddenly is the most cr@p technique which you possess...... (we have all had that scenario)

Or one day you finally "get it" and you can do the technique on absolutely everybody, no problem the next day/week you cannot do the same technique on the same people...... nothing has changed...... then the next week the technique is "perfectly executed" on everybody once again (the same people all the times).




I think that I am trying to say (without Tony or Davids or even Georges written skills ;) ) is that no technique is ever perfect, but no technique is ever hopeless either..... the same as people even techniques can have good days and bad days (or something ;) )

David Dunn
2nd June 2003, 09:48
Steve, I agree. I think it also depends on how you are at the time. Mori Sensei said that his method didn't work unless he was happy.

tony leith
2nd June 2003, 11:56
I think remaining philosophical in the face of your techniques falling apart for no very apparent reason is important (I'm pretty sure it's an experience common to most of us - I suspect Mizuno Sensei gets it for about a picosecond before he thinks 'Ah, wrist type 10,234' and proceeds to smoothly execute the technique). When I started training this used to cause me inordinate amounts of frustration - eventually my instrcutor at the time took me aside and said "Look, Tony, sometimes you just have to say **** it, it'll happen sometime, it's not happening now". He wasn't tell me to give up, just not to let my emotionl response get in the way of learning. Valuable advice (though sometimes easier said than done)

Tony leith

Eastwood
13th June 2003, 23:46
Originally posted by tony leith
eventually my instructor at the time took me aside and said "Look, Tony, sometimes you just have to say **** it, it'll happen sometime, it's not happening now". He wasn't tell me to give up, just not to let my emotional response get in the way of learning. Valuable advice (though sometimes easier said than done)

Tony leith

I hear you, Tony. When I was a white belt, I used to get upset when I messed up a techniqe, and one time I expressed my frustration by punching a pillar in the dojo. One of my kyu kenshi seniors told me, "Don't punch the dojo." It was such an odd thing to hear, that somehow I got the message about remaining calm. Till last year, I would have sworn that I had come a long way with heijoshin.

Last year we started up the Chicago Branch, and I found the toughest part of teaching was to perform a technique while I was failing to perform it effectively. As a student, I could either switch to another technique, or I could just accept that I didn't get it this time. But as an instructor, I felt as if I had to exemplify the technique, or how would my students learn it? But most times that I put the pressure on myself in this way, I made things worse. My emotions would run right to the confrontation, and I'd get stuck there.

So this year I've been developing the feeling that there is actually a core technique in all the techniques, a method of how to remain calm and aware of what's happening. When I can actually not worry about whether the technique is working or not, I can often see what's happening with my opponent/partner and try a better approach. But whether or not I get that far, practicing the technique more like meditation than like a clash always keeps me and the students from getting stuck on failure. This may sound abstract, but in practice it means that I remain alert enough not to stay vulnerable, and everybody in the dojo learns that the first thing is not to win the technique, but to not lose.

So given that I learned about heijoshin right when I first started SK, and given that it took me until the last year to discover just the possibility that it might be a technique, I nominate heijoshin.
Heijoshin and mae ukemi are certainly the two techniques that have saved me the most grief in regular life.

:idea: