Re: Seiza
if you'll permit a non-practitioner of iai to butt it ...
Originally posted by DCPan
>> How are your legs aligned in seiza? <<
i don't pay much attention to the exact arrangement of my legs when i kneel. i do notice that folk who are very used to sitting like that can tuck their feet in very close to their rear end and cross them quite comfortably. i've experimented with a few different tricks and have usually found that the absence or presence of pain or numbness is mostly up to chance.
>> Also, why do some people cross their toes? <<
i've heard that this is supposed to help relieve loss of feeling in the feet; if you have to kneel for lengthy periods of time (as i do in tea), alternating sides is supposed to be especially beneficial. sadly, i haven't been able to prove this claim.
>> Would anyone who does iai cross their toes in seiza? <<
i doubt that there would be any reason to cross the toes while kneeling during martial arts training (i was also told in aikido classes to put the feet and toes side by side, never crossing them). no matter how well you train yourself, i suspect that crossed toes will hamper your body's ability to move to avoid an attack.
do you iai folk really spend that much time just sitting in seiza? in the course of performing techniques don't you raise your rear ends off your feet and move around a little before you perform the next technique? wooden floors are hard, i grant you, but kneeling for 30 minutes straight even on tatami is probably far worse.
Jeff Hamacher
Those who speak do not know,
Those who know will not speak ...
So I guess that means I don't know a thing!