Hello everyone,

i'm working on a project : representing the feeling of martial art (especially Aiki-Jujutsu). I will do that in the dojo i'm learning, so i really know student, trads, how it works.. etc.

so, the subject and the technique is not a problem, i just want you to know what are your keywords when I say Martial Art or/and Aikido/Aiki-Jujutsu/Jujutsu. Could you tell me please ?

It will bring me a lot of help in my work if i have a better understand of the global feeling about it. May be to go against :oP lol

(it will be done in classic film BW tri-x 400 iso pushed to 800, 135mm, 50mm & 35mm, no flash, no tripod)
Thank you very much and have very very Happy new year :oD

Olivier

All I know about martial arts is what little I've read and what I've seen in movies (which may be far from the most realistic depection of it. G). But the words that come to me are motion, flow, and fluidity.

Martial Arts = the art of war. But that is oversimplified. When you start looking at the various types of martial arts (Karate, Kung-Fu, Taekwondo, etc...) then they become more of a philosphy for living and a way of life. Spiritual even. There is a lot more to it, but for me martial arts are a way to fitness, mental discipline, and overall health. The fighting actually becomes secondary.

Ah how interesting... technique mastery is something which comes to mind. As does:  using the opponents weaknesses against them, "drunken boxer" style go-with the flow moves, conservatism in movement, strength, fitness, dedication and sadly this one also comes to mind: practice through monotonous repitition. I hear what kort is saying - i went to a first lesson of Jujutsu last month (i'm really a judo practicer so i didnt go back as i didnt like the concentration the dojo seemed to have on "if you are in a pub and get into a fight here is how you kick the guys ass" or maybe it just scared me all the talk about punch here and in this way to inflict the most pain) and one thing he said which i agreed with was: this is your last resort; the best thing you can do in a situation is calmly walk away. That is the essence of martial arts from the Jujutsu branch...    Didnt Sun Tsu say that the best general wins a fight without combat?

A shot which came to mind when you mentioned Jujutsu was a wrist lock throw in which purely by holding the wrists of your opponent and twisting and pulling in a certain way you can get your opponent straight to the floor - a shot which shows the simplicity of your movement contrasted with the drastic consequences - a difficult shot i am sure considering the complexities of it all.

Good luck with the project, looking forward to how you deal with it all :)

I agree Rich...my Master says the best the to do if you can is avoid a confrontation. If that fails, disable your attacker (or at least get them on the ground for a few seconds) and get out of there. I the current MMA trend interesting, a mixing of different traditions into one fighting style. It makes sense, you can't box on the ground and you can't wrestle on your feet (for the most part). good luck Olivier.

Yikes, this is not an easy one.  You certainly need standard shots of dojo stuff and sparing but perhaps a few not as often seen, particular to the form of discipline you study.  What is particular about Aikido, for instance?   I certainly view this as quite different than say, Isshinryu Okinawan karate since it is quite different.

What part of a particular move shows the most of what is actually happening?  Is it holding the wrist or the opponent going down?  Do you want to show how to execute a move or more of an overview of the discipline and perhaps how it differs from other forms of martial arts?  You have picked a tough one but I look forward to seeing part of what you get together.           Tom.

As for me, it has been years and this bod is not nearly as flexible nowadays..perhaps could be but is not..boo to me. : )

helloooo everyone !!! Happy NewYear 2008 :oD

thanks to all of you, your advices are gold for me.

@Tom : I would like to show aiki-jutsu in his more unmaterial and abstract form.  So i need to know what everybody think when i sai aiki/jutsu/do/ ... To try to demonstrate it exists or not...

exemple : no violence in aikido ? are you sure ? or jujutsu is like a thriller ?
I would like to show the pure Zen face, the cool attitude, the non violence & violence side...
I would like to show : technique is not everything, feeling is another thing...

ok, not so easy... i work on it. I'm drawing scene on paper, some 'flash' i have in my head.. and i will try it with a lens in one month i think...

@Inshaala : yep, i agree... The lock you specified is called Ikkyo - Your view is really intersting about this move. Thanks a lot !

Thank you very much :o)
Olivier

So, oliver, perhaps you take stereotype ideas the public may have and then show the truth through photography?

Yep Tom ... I would like to try to show this...
and may be more, if I can. I would like to show how Tori (the defenser)  had a very good feeling when his technique begin to be good, but Uke too when the technique is well applied :o)

Another difficulty is to do that in 20 pics, i don't what to do more. I think is enough, more : the eye will be distracted, it will toooo long too maintain attention and passion.

The first two words that came to my mind are Grace and Discipline......

I find there are a few groups in martial arts....

the cowboys who want to go around belting up people.
fitness freaks who just want to build pecks and abs.
Technique lovers who just want to win gold at the olympics
Ordinary people who want to defend themselves

And the ones who are dedicated to the dicipline and teachings of the art itself.

jen

yep boofy .. you're right ..

i'm lucky : 3 sensei in the dojo contributing and teaching in the good way ... Learning and following the line of Martial Art as an Art...
Yes, we try to obtain belts... more by respect to them and to all in the dojo...

@mbz : thanks !! i note !

seeyou !
Olivier

I asked my husband about this, and his first reply was "White Uniform, Black Belt".

I saw a cartoon with some folks outside a dojo. Thugs were threatening them with short flat boards.   The guys inside the dojo were looking out as it thinking: " I can handle that!"

Unfortunately, much more in the USA perphaps than in some countries, Karate is seen as the martial art, Judo as the Olympics and the others not well known at all.

Something showing how your disciplines are special..not just another school of Karate might be good depending on the audience.  Of course, the Isshinryu Karate I studied years ago was not about breaking boards or bricks or any of that.  .

Greetings to olivier158,

I want to give you the opportunity to view martial arts from an entirely
different approach. 

I am a member of a world wide group of people who study Medieval and
Renaissance life -- The Society for Creative Anachronism ... SCA for short. 

We recreate many aspects of the time period that we study ... our
participation is documentation based. 

You may be wondering, how does this apply to your martial arts project? 

We do have martial arts within the SCA ... there are four principal forms:

Archery (static targets, scored by a point system),

Thrown Weapons (axe or knives thrown against a wooden target,
scored by a point system),

Light Weapons (similar to fencing, no rubber mat and no judges),

Heavy Weapons  (similar to sword and shield fighting, and also without
judges). 

In the case of Light and Heavy Weapons combat, the fighter who is struck
calls that blow as either "light" or "good" -- the first 'good blow' determines
who wins the match... in other words, the scoring is on the honor system. 

Please note that all four of these forms are combat activities ... and the
outcome of the match is determined by the actions of the field of honor
and in no way decided in advance. 

I did a little 'research' for you and located your nearest SCA group which
is The Shire of Polderslot -- it is the Dutch and Belgium branch and is one
of the local groups within The Kingdom of Drachenwald. 

The web site for the Shire of Polderslot has about 15 video clips that
will give you quite a good idea of what the SCA is trying to do. 

You will see that one of those video clips shows a banner with the words

Honor Before Victory. 

You might even decide to attend an event or a fighter practice. 

As I said, ... an entirely different approach. 

Please contact me if you have any questions. 

--
Martin

p.s. Those video clips show both 'single combat" (one on one) and 'melee'
(many on many).