Larry Turner 2010
Wednesday, 01 September 2010 21:38
| Gallery - Seminar Pictures |
As usual, Larry's annual trip to NYC provided some difficult teaching points for students. The first part of Saturday was spent working on Larry's favorite kamae, ichimonji.
Larry's ichimonji i s mysterious in its simplicity. Without any kind of dramatic movement, he's able to move calmly into kamae and make his attacker fall down. He doesn't need to flail his arms violently or move at at lightning speed. By moving his kamae into his uke's space, he can break his opponent's structure and nullify the attack while maintaining control over his own body and space. In these pictures, Rob's excellent movement comes very close to capturing Larry's ichimonji.
It's always a pleasure to watch Larry's movement, because it's so deceptive. It doesn't look like he's doing very much, but his attackers always find themselves off balance and out of control. At that point, he's able to easily capture and finish off his opponents.
The students were pretty brain dead by the end of Saturday. Larry's teachings required a great deal of concentration, as students try to capture the minute details he points out in his movements. But this state of mental exhaustion probably allowed them to move with less tension in many ways, although it always takes time to absorb lessons learned this way.
This year also happens to be Larry's 30th year of training in the Bujinkan, which marks him as one of America's most experienced practitioners. Most people don't realize how long he's been around, because he's so quiet and modest. His low profile makes us even more fortunate that he's willing to come out every year to help us get better!
