Sanford Meisner and freeform aikido?

I am always delighted how other fields can feed into practise. I have been lucky enough to practise with a number of actors who are influenced by the acting approach of Sanford Meisner.

They have often commented on parallels between his methods and the ones we employ in freeform Aikido. What appeared of primary importance to me was what seems to be Meisner’s focus on the partner in the relationship, and how this frees the actor into spontaneous “trueness”. This is in opposition to an individualistic approach where the actor focuses is on themselves and what they doing to act. From what I have gleaned there appears to be a similar sense that this propels the participants into the moment.

I have only cursorily reviewed Meisner work and would really like to hear from Meisner practitioners who could illumine more of the thinking behind it….

inversion and freeing the undercarriage

Aikido has always carried a major component of postural inversion - the ukemi roll. This has been a largely under used resource in freeing the use of the legs and lower torso for anything other than the carriage of weight.

Aikido forward roll has the wonderful capacity to allow the weight of the head to balance the weight of the legs. We thus have a ready made way to explore the possibilities of inversion - an area that capoiera has certainly not shied from exploring.

My experience of approaching the use of legs has always felt a bit like exploring the underside of a car - something of forbidding mysteriousness for the novice.

I am delighted now to see ukemi as a royal gate to free up the expressive and connective possibilities of the the legs and feet. The use of the head and chests counterweight possibility also allows the lengthening of the leg in reach rather than the pinching associated with lifting the leg above the hip without counterbalance. This seems to allow an openness and fluidity that is highly applicable within a freeform Aikido practise

where credits due…

I wanted to thank a number of people for the leads they fed me and say something of what I brought out of my encounter with them and then fed into Freeform Aikido.

• John Ferris - my first aikido teacher. Artistry, humour and his acknowlegment of, and respect to the ineffable. ( And his ability to articulate with sweeping cultural reference.) He highlighted the “implicit” nature of the relationship. I also deeply valued his apparent disinterest in grading.
• Paul Smith for his lived physicallity and his willingness to go out on a limb. He enlivened me to knees and ankles!
• Inaba Sensei. From him I took his encouragement to find out what was important to us individually, to experiment and discover for ourselves. I liked his willingness to simplify and his ability to strip away the extraneous.
• Sasada Sensei. Creativity in experiment and his liberating quietness on what ever we should make of our discoveries. He evoked in me a strong desire to experience the dojo as an artists studio or laboratory.
• Endo Sensei. His emphasis on relationship. The liberation I felt in hearing him say “my aikido is not a martial art”.
• Kristin Hestad. For her encouragement to attend to my own experience and her discouragement of my habit to look to historical reference for academic support of my ideas…!
• Lynne Jacobs.

thanks for everything!

I will continue to add to and embellish this list….