I am going to approach this from two perspectives and both will be named as Timing. The first refers to the ability to time one’s movement and execution of a strategy and/or technique to bring about an optimum outcome, and the second refers to the ability to demonstrate that length of time does not necessary have an equal and opposite effect on the physical force of a technique. Both perspectives when done properly have one effect; they feel powerful. Before I begin, I have to make it clear that what I am about to share is purely from my own experience and understanding. Hence it is not something that generalises to everyone and it should not be; the training of martial arts is very much a personal journey.
Aiki Tai Jutsu, like all other martial arts, has a component that involves the practitioner’s ability to sense when, where and how the opponent is going to execute a technique. The ability to do so will result in meeting the opponent’s movement with yours at a point in time that is optimum in order to bring about a desired outcome. The meeting of two parts of a whole, the interaction of Ying and Yang; these are some of the sayings that one can expect to hear. When we view ‘Timing’ this way, our perception of self defence changes from that of defending oneself against an external and separate entity of threat to an interaction between you and that entity that is part of something that you belong to as well. It becomes a dance or a discourse that can only happen effectively when there is a rhythm of turn taking perfectly timed between you and the other person. In a conversation, you speak, he/she listens, then he/she speaks you stop and listen, he/she stops at the right time when you interject and you do the same when he/she interjects and so on. The results become powerful like watching a good debate between two persons or a dance between two persons that will remain vividly in your memory; a lasting impression. To achieve this ability to time yourself with your ‘partner’, the ability to sense him/her physically and mentally seems crucial.
The other perspective of ‘Timing’ flies in the face of the common belief that if you want something to produce maximum impact, it has to be fast. It seems to make logical sense, at least from the Physic’s perspective. But in the training of Aiki Tai Jutsu or other similar martial arts (e.g. Aikido, Judo, Tai Chi, Chin Na), one can’t help but experience situations where speed simply does not produce the required power of a technique, instead one needs to slow down to allow the power to manifest itself in a technique. This idea relates back to the first ‘Timing’ perspective as discussed earlier. When one is able to sense the other partner’s movement and intent, one is able to time and blend one’s response with the partner. If the partner’s movement is of a certain speed, then perfect ‘Timing’ requires one to match the partner’s speed. Too fast or too slow will jeopardise the effectiveness of a technique and therefore its power. Using the same analogy of a debate and a dance, if one part is out of sync or has a different timing from the other part, everything becomes disjointed and chaotic. One’s interest in the debate and dance will quickly fade away and the whole event will soon be forgotten.
Timing therefore appears to rely on one’s ability to sense one’s external world and match it with oneself. If that is the case, then there is one more thing to rely on; the ability to sense one’s inner world.
