Posted On:6/10/2010 6:56am
Style: BJJ n stuff
Sounds just like those bullshit Evangelist preachers who drive out demons etc in church settings. The preacher walks up to some random 'worshiper', places his hand on their head mumbles some crap about divine powers from heaven or whatever then pushes their head and 'presto!' the worshiper falls to the ground 'overcome with holy powers'. Load of bollocks.
Re throwing yourself to the ground and making techniques like throws and wrist locks appear more effective than they really are, I reckon that is something a little different. Wrist locks for example hurt like hell when you start out training in Aikido/Booj or whatever, you quickly learn the least painful way of dealing with them which is compliantly falling to the floor. If you've ever tried putting one on a resisting opponent you will see that attackers never fall that way. Throw in some nice fluid rolls into the training and techniques and all of a sudden the person being thrown reacts to the lock before it is even put on by mentally preparing for a breakfall or roll rather than resisting the technique like a normal person outside the dojo would. The whole thing looks very impressive for both thrower and the person who was thrown but all it really does is create a huge sense of false security.
On an aside, while I was in the Booj in Japan there was a lot of talk of Hatsumi being able to throw people without touching them. Some hardcore Booj nuts tried to come up with spiritual explanations, other said his ninjerness was such that he could hypnotise you into throwing yourself by timing the move against the pulse on your neck (lol!) - when really, it was just a demonstration of Yellow Bamboo psychology. Conveniently, Hatsumi has never proven his ability to fight so this technique has only ever been performed on students who worship the tatami he walks on. Same deal as Yellow Bamboo and Evangelical Preachers.
Articles and Reviews
Tools and Info