The Rose Li School: Aikido and Nei Jia

	THE ROSE LI SCHOOL
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REGISTER Private tuition Open access LINEAGE The Rose Li School has its lineage from one of the greatest boxers China has produced. Read more.	Aikido and Nei Jia There have been a number of authors linking Aikido and, in particular, Ba Gua. The argument is based upon hearsay in that, Ueshiba Moreihi, the founder of Aikido, was said to have had an excursion into the interior of China, learnt Ba Gua, and from that moment his Aikido changed radically. For me it matters not whether this story is true or not or if it's simply a case of 'cultural convergence'. I believe that Aikido and Nei Jia are complementary arts, but not for the obvious reasons. Aikido is learnt by use of forms and partner work. These forms have practical applications in that they are throws, ground-holds etc. The learning method is that over time, the forms become part of your 'self' and are eventually unconsciously applied within the infinite variety of 'combat' situations. The student is therefore able to have a portfolio of techniques by which he/she can resort to. Spiral motion is key to the mechanism of Aikido and your ability to utilise spiral motion is tested practically during partner work; this means that learning in Aikido is also very dependent upon the quality of training partner. Nei Jia as taught within the Rose Li School has forms the student must learn but these are not necessarily martial techniques as such. In our Nei Jia system the student learns what we call 'movement templates'. These templates train the student to move in a particular way: spirally. The way that you move is totally prescriptive – it’s either spiral or it's not. The rules that you follow in Nei Jia are, again, totally prescriptive. The forms in Nei Jia are consequently sets of 'problems' that test your ability to undertake spiral motion without having to recourse to a training partner. The Nei Jia student doesn't have the option of a portfolio of combat forms; rather you make it up as you go along. Therefore when enquirers to the School ask if the arts taught are for 'fighting' or 'health', they’re completely missing the whole point of the system. This means that the Nei Jia student has the initial disadvantage of having no 'security blanket' of techniques but has the long term advantage of truly moving from the subconscious. In Nei Jia, you throw someone not because you've leant the technique but rather because you’ve leant to move in a particular way; the throw occurs as a consequence of your whole body moving with spiral motion. Whilst considerable partner work is undertaken in some Tai Chi schools, within the Rose Li School this is initially not the case and certainly not for beginners. The emphasis within our School is on individual practice. The ethos here is that control over the self must be learnt before learning control over the environment. The School's Nei Jia system, as taught by Rose Li, has a unique breathing/striking/release of strength mechanism, and this is reinforced by distinctive footwork. Aikido lacks these characteristics and by dint of the formal definition of an internal martial art, Aikido, as well as many other systems that call themselves internal, is not fully internal. Aikido's great advantage is that you can test the internal by the use of a partner. Nei Jia's great advantage is that you need not. Both are dependent upon the quality of tuition and the lineage of the school. In the spirit of comradeship and humanity I invite all experienced Aikido practitioners to become Members of the Rose Li School. In the same way, I recommend all experienced Nei Jia practitioners to travel to Japan and attend the Hombu. You both would learn something to your advantage. Maurice Passman London February 2010 © Copyright. All textual and graphical content on this web site is copyright to the Rose Li School. Use or reproduction of content on this web site, other than for the purposes of personal browsing of this site, is expressly prohibited without the written permission of the Rose Li School.