Radial expansion is often a topic of conversation around the holidays. But Post Turkey Bloat isn't what we're here to talk about. It's an attempt to discuss how to do large ukemi (rolls) safely and well. Words sometimes get in the way so let's also use this picture from the Great Lawn Chair Revolt of 2020. This is on the more extreme side a large rolls; done more for fun and skill that practicality on its own merit. Whether we do small, medium, large, or extra large rolls we should have a feeling that we are this expanding ball. Every inch of us is driven or pulled by some force radially outward from the center of the roll. It's not quite like some Cenobite with a bunch of radial chains pulling you apart but it is something sourced from within a sphere of your control.
It would be easy as instructors to fall back on the classics, like
"extend ki". But what does that mean? As people begin a martial arts
journey the word "ki" ranges from meaningless esoteric nonsense to
people who have literally thought we could do Dragonball Z type stuff.
Once you attain ki and feel it, then ki becomes a word we can
communicate around. But it can take years to attain a sense of ki
begging the question of what do we do until then?
In a bicycle tire, the air inside is applying a pressure to maintain the wheel's quintessential round shape. The pressure provides cushion between the hub and the road. It prevents deformation into sharp clunky corners but still allows the tire to flow over small rocks and cracks in the pavement to give a smooth ride.
In ukemi, large and small, we need to emulate this inflated feeling. We need to feel it. This is where the rubber meets the road, how does one describe a feeling? The Hallmark channel has been working on that for decades and they're still trying. It is not that Post Turkey Bloat. The stuffed feeling where we are bursting at the seams from that last scoop of mashed potatoes is different. That would be an inflation centered within. This feeling is an inflation centered outside of us. Because of that we feel only a tingling of that pressure being on the outer edge of the circle. The pressure drop across us is small because we are only a part of the circle. We are still comfortable. It should feel energizing.
I have used the word "inflation". But this doesn't mean suck in air and hold it; not at all. Don't do that as it can have consequences and it would be more along the lines of the Post Turkey Bloat feeling. "Inflation" here is made up of an energy, a feeling, a mindset.
Words may be failing us but the next time you roll, try to create a feeling of radial expansion. Visualize the surfaces of your arms, back, hind, and legs that will make contact with the mat being pushed outward from the center around which you will roll. Feel "lifted" onto that ball or wheel. This feeling should exist before, during, and after the roll.
