Form IV: Ataru

[Master Lucien Kane]

Agreed, very good points

[Darth Nonymous]

Nonymous, anyways you're from PA?

either way, beautiful break down. And you've essentially differentiated between the Yoda-Ataru and the Qui-Gon Ataru.

Thanx fellas.

I am in Ann Arbor Michigan, actually.

[Master Uilos]

Ah, knew a different Nonymous then.

[Darth Nonymous]

I've actually done a fair bit of work codifying some of the cannon descriptions and making them jive with actual movement systems and martial arts.

With Ataru, I have found it very easy find analogs and that would fit in a general description of attributes. In addition to su ma, the method breaks down into jumping and running. What is interesting is the relationship between the three.

The spinning I already touched on, the jumping, while a bit easier to understand, also has its occult aspects. Jumping is the single most accurate and useful test of full body power, in the scientific sense. The use of full body power should be obvious, but what may not be is how jumping affects power. The act of jumping is the act of you body contracting in a co-ordinated pattern with sufficient force to overcome your own weight (gravity). The mechanics of a jump are based on primitive movement patterns that correspond to lifting (secret: you should always lift an object in the same way you would do a vertical leap: e.g. dead lifting). It breaks down like this, the mechanics of a jump can do two types of work; moving external resistance in space, or moving the body in space. It's the old Yoda/Qui Gonn dichotomy: Yoda will produce more force by throwing his body through space while Qui Gonn will get more by pushing into the ground and focusing it into the opponent because of the greater mass and inertia. Qui Gonn of course can use the jumps but there will be a greater cost to his stamina etc.

The other thing that is so often over looked is something we call "Proprioceptive Nuero-Muscular Facilitation" (PNF). In the case of jumping it is how the landing will benefit the take off. The deceleration from landing a jump takes these mechanics and reverses them. the act of slowing your body down and keeping all of the joints together is enormous work for the body, but work that it is well suited to. Conversely, if your mechanics on your landing are off (knees bear the weight, legs buckle in, hips do not go back far enough) your body will down regulate your take off to make sure you don't hurt your self. Often plateaus with jumping can be broken by a simple movement screen.

just like the spinning, the jumping has different manifestations. Acrobatic and powerful.

Let me gather my thoughts on the running portion. I'll post in a bit.

[Veldryne]

Great post, very informative.

[RLYHYPERGUY]

This description does fit my style somewhat! I was at some sand dunes nearby dueling with some friends using cheap, plastic sabers. I started to just barrage one of them with several quick attacks and eventually was able to exploit a weakness in their defense! I also dodge quite a bit when fighting! I've been noticing lately that I don't use Soresu as much as I though I did, but now I think my primary form might be Ataru!

I still consider myself a Niman practitioner though. 

[ZequarX]

The other thing that is so often over looked is something we call "Proprioceptive Nuero-Muscular Facilitation" (PNF). In the case of jumping it is how the landing will benefit the take off. The deceleration from landing a jump takes these mechanics and reverses them. the act of slowing your body down and keeping all of the joints together is enormous work for the body, but work that it is well suited to. Conversely, if your mechanics on your landing are off (knees bear the weight, legs buckle in, hips do not go back far enough) your body will down regulate your take off to make sure you don't hurt your self. Often plateaus with jumping can be broken by a simple movement screen.

You're not a traceur by any chance? This sounds like something a fellow parkour practitioner would say 

But on that note, he is absolutely right.

[Darth Nonymous]

You're not a traceur by any chance? This sounds like something a fellow parkour practitioner would say 

I don't do Parkour myself but one of my students does. This is just biomechanics.

[Darth Nonymous]

The parkour reference is apt.

I tend to think of the last variable, running, as the different ways one can build up momentum for jumps, attacks, or reversals. There are different ways to do the running approach to different jumps. control of stride, footfall and of course changing that forward momentum into upward energy. Once one can better control and understand that process, the more energy one can produce with fewer strides. (The other side of this would be simply the ability to jump, roll, fall or attack right off of a run. )

When you look at all three of these variables, it makes sense that Ataru is called the "aggression form". This type power generation, if used alone, require 100% commitment on the part of the fighter. That means if an attack misses, it usually leaves you open or vulnerable in some fashion. That's the trade off; power, speed and agility at the cost of defensive recovery.

If one then takes these three components ;  rotation (revolving and stabilize in the three planes of motion), jumping (explosive full body contraction and relaxation), and running (creating and using momentum) one has the basic comments for a style which would train one's body to maximize power, move with speed and agility, and remain on the offensive.

[ZequarX]

For our visual learners to continue Nonymous' point:

http://www.physical-solutions.co.uk/articles/Understanding%20Planes%20and%20Axes%20of%20Movement.pdf

[Master Lucien Kane]

cool stuff!

[Stiletto]

Ah, knew a different Nonymous then.

Hah! Nope, whatever my character name, my forum name is usually Stiletto.

... Hi Rave! *waves*

(how dare he take this name... soon he will face the full wrath of the Dark Side... LOL)

[Guardian Xentai Kaarz]

Ready for a djem so thread!!

[Solinus]

Wow... so much to absorb and digest. I feel really overwhelmed. I'm still learning the BASICS of Shii-cho.

[Xanedan]

Discussion has died off here, but a request recently went out for more information on Ataru, and I feared this trove of information might have been missed.

I'm telling myself these days "think Ataru" while practicing with sabers and thought I'd add what that means to me, personally.  An opinion I've developed through the official lore at wookipedia, the discourse stickied at the top of this subforum and the discussion in this thread.

Short of the ability to actually perform force assisted leapy-spinny type stuff, I make an effort to at least leap and jump a bit, or as my fiance mockingly refers to it "twirling".  The point being, stay in motion and use that momentum to drive attacks, flowing from one attack to the other as you turn.  I'll often start with a heavy cross slash with one hand then use that momentum to pivot myself around and strike circularly with my other hand, or drive the blade behind me to strike while my back is turned.

It's intensive on your legs, greatly aided by springing forward, or backwards as a defensive measure.

An important aspect of the "official" description I like to focus on is attacking from multiple angles.  For instance, on the spinning retreat in the following video (around the 26 second mark) the first strike is aimed towards the midsection and the second lower. 

Below is a short video put together from some of my training, the first few seconds is a flashy attack routine I'd thought up with Ataru in mind and the second is me attempting to incorporate some Ataru influences into my 2-hand work.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg_xPjJRT8o" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg_xPjJRT8o</a>