This is a drill to broaden the scope of each movement in contact.

There is no single purpose in a contact but many. We wish to avoid harm to ourselves, gain control and information and prevail over the opposition.

There is a lot of communication and the same amount of movement. Each step and each change in the focus of the eyes both sends and receives information. In combat we must be of many minds and one mind.

Attack, defense, tactics and strategy, subterfuge and honesty must all be blended together through breath and awareness. There is a saying that the eyes do not lie but they are the first to tell us lies through assumption and analysis through our own conventions.

Start slow but do not stay there.

Have an attacker attack slowly and make ten different decisions and counters to the same attack. Repeat slightly faster and grow in speed until your decision making process is RELAXED even at higher speeds and paces.

Change the pace of the actions. Start by steeping slowly and then step fast and then slow again. Move erratically from an outside perspective so as to remove the reliance on pace from your partners. Play your own jazz with you blade and body.

Play with your face and alignment. In training most people have a good disposition as they enjoy the practice. This robs us of required variety in countenance and posture. Act mad, act afraid, act confused and embody this with your face and body posture and gestures. This will help all sides in learning to read each other and to display the many faces of being human.

In all things seek first to understand.