Keeping it straight
by Andy on Nov.10, 2006, under Aikido
Had a fantastic Aikido session last night. I’m glad I went, seeing as I’d had a very bad day at work and was tempted to go home and curl up with a pizza.
Ran through two hands from front, but the first hour was simply positioning - taking Uke to the point of throw, but not beyond. Starting slowly, and then building up speed, but never actually throwing Uke.
Far too often, Aikidoka concentrate too much on the actual throw, seeing how far Uke will fly, or how hard they can put them in the mat, or even just how well they can pin them so they don’t get up. Sometimes, as long as Uke gets to the ground, Tori is satisfied that the technique has worked. I am guilty as charged.
In a sense, the technique has ‘worked’ - Tori has successfully disabled Uke. However, that does not mean that the technique is correct.
Yesterday’s session forced us to make sure that Uke was actually at the point of throw - to the point that if you were to simply carry on the movement, Uke would fall. In effect, to the point were the finish is effortless and Uke actually throws themselves.
Five techniques - Irminage, Kaitennage, Tenchinage, Ikkyo and Shihonage. Techniques that we’ve all been ‘doing’ since yellow belt, but with a difference: by not actually applying the finish, we were more concerned with the actual technique.
The second hour was a repeat of the first, but with the finish added, and the technique performed at the correct speed. As we had concentrated keeping our posture straight, bending our knees and not our back, everyones technique was improved. I noticed my posture a lot more, and my actual technique had improved tenfold. I was able to feel Uke’s posture go and control him better as a result.
Of course, in a street situation, I would perhaps be not so concious of it - and the aim of practice is surely that: to make the technique so natural that you don’t break your posture.
