Aikido-Techniques

Doing Aikidoby Alan Drysdale, Godan

Chief Instructor, Sand Drift Aikikai

ForewordThis book is intended for students who are neither total

beginners nor advanced yudansha. Why did I write it? Because I haven’t found a book which covers the material I want our students to know. I have pulled together my thoughts on doing aikido based on almost twenty years of teaching, and seeing the same errors made time after time. Some of these errors were pointed out to me by my teachers, but most were discovered the hard way. This is of course the traditional way to practice, but it does make progress slower than it need be. Even with the best teachers, aikido is never going to be something you can learn rapidly. If you reach shodan (first degree black belt) within ten years, you are doing well.

I have made no attempt to make a definitive catalogue of techniques. I'd find it boring to do and the book would be large as you can do almost any technique, omote or ura, from any attack, and there are often many variations. The information is aimed more at refining technique than on which foot to put forward. The book does not cover basic information such as how to behave in the dojo, as this is covered by a pamphlet already published by Sand Drift Aikikai.

There are as many ways of doing aikido as there are teachers. This book is based on the way we work at Sand Drift Aikikai. We firmly believe that aikido is a martial art, a practical method of self

Doing Aikidodefense. Thus there is an emphasis on practicality and effectiveness that others may find offensive. They are welcome to their style also, however, O Sensei certainly taught a practical art. On the other hand, excessive violence will limit the scope of practice, both causing early retirement from the art and driving away students. As is often the case, the middle road is the best.

To my mind, aikido is not a religion. Nor is it mystical. There are mental and spiritual disciplines in the art, as well as physical ones. Ki is a term used to describe poorly understood, hard to communicate concepts that relate to all three aspects of aikido. All are important, but not mystical.

Aikido is for both men and women, for mature children and old people who are fit. There is no difference in the art for these different groups, though the practice will vary somewhat.

A word about political correctness: I have generally used "he" as a personal pronoun in this book. This is not intended to be a slight to women and the sexes are only two divisions of a world that is increasingly and unjustifiably represented as divided. It is still grammatically correct to use it to include both sexes.

DisclaimerAikido is physical and strenuous, like any martial art. This

book is for moderately advanced students, not for beginners. You should only practice what is described here at a reputable club under an experienced instructor.

Acknowledgments:Thanks to Anita and Doc, and all the students of aikido with

whom I've practiced over the years. Particular thanks to Kelly,

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Russ, Allen, Dart, Chris, and Karl, for being in some of the pictures, and to Anita for taking many of them.

1996, Alan Drysdale

For additional copies please send $15 per copy to:6208 Windover Way,Titusville, FL 32780

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Doing Aikido

ContentsWhat is Aikido?...............................................................................1

Attitude .......................................................................................5How to Avoid Getting into a Fight..............................................7Calmness, Alertness, Clarity........................................................8Follow the Right Way, not the easy way...................................10

Practicing.......................................................................................13Standing and Moving.................................................................15 Ukemi........................................................................................16Breathing....................................................................................22Selecting a Partner.....................................................................22Doing Techniques......................................................................23Extension....................................................................................35

Practice with a Sword....................................................................37Suburi.........................................................................................37Tanren Uchi...............................................................................40Shiho Giri ..................................................................................40Kumi Tachi................................................................................41Practicing with Two Partners.....................................................43

Attacks for Practicing Aikido........................................................45Katate Tori.................................................................................46Kata Tori....................................................................................46Ryote and Morote Tori...............................................................48Shomen Uchi..............................................................................48Yokomen Uchi...........................................................................49Tsuki..........................................................................................50Ushiro Attacks...........................................................................50Suwari Waza and Hanmi Handachi...........................................52

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Kicks..........................................................................................53Multiple Attacks.........................................................................54

Aikido Techniques.........................................................................56General Principles......................................................................56Atemi..........................................................................................62Omote and Ura...........................................................................64Ikkyo..........................................................................................64Nikkyo........................................................................................68 Sankyo.......................................................................................72Yonkyo.......................................................................................76Shihonage...................................................................................77Kote Gaeshi................................................................................81Kaiten Nage...............................................................................83Irimi Nage..................................................................................85Tenchi Nage...............................................................................88Koshi Nage.................................................................................89Kokyu Nage (Sokumen Irimi Nage)..........................................91Aiki Otoshi.................................................................................93Juji Nage....................................................................................94

Henka Waza and Kaeshi Waza......................................................96Weapons.........................................................................................99

Sword Techniques....................................................................100Jo Techniques...........................................................................101Knife Techniques.....................................................................102

Freestyle and Multiple Attacks....................................................106Teaching.......................................................................................113Moving On...................................................................................120Glossary.......................................................................................121Test Requirements.......................................................................125Contact Information.....................................................................127

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Doing AikidoIndex............................................................................................129Progressing in Aikido..................................................................130

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FiguresFigure 1. Hanmi............................................................................15Figure 2. Koho Ukemi. ...............................................................17Figure 3. Zempo Ukemi................................................................18Figure 4. Slapping Breakfall.........................................................19Figure 5. Irimi Escape .................................................................28Figure 6. Tenkan Escape...............................................................29Figure 7. Corner Step Escape........................................................30Figure 8. Shiho Giri from Left Hanmi..........................................41Figure 9. Morote Tori...................................................................48Figure 10. Omote and Ura............................................................64Figure 11. Shomen Uchi Ikkyo Omote........................................65Figure 12. Shomen Uchi Ikkyo Ura..............................................68Figure 13. Nikkyo.........................................................................70Figure 14. Sankyo Handhold........................................................72Figure 15. Sankyo Takedown.......................................................74Figure 16. Yonkyo........................................................................76Figure 17. Shihonage: Hand Hold................................................78Figure 18. Kata Tori Shihonage....................................................79Figure 19. Kote Gaeshi.................................................................82Figure 20. Kaiten Nage Omote.....................................................84Figure 21. Kaiten Nage Ura..........................................................85Figure 22. Irimi Nage....................................................................87Figure 23. Tenchi Nage: Kuzushi.................................................88Figure 24. Tenchi Nage: Kake......................................................89Figure 25. Koshi Nage..................................................................90Figure 26. Kokyu Nage.................................................................91Figure 27. Kokyu Nage from Mae Geri........................................93

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Doing AikidoFigure 28. Aiki Otoshi..................................................................94Figure 29. Juji Nage......................................................................95Figure 30. Shihonage with a Sword............................................100Figure 31. Jo Tori. .....................................................................101Figure 32. Yokomen Uchi Gokyo Omote. ................................103Figure 33. Shomen Uchi Gokyo.................................................104Figure 34. Kote Gaeshi with a knife...........................................104Figure 35. Sankyo Knife Defense...............................................105Figure 36. Two Attackers...........................................................110Figure 37. Five Attackers............................................................113

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What is Aikido?Aikido is a martial art. It also provides exercise and a good

dojo is like an extended family, but these are incidental. A martial art is a fighting art. Aikido is a form of self defense, so it is less aggressive than some, but it is still a fighting art. It is rigorous, it is physical, and it works. However, there is no competitive sparring. With sparring you have to have rules to minimize the chance of severe injuries. There are no rules in aikido.

Almost anybody can do aikido, but you should be fit and healthy because it does involve energetic movement. Great physical strength is not required, but strength is used when available. Being a “natural athlete” is unnecessary: perseverance is more critical. Mental strength and acuity are more important than physical ability. Good coordination is important.

Doing Aikido: I chose this title because aikido is a path to follow through life. It isn't a skill to learn and then use, as most of us treat driving a car. It is something that must be constantly studied, constantly improved. You will never reach the end of what there is to learn, though you might reach the end of what you individually are willing to acquire. If you think you have learned all there is in aikido, you've stopped looking. You might need to go to another school, to find a fresh perspective, but usually all you need to do is to study harder.

Aikido literally translates as the "way of harmony and spirit". This means to actively blend with an attack to counteract it. As such it is ideal for a small, less muscular person. However, muscles and muscular strength are very important in aikido. I keep finding students who have been told "don't use strength, it isn't aikido". This is wrong. Strength can be a handicap is in learning

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aikido, when a strong beginner can use muscles to throw down another beginner even with incorrect technique. Strength should not be used very much at first, but as a technique is learned, your strength should be gradually fed into the technique: just as you go easy on the accelerator while you learn to drive, then use more and more power as you progress. By the time you become a yudansha (black belt), you should be using all of your strength at least some of the time, and using it effectively but without straining.

A critical aspect of aikido is the philosophy. It is defensive. This does not mean that it is passive: far from it. But it does mean that you should not use it to cause trouble. This includes not inviting trouble so that you have the opportunity to practice your art on an unsuspecting person.

Aikido is practiced in the dojo. You practice for what you hope never happens: an attack on the street. Aikido is not the techniques that students practice in the dojo. These techniques are tools to help you understand and develop the art. Aikido is what happens when you are attacked, and you do something without thinking, and it works. It is unconscious, coming from Musashi’s"void", rather than being something you do consciously. It’s not something you think about, except in learning it.

There are many martial arts. All are worthy of respectbecause they worked for someone, somewhere. You should study other arts and other styles if only to understand how you can be attacked. You will probably also learn things that can be incorporated into your personal style. However, beware of "tricks". A martial art is a state of mind, and tricks implying easy little things that may give you an advantage in a particular situation are not the way to go. You should accumulate techniques and distill out the common elements and make an art

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What is Aikido?

out of them, an art which is robust and effective in dealing with varied attacks, including those you have never seen or imagined before.

Basic principles remain the same; applications vary.

Walker Sensei

There is only one type of human body, with two major subtypes (male and female). Because there is only one type, there is a restricted number of ways someone can attack you and, similarly, a limited number of defenses from these attacks. As a result, there are many similarities between different arts. Like the blind men and the elephant, it is a matter of focus rather than of absolute differences. If you don't like aikido, you can study one of the others. However, don't come to an aikido class unless you are ready to study aikido. Your sensei is there to teach you. He generally gets paid little or nothing to do this. Your fellow students are there to learn, not to get hurt. You owe them your best also. In exchange, you get to be part of the dojo, an organization of people dedicated to the art.

Physically, aikido is characterized by circular movement (marui). Even apparently linear techniques like ikkyo omote are circular. Very often, when beginners are having a problem with a technique, it is because they are not moving circularly. For example, in irimi nage, the head is pushed down, and often beginners have trouble getting uke to stand back up so that they can be thrown. This is because they are trying to return uke’s head along the same path, instead of making a more circular movement and returning it along a different path.

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O Sensei was deeply religious. Consequently, he imbued his aikido with religious meaning. I am not religious, so I don’t address it here. However, any martial art is more than merely physical: it includes mental and spiritual aspects. Mental aspects cover things like what to think about and what to look at while doing techniques. By spiritual, I mean everything beyond the logical mind: what makes it worth fighting to save your family, what makes a person worthwhile, what makes someone trustworthy and honest, what makes him determined to win.

Part of the practice of any martial art is to develop a resolute spirit. This is what makes the difference between a winner and a loser in martial arts or in life. Traditional schools apparently spent a great deal of time developing fortitude in their students, with rigorous training, constant discouragement, a fair amount of abuse, and exposure to unpleasant conditions. I’m not sure how much of their success was due to training and how much to weeding out the nonperformers. However, the spirit is like the mind or body. It does need to be exercised to become strong and resilient. This development will occur if the student consistently practices with determination.

Ai. So far as I understand it, “ai” means harmony in physical, mental and spiritual senses. Physically, you should not conflict with your partner’s strength, even if your partner is an attacker bent on doing you serious harm. Instead, you should blend with his movement, taking over control of his power and using it to deal with his attack. Mentally, your attitude should be similar, avoiding arguments without conceding anything important. Spiritually, you should avoid clashing also. You are the sole judge of yourself.

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What is Aikido?

Ki. There are many meanings of the word “ki” in Japanese, even restricting ourselves to the particular kanji (character) used in aikido. I like to think of it as meaning the same as the “spirit” in a “spirited” horse. Ki isn’t anything mystical, and this just reminds me that I have to be active and ahead of the game in my technique.

One thing that used to infuriate me early in my aikido career was that when I asked about how to do a technique, people would, more often than not, say something about ki. I soon learned that it meant that they didn’t know the answer, they didn’t know how better to communicate the answer or they weren’t about to share their secrets with me. There is no magic in aikido, except in Asimov’s sense of technology you don’t understand.

Do. A “do” is a way, a method of study. A martial art with “do” in its name is generally more esoteric and less practical than one with “jutsu”. Aikido can be used to develop body, mind, or spirit, or even all three. It is also a very effective method of self defense. There is no conflict here, though some people focus on one way of looking at aikido and some at other ways. It is, however, in our dojo, not acceptable for people to intentionally hurt other students, nor to practice without due consideration for the rank and physical ability of others. In the case of aikido, the study, the path, is lifelong.

Attitude Correct attitude is critical to any martial art. Your general

attitude to life and on the mat should be the same. You should be respectful of others and of yourself. Be proud of who and what you are. That means developing yourself into somebody who is

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worthwhile as well as being proud of having done so. Aikido has nothing to do with excessive use of force, and you should never look for opportunities to practice it on the street, at least not the physical side of it.

On the other hand, you should not back down even in the face of death from what you really believe. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. So is the willingness to stand up for your beliefs. Aikido is a martial art. It is designed to be functional, to be an effective art in the event of a physical attack. If you work to understand it, it will be functional. Occasionally, we hear about people who say aikido doesn't work. They are wrong. They have never learned to make it work. The failure is in them, not in the art.

However, there are no guarantees in this world. Even death may be conquered one day, and you can avoid taxes by not earning enough to pay them. Aikido is effective, but there are situations from which it is unrealistic to expect to emerge unscathed or even alive. If somebody intends to kill you with a gun, you are likely to die. If a dozen people attack you with knives and sticks, you are likely to die. But in more probable situations such as a street fight, aikido will make the difference between life and death.

Always be ready. You will need aikido when you least expect it. If somebody jumps out of a doorway to attack you, your response should be both immediate and decisive: perhaps to stiff arm them away or backfist them in the face, depending on the positioning. It should definitely never be to shrink away or give a startled jump. Musashi said "never die with one sword sheathed". By this, he meant to use all you have to succeed. This is the correct attitude, and it has applications well beyond physical confrontations.

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What is Aikido?

The best practice for being ready in the street is to always be ready on the mat. I often see people practicing kokyu ho by shuffling together, and uke takes hold of nage, and lets him throw them down. There is no intent on either side. Instead, practice always being ready, with the arms extended. When two students come together to practice, always watch how they approach each other. Ideally, nage should give just enough of an opening to invite uke's attack at a time and in a manner of nage's choosing. Neither should be lackadaisical about the practice.

One often hears talk about not trying to win, how there is no winning or losing in martial arts. This is overstating the case. There is no competition in aikido. There are no contests to see who can win a cup. However, succeeding, achieving your goals no matter what stands in your way, is what martial arts are about. Just be sure that what you are fighting for is worth dying for. Having said this, excessive concern for winning at little things can get in the way of progress in the dojo. A little competitive spirit between people at the same level to see who can progress fastest is perhaps good, but it can be carried too far. Everybody progresses at his own pace, and basic technique forms the foundation for advanced technique. What should be avoided in martial arts is thinking in terms of winning or losing, rather than succeeding in your aim. As Musashi says, always think of cutting the opponent not of particular strikes and defenses.

How to Avoid Getting into a FightFights generally come about because people want to fight.

Two people frustrated with life rub up against each other and create sparks. If no damage was done, that would be fine. They'd just get some exercise and blow off some steam, and settle down

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again. Unfortunately, once we get past early childhood, fights get serious. People try to hurt or even kill each other. Then you need to find a better way of settling a dispute.

There is always a risk of serious injury in a fight. No matter how skilled you are, there is an element of chance involved. You might trip on a stone, break your ankle, and loose the fight as a result. You might get into it with someone more skilled than you are. You might very well have misjudged how well you can handle a physical conflict, particularly after a few beers: if it gets to the point of a physical confrontation over a trivial matter, you have certainly misjudged something. Few things are worth fighting about.

On the other hand, there are things which it is your moral duty to fight for. There is no doubt in most people's minds that they should fight to protect their family, for example. I would agree wholeheartedly there. But what about overwhelming odds? You should be ready, willing, and able to die for what you believe. However, in some circumstances it might be better not to fight, even though you want to. You must decide what your goals are, and your ego should never come into the decision, and you should go for those goals. You may have to decide quickly, so be sure of your priorities.

Calmness, Alertness, ClarityFights happen when people get angry at their opponent, at the

world, or at themselves, and lose control. This is wrong: don't let yourself get out of control. Anger can be used as a tool, to get more out of yourself, to spur you on to success. It can be used to overwhelm an opponent even before anything physical happens, but it should never be allowed to control you.

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What is Aikido?

You should stay calm, in a state of mushin (empty mind). This can be difficult when you are being provoked, but you must choose the time and place for a conflict. The first step towards defeat is to let your opponent make these decisions. Mushin is not blankness, rather it is a state where you see what is going on and respond appropriately without thinking about the details. A fog of anger can easily prevent you seeing what is going on, then you can be surprised from behind.

You should remain alert, always. If you get careless, a car could hit you, or you could trip on a curb and get beaten as a result.

See what is really there. It is easy to be mislead. Madison Avenue and the entire political structure of the United States works by misleading. You have to look beyond the obvious. You might still be mislead, but not as easily.

As a corollary to this, do not let your mind get attached to events. Attachment can also blind you. We have a tendency in the West to live in the past or the future instead of the present. We throw somebody, then worry about what we did wrong as we try to throw the next one. Or we think about how we will throw the next person before we are faced with him. Attachment because of too much focus can be as bad as attachment because of anger. Even as you do a technique, leave part of your mind free to see what is happening elsewhere. Engage and throw one attacker then let him go in your mind as well as with your hands so that you can pay attention to the current problem.

Similarly, when you are faced with an attacker, don’t let his eyes or his weapon capture your mind. Don't even look at his face. Allow your eyes to watch the whole of him, and everything else around also. Observe the movement of his hands, but don't focus exclusively on them. Usually, an attack will be signaled by a

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movement of the body, though he will probably try not to telegraph it. Maybe the hip moves. Maybe the foot.

Conversely, train yourself not to telegraph what you are about to do. Certainly do not pull back a fist before striking. Do not make extra arm movements to "set uke up". Just make the appropriate movement: no warning, just move. If you are relaxed, you are more able to move without warning than if you are tense. If you are tense, an opponent can see you relax, and knows you are about to move.

Follow the Right Way, not the easy wayIt is easy to follow the crowd. It is easy to do what feels good

at the moment. Indeed, don't avoid doing these things just because you feel inclined to do them. But there comes a point where the easy way becomes the wrong way. If you keep doing the easy thing past this point, you will pay the price later.

In aikido, the price is stagnation. You will stop progressing, and may even go the other way. At some point, your sensei will have taught you all he knows. Then you need to pick up the responsibility and figure out how to move on. I certainly expect my students to learn all I have to teach and to move on further, then pass the baton to their students.

Generally it is laziness that stops people practicing, but you can also overdo training. You can be too rigorous, and hurt yourself and have to stop practicing. You can hurt your partner, and end up without an uke. You won't progress that way either.

How do you find the right way? Your sensei has to show you at first. Until you gain an understanding of your own, do what he says, do what he does, and copy it as accurately as you are able, always wondering why he does it that way. Gradually, you will

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What is Aikido?

begin to see the way for yourself. By the time you reach your shodan, you should have an idea where the path is, but always keep looking for new ideas and levels of understanding.

This assumes that you have a good sensei. There are some people out there teaching who do not have the wellbeing of their students in mind. Generally you can tell by watching how they treat their students and by how many injuries the students have. You should choose a sensei carefully. Once you do choose one, trust him. You might still find that, as you progress, you no longer agree with him. You might have different ideas of how to live your lives. Then you have to either find another sensei or branch out on your own. The only guidance I can give you is to be consistent and rigorous. Don't make compromises. Either resolve differences of opinion, or look somewhere else.

When I say this, I don't mean disagreements over little things. For example, there is plenty of room for doing techniques different ways. What I mean is that if you are in a dojo being run by somebody whom you do not wholeheartedly admire, you are in the wrong place.

All too often, people choose the easy way out of laziness. This is fatal to the art. Often, the reason people don't like a particular technique is that they can't do that technique, or can't take that ukemi. If anything, study these techniques harder. You don't learn much by practicing what you already do well. You do learn by understanding why you don't like a technique and how to make it work. If you really feel a technique is ineffective, figure out why, and how to make it effective.

There is no fast way to “learn” aikido. All the teachers, books, and video tapes in the world can only point out the way. It up to

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the individual student to progress, and the only way is to practice, continually practice.

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PracticingAlways be ready. I can’t say this often enough, or stress it too

much. Practice always being ready, both mentally and physically. Practice it on the mat, practice at home, practice at work, practice on the street. Most people who are attacked are surprised they didn’t pay attention until it was too late.

Always maintain the extension of your arms, especially the leading one. Keep it in uke's face, so that uke has to push it aside to get in close enough to attack. If you are being harassed in a bar, and your opponent keeps coming closer and closer, so that he can sucker punch you, hold out your hand and say, "Please stay away," or some similar words. Then he has to brush your arm aside or grab it to attack you. Either of those attacks are quite familiar by the time you have practiced for a year, and will give easy openings for application of techniques.

Always maintain the triangle stance, with one foot forward, and maybe thirty percent of the weight on it. Don't take too wide a stance: at most one and a half shoulder widths between your feet. Then you can move rapidly in any direction. Especially when you do koshi nage, don't exceed this distance. Otherwise, uke might fall on your leg and hurt your knee. For koshi nage you can even put your feet side by side. You can exceed two shoulder widths to perform some other throws, but regain the correct stance as soon as uke is thrown.

Being uke is as hard as being nage, and without a good uke little progress can be made. Uke should be neither too easy nor too hard to throw. Uke should flow with the technique, neither going too soon nor hanging back. Either extreme is frustrating to nage and, as you progress, dangerous to uke.

PracticingAttack meaningfully. Don't give a sloppy attack: put some

intent into it, focusing on the required attack not on what other attacks you could do, but don’t over commit either. You can slow down for a nage who isn't ready for a full bore attack indeed, you should, but never attack without aiming at the target. With a punch, the target is generally the center of the belly, where a mistake will just wind nage without doing permanent damage. Aim to drive through the target. Snapping a punch short makes the attack irrelevant. With a grab, catch hold as if you mean to hold nage.

Practice your attacks. If you are punching, practice delivering punches. Each punch should be a clean, powerful, focused strike. If you miss, such as if nage steps aside, you should end up on balance. A few weeks practicing with a karate class will improve most people’s punches.

Be a good actor. When you slow down for nage's benefit, don't cheat. Sure, you could change the target. Sure you could change your balance to stop that beginner from throwing you. But who benefits? Certainly not the beginner. Not even you as uke. It's a cheap boost to the ego and a bad habit that will lose you friends and mislead you in learning about aikido.

Don’t hurry. Beginners soon find that if they rush through a technique it will work better against another beginner. However, rushing a technique prevents you from studying how to make it better. If you learn to rush techniques in the dojo, you will go so fast in the street, with adrenaline pumping, that you will be totally ineffective. There is no danger that somebody you meet in the street will be able to reverse techniques on you because you do them slowly and correctly unless they have studied aikido, but

Practicingthere is a serious danger that you will fumble and loose the technique.

Take care of your body, it’s the only one you get. It is important to be able to work through pain, even the pain of a

severe injury, but you don’t have to do so all the time. Injuries are made worse by working through the pain. If you get hurt, take time off the mat for full recovery. Don’t get too eager to do wild ukemi. Build up to them. Otherwise you might end up permanently hurt and unable to continue practicing.

Standing and MovingThe basic posture of aikido is hanmi (halfopen stance) as

shown in Figure 1. You should always come back to this posture, either left or right handed. Stand upright, with your knees slightly bent and your feet one and a quarter shoulder widths apart. Have one foot in front of the other, toes facing forward. The rear foot should be crosswise, carrying seventy percent of the weight. Extend the arms. If uke faces you the same way, with the same foot forward, you are in ai hanmi. If he has the other foot forward (mirror image), you are in gyaku hanmi.

The exact angle of the feet varies from sensei to sensei and from time to time. Shioda Sensei shows the front foot rotated slightly out (towards the little toe). At least one picture of O Sensei shows the front foot rotated slightly in. However, you should be comfortable and on balance.

Figure 1. HanmiYou should be in balance with 70% of the weight on the back foot.

PracticingFrom hanmi, you can freely advance, retreat, move to the side,

or turn. If the stance is too wide, you will only be able to move one foot freely (at best), and are effectively tied down. If the stance is too narrow, you’ll trip over your own feet. However you move, even after ukemi, always end in hanmi.

To move, you can step normally, left right (ayumi ashi), or, to maintain the same hanmi, move without crossing your feet (tsugi ashi). To turn, pivot on the balls of the feet (instead of the heels). As you move, keep your feet in touch with the ground. They should skim the mat without catching on obstacles. However, the mat is generally flat and easy to move on. You should also practice moving outside, on grass, rough ground, sand: wherever you are, practice moving smoothly, always knowing where your feet are without having to watch your feet.

UkemiEverything uke does to prevent being hurt is ukemi, whether it

is a roll, a slap to the mat, or just lowering yourself gracefully to the mat from ikkyo. (If you doubt the last example, consider the effect of your face suddenly meeting the pavement.) Even protecting your face when nage makes an atemi is part of ukemi. Ukemi does not end when you hit the mat. After any roll, you should end up back on your feet facing where you were thrown from. Not only is this easier on your back, but it prepares you for the next attack. You should be like a ball, bouncing off the mat, rather than like a sack plopping down.

Ukemi is a set of techniques that must be learned and constantly practiced. Otherwise, like any other technique, you will gradually lose your skill. Practice them small and slow at first, starting from crouching low. As you progress, build up to where

Practicingyou can throw yourself down from a standing position and end in a smooth roll back to your feet, in hanmi. Generally we start with backward rolls (koho ukemi). These will remain useful for as long as you do aikido.

There are two ways to start a back roll. In the first, put one foot diagonally behind you, instep down, as shown in Figure 2. In the second, you put a foot directly back, sole down. I find the latter one awkward, but it may be better if you have an injured knee. Whichever way you start, you should contact the floor gradually, rather than thumping down on your tailbone. Roll diagonally from the back leg, to that hip, across the back, and off the other shoulder. This avoids banging the head on the mat and hurting the neck. The roll should be comfortable. Practice until you can throw yourself backwards and roll right back to your feet. If you are bouncing from corner to corner of your body you are doing it wrong. Your body should be smoothly curved, so that there are no corners to hurt. Imagine rolling a brick along the ground. It is the corners that get damaged.

I often see people falling back and ending flat on the mat. This is dangerous: if you are thrown hard and don't roll, you will get hurt. Besides, somebody could land on top of you. Complete the roll so that you end up standing in hanmi. Rocking backwards and forwards is less dangerous than landing flat, assuming that you are able to roll all the way over if thrown hard, but it is a bad habit to get into. If somebody throws you down and you rock back to

Figure 2. Koho Ukemi. Uke should roll smoothly to the mat and back into hanmi

Practicingyour feet, you would be rolling right back at him and he'd kick you into the middle of next week.

Forward rolls (zempo ukemi) are just like backward rolls in reverse. As is shown in Figure 3, extend an arm in a curve, thumb back, elbow forward. Roll from the hand to the

elbow, to the shoulder, then to the back, hip, and back onto your feet while rotating to face nage. The main problem students have is not keeping the arm extended. As it collapses, there is a risk that you will hurt your shoulder. Use both hands initially if you have to, and do lots of pushups to strengthen your arms. Again, you should initially practice from crouching, gradually building up to a standing position. Work up to jumping over somebody kneeling on the mat, and roll out of the fall back into hanmi. One person is easy. Two should be within the ability of anybody by the time they have been practicing a couple of years. Also practice jumping over somebody standing bent at the waist and rolling back to your feet. Extension is even more critical when you do this.

Slapping breakfalls are useful when nage does not let go for uke to roll, or when the technique would end in an awkward fall. Generally, nage is holding one arm and uke rotates to slap the matwith the other. The slap should be given with the palm down and the arm relaxed. The harder you hit the mat with your arm, the less hard your body will hit. To learn to slap hard, lie on the mat and roll from side to side slapping the mat. Your arm should be about 45° to the body and should slap limply like a hose.

For the fall, practice by squatting down and extending one leg in front so that you fall back and to the side, slapping as you hit the

Figure 3. Zempo UkemiMake sure the arm does not collapse as you roll.

Practicingmat. Always exhale as you hit the mat. Practice with less and less squat until you can do the ukemi from a standing position, then you are ready to practice with a partner.

Once you are reasonably competent at this fall, have your partner help you. First of all, grasp his gi lapel as he holds your arm. Throw your feet into the air, and slap as you hit the mat. Your partner should bend slightly to let you land on your back without too much of a thump. Next, hold your partners arm in a “Roman handshake” (where both of you clasp each other’s forearm). Let yourself fall over his arm and slap as you hit the mat (see Figure 4). Finally, have your partner throw you in kote gaeshi. The fall should feel just like the one from the handshake.

Shihonage may be done as a throw or a takedown. It is important to learn the shihonage breakfall, if only for visiting other dojos or at seminars. Generally, if nage does the technique correctly, uke can always take an easy backwards ukemi. However, if nage throws hard, particularly if the final cut is in the wrong direction, uke risks a broken elbow unless he goes “over the top” and does a more spectacular ukemi ending with a slapping breakfall.

The two keys to this ukemi are not waiting until too late and for uke to take his head to the hand nage is holding. Taking the hand to the head is not the same, as uke is holding the hand. Consequently, taking the hand to the head is felt as resistance, and nage cranks the technique on harder.

Figure 4. Slapping BreakfallWind up and slap hard with a relaxed arm as you breathe out

PracticingLearn to love taking ukemi. This means that you should work

to make the falls smooth and clean. It means that you should practice until the falls are fun to take. However, taking falls on a hard surface can be a bruising business, unless you are well padded. Work up to it from a dojo mat by using a carpeted floor, then wood. Dirt is quite forgiving, unless it is packed hard or is stony.

Be generous in taking ukemi. Even when you are working with somebody who you can stop every time, give an honest attack and when they make the right moves go with it. Let them throw you. It isn't uke's job to correct nage: that’s sensei's job. Only help people when they are hopelessly lost, when they don't know which way to move, or when you are in danger of being hurt. Far too many high kyu and low dan ranks spend their time with lower rank people in teaching them "their" way. This irritates both nage and sensei. If their way was superior to sensei’s way, they would be teaching the class.

Timing is very important to performing ukemi correctly. If you fly go too soon even if you are bailing out of a potentially dangerous situation, nage will feel cheated and will in fact not be developing the right feel for the technique. On the other hand (and this is commoner) if you hang back too long, not only will it be harder for nage to do a clean crisp technique, but you are risking injury. You’ll land harder. Nage might continue the pressure a little too long and grind you into the mat. Most importantly, little injuries will accumulate. You will develop chronic pain, particularly in the elbow and wrist. This is no benefit to either you or to uke.

Resistance is commoner with male students, particularly when working with children or women. Uke should flow with the

Practicingtechnique. Flow in the right direction as well as at the right time. If uke decides to fall in one direction and nage throws him in another, uke will probably get hurt. This is particularly likely with shihonage. Good ukemi is going with the technique, without thinking.

Sometimes people object that if uke doesn't give “realistic” resistance, in a real situation the techniques will not work. However, this is generally wrong and misguided. Nage develops strong technique by frequent successful repetition, not by being stymied again and again and forced to resort to tricks to succeed in completing the technique. There is a difference between a forceful attack and muffling the performance of a technique. Successful application in the street depends more on escaping the attack and taking the balance than on muscular power. The whole point of martial arts is to substitute technique for strength and numbers. You may depend on force in the street, where the goal is to win rather than to learn, but you are not using aikido when you do so.

Ukemi is much the same for practicing oneonone and multiple attacks. However, with multiple attacks, uke must be as much aware of the situation as nage. I often see ukes in multiple attack situations not paying attention to what is going on. They are the ones who will be hurt if another uke is thrown close to them. Even oneonone, both ukes and nages must always be aware of what is going on around them, as there are usually other people on the mat.

Good ukemi is crucial for development in aikido. Until uke is competent enough at ukemi to be confident about not getting hurt, progress will be slow. Once uke has developed good ukemi, practice becomes far more enjoyable for both uke and nage. It is

Practicingas much fun being thrown halfway across the mat and taking a clean roll back onto your feet as it is to make the throw.

Ukemi is also the key to counter techniques and to changing techniques (henka waza and kaeshi waza). Once you can flow with the technique, you can change it, either taking over as nage, or, as nage, flowing from one technique into another. Without good ukemi, you will never become a good aikidoka. Being a good uke is as hard as being a good nage.

BreathingIt is a good idea to keep breathing. Seriously, breathe out

when you push, when you exert yourself. Martial arts have traditionally placed a great deal of emphasis on breathing techniques, particularly on learning how to breathe from the hara(center). This was probably to give new people something to do while the sensei checked them out. However, it is important to keep control of your mind, and breathing might help this.

At Sand Drift, we don't place as much emphasis on breathing. Breathe constantly to avoid building up an oxygen debt: breathing out when you exert yourself, breathing out when you hit the mat. Often people breathe too fast. Breathe slowly and deeply.

Selecting a PartnerTry to work with everybody in the dojo before you work twice

with any one person. It may be most fun to work with one or two students, but the others have something to teach you also, probably more. It is common for people approaching shodan to avoid working with beginners. However, beginners have responses more like what you will find on the street: awkward, unpredictable, and

Practicingnervous. Study how they react. Study the ways they find to turn out of the techniques, and see if you know that counter and if it is safe to do. Study how to not let them escape, without using undue strength or speed. If you have their balance and keep it, they won't be able to wriggle out of the technique.

People come in all sizes. Learn how people with different physiques work. Learn how people with different mindsets think. Learn how to apply technique to them all. Some techniques are hard to do against tall people. Some are hard to do against strong people. Some are hard to do against bullheaded people. However, all techniques work against most combinations of people in the dojo. A great leveler for height is that to attack you, uke has to reach you. This is what makes hanmi handachi work. Even if you decide never to use a particular technique in the street, practice it in the dojo. You might just happen to need it, and it will improve the breadth and depth of your training.

You should learn to judge people’s ability by how they move. Not only will this awareness warn you to be careful with somebody, or to be careful of them, but you will be able to judge how they will attack by how they move. Colored belts also give an indication of ability, but will inhibit your learning how to see what a new person can do. This awareness should extend to the technique itself. You should be able to feel how good a technician your partner is, to know whether he is going to slam you into the mat or whether you need to be careful with him.

Doing TechniquesA technique starts before contact is made, and finishes after

contact is broken. This is particularly important with freestyle, but should be considered even with very basic static technique. As

Practicingsoon as uke is seen and recognized as a potential threat, you should be tracking what he is doing, without seeming to. As he approaches ma ai, position yourself suitably. In freestyle, for example, start moving in a way that will draw him into your area of control. After you have thrown him, continue monitoring uke as long as you can see him. In particular, keep track of him while you move to a safer distance, outside of ma ai.

There are a variety of ways to do even basic technique. Most techniques are learned statically. This is similar to kata in karate or uchikomi in judo. There is a tendency for students to think that uke is controlling the situation, but even at this time, even with static technique, nage should learn to control what is happening, not uke. This control is still done by position and timing, even though nage’s options are more limited. For example, you can position your hand to affect where uke’s power goes. For shomen uchi ikkyo omote, if uke attacks with the right hand, you want to deflect his hand to your right. For shihonage, conversely, you want to deflect it to your left.

With nage already moving when uke grabs hold, it is easier for nage to control uke, so long as nage’s movement is in the right direction considering the technique, uke’s angle of approach, and uke and nage’s respective energies. Eventually, nage can move so well that it seems as if uke barely touches him and is spun off effortlessly what Saito Sensei calls “ki” techniques. This level of proficiency is the goal of most aikidoka. However, it can be an elusive goal. You must develop a sound foundation by doing basic

Parts of a Technique• Escape the attack• Take the balance• Throw or hold down• Zanshin

Practicingtechnique, first static, then moving. Too much practice of advanced technique will undermine your basic technique and you must always be ready for an uke who does not blend well, or in case you make a mistake.

There are four parts to a technique: the initial defense or evasion, taking the balance, the actual technique, and zanshin. Always practice each of these in the way the sensei is doing them on that day. You can't learn everything at once, so focus on the broad picture first, but as you become better, copy the smallest details.

Evasion. Everything happens when uke invades your space, coming within ma ai. If he stays outside (recognizing that ma ai can be a long way, say with a gun), he is no threat. He enters ma ai, strikes or grabs, and the technique starts as you evade the attack. In aikido, we don't normally block the attack. Especially with a powerful attack from a bigger opponent, a direct block can be dangerous and ineffective, only setting you up for the next shot. If he is swinging a club at your head and you put an arm in the way to block it, you will most likely get a broken arm. If you deflect the blow, then at least its force goes somewhere else. If you direct that force so that it works against him, you are doing aikido.

Generally, particularly on the street, an aggressor will only attack when he sees an opening. This is called suki in Japanese. (Tsuki, which sounds similar, is a punch, and is written with a different kanji.) If you provide no opening for an attack, they will not usually attack. This is the difference between a martial artist and most people on the street. A martial artist should not be open to an easy attack. Once a confrontation does occur, by providing a suki you can to some extent determine how the attacker will attack.

PracticingHold your hands high, and he will usually attack low. Guard low, and he will attack high. You should practice this in the dojo, giving uke an opportunity to attack in the way you want him to attack but not providing an opening for other attacks.

Your evasion consists of getting outside of the target zone. The target zone is where uke expects you to be, the place he is aiming for, when he attacks. It has limits in physical dimensions and in time. A punch, for example, is only effective in a volume of space about twice as big as the fist itself. Outside this zone, the power delivered falls off rapidly. Once you get offline to where the fist misses laterally, the power falls to zero. The power is also focused in distance from uke, particularly with a more practiced uke who will snap the punch. If you move closer to uke than he expects, the snap hasn’t had time to be executed, and the punch becomes a shove. Beyond the target zone, uke stops his extension so that he doesn’t fall over, and again the power disappears.

The same principles apply when uke’s attack is a grab: there is still a target zone. However, you don’t have to break away from uke’s grip, although this is often done. A change in body position is usually sufficient to evade the grab, and many techniques can be done while uke is still holding on. With a grab, you want uke to lose power, and possibly to lead him to where he loses his balance. Moving his grip outside the target zone accomplishes this.

You want uke to know where you will be when he unleashes the attack, and you want him to think you’ll still be there when it arrives. Once a punch is released, and this is true to an extent with any other attack, uke cannot appreciably redirect it. That is when you move: after the release is triggered but before it arrives. This is also an aspect of suki, which is an interval of time as well as a physical opening. (See also ma ai, Page 52). This is like duck

Practicingshooting. If you aim directly at a flying duck, rather than leading it, you will miss. This timing puts a big premium on seeing when and how uke will attack. You can generally see this by watching uke’s movements. However, if you allow uke to move within ma ai without forcing him to commit himself, he will be able to strike without you having time to do anything effective. Always keep uke at ma ai unless you are actually doing technique. If uke movesinside ma ai and has not released the attack you must either move back, which is generally a poor tactic, or you must move in and do a technique. In the street, you might have legal problems if you make the first physical contact. The law may not recognize that approaching within ma ai is just as much an aggressive move as a swing at the head. However, if you put up a hand and ask him to stay back, he has to either grab that hand or knock it aside to continue the attack. In either case, he has then initiated the attack.

There are few evasive movements to learn in aikido, the most important being irimi, tenkan, and corner step. These defenses apply to all attacks. They are primarily hip movements. The accompanying arm movements are less important and may, in some cases, be omitted entirely. However, the arm movements should also be practiced to provide an extra dimension of safety. Irimi is perhaps most characteristic of aikido. It is an entering movement. As uke is attacking, an entering movement provides the most rapid change of position of nage relative to uke. You go into shikaku, behind uke, as he attacks. Timing is critical in aikido, but especially in irimi. Don't move too soon, or he will retarget his attack. Don’t move too late, or he'll hit you. An irimi escape should be in the same breath as uke's attack. It is not a reaction, it is a simultaneous movement. Another name for irimi was “yamabikonomichi”, the path of an echo. The idea was that

Practicingas you extend ki, the ki of your opponent will come back like an echo.

Saito Sensei quotes an old poem describing irimi:

Brandishing his swordMy enemy in frontPrepares to attack,

But behind him,I am already standing

The footwork for an irimi entrance is shown in Figure 5. With an irimi entrance you can pass either in front of uke or behind him. It can be performed with nage facing uke or he can be facing away. The most common form is with nage moving behind uke, facing his back. Nage should be close to uke after an irimi entrance, close enough to do technique and close enough to suppress another attack.

Figure 5. Irimi Escape As uke attacks with a left hand front punch, slip behind his back. Nage should move so closely into uke’s rear that uke has no room for a strong attack.

Uke’s footprint

Nage’s footprint

PracticingTo practice the timing for irimi escapes, both uke and nage use

a sword. Usually this practice is done with a bokken (wooden sword), but there is a lot to be said for using a shinai (bamboo sword). Then you can try harder to hit your opponent with less concern for the consequences. If you do hit him, it will hurt but you won't kill him. Whatever you use, the strikes should be serious. It is easy to give a halfhearted strike, and as nage moves, to change your movement and hit him. Then nobody learns, unless nage learns that his techniques don't work and that you are not a good uke. Facing each other at ma ai, sword tips together, both uke and nage lift up their swords together. Both strike together. Nage moves in and to one side, so that while nage could hit uke, uke strikes empty air where nage was. Clearly, if the move is too soon, uke will have time to retarget and hit nage, just as with a punch.

PracticingA tenkan defense is similar to irimi, but with a turn so that

nage goes from facing uke to having his back to him as shown in Figure 6. The back foot moves first. This rotational movement

makes it harder for nage to be hit solidly, and provides impetus to a technique such as kote gaeshi. Again, it can be in front or behind uke, and the rotation can be in either direction. However, it is usually done behind uke while rotating to mesh with uke's movement.

A tenkan movement is characteristic of kote gaeshi. You blend with uke's movement, escaping, taking the balance, and throwing. Your body rotation tends to brush off a blow, and in free style it lets you see who is close enough to attack.

A corner step (Figure 7) is a movement back out of range and to the side of an attack. It is the commonest defense used against

yokomen uchi, but is also good against tsuki. In either case, the strike is knocked down and uke’s power is redirected. If nage took

Figure 6. Tenkan EscapeAs uke attacks with a left hand front punch, turn and slip behind him, back to back. Move in far enough to be behind him, and turn the head to face the same way as he is facing.

Nage’s footprint

Uke’s footprint

Practicinga step directly backwards, uke would follow. Instead, a step back and to the side allows you to get out of range and upsets uke's plan of attack if done with the right timing.

Don’t move your feet first, move from the hips. Don’t adjust your feet before moving, or uke will know you are getting ready to move. Pull the hips back and rotate them offline, then put the front foot behind and drag the new front foot into alignment. The final position should be 45 degrees off the line of uke’s attack, and bring you almost back to ma ai. From here, you can strike down the attack, but are out of range of uke’s next strike. If you turn too much, you will come in range of uke’s other arm or foot and will get hit.

As for any attack, don’t reach out to get uke, or you will be exposing yourself to

Figure 7. Corner Step EscapeAs uke attacks with a left front punch, withdraw the hips in a turning movementwhile stepping the front foot behind the body and pulling the new front foot into alignment, going from left hanmi to right hanmi. Don’t signal to uke what you are doing by adjusting the foot. Just pull the hip back out of the way, offline and out of range.

Practicingother attacks. Ideally, the only opportunity uke should see is the one you want him to see, and only when you want him to see it. This is the idea behind the often exaggerated movement used to get uke to attack in mune tsuki, when nage steps forward sticking the stomach out. Similarly, if you are practicing tsuki, don’t make it hard for uke to reach you. You want uke to think he has an easy shot at you. You want him to only see that opening. However, the movement should be too subtle for uke to notice consciously.

Like ukemi, evasions tend to be neglected. They don't result in the immediate satisfaction of smacking uke down hard on the mat, but they are the most important part of a technique. A clean evasion provides the foundation for the next part of the technique.

Taking the Balance. This is the second part of any technique, after the evasion. Kuzushi, or taking the balance, tends to be emphasized less in aikido than in judo, but is no less important. Even an immobilization like nikkyo, which seems to depend on pain, is mostly dependent on balance. If nage fails to get uke's balance, uke can resist nikkyo quite strongly. It might hurt, but will probably not cause an immediate submission. You might still make it work, but it will take more effort and time that you wouldn’t have in a real conflict.

Uke is out of balance when the head or hips are outside the area delineated by the feet. If the nose is in front of the toes, uke can be readily thrown forward. If the head is moved behind the heels, uke can be thrown backwards. Uke can be off balance in any direction, but only certain techniques can be done from any particular direction. Balance is best felt rather than seen. An excellent practice is to do technique with the eyes closed. (Uke must then look out for other people on the mat.) As you progress,

Practicingyou will be able to feel both your own and uke’s balance. As you improve, you will feel more secure despite being unable to see and the initial uncertainty of your own balance will disappear.

A note of caution to nage: if nage's head is out of these same limits, nage can easily be thrown. It is quite common to see tenchi nage being completed with nage’s head well forward of his front foot. If uke holds on to nage as he is thrown, he can then throw nage. Similarly, in shihonage, if the head is back, uke can pull nage backwards and prevent completion of the technique. Nage should keep his balance even while he is taking uke’s. When you feel offcenter, relax your legs, resettle your hips, and do the technique from your hara.

It is very difficult to take uke’s balance unless he is moving. Thus, if uke strikes, try not to block the blow, but redirect it instead. Static technique can be quite a challenge because of this. Generally, nage makes a large movement, getting uke to make a small movement in response and starting to take uke’s balance. Nage then transfers some of his momentum to uke, speeding him up and completing kuzushi. Finally, nage plants himself and accelerates uke still more to apply the technique.

Balance also has a mental component. A sharp atemi will momentarily distract uke. Once you take his mind, you can more easily disturb him physically. However, do not fall into the trap of thinking only of the mental side. Taking the mind is only part of a technique.

Once you have uke's balance, you have his strength. You should keep it rather than having to go back and take it again. You can easily give uke back his balance by poor technique. For example, with irimi nage if you take the head back along the same trajectory you took it down to take the balance, you will be putting

Practicinguke back on balance. Instead, go back along a different route. Even if you move correctly, you can still let uke regain his balance by insufficient extension.

There is a mindset that seems to think that is it wimpy to take ukemi, that you should stick it out for as long as possible. The most obvious way an uke can do this is to not let nage take his balance. This is not a good way to practice for several reasons. It makes life unduly difficult for new students, it causes injuries, and it makes it hard to practice kaeshi or henka waza. Small injuries caused by excessive resistance will accumulate. Even if you feel you can take it, they will build up and you will get more serious repetitive motion injuries. If you can’t get the balance of a particular uke, ask yourself why not.

Kake: General Principles. The third part of a technique is actually performing the throw or immobilization. This is the least important part, provided the evasion and kuzushi have been done correctly, though almost everybody pays the most attention to it. Perhaps this is because it is hard to go into a lot of detail on evasion and kuzushi. True to this tradition, most of this book addresses the execution of technique.

There are certain principles that apply to any aikido technique. Aikido is circular, involving momentum transfer from nage to uke, as well as control of uke’s movement. Throwing just involves extending uke to the point where he has to fall down. This is quite powerful enough, especially on concrete, without nage worrying about throwing uke hard. Nage might throw uke to the ground and move back out of range of a subsequent attack, or he could follow uke to the floor and apply an immobilization.

PracticingImmobilizations are quite similar to throws except that uke

falls less spectacularly, but once uke is on the ground nage must maintain control. To do so, he must keep his own balance and stay close to uke. Uke has an advantage when he is on the ground in that he can push off the ground, while nage generally has to push down, using his weight. Nage must negate uke’s advantage by keeping uke in an awkward or painful position. Generally, nage should push across uke’s power, rather than pushing directly against it.

Zanshin. This is nage’s attitude after the end of the technique: a slight pause at the end of the technique, whether a strike with a sword or a throw. As you complete the technique, your posture and mental and physical balance must be correct, so that uke cannot pull you over, even if he holds on. (If this happens, don’t resist, just fall on uke. In the street, use your knees.) You should check that they are correct before going on to the next technique. To test zanshin, nage should hold his position at the end of the technique. Uke should then, using very light pressure with the fingertips, push nage to see if he is on balance.

Zanshin is most important in oneonone practice, and you should take time to think about the technique just completed before you get ready for the next one. When you are ready, focus all your attention on the next technique, without thinking any longer about how well (or how badly) you did the last one.

As always, you must be aware of what is happening around you. Don’t just turn away from uke after executing a technique. Keep ready for another attack from uke or from another attacker. If you have thrown uke at your feet, move out of range of him. If you have immobilized him, after releasing him, move back out of

Practicingrange. If you have taken a weapon from him, but are going to keep practicing, hand the weapon back without giving an opening as you do so.

Do not overdo zanshin. Turning too quickly from one uke to the next will result in incomplete and ineffective techniques during multiple attacks, but turning too late will result in you not being ready for the next attack when it comes. Zanshin can almost disappear in multiple attacks, but you must still complete each technique before going to the next.

ExtensionThe use of extension is characteristic of aikido. Almost

always, nage is pushing outwards. Almost always, uke is extended beyond where he can control his balance, so that his power is reduced. When extension is lost, nage loses power, uke gains power, and success is compromised.

The idea of extension is hard to explain. Full extension generally means that nage is doing technique at the edge of his sphere of influence, making uke move faster than nage does. It means that uke is extended so that when nage moves, he has to move too. If there is slack between uke and nage, so that nage has to move a couple of inches before he moves uke, his techniques will be ineffective.

The “unbendable arm”, where nage extends his power through the tips of his fingers, is often taught as an example of extension. However, there is much more to extension than this. To practice extension, perform techniques using movement only, without the atemi and pressure points that make aikido techniques effective: rely on uke to hold on. Most techniques can be done in this way if nage understands the technique well enough. Uke must make

Practicingcommitted attacks but, more importantly, nage must draw uke out and maintain this extension, using it to control uke until he has to fall down. Once you understand how to do this, start working up to the normal techniques, and they will work better.

Practice with a SwordDifferent martial arts stress different aspects of conflict.

Aikido comes from the sword. The stress in aiki ken is on strong cuts, the powerful cuts necessary to cut through armor and bones on the battlefield, in order to develop strong hip movement for aikido techniques. Conversely, sport kendo uses short snappy cuts which would not provide a good foundation for aikido. Kendo does, however, provide excellent training in timing.

SuburiThe most crucial practice of aiki ken is the suburi, a series of

sword cuts. They should be performed by cutting the air using a regular bokken. A heavy bokken can also be used to build up the body and for hitting a target such as a roll of brushwood (see Page 41). The suburi are described briefly below. They are shown in more detail in Volume 1 of Traditional Aikido, by Saito Sensei. Each cut, each stroke, should be performed carefully and accurately. A hundred good cuts will benefit you more than a thousand performed carelessly. In particular, perform each cut separately from the next. Waving the bokken up and down will only strengthen the arms. Correct cuts will strengthen the whole body, improve aiki technique, and teach mental focus. Cuts should be light at first, building up to stronger strikes as your body grows stronger, or you will hurt your elbows. All of the body must be used in the motion, rather than just the arms, but you should be relaxed: let the ken (sword) do the cutting.

For each suburi, the starting position should be in the onguard position. You should be standing in hanmi. The hands should be at belt level and as far apart on the handle as you can get them: the

Sword Practiceleft hand cradling the butt end of the handle, the right hand against the guard. Most of the strength should be in the third and forth fingers. The left hand should hold securely but not tightly. The right hand should hold a little more softly. The arms should be almost fully extended. The tip of the sword should be level with your opponent’s throat. Imagine you are facing an opponent. All suburi strikes are shomen uchi. (Yokomen strikes are similar except that the hips are turned as you cut.)

The first and third suburi are most important for aikido. Normally, sword techniques are only done right handed, though they can be done on opposite feet. However, as the practice is to develop our aikido, which should not favor right or left, I feel we should practice aiki ken left and right handed.

First Suburi. This is a basic shomen uchi strike executed without stepping, although the feet should move a little. You can start in either left or right hanmi. Care should be used to make sure that the strikes are made vertically over the top of the head. There is no need to hurry the upwards stroke. For practice, take it well back behind your head. The downwards stroke should be powerful, delivered from the hips. The ken should cut through the imaginary target and stop six to twelve inches through it, but not swing too far past. Thus, it will end up being horizontal or a little higher. The strike should start at the hips and progress to the shoulders, arms, wrists, and end with the sword tip moving like a whiplash. The first suburi is most important for ikkyo, kote gaeshi, shihonage, and tenchi nage.

Sword PracticeSecond Suburi. This is like the first suburi, but the sword is only lifted until it is in the vertical position near the ear. This is a defensive posture called hasso no kamae. The hips should be rotated off the line of attack as the sword is lifted. At the same time, move your front foot back. Step forward to strike shomen uchi. This suburi is most important for sankyo, yonkyo, and kokyu nage.

Third Suburi. In this, the sword is taken over the head and laid back as far as you can reach, winding up for the most powerful strike possible. Lift the sword broadly, reaching high as you breathe into the stomach, and lay it behind you, compressing the air in your lungs while still watching your foe. Then cut and kiai (yell) at the same time, putting everything into the stroke. This is most relevant to irimi nage, kote gaeshi, and koshi nage.

Forth Suburi. Strike as for the first suburi then change feet to strike with the other foot forward, and keep alternating feet as you make each strike.

Fifth Suburi. As for the forth suburi, but protect the side of your head and upper torso with the blade of your sword as you step to the side, then cut.

Sixth Suburi. As for the fifth suburi, but thrust after the strike. The blade should be horizontal for the thrust, the edge turned away from your body: one way for one hanmi, and the other way for the other. This suburi is important for shihonage and kote gaeshi.

Sword PracticeSeventh Suburi. As for the sixth suburi, but step forward to thrust, so that you always cut on one foot and thrust on the other.

Tanren UchiThis is practicing the suburi, primarily Numbers 1 and 2,

while hitting a target. A bundle of brushwood is traditionally used and this feels better than hitting a tire. The hips should feel solid throughout the exercise, especially for the third suburi. If you grip the sword too tightly, you will feel the shock all the way up your arms. Saito shows a grip with the hands next to each other for this exercise.

You will need a strong bokken for tanren uchi. A flimsy one, one with cross grain, or one improperly seasoned will break after a few strikes. The bokken does not have to look pretty, merely be about the right size and shape and be strong. If a straight piece of oak is split into four quarters and rounded off, it will dry in a curve to make a very strong bokken.

Shiho Giri Shiho giri (four corners cut) is a practice for cutting in any

direction. Cut as for the first suburi from left hanmi. Now leave the tip of the sword where it is and pivot the body through 180 degrees. Pivot on the balls of your feet and don’t step, lifting the hands above the head for the next cut. Settle your hips and make the second cut 180 degrees from the first cut. Now turn 180 degrees again, back to the original position, then slide the front foot round to continue turning the hips another 90 degrees, and make the third cut 270 degrees from the second cut. Turn 180 degrees and make the forth cut. Thus you have cut to all four

Sword Practicecardinal points. It is important to make the turn with your balance controlled and strike with the hips settled. Another four strikes can be made between these four, by making the fifth cut with a 180 degree turn followed by an additional 135 degree turn. The remaining cuts are then made like numbers two, three, and four. The sequence is shown in Figure 8.

The importance of this exercise is to learn how to turn the body freely in any direction. It is critical for shihonage, but is also important for other techniques and particularly in dealing with multiple attackers.

Kumi TachiKumi tachi is practicing

the sword with a partner. It is particularly important for studying distance and timing. Saito Sensei covers it

extensively. The most important movements to practice are Saito Sensei’s first three pair’s practices in Volume 1, and the yokomen uchi defense.

For the first pair’s practice, face your partner at ma ai where the ken blades overlap three to six inches. Lightly touch your opponent’s ken so that you can feel what he is doing. (Too much pressure will allow him to execute a circular parry and hit your wrist.)

Figure 8. Shiho Giri from Left Hanmi

Maintain extension in the cuts and keep the hips stable during the turns.

Sword PracticeBoth people should lift their swords and strike simultaneously.

Uke comes straight in. Nage moves off line and cuts at uke’s wrist. This exercise, mentioned earlier in the section on irimi, is critical for understanding timing. Both raising the sword and striking must be simultaneous. If nage moves too early or too late, he will get hit. It is hard to overemphasize the importance of this exercise.

The second kumitachi starts the same way. This time, as uke lifts his sword, nage enters with a thrust to the throat, taking uke’s balance. The third kumitachi is the same as the second, but with nage raising the sword and uke thrusting at the throat. This time, nage steps back as for the second suburi, evading the thrust, and cuts uke’s wrist. The difference between the second and third kumitachi is the timing. For the second one, nage enters in very quickly as uke lifts his sword, surprising uke and taking his balance. For the third one, the thrust does not surprise nage, and he evades it and strikes. You should study the difference in timing and feeling between these two kumitachi exercises. They correspond to different ways of doing irimi nage.

To practice the yokomen defense, Saito shows a kumitachi exercise starting from the same onguard position. This time, as one partner attacks shomen uchi, the other person defends with a scooping thrust to the stomach. The first person defends by stepping back, instead of forwards, but continues the shomen cut to keep the second person from driving home the attack. The second person then cuts yokomen uchi . The first person defends by again stepping back and striking down the attacking sword with a sticky feeling. The second person draws out his sword from under the other’s blade, and makes a second yokomen strike, from which the first person defends in the same manner. It is important that the

Sword Practicedefender not flinch from the strike, moving back physically but remaining mentally strong. This is equally important in performing techniques. No matter how strongly and aggressively uke attacks, nage must not flinch. He can give ground, but must maintain his extension even for ura techniques.

For all these exercises, it is important that the attacker strikes at the opponent, not at his opponent’s sword. Also, perform the exercises lightly and slowly. Cheap bokkens break easily, and a bokken is a lethal weapon. The exercises should be performed to learn, not to try to “win”. There should be no feeling of competition, especially at first, or both partners will loose.

Practicing with Two PartnersHaving two attackers is excellent for practicing technique as

well as developing an awareness of multiple attack situations. Generally, the practice is with one uke in front of nage and one behind. Both ukes should be at ma ai in this case with just the tips of the swords crossing for the front man and the other uke should be at the same distance behind nage. Nage moves first. As soon as he moves, both ukes try to strike him. Generally, shomen uchi is practiced, but you can also practice from a yokomen attack.

Shihonage Practice. Shihonage omote comes from a horizontal cut with the sword followed by a body turn and a vertical cut. For omote, as your two partners come in to cut you, cut through the middle of the man you are facing while stepping off line in the direction of your cut. Continue the hip motion of the cut into a turn, leaving the tip of the sword behind, and take the sword overhead to strike the other attacker (who was originally

Sword Practicebehind you). Key points to practice are stepping through with the sword to both cut the first uke and still get off line, and to leave the sword tip where it is as you turn before making the second cut, just as for shiho giri. Turn your hips through a full 180 degrees between the first and second cuts.

Ura is almost identical to omote, except that the first cut is through the man to the rear, requiring 360 degrees of turn from start to end. Again, step off line and continue the motion by turning in the same direction.

Kote Gaeshi Practice. Shomen uchi kote gaeshi is practiced the same way as shihonage ura, except that after the first cut, you change direction, turning back to cut the second man (still with shomen uchi) rather than continuing in the same direction. Students commonly do kote gaeshi with the hands, which is ineffective, rather than using the entire body as for the third suburi.

Attacks for Practicing AikidoOn the mat, the goal is to practice safely and realistically.

There have to be compromises for safety, and you need to know where they are so that you can avoid pitfalls in the street. In aikido, much of the training is slow and methodical. If a beginner is attacked violently he will get hurt or injure uke, either of which would be counter productive.

By working slowly, both nage and uke become reprogrammed, so that they move in a more effective and powerful manner. As these movements become more familiar, the speed of the attacks is increased so that they are more realistic. By the time students reach shodan, they should be working at close to full speed. However, they will still need to slow down to check how they are executing the techniques, to practice with kyu ranks, and to learn new techniques.

A good rule of thumb is to do one repetition as fast as both uke and nage can handle it for every ten slow and careful repetitions. If you can do it slowly, you can do it fast, but the reverse is not necessarily true.

Fast or slow, attacks must be true on target and extending deep enough or you are wasting your time and your partner’s time. Punching short will make techniques hard to do.

The attacks used in aikido are rather stylized, for simplicity in learning. However, they do cover most, if not all, possible attacks. The only major weakness in most dojos is not practicing techniques from kicks sufficiently often, and kicks can certainly be included when working with a class that can take the ukemi.

Attacks in Practicing

Katate ToriThis is a onehand grab to the wrist. It can be the same hand

(ai hammi) or opposite hand (gyaku hammi). While often practiced as a simple wrist grab, katate tori also provides an opening for a blow.

Start well apart, almost at ma ai. Nage should start with a hand held out strongly as a guard. This forces uke to grasp the hand and push it down to continue the attack. This, rather than the more usual grabbing of a limp arm from too close, is katate tori. Use the impetus uke provides to perform the technique.

Beginners often worry unnecessarily about getting away from a grasp. There is no need to actually break away, as you are not held immobile. All that is held is your wrist. By moving your body, you can do whatever you want, and the stronger uke grips, the easier it is to use his grip to upset his balance and twist him into an awkward position. The key is for nage to move his body around the point of contact rather than trying to move the point of contact. To understand how to move freely from katate tori, practice tenkan undo: turning around the captured wrist to line up back to back with uke, facing the same way and with the arm extended to match uke’s extension.

Kata ToriLike katate tori, kata tori (a shoulder grab) is just the start of

an attack, with the complete attack generally being kata tori men uchi (a shoulder grab followed by a strike to the face). I feel that kata tori would generally be from the side or behind, or else nage should not have allowed uke to get so close. The men uchi

Attacks in Practicingstrike to the head is usually shomen, but could be yokomen or jodan tsuki. The techniques are much the same.

When attacked, nage must take back the initiative and not be hampered by uke's grasp on his shoulder. For uke, it is better to grasp with the fingers, which are quite strong enough, rather than with fingers and thumb. If you use your thumb it can be twisted into the gi so that on certain techniques you cannot let go.

Kata tori is excellent for nage to learn how to avoid becoming entangled by uke. This is particularly true with shihonage, kote gaeshi, and irimi nage. Uke can make these techniques quite difficult by holding on to nage’s gi, and even driving his elbow down. If nage allows uke to control the situation, he will be hopelessly trapped. To avoid this, nage must maintain control of his hips while keeping uke off balance, and keep correct extension.

The key to kata tori is a strong strike to uke’s face, tying up his free arm. The importance of this strike can hardly be overemphasized. Nage’s shoulder should be like a hair trigger. As soon as uke touches it, nage’s arm should be in his face. Uke then has to respond to nage, rather than nage being driven to respond to uke’s strike. As uke tries to push nage’s arm away, nage can either overpower uke or, if that takes any effort, let uke drive nage’s arm away, while steering the arm to where nage can use it for a technique.

If nage is too slow, so that uke is already striking, you can move into a position side by side with uke, so that uke’s strike misses, and continue into the technique. However, your arm should still be used to protect your face and threaten uke.


Ryote and Morote ToriRyote tori is when uke grasps both nage’s arms. Morote tori is

when uke grasps one of nage’s arms with both his arms. These attacks can make nage feel even more restrained than with kata or katate tori, but when you move correctly you use the strength of your legs against uke’s arms, and there is usually no contest. In response to either of these attacks, nage moves much the same as for katate tori and so he can chose between doing ai and gyaku hanmi techniques, because uke is holding on with both arms. However, avoid moving in front of uke’s back foot, as this is the more dangerous one.

The most important technique to practice from morote tori is kokyu nage (see Page 83). With both his arms, uke has more chance to hold down nage’s arm. Avoid this by turning so that you can lift the arm in a wider arc than uke can follow. The most important practice from ryote tori is tenchi nage (see Page 79). This particular tenchi nage allows nage to learn how to move in close to uke, going around his strength rather than against it.

Shomen UchiThis is an overhead strike at the top of the head. While it

could be with a club or bottle, it is generally practiced with a tegatana. The strike can be started with either foot forward, and can also be thrust upwards (like the downward strike in reverse). The upwards thrust is particularly useful for initially teaching

Figure 9. Morote Tori.Notice that nage’s arm is fully extended.

Attacks in Practicingikkyo. In practical terms, a punch to the face may be easier to treat as a shomen uchi rather than as a tsuki.

The basic defense to a shomen strike is a rising block, with the energy of the strike being expended along the angled forearm. If all else fails, and you don’t have time to do anything else, use this basic block to protect your head. When you learn it, you can even absorb a strike with a jo without getting a broken arm. All three evasive movements can be used for shomen uchi. As with all defenses against strikes, keep the thumb against the edge of the hand to avoid it being broken if you misjudge.

Because uke’s hand is moving quite fast on the downstroke, nage should generally blend with the elbow, which is moving more slowly. For example with shomen uchi kaiten nage, the elbow is quite easily manipulated, while the hand is almost impossible to catch.

Yokomen UchiThis is a diagonal strike aimed at the head (temple) or neck. It

should be performed descending at about 45 degrees. It is identical in motion to shomen uchi except that the hips are rotated during the strike.

The basic defense as described earlier for sword practice is to move, using a corner step, back out of range and in the same direction as the strike. This softens the blow if it does land. At the same time, strike down uke’s attack, catching the middle of his forearm with the back of your forearm, deflecting the strike without slowing it down much. If nage adds some effort in the right direction, uke should fall down. The technique, something like the judo uki otoshi (floating drop), redirects uke’s force out and down. As you deflect the arm, strike at the face.

Attacks in PracticingIn defending against yokomen uchi, be careful not to lose the

extension of your arm, or a strong attack might crash through your defense to hit your head. The amount of deflection depends on the technique. For ikkyo, do not knock down uke’s arm very far. For kote gaeshi, strike it down and brush it past your body as you enter into shikaku. For shiho nage, cut the strike down and sweep it in front of uke’s body. For a scarf throw, sweep it further still, to where you can wrap it around uke’s face.

TsukiThis is usually practiced with a straight front punch. A

reverse punch is treated much the same, but is more difficult to deal with. The punch can be middle, high or low, but is generally practiced as a middle to low punch, aimed at the stomach where the damage will be minimal if it lands. It’s not very kind, and unnecessary, to practice a chest punch with women.

The punch should be on line, and should be aimed at striking nage, rather than at snapping the front of his gi. If uke does not punch far enough into nage’s space, not only would the blow be ineffective and not a threat, but some techniques would be harder to perform.

All three defenses are used against tsuki. The arm can be pushed to one side with the hand when doing an irimi escape, particularly if uke hooks his punches (though these come close to being yokomen uchi), but nage should not come to depend on deflecting uke’s arm rather than moving his own body. You must get off the line rather than backing away from uke. Back up and he will follow.


Ushiro AttacksThese are attacks where uke goes behind nage, to catch both

arms, or to go for a strangulation or a kidney punch. If uke grabs both hands from behind, generally it would be because another attacker would be punching nage. Ushiro attacks are ideal for learning how to move well while also keeping uke moving.

The basic defense is for nage to get uke in front of him, where he can more effectively deal with the attack . Generally, it is better for nage to keep his hands in front of his body, not allowing uke to pull them behind his body, although there are techniques in the event that he does not succeed. Uke can only pull nage’s arms back if nage resists by straining his body forwards. When uke pulls back, go with the pull and crowd him, while keeping your own balance.

Once again, it is critical that nage takes the initiative from uke, otherwise ushiro techniques are quite difficult to perform. As uke grabs your outstretched arm and starts to move behind you, turn towards him and go to punch him in the kidney. As he moves away to prevent a painful atemi, quickly turn the other way to slip under the arm. Don’t raise uke’s arm. Rather, slip your hips under his arm and your head will follow. Again, balance and timing are the keys, with nage taking advantage of uke's attempt to get behind him.

Strangulations and chokes from behind are particularly difficult to escape from once they are applied. Wherever possible, prevent uke getting a firm grip. With a strangulation (pressure on the blood vessels at the sides of the neck) you have about four seconds to release the pressure or you will become unconscious even though it might barely feel uncomfortable. Chokes, with

Attacks in Practicingpressure on the windpipe, can be even more dangerous. While you may stay conscious longer, if the trachea is crushed you may still be unable to breathe when your attacker lets go. Key items are to strike uke with the elbows and to move out of the line of attack, preferably circling into uke’s shikaku. If uke does get an arm around your neck, catch his arm and pull down, while turning your body towards the elbow to release the pressure and continuing with atemi.

Ushiro ryo kata tori (with both shoulders held from behind) is a good exercise for nage’s body movement. Generally, nage has to move more in this attack than for ushiro tekubi tori to maintain uke in extension and off balance. The arms should however, still move much as for ushiro ryo katate (tekubi) tori, moving the shoulders more effectively. If uke strikes at your head, lift both arms to protect it as you move.

Suwari Waza and Hanmi HandachiSuwari waza is practicing techniques while kneeling. This is

difficult for people who have not lived their lives on their knees, as the Japanese used to do. The main reason to practice it these days is to learn how to use your hips and how to move your body, thereby strengthening your standing techniques. The techniques may also be useful if you are knocked down in the street, though you should roll back to your feet again as soon as possible rather than choosing to stay down in suwari waza.

The stances and techniques should be almost identical to standing techniques. In particular, when you bow, you face your partner, but when you receive an attack, you should be in hanmi: with one knee forward just like in standing techniques. Just as for standing techniques, you must move. Aikidoka often move less

Attacks in Practicingwhen doing suwari waza than when standing. As a result, they depend too much on upper body strength, and their techniques look sloppy and are ineffective.

Hanmi handachi is when nage is kneeling, and uke attacks from a standing position. This is primarily an exercise in how to deal with an extremely tall opponent. Don’t reach up for uke. Make uke reach down to get you, thereby compromising his balance.

With hanmi handachi, you normally do the entire technique kneeling. However, you can also practice by starting from a kneeling position and finishing standing. This is also an excellent practice, both from the practical point of view and to improve certain techniques. Nage is much less likely to bend the arms and sneak under uke’s arm (compromising his control) when doing hanmi handachi shihonage in this manner.

KicksKicks are like other attacks in most ways, but have longer

range and are more powerful than hand strikes. They are also slower. The main reason that defenses against kicks are not practiced more is that we have few classes where the standard of ukemi is uniformly high enough to take the awkward falls that result.

When threatened with a kick, watch the leg on which uke has little weight: if uke’s weight is evenly distributed, he can’t kick without shifting his weight. The strength of a kick is greater with a deep stance, but the necessary shift in balance is greater and more apparent, unless uke has already unweighted one foot. The back foot is the stronger one, so that is generally the one to watch.

Attacks in PracticingBecause uke must unweight one foot to kick, nage can limit uke’s kicks by controlling his balance.

As for any other strike, the same basic escapes are used for a kick. Linear kicks are the easiest to avoid. Circular kicks, like yokomen uchi hand strikes, can be handled by moving out of the target zone but, generally, moving in on uke and jamming the kick is more effective. Watch uke’s knee. If he is trained, the knee will point where he is going to kick. Thus, you can distinguish between a front kick and a round kick by the position of the knee.

The fall from a kick is more awkward than most aikido falls, because you don’t have a foot to put back and slow your fall. Sit as close to your heel as you can and slap hard as you fall back.

Multiple AttacksAikido is designed more to deal with multiple attacks than for

fighting oneonone with somebody of similar capability. Usually in aikido, we practice very formally, one on one. In this way we learn to be very competent in the techniques. If the mat is crowded, we might practice in groups, but still practicing in the same way, throwing one after another in the same technique. This builds a good foundation for dealing with multiple attacks.

A variety of exercises are used to train for multiple attacks. The first steps are to do randori with one person, then a number of people. Randori is an exercise where uke attacks and nage defends in an unstructured way. Ideally, the attacks and techniques are entirely at the discretion of the participants, and the attackers can attack from anywhere, including from behind nage if he carelessly gives them that opportunity. To start out, attacks and techniques may be restricted, and everybody might work slowly. However,

Attacks in Practicingthe goal is to do it with no holds barred. The techniques might be done empty handed or with a jo.

Freestyle in testing is somewhat different. Here, nage starts out facing the line of attackers. When nage bows, the exercise starts. All the ukes might attack at once, or they might attack however the sensei directs.

In any case, nage must control the situation. If nage becomes too fixed, he will certainly get attacked from behind. Nage must move, as discussed in greater detail later (see Page 98), so as to limit the suki available to the attackers, allowing only one uke to attack at a time. He must avoid being trapped against the wall, the edge of the mat, or in a corner.

Aikido Techniques

General PrinciplesThere are a number of general principles that apply to aikido

techniques. Some of them are summarized below.

Use the Whole Body. Some techniques such as sankyo can be done with one hand, but this is weak. The entire body should be used in practice so that you will develop strong technique. E.g., for kokyu nage, use both arms, even if only one contacts uke, so that all your body will come into play. Power comes from the ground. Thus, in almost every case, at the point of greatest exertion there should be a straight line from the back foot, securely planted on the mat, to uke. The rowing exercise (fune kogi undo) and ikkyo undo are primarily done to ensure this happens.

As a corollary to this, always push. Offhand, I can’t think of an aikido technique where you pull. Pulling brings uke into and on top of you. Pushing keeps him away. Also, pulling usually depends on weight, whereas pushing comes from the floor, letting your legs use their power.

Study Aiki Ken. Aikido came from the sword. Learn the sword to see how they relate, and study the techniques to see how the sword and body movements relate. (See Page 38.)

Aikido TechniquesBlend with Uke’s Attack. Aikido is using your power to the maximum possible effect. To do this, you must blend with an attack in order to use uke’s power and strength against him. When you are pushed, turn. When you are pulled, enter. Steer uke’s power and use it against him.

Don’t Use Excessive Strength. As a rule of thumb, never use more than seven pounds of force on the mat. If you have to use more than this, either you are doing the technique incorrectly, or your uke is not playing fair. Stop working and get help from sensei. However, the opposite idea, that you shouldn’t use strengthin aikido, is also incorrect. Use strength efficiently.

One particularly invidious use of strength is when uke is cooperating, nage gets uke into a position where he has to fall, and suddenly nage drives uke into the mat. If you abuse uke like this, he may quit and you may ultimately drive away all your potential partners. Alternatively, one of them might pay you back in kind. In any case, you won’t learn good aikido. Learn to do technique with as little strength as possible, then, with partners who are able to take the ukemi, gradually increase the strength you use. You must, however, still be controlled, no matter who you are working with. The throw is the easy part of the technique. You need power least at that point.

Change the Timing to your advantage. If uke will reach you at a particular moment, move towards or away from him as he is attacking, so that the timing changes. As you move towards each other, changing your pace will also alter the timing. You can do this by modifying the length or speed of your steps. Generally

Aikido Techniquesyou don’t want to change the number of steps, however, at least not for the technique itself. If you do, you will probably end up in the wrong position, although there are places you can put in an extra “cheater” step, particularly for when uke is much taller than nage.

Changing the timing is useful even oneonone, but is vital with multiple attacks. Then, all the attackers may be moving towards you at the same time, with the goal of attacking simultaneously. If you move towards one of them, you don’t just throw off his timing, you throw off all of the attackers. Because of this, you are almost forced to take out the nearest one first, or you will still be dealing with one when another arrives.

Even when practicing oneonone, study timing. It is no good to move too soon, you just warn uke where you are going and he can compensate and still hit you. Obviously, it is no good to be late either. The time to move is after uke is sure he has caught you unready, and before he hits you.

As you move, position yourself so that you are in the right place and moving in the right direction to do the technique when contact is made. This is equally true whether the attack is a strike or a grab.Speed and timing are often confused. If your timing is right, you can move quite slowly without having difficulty in doing the technique. Always practice new techniques slowly and methodically. If you always practice fast, you will have problemsin the street, when the adrenaline will drive you to go even faster. If you practice slowly, you can take time to study the technique and improve. If you can do it slowly, you can always do it fast.

Your speed should match uke’s speed. If he attacks fast, you might have to move fast initially. Within a technique, keep the

Aikido Techniquesspeed constant rather than rushing when you either have a problem or when you see the end of the technique approaching. Especially avoid going slowly until the end and then suddenly hammering uke into the mat. As you improve, you can vary the speed, in particular accelerating gradually throughout the technique.Study Actively. You must constantly look for ways to improve. Some students only do what they are told. This is necessary but insufficient. At first, your sensei will tell you what to do and how to do it. However, you must go beyond that. I don’t want to leave behind a bunch of students who are less capable than I am. I want you to learn what I know, learn what others can teach you, and go beyond what you have been taught.Keep Your Hands in Front. Your hands are most powerful when they are in front of you. In ikkyo ura, for example, it is vital that you keep your arms from lagging as you guide uke to the floor. In tenchi nage or irimi nage, letting the arm drift back to where it is in line with or even behind the shoulder line can result in a painful tear of the muscles and tendons of the shoulder joint if uke resists the throw.

In almost every case, do the technique in front of your body. If you throw off to the side, the throw will be weak. This particular problem can usually be corrected merely by rotating your hips so that uke is in front of them.

Study Ma Ai. Ma ai is critical. Once you understand where uke can attack from and where he can’t, you are well on the way to being able to control him. Ma ai is the distance at which uke and nage are as close as they can be without either being able to attack

Aikido Techniquesthe other in one movement. Thus, at ma ai, nage has time to evade uke’s attacks without being “cold cocked”, or hit without warning.

Ma ai depends on the weapons as well as on uke and nage’s size. In general, ma ai is the distance at which uke and nage can just touch their fingertips. When one of the two has a weapon, the distance is extended by the reach of the weapon. Thus a jo adds two to three feet to ma ai. A handgun will add perhaps twenty feet; a rifle, perhaps as much as a thousand yards.

Ma ai is generally applied between two people facing one another. However, there is a zone of effective power around all sides of a person. The key is to get where his power is ineffective, but yours is effective. One such place is shikaku, more or less behind uke, where he is very limited in his ability to hit you. If you are a little too far forward, you will be in danger of being hit by an elbow strike.

Ma ai is a distance. However, it also relates to timing: one implies the other.

Tap When It Hurts. Macho males often seem to feel they should take as much pain as they can during practice. This is not a good idea, especially as a beginner. It aggravates your partner, tempting him to smash you into the mat. It risks serious injury and leads to poor technique. As soon as a technique hurts, do your ukemi which might involve going to the floor or tapping. However, if the upwards move of sankyo omote hurts, don’t tap and stand still. The whole idea of the this part of sankyo is to make you move, so move in the direction that relieves the pain. When nage has you in the pin on the floor, tap as soon as it hurts. Otherwise, after a couple of dozen times of taking as much as you can bear, your arms might hurt for days.

Aikido TechniquesSimilarly, when you are being thrown, don’t resist the ukemi

unduly. Resistance will result in a harder fall. If you resist some throws, like kote gaeshi, you will get a repetitive motion injury (like tennis elbow). It won’t show up for a few weeks, but it will show up, and you will be out for a few more weeks while it heals.

All Techniques Are Related. There are many aikido techniques and they tend to blend into one another. For example, there are many similarities between ikkyo and nikkyo. According to John Stevens, OSensei did not classify his techniques, so there is no reason to worry too much about names. However, they are useful in maintaining uniformity among schools and in teaching.

Develop a Feeling for the Rhythm. Any of these techniques has a rhythm. You can walk through them to get the arms and hands right, but to make them work you have to find this rhythm. You know you have it when you can do the technique powerfully without straining (less than seven pounds of force), and yet uke can’t effectively resist. The rhythm of aikido is the rhythm of striking with a sword, cutting through any resistance. Irimi nage, for example, is often lost at “top dead center” of the technique. This is the point where uke starts to feel like he is going to be thrown and where he resists. Don’t even think of stopping there. Think of sweeping the arm through this position to where you want to end up (in hanmi), by which time uke has been thrown.

If you find yourself straining, you could be doing the technique incorrectly, or uke could be resisting through fear or obstinacy. If you slow down, and it gets easier, you are probably doing it correctly. If you find it gets harder when you slow down,

Aikido Techniquesuke might well be blocking you. This is usually obvious when you watch for it. Ask him not to. A common problem with technique is when nage pushes in the wrong direction. If you are pushing at the wrong angle relative to your body and foot position, the harder you push the more awkward it will feel. In fact, if you push really hard at an awkward angle, you can injure your knee or back. Always get behind the push.

Be Considerate. Be considerate of your partner. Just as uke should not resist unduly (for his own benefit), so nage should not apply technique too vigorously. Nage should consider uke’s size and strength as well as experience. There is a tendency to take big beginners as a challenge, but after they get hurt they rarely come back and everybody in the dojo misses out on what they might have learned.

AtemiAtemi is 99 percent of aikido O Sensei said so (Saito,

Traditional Aikido, Vol. V, Page 38). Atemi can end the technique on the street. Any technique provides multiple opportunities for atemi. However, the traditional teaching of aikido assumes that you know how to do effective atemi, and goes beyond that point. Reportedly, O Sensei would not accept as a student someone who was not already a yudansha in some other martial art. This meant he didn't have to teach atemi.

We can’t afford to be as selective, so we do teach atemi to students. At Sand Drift, we are fortunate in having an excellent traditional karate school sharing the dojo, where our students can learn the basics of atemi far better than I can teach them.

Aikido TechniquesStudents must conscientiously practice atemi, both when they

attack strikes being atemi whether delivered by uke or nage and during the performance of techniques. Doing atemi is part of being both uke and nage. Watch for openings for atemi but don’t concentrate on atemi rather than on the rest of the technique.

It is not necessary or desirable to hit people hard. Almost always, it is enough to tap them lightly, even in the street. However, the atemi must be accurate in practice so that they will work on the street. It is not an atemi if it flies over uke's (or nage's) head. If you are to strike at the head, strike at it, even if you only do it slowly. As uke, move the head, protect it with the arm, or do something. Some schools and teachers use quite forceful atemi. Be ready for this, particularly when you visit other dojos, or when you are unfamiliar with the sensei. However, even while protecting yourself don’t make it unduly difficult for nage to do the technique. Your focus should still be on the attack, then on the ukemi. Nobody will learn if highly ranked or physically formidable ukes stand still and block nage’s atemi rather than practicing their ukemi.

On the other hand, don’t think of atemi as mere feints. You should use them effectively without focusing exclusively on them. A feint is a weak movement that is never intended to succeed. Your atemi should be purposeful, driving uke to providing a wider suki.

All varieties of atemi including punches and kicks must be practiced. Kicks are useful because they have more range and power than hand strikes. They are also intimidating. However, the same basics apply to kicks as to punches. A number of nage’s atemi are kicks, notably with the knee to the head in kaiten nage.

Aikido TechniquesVery often, atemi are the key to the technique. For example,

in ikkyo omote and kaiten nage omote (see Pages 56 and 75), if you are not in position to do the atemi you are not in position to do the technique either. Atemi can be used as distractions and threats to avoid uke doing something we don’t want him to do. They can be used to break uke’s balance. They can also be used to finish the technique in the street, but that is not something within the scope of aikido.

Omote and UraThese are positions. As shown in Figure 10, omote is in front.

Ura is behind or to the side. When you do a technique from in front of uke, you are doing an omote technique. When you slip behind, it is ura. Generally, omote techniques are more positive and forceful than ura techniques. However, nage must do both omote and ura techniques with strong extension. Also, when you do omote, you have to be careful not to get hit as uke’s weapons hands, feet, or whatever are pointed more or less towards you.

IkkyoIkkyo is the “first principle” of aikido because it is the

foundation for many of the other techniques. It is derived from a straightforward shomen strike with a sword (1st suburi). As uke

Figure 10. Omote and Ura.These are positions. Omote is in front of uke, ura is behind or to the side. Maintain strong extension for both.

Aikido Techniquesattacks, you intercept the attack and lift your arms as if lifting the sword. When you cut down with your whole body, as with a sword, uke is knocked to the floor. While this is a simple set of movements, ikkyo can be a very powerful technique, potentially driving uke’s face into the ground. Timing is very important, especially for omote. As uke lifts the hand to strike, move as if drawn in by that hand. If you misstime the omote, don’t struggle with uke: you will get punched by his other hand. If you feel any resistance, change to another technique (such as ikkyo ura).

Complicating this simple picture is the need to blend your movements with uke’s so that uke falls to the floor. This is accomplished with an irimi movement, entering to uke's front. When you can punch uke in the stomach with your leading hand

(the one going to his wrist) as he strikes instead of lifting it to intercept the strike to do the ikkyo, you are in the right position. Now when you do intercept the arm as you move to this position, you will turn uke’s body so that he can't strike with his other hand. The correct distance is given by having the position to strike with a reverse punch of your back hand (the one going to his elbow) to hit uke’s floating ribs. This footwork involves a step forward, into a position where nage can drive strongly towards uke. The timing of the step varies somewhat. However, on no account should nage step while he needs to be pushing. You will have no power unless your back foot is firmly planted on the ground behind you.

The downward strike varies somewhat depending on the relative size and strength of uke and nage. The basic goal is to

Figure 11. Shomen Uchi Ikkyo Omote.Enter early and keep the arms extended

Aikido Techniquesstrike down so that you push uke’s elbow through where his head was. (Of course, the movement changes uke's posture enough that there is usually no impact, although this can happen.) The downwards motion may need to be more in front of uke's face rather than through his head if uke is very tall, strong, and stiff. However, this variation may leave nage vulnerable if uke is flexible.

If uke is too tall for nage to reach his head (which is quite a large difference in height), nage will probably need to use a different approach. In the street, if uke is both large and flexible enough to deflect the motion of ikkyo omote, his defense will put nage into position for a nikkyo nage. (This is a powerful technique. Make sure that uke can to do the ukemi when you practice it on the mat .)

You can also bend uke over by twisting his hand one way and his elbow the other. This only works when nage is at least as strong as uke. Consequently, it is not the best way to practice as you can’t depend on strength.

The downward strike from ikkyo must end with nage's arms fully extended. If you don’t extend enough, uke will not be sufficiently controlled and can stand up. If you overextend, by leaning forward, uke can reverse the technique on you. Your handand shoulder nearer to uke’s body should be slightly lower than the other ones, to put the mechanics of the technique in your favor. Uke’s arm should be six inches to a foot in front of your thighs. Too close, and uke can grab you and pick you up in aiki otoshi (see Page 85). Too far away, and uke can just stand up.

From the correct position, the traditional takedown is to push uke off balance with a movement like using a broom, and then reversing direction at an angle to lay him out on the floor. Trying

Aikido Techniquesto pull uke over is ineffective and may result in injury to nage's knee. Shortening the takedown by continuing the first drive all the way to the floor is effective and good practice, provided you keep your balance. If uke resists, pushing back, this sets him up perfectly for completion of the traditional takedown.

The ikkyo holddown is an exercise for nage’s extension. Kneel behind the arm, push it up, roll it forward so that the elbowis upwards, and hold it down with tegatana. This is not a combat pin as it does not make a flexible uke more than mildly uncomfortable. For combat situations, use a different pin.

The timing for shomen uchi ikkyo omote should be studied. If you enter as uke lifts up for the strike, the technique will work with a minimum of force. If you wait until uke strikes, the technique can still be done, but requires significant effort. If uke really struggles, the technique takes too long to be practical and uke can punch your ribs. If you are late, either use an atemi to distract uke so that you can do ikkyo omote, or change technique.

As you make the initial movement to shomen uchi ikkyo omote (an irimi entrance to uke’s front, facing him), you must enter quickly enough to suppress his attack then drive forward off your back leg and thrust your hip forward. If you step too soon, uke will again have the advantage of both timing and power.

Ikkyo ura is an identical move to the omote, but with a 180 degree rotation as the arms are brought down. Nage’s foot should be aligned with uke’s front foot, and he should turn back to back, just as for a tenkan escape. (Of course, uke doesn’t stay in the same position.) As uke comes round, nage should kneel down, and uke should fall in front of him without further adjustments.

Many people make one of three mistakes in doing ikkyo ura: they wrap uke’s arm across the front of the thighs, continue the

Aikido Techniquesrotation but not the downwards strike, or let their hands drift back from in front of their body. All of these deficiencies are due to insufficient extension of nage’s arms and dramatically decrease the effectiveness of the technique, while inviting a counter technique. The ura pin is similar to the omote pin, although it is less important to push the arm high.

As an exercise to get the ura movement right, from katate tori ai hanmi cut towards uke’s face with a tegatana as you step in to shikaku and turn back to back. Cut down as you turn, keeping your hands right in front of your thighs, continuing the turn and finishing kneeling. Uke should end up face down in front of your knees without you needing to adjust his position or your own. This exercise may take some time to get right. Uke must keep hold of the wrist. You must keep your arms well extended, and turn from your center. The whole exercise should be a single smooth action: one breath.

Ikkyo can be used as a throw (ikkyo nage) in freestyle by stepping forward as you cut down hard. By inserting the hips as you do so, you get a koshi nage

NikkyoNikkyo is a rotation of the bones of the forearm (radius and

ulna) around one another, using uke’s flexed hand as a grip and keeping uke's forearm horizontal. For my first few months of aikido I thought it was an Indian burn, and wondered why they even bothered to teach such an ineffective technique. Then Andy Allen put a real nikkyo on me, and I had a moment of

Figure 12. Shomen Uchi Ikkyo UraKeep the arms ahead of the hips.

Aikido Techniquesenlightenment. Beginners often neglect to make the movement a rotation, and push straight down with either the hands or, more commonly, the elbow. These moves may be sufficiently uncomfortable that beginning ukes do go down, but they are weak.

The rotary motion is the reason why nikkyo works, and once a student figures out how to make it rotary, all of a sudden the technique is much more effective. There are a number of ways to apply this motion. The most basic is probably with uke’s hand to nage’s shoulder. Bend uke’s arm into a horizontal “Z” shape, with 90 degree angles at the wrist and elbow. Press the back of uke’s hand firmly to your shoulder just below the clavicle, using your sameside hand. Now, atemi to the face with a backfist using the other hand and draw the tegatana back towards you along uke’s arm. Done with a downwards pressure, this will bring most uke to the floor at once. However, if this does not happen, complete the movement by bringing this hand all the way in to uke’s wrist and grasp the wrist. Now twist uke’s forearm with both arms in a rolling motion down your chest as you bow slightly and settle your hips. Note that at no time is pressure of nage’s elbow onto uke’s elbow used. This pressure on its own is easily resisted, particularly by a short strong uke.

Like all techniques, the power for nikkyo comes from the legs. The hands and arms can do something of a nikkyo, but not until the whole body is used to drive the power of the legs into the rotary movement does it become unstoppable. The direction of the rotary pressure will determine which way uke will go. Thus, uke can be driven straight to the floor, backwards, forwards, or even brought back up off the floor.

Variations include trapping uke’s hand on your own wrist(grasping his fingers with your own fingers and under your own

Aikido Techniquesarm with your thumb), as shown in Figure 13. Nage’s other hand is then rotated over uke’s wrist and down. To make sure you get the direction right, point your first finger at uke’s face, then rotate your hand, arm and body to point it at his feet. This is a powerful technique, provided the force flows around uke’s wrist rather than down onto it.

If uke tries to resist by straightening the arm, rather than changing the technique to break the straight arm (which is what would most likely happen in the street a good reason never to quite straighten it as uke or nage), reach underneath with your free arm to atemi to the

face and then use it to bend uke’s elbow with a rotary movement up and to the rear. If, instead, uke tries to resist by lifting or lowering the elbow, turn the direction of rotation so that the elbow is forced back into position by the pain.

Once uke is down, kneeling on the floor, transition to the pin. Uke must be offbalance with his weight on his free hand as well as his knees or he can spring up to his feet when you reduce the pressure on the wrist. The final movement to bring him from his knees to the floor is like ikkyo and can be either ura or omote so long as you keep control. Remember to push the elbow around, instead of pulling on it. If you pull, you will be helping uke back to his feet to continue the struggle.

Figure 13. NikkyoThis is a rotation of the bones of the forearm around each other.

Aikido TechniquesNikkyo ends with uke face down on the floor and a pin

applied, uke’s wrist trapped by one of nage’s elbows, and uke’s elbow controlled against the belly with the other tegatana. The transition from the takedown to this pin must be smooth and controlled. It can be achieved in a number of ways, but the best is probably to hold uke’s shoulder down with the tegatana of your opposite arm (i.e. left hand to right shoulder) and lay uke’s arm into the crook of your elbow and trap it there by bringing your hand towards your body. If this is done correctly, uke’s hand is caught in the crook of your arm with his palm to your biceps. This is fairly secure on its own. To apply the pin, pull uke’s elbow into your belly with your other hand and rotate your whole body towards the direction uke is facing to apply the pin.

This is a combat pin, so do it smoothly and stop when uke taps. Also, release the pressure on the arm carefully after the technique. If you move it in the wrong direction, you could inadvertently injure uke’s arm. Reverse the body rotation and release the arm, moving away while keeping ready for another attack from uke. On no account just let go and get up. If you do, uke can roll over and attack again.

There is also an abbreviated pin, with the arm stretched out in front of nage’s knees as for ikkyo. If you bend uke’s hand towards his wrist and rotate it forwards, uke will tap quickly. Again, use your body to apply the pressure rather than just the hand movement.

Nikkyo can be applied whether or not uke holds on to your gi or arm: there is no need to tear his hand away before applying the technique. From kata tori, atemi with either hand and reach over with the opposite hand from the one uke is holding with (i.e. if uke is holding the right shoulder, reach with the left hand). Rotate

Aikido Techniquesuke’s wrist into the right position and apply the technique. This can be done without removing his grip. If uke is holding too close to the shoulder for you to reach his wrist with your other (nearside) hand, rotate your elbow around his grip to apply the rotary force. He will be ready enough to let go, in most cases, when the time comes to apply the pin but even this can be applied without removing the hand from the shoulder. If uke grasps the lapels instead of the shoulder (which would be eri tori), you can use the gi to wrap up uke’s hand and apply the technique. Uke then cannot let go, so don’t apply the technique too vigorously.

Nikkyo can be used as a projection nikkyo nage by turning the arm so that uke’s elbow is up and cutting horizontally backwards. This is a very harsh technique and should not be done on beginners. Uke must throw his feet out behind him and slap as he lands face down on the floor.

SankyoSankyo is similar to nikkyo in that the bones of the forearm

are twisted around one another by nage’s body motion. However, in this case the forearm should be held vertically with the hand more or less in line with the forearm, as shown in Figure 14.

The position of the hands is important. Nage’s fingers should catch round the edge of uke’s hand. The other hand should grasp uke’s fingers. (A nage with small hands can execute the entire technique with two or three of uke’s fingers. This is painful, however, so use this cautiously.) Uke’s hand should be flexed

Figure 14. Sankyo HandholdBe careful that uke can’t hit you in the face as you lift his elbow.

Aikido Techniquesslightly towards uke’s body. The hand must be held securely, as if it is a sword handle, with one hand on the back of uke’s hand and the other holding the fingers. There should be no gap between the back of uke’s hand and nage’s palm. Very often, I see nage holding uke weakly with the fingertips, instead of securely with the whole of both hands.

The basic sankyo movement comes from lifting a sword so that the handle is up by the ear, into a defensive position called hasso no kamae, and then stepping forward and cutting shomen. The upwards movement takes the balance. The downward one takes them to the floor. This movement is practiced with a bokken by doing the second suburi. It is done with the hips.

There are a number of ways to change from the initial evasion to the sankyo hold, but as you make this transition be aware of where uke’s elbow is in relation to your face. I often see people change their grip with the elbow close to the face, where it would be all too easy for uke to drive the elbow into the nose or the temple. To avoid this, either change your grip with the elbow down near your waist, after cutting uke almost to the floor, or keep uke’s elbow well away from your face with your extension.

Generally, go to ikkyo first. You can then slide the hand down and apply sankyo at the fingers, using the fingers to control uke. Alternatively, you can take yonkyo, controlling the forearm, then go to sankyo. A third way is to trap uke’s arm on your thigh by leaning forward with the shoulder to control the arm. All three of these ways work, allowing for a controlled changeover without risking injury to your face. You can also change your grip while on the move, without securing uke. However, then you can’t control the elbow as directly and I don’t recommend doing sankyo this way until at least the mid or high kyu ranks.

Aikido TechniquesOnce you have the sankyo grip, you must take the slack out of

uke’s arm as you elevate his hand to get the upwards impulse. This should take no special effort. When you have the position right, uke will move easily. Drive up and back with the force

coming all the way from the ground.

To take uke down to the mat, cut down as if his arm is a sword

in breaking his balance. I’ve seen many variations on this movement, most seemingly because people worry about the effectiveness of the technique. Many people whip the arm down as if they are trying to shake uke’s hand off, while losing the rotation of the forearm that is characteristic of sankyo. This is less effective than the sword cut just described. If you feel pressure on your thumbs as you strike, reposition your hands with the thumbs rotated more inward so that the load is carried by the palm instead of the thumbs (as you should do with a sword).

The rotation of the forearm bones around each other should be maintained all the time until uke is on the floor tapping. Once uke is off balance and kneeling on the floor, the takedown should be continued from in front of uke’s arm. To do this, let go his elbow and step around his hand to face his feet, keeping the rotary pressure on his arm, and catch the elbow with your free hand. Draw uke out diagonally forward and push down at the same time, moving your body out of uke’s way as you do so. Then one of the sankyo pins can be applied.

The standing pin is applied by placing uke’s hand against your thigh, keeping his arm straight, and rotating it by turning your hips. As with any standing pin, watch uke’s shoulders to make sure he doesn’t roll away from you: if uke is stiff and strong, you might

Figure 15. Sankyo TakedownCut down like a sword

Aikido Techniquesnot be able to get a secure hold on him with one hand from this position. A hand on the elbow or a downward force along the arm into the shoulder will prevent such a roll.

The sitting pin involves a hand change and putting uke’s hand to your shoulder. As with nikkyo, be careful to keep control of uke as you kneel and transfer the hand, keeping the rotary pressure on uke’s arm. Obtain a submission by driving your free tegatana into the shoulder and rotating your body towards his head.

Sankyo can be applied even if uke holds on to you. From kata tori, turn under uke’s arm to position his hand on your shoulder and turn your body to apply the sankyo. From katate tori, if the wrist is still held, set up uke’s hand and cut back against his grip. Your body movement will apply a forceful sankyo, though not through any great distance of travel.

Sankyo ura is applied in much the same way as the omote takedown, but with uke still on his feet. From beside uke and facing the same way as he is, cut his arm down between your body and his (again, like a sword). As for sankyo omote, keep the rotation on uke’s arm as you do this. You can start the movement with two hands, but must let go with one hand to complete the movement. Uke should be forced to bend at the waist. If he doesn’t, you must use a different technique. If he does, catch his elbow with your free hand and drive the arm down and round behind his heels. It is vital that you cut first, and then push down on the elbow. If you reach up for it while uke is still standing and on balance, you are setting yourself up for him to do a counter technique on you. Push his arm down to the floor as you move round behind uke.

Sankyo can be turned into a projection, throwing uke either backwards or forwards. To throw backwards, get uke’s balance

Aikido Techniquesforward then briskly pick him up with sankyo and continue the hasso movement forcibly backwards, stepping to maintain your position, until uke completely loses his balance and falls. To throw forwards, cut forwards forcefully as if to bring him to the ground but more horizontally. These throws can be painful. Use them cautiously.

YonkyoYonkyo is similar to sankyo, but the forearm is gripped

instead of the hand. There is a pressure point, where pain can be applied, but that is of less importance than balance and technique. The pressure point is on the underside of the forearm where the radial nerve crosses the radius just above the wrist. It can readily be found on your own arm by grasping the forearm with the little finger just above the base of the thumb. Point your first finger 45 degrees across the arm, and twist the joint of that finger against the arm. By trying a number of positions, you will be able to find a painful spot. There is a similar one on the outside of the forearm.

In applying the technique, if the hands and body movement are correct, your hand will find the nerve and uke will feel pain without you trying. Don’t try to get the pain without the whole movement, because a determined uke can ignore the pain, but if you get the balance the technique will work every time.

Yonkyo can result in massive bruising on the arm if uke resists and nage grinds the knuckle into the arm. As uke, go down when it hurts rather than tying to see how much pain you can take. As

Figure 16. YonkyoHold the forearm like a sword handle and strike down with the arm as if it was a sword.

Aikido Techniquesnage, don’t grind your knuckle into the arm. Uke’s arm should be held with the undersurface back towards nage, as shown in Figure 16. Nage and uke should be facing the same direction as the technique is applied.

The key to yonkyo is for nage to grip uke’s forearm as if it is a sword and to strike down with it (again, like the second suburi), driving the elbow to the mat. This movement, similar to starting the takedown for sankyo, rotates uke’s shoulder and forces him to the mat. Note that the joints at the base of the first fingers of both of nage’s hands should again be on top of uke’s arm.

The pin, once uke is kneeling on the floor, consists of maintaining the grip on the arm and stepping forward towards uke’s armpit, while driving the elbow into the mat along a line above the shoulder. Thus, in addition to the pain from the radial nerve, uke’s shoulder can be separated.

Yonkyo can also be used for an effective throw from, for example, katate tori ai hanmi or morote tori. As uke steps in to grab your wrist, catch his hand, turn it outwards, and apply yonkyo so as to take his balance out to the side and behind him as for tenchi nage. Extension is critical to the success of this technique. If you fail to get uke’s balance he will stop you. Yonkyo can also be used in applying shihonage from these attacks, to better position uke for the technique.

ShihonageShihonage, another important technique for studying aikido, is

also based on the sword but involves turning the body and taking uke’s arm over the head. The first cut is horizontal, followed by a turn and a vertical cut.

Aikido TechniquesUnder no circumstances get into the habit of ducking under

uke’s arm. Instead, drive up the arm so that you can take it over your head. If you cannot push uke’s arm up, you are probably doing the technique incorrectly or uke has forestalled you. In

either case, you cannot do shihonage from where you are start again. The key is to move so that you can

comfortably throw uke. If it is difficult, you or he are in the wrong place.

Despite the name, shihonage can be an immobilization or a throw. In either case, uke’s body should be stretched by the combination of upwards extension and rotation of his wrist. Don’t damage his arm by cutting the movement short and taking him over your head. Generally, it is better to practice shihonage using a backwards (koho) ukemi. Nage can better study the technique, and uke has an easier time.

If nage throws uke hard with shihonage, the ukemi that must be used is difficult and somewhat dangerous. However, as some people are not concerned about how they throw or who they hurt, it is imperative that advanced students learn this type of ukemi for their own protection. In doing this ukemi, uke virtually flies over nage’s head, slapping as he lands. As uke, you should bring your head to your hand, not the other way around. Then, even if nage is overenthusiastic in applying the technique, uke will survive the throw without damage. If you try to pull back (taking the hand to the head) nage will feel it as resistance and will apply the technique harder.

Shihonage can be problematical if uke attacks kata tori and holds on to the shoulder. If nage then tries to go under this arm

Figure 17. Shihonage: Hand HoldCut out then up and over the head.

Aikido Techniques(which is the wrong way to do the technique) uke can drive down with his elbow, or even trap nage’s neck for a choke. Rather than ripping the hand off the gi (which sometimes works but takes more strength), use technique. Drive up uke’s other arm (the one you are doing shihonage on) with a circular movement leading with your elbow, using the leverage of uke’s hand flexed 90 degrees at the wrist as shown in Figure 18. Drive up your own arm and shoulder until there is a gap for you to step through. The angle of

the thrust is a little more vertical than usual, but uke doesn’t have a free hand to hit you with. You may have to pull in your neck slightly, but not if you extend uke’s arm sufficiently. This is an excellent exercise for avoiding entanglement.

Many problems are seen with shihonage. The commonest must be nage putting his arms over his head and even leaning back as he turns. Uke can then pull him over backwards. Nage must keep his hands where he can see them, particularly when practicing slowly. Later, the exact position is less important, but the control must still be there. Even when working with a small uke, be sure not to duck under his arms. If you have to do something to compensate for differences in height, keep your arms extended and bend your knees. As uke’s ukemi improves, even a short uke can go over a tall nage’s head.

Closely related to this, uke should be bent backwards at the end of the technique, as you go to throw. If uke is not bent backwards, he is not offbalance and you would not be able to

Figure 18. Kata Tori ShihonageDrive the elbow (in this case the left) up to make room for your head and take uke’s balance.

Aikido Techniquesfinish the technique unless he lets you. A good indicator of this is the position of his upper arm. If it is in front of his ear, you are not controlling him. If it is pointing behind him, particularly if he is leaning backwards, you have the technique.

Your inside foot (the one next to uke) should be forward at the end of the technique. Do not make an extra step with the outside foot: this sets you in the wrong position. The downward motion of uke’s arm should be in the plane his elbow bends in. However, adequate turning of the hips will ensure you are in the right position and that uke’s arm is not hurt. Do not move around uke until he is almost on the floor, even if you are doing a takedown from shihonage.

If your position is correct, shihonage will work well no matter what size uke and nage are relative to one another. However, if uke is much smaller, you might want to adjust his height to make the throw easier on uke. To do this, bend your knees rather than lose the arm extension. If you are much smaller than uke, you might feel that you haven’t got adequate control. You can do two things then. The main one is to twist uke’s arm more, using the flexed hand as a lever, so that uke has to bend more and compromise his balance. The other is to shuffle forward a step to make the arm lengths more compatible.

Shihonage is quite like the shiho giri sword practice described earlier (see Page 36). The four directions to practice with shihonage are omote, ura, a shallow ura, and a deep omote, which should let you throw to any of four directions at 90 degrees to one another from the same attack. Omote should throw uke in the direction he was headed. Ura should throw him back to where he was attacking from.

Aikido TechniquesThese four directions should be practiced with care to throw in

exactly these directions. The third and forth directions are the most difficult. Particularly for these, nage must keep control of his own hips and make uke conform to the throw, rather than the other way around. The same caution applies to any technique, and it is often violated. Learning to control the hips in this way is the main reason shihonage is stressed so much in teaching aikido.

Shihonage can also be practiced with uke holding nage’s arms as nage wields the sword. This will emphasize the correct movements and discourage truncating the technique. The sword cuts should be just like those for practicing using swords and two ukes (see Page 33).

Kote GaeshiKote gaeshi is a rotary movement of the forearm but in the

opposite direction to nikkyo, though again using the flexed hand as a lever. The key is to take uke’s attack and turn it into a horizontal circle as nage goes back to back to uke with a motion like cutting away from uke with a sword. The direction of the circle is then changed to a vertical one. This time, nage turns back towards uke, instead of continuing to turn in the same direction. From both uke and nage’s perspective, the motion of uke’s arm is quite similar to shihonage. The difference is that in shihonage the turn of nage’s hips is continued in the same direction to throw, while in kote gaeshi it is reversed. The throwing action should be like the third suburi, though perhaps with a slightly narrower stance. Nage’s power should come from the hips rather than only from the arms.

Aikido TechniquesBend uke’s hand at the wrist and use it as a lever to rotate the

forearm, as shown in Figure 19. To allow you to do so, make a point of not holding around uke’s wrist, splinting it, but grip either above or below the wrist. Throw uke using the palm of your hand

on the back of uke’s hand, not with two thumbs on the back of his hand: they are not strong enough.

For the throw, you should be off to uke’s side with his arm extended and your inside foot back. To throw, step forward and cut down as if with a sword. The step protects your groin and adds power to the throw. This cut takes uke’s arm behind his body, where it is weak. The direction of nage’s movement should be generally at right angles to uke’s forearm. Too much movement towards uke will put uke back on balance. Too much movement the other way will result in nage being hit on the head with uke’s free hand and losing control of the technique. Push, don’t pull.

Uke can take a back fall from this technique, but should graduate to a slapping fall as soon as possible. This is one of the easiest techniques for uke to practice this ukemi. But remember, don’t take too much force on this throw, go with it. If you hold back and nage makes a strong cut, it will hurt your elbow.

To practice the ukemi, nage should hold uke in the position for the fall. Uke then falls when he is ready, going head down over nage’s arm just like the “Roman handshake” practice. As he falls, uke will rotate around nage’s arm to land on his back on the mat. As he does so, uke should slap as hard as possible as he lands. To get a good wind up for the slap, uke should put his hand on nage’s

Figure 19. Kote GaeshiBend the wrist and rotate the forearm with it. Cut across the line of uke’s forearm and behind him. Uke is being thrown towards the camera.

Aikido Techniqueshands and leave it there until he has to slap. Once uke gets used to the fall, nage can start throwing, gently at first, building up over weeks or months to a normal amount of force.

After the throw, nage should rotate uke face down and apply the pin. To practice this, let go with the top hand, take uke’s hand across his face and push his elbow after it with your free hand. Too much upwards lift during the turn will bring uke back off the mat. Too much downwards force is painful to uke. The direction of force should be across uke’s face in the direction you want him to turn, and slightly down. Move from the hips.

Once uke is face down (making his feet and other hand less dangerous to you), apply the pin on the straight arm. As for sankyo, care is needed with a strong uke who has stiff shoulders. Maintain downwards pressure on the shoulder, holding uke’s elbow against the joint as necessary to control a stiff uke.

I remember as a beginner finding it hard to make uke move in kote gaeshi. I’d get back to back with him and have to struggle to get any further. The first thing to do to avoid this impasse is to keep uke moving which is hard to do as a beginner and is one reason why uke should be reasonably cooperative. The second is to study the sword practice for the technique (see Page 36). Take uke’s balance with a sweeping horizontal sword cut to his rear. In doing this, be careful not to drag him across your leg, as this makes your knee vulnerable. In practicing the cut, the more difficulty you have with uke, the deeper you should enter past him before the cut.

Kaiten NageThis is a movement where uke’s arm is used as a lever across

his back to throw. With omote, his arm is pushed across the back from side to side, vertically above the shoulders and with the head

Aikido Techniquesheld down almost at knee height. With ura, the arm is not elevated as vigorously, and his head is turned to follow the retreating movement of nage’s hips. At the same time, the arm is swung diagonally up and round, pushing uke’s body round and spinning him away.

To get uke into position, his arm is cut down, bending him over. On the cut down, nage’s fingers should touch the mat. Hold

down uke’s head with your other hand, not letting it come up as you continue the cut into an upward rotational movement. (Obviously, the hand on the head can deliver a strong atemi also.) Nage’s hand should end up in the natural position (thumb up) for throwing and should trap uke’s forearm just above the wrist using the yoke between finger and thumb. Atemi with your knee to uke’s face as you step in for the throw. The ukemi is a rolling breakfall.

For the omote version, line up uke crosswise to your body and the direction of your force. This is best achieved by drawing back strongly, with a step, after the cut down. Keep uke’s head down and both your and his arms extended. Step forward to throw, aiming an atemi with the knee at uke’s head.

For the ura, blend with uke, moving into his side and turning to face the same direction he is. Cut down in the direction he is going then continue the movement, bringing his hand up and round, while pushing his head down and round, until he falls down. In this case, unlike the omote, nage can reach up for uke’s head, but it is still not recommended as it exposes nage’s ribs. It is still

Figure 20. Kaiten Nage Omote.Lock out uke’s arm square to his body and throw across his shoulders.

Aikido Techniquesbetter to cut uke down than to reach up. Uke’s head should finish up close to nage’s thigh and the final impetus should come from a turn of nage’s hips and an extension of his arm. The ukemi can be

confusing for uke. He should turn and extend his free arm into position for a fall further round than expected.

Kaiten nage lends itself to some pretty throws, with lots of movement. Consequently, it is a good technique for small people. For example, from katate tori gyaku hanmi, move back to back with uke while extending the caught hand. As uke moves around to come in front again, slip under uke’s arm, maintaining extension. Cut uke down, hold the head down, sweep uke’s arm up, and throw. To be successful, nage must maintain his own and uke’s extension, while continuously accelerating uke to the point where he is thrown. This technique can be practiced with either uchi (nage going under uke’s arm) or soto (going outside and cutting to uke’s face) movements.

Irimi NageIrimi nage uses a circular motion that starts horizontally,

followed by a vertical circle to throw. However, the horizontal motion may also have an up and down component to take uke’s balance. The key to irimi nage is controlling uke's head. Nage cuts down uke's attack and slides in behind him (in an irimi movement). Uke's head is trapped on nage’s farther shoulder, and nage’s body movement throws uke to the ground. The key is to

Figure 21. Kaiten Nage UraTrap uke’s head low on your thigh and turn the whole body to throw him. Uke is being thrown behind nage.

Aikido Techniquestake uke’s balance and, use his head to throw him, as shown in Figure 22.

The old way of doing irimi nage was to hold the head down until uke got tired and tried to stand up. Nage would then push uke faster, so that he overbalanced and fell down. This works, and it gets across the idea of harmony, but there is no need to wait for uke to try to stand up. However, it is definitely a bad idea to try to force uke to stand up. If uke is reluctant to stand up, it may be because you have so much of their balance that you can drive them to the mat instead. This movement, substantially similar to ikkyo ura, except for having one of your arms on the collar instead of the elbow, is surprisingly effective.

If you want uke to stand back up, don’t try to return his head along the same path you used to drive it down or you will be putting him back on balance. Instead, turn your hips in the direction uke is looking, drawing him out, before lifting the head circularly.

Irimi nage can be omote, where nage steps past uke and throws him back where he came from, or ura, when he uses uke’s momentum to turn around and throw uke the way he was going. Kokyu nage (described on Page 92), where nage moves close into uke’s side and sweeps uke backwards with his arm, is a variety of irimi nage. From uke’s perspective, the throw is almost identical. From nage’s point of view, the major difference is that he is facing the opposite direction, looking the same way as uke. In either case, the throw must be performed from the hips.

Aikido TechniquesAn excellent practice for irimi nage is to do the halves of the

technique separately. If nage puts one hand behind his back, he can do half of the technique with the other hand. Then put the other hand behind the back and do the other half. The key to this exercise with the hand on uke’s arm is to maintain contact with that arm and use it to steer uke’s body. The key with the hand on

uke’s head is to pin the head firmly to your shoulder and to move uke with your body. After you can do the two halves separately, put the technique back together.

Shomen uchi irimi nage is a good technique to practice timing, as it can be done with any timing from early to late. Three timings, early, middle, and late, should be practiced until they become second nature, so that you can exploit uke’s feeling whether it is highly aggressive or weak. The early irimi involves entering early and holding down uke’s attack before it fully develops. Obviously you shouldn’t do this in the street until the fight has started, but once it is going, early irimi lets you take more definite control of uke and so control the fight. From shomen, as uke gets ready to attack, charge in with an atemi to the face, dash aside his arm and throw. Although the timing is early, the technique must not be rushed.

For the middle timing, blend with the attack as it happens. Again looking at a shomen attack, strike at the same time as uke, blending with uke’s movements, slipping into shikaku, taking the balance and throwing. This is the timing usually practiced for

Figure 22. Irimi Nage.Where the head goes, the body will generally follow.

Aikido Techniquesirimi nage, but pay attention to the timing, don’t think “here we go again”. Timing is a variable to be manipulated just like distance.

A late timing would be when uke surprises nage, but it can also be done when uke expects nage to move early. Nage can even feint to draw out uke, and fade away from the resulting attack. Then nage can slip in past the attack and throw. The feeling is like

letting uke push past, sticking to him as he does so, then steering him where you want him to go.

Tenchi NageThis is a body throw. Nage sets up uke so that there is strong

body contact along one side, then steps forward and turns the hips to throw uke. The name comes from the position of nage’s arms: one going to ten (heaven) and the other to chi (earth).

The commonest problem with tenchi nage is when nage lets one of his arms drift back in line with his shoulders, or even behind them. If uke resists at this point and nage forces the throw, nage may tear his shoulder. If your arm drifts back in this way, turn your body to reposition your arm without moving it relative to uke, and continue with the throw.

Just as irimi nage is a good technique to study timing, tenchi nage is a good technique to study distance. As uke moves in, nage should also move in, rather than waiting. This gives nage some momentum, minimizing the possibility of being steamrollered by uke. However, the most important benefit is that nage can then chose where contact occurs. By moving forward suddenly, nage can mislead uke so that contact is early, before uke is set, and nage will have a much easier throw. You want uke to think you are

Figure 23. Tenchi Nage: Kuzushi.Don’t let the arms drift behind the body.

Aikido Techniqueswhere you are not. This gives a timing to the technique that uke will have difficulty following, setting him up for the throw.

Do not push against uke’s strength. If uke comes to grab you with straight arms, drive in close to them but at an angle past them. Uke will be forced to bend his arms, and you can get close and throw. The “heaven” hand is an atemi to the face. Otherwise, uke can bend forward to prevent being thrown.

Ura is the same as omote, but nage turns the body to line up with uke. This gets him out of the line of the attack, and turns uke into a better position for the throw.

Tenchi nage and irimi nage often look alike, particularly when done fast. There are two general distinctions: in irimi nage, you are outside uke’s arms and you throw using uke’s head, in tenchi nage, you are inside the arms, and throw by body contact.

Koshi NageHip throws are basically trips. You set up uke for a fall, and

as he steps forward to recover you insert a hip and he falls over it. Your entrance should be low, so that the pivot point is down near uke's belt, preferably just below it.

Very often, beginners get the idea that koshi nage is a violent uncontrolled throw which requires bobbing up on the legs. It isn't. It involves positioning the hips correctly with regard to uke, and uke then is forced to fall onto the hips. If the hips are tilted so that the hip nearer to uke is lowered and then the tilt is reversed, uke will float off the ground and over nage onto the ground before uke can adjust.

Figure 24. Tenchi Nage: KakeKeep your nose behind your big toe

Aikido TechniquesThere is a wide variety of koshi nages. The best one to start

with is “Tform”, where nage bends down with his back about 60° from the vertical and crosswise in front of uke. The other extreme is where uke is thrown in almost a horizontal circle rather than a

vertical one, similar to the judo ukigoshi. This is very effective if

you enter as for ikkyo omote, get in close, and throw uke back where he came from.

The epitome of koshi nages can be done from shomen uchi. If nage blends well with uke’s movements, moving in front of uke as he is still coming in, uke falls over nage’s back. Unfortunately, this technique is often done badly. The key is not just to get low, but to position the body well, so that even if uke only falls onto nage’s body, a rotation of the hips will dump him on the other side. Blend with his motion. The technique should be one movement, entering under uke’s legs and continuing through where his legs were, continuing the motion to move away after the throw. Thus, the chance of uke stopping in time are minimal.

Resistance on the part of uke is extremely detrimental to learning koshi nage, and is also very common. The resistance is mostly due to fear, as the ukemi can be quite harsh when the technique is done in a poorly controlled fashion by somebody who has not learned it well. To overcome this fear, nage should start by simply picking uke up in a slow and controlled fashion with the deep Tform koshi nage and putting him back down on his feet. When nage can reliably do this, without feeling any strain or loss of balance, uke will lose much of his fear and be ready to take the fall. At that point, uke should watch nage’s face and nage should

Figure 25. Koshi Nage.Load uke on the hips then tip him over the other side.

Aikido Techniqueshold on with an arm around uke’s hips (not the chest). Then nage can slowly rotate so that uke falls with a minimum of impact. Uke should wind up his arm for the slap, and breathe out on impact. Unless uke is much bigger than nage, nage can put him down as gently as necessary.

Kokyu Nage (Sokumen Irimi Nage)Kokyu nage is a “breath throw”. Move in so close to uke,

facing the same direction, that you steal his space, then sweep the

arm up, back, and down, throwing him down with a step to the rear. This technique is often practiced from katate tori or morote tori, when nage must learn to move even when uke is holding nage’s arm. This is not difficult if nage keeps his arm extendedand uses uke’s grip as the pivot point. The same sort of movement is used as in shihonage, when nage must not let his movement be determined by uke, but moving from his own center. The same position is used against strikes, though there is then no grip for reference. Nage and uke must be aligned at the start of the throw. This means that nage moves to where he is looking in the same direction as uke.

Practice just moving to uke’s side as if to do kokyu nage, so that you can move freely whether or not he is holding. The entrance is the same for katate tori and tsuki.

Two problems often encountered by nage are not getting uke positioned so that a vertical arm sweep will throw him down, and allowing uke to hold down nage’s arm. When uke is on balance

Figure 26. Kokyu Nage.Sweep the arm vertically and with extension through uke’s head.

Aikido Techniquesand nage is slightly too far away, uke’s head is not over nage’s arm and a vertical arm sweep will miss the head.

The problem with nage’s arm being held down is again due to uke not working correctly. Knowing what is coming, uke can move his weight forward and push down on nage’s arm, making the upward movement difficult at best. This does make kokyu nage difficult, but sets up uke for a number of other techniques. However, almost always, if nage keeps the arm extended and turns away from uke as he lifts his arm, the movement can be easily completed. Furthermore, this same movement will put nage in a better position to throw uke.

Turning the kokyu nage into a horizontal sweep is a common problem with beginners, often compounded by pushing against uke’s chest instead of his head, where he is strong and nage is weak. There are several reasons for this difficulty. One is that nage is not close enough. You must get so close you take uke’s space. Another is that the direction of the sweep is wrong. You cannot sweep uke down unless the arm sweep is aimed at uke’s head (requiring nage to turn his body more). A third is that you must get uke’s balance. If you take the balance correctly, uke will lean towards you, bringing the head closer, to where you can throw him down with a vertical sweep.

Kokyu nage is also useful against mae geri (front snap kick). Be careful to see which way the knee is pointing. It will be pointing at uke’s target zone, and the initial move for a round kick will look very different from the start of a front kick. As uke strikes, enter in close beside him, as is shown in Figure 27. Sweep the leg out and the head back. Your arm must be down close to uke’s ankle, or he will be able to drive his foot down and counter you.

Aikido TechniquesThe fall from this technique can be quite severe. Uke must

either fall back and slap the mat, or turn to roll out of it. In any case, be careful when practicing.

Kokyu nage is sometimes called the twentyyear technique because of the difficulty of executing it well. However, learning how to move into the correct position for kokyu nage is also beneficial for other techniques and so practice of kokyu nage should not be neglected.

Aiki OtoshiAiki otoshi involves moving in low to uke’s side and picking

up his legs to throw him backwards, as shown in Figure 28. The key to the technique is, once again, the balance. If you move in and try to pick up a large uke without taking his balance, you will hurt yourself. Move in as if for kokyu nage, but make body contact and lean into him to push uke off balance backwards Then, when you move down to his knees, the technique is easy to perform. As uke tries to step back to regain his balance, trap his knees, lift his legs (not the whole body), and stand up to throw. Guide the knees far enough out to avoid getting hit in the face. The result should be rather like a hip throw in reverse. The fall can be quite severe. Uke can slow it down by dragging his arms down nage’s back.

Figure 27. Kokyu Nage from Mae GeriStep in close to uke and sweep the arms apart.

Aikido Techniques

Juji NageJuji nage or juji garami means

“figure ten throw”, the name coming from the shape of the Japanese figure ten or “ju”. Uke’s arms should be

crossed into a figure ju (“X”), wrapped around one another with the inside of the elbows together. This throw is important because it is probably the main technique with a noarms breakfall. However, if uke is thrown out far enough, it can become a rollingbreakfall. Both uke and nage should pay attention to uke’s arm position. If the arms are crossed with one arm the wrong way, you could injure uke’s elbows or lose control of the technique.

The hardest part of this technique from nage’s point of view is how to get into it. Remember to keep both your thumbs up as you do the actual throw. To get into the technique from an ushiro attack, remember to lead with the back of the hand, catching uke’s arm with the yoke of the hand as for kaiten nage. From a frontal attack, say from ryote tori, don’t grasp uke’s arm from on top, but instead insert the arm below uke’s arm and push up, as for tsuki ikkyo omote.

Often, in an attempt to make the position more comfortable, uke will turn away from nage. This can put uke in the position where he can deliver a rear kick to nage, and makes both the throw and the ukemi difficult. Nage can avoid this by positioning uke’s arms correctly, tightly crossed, and by entering more to the front of uke as he throws. Uke should relax and allow himself to be thrown, so that the fall is not too hard.

Figure 28. Aiki Otoshi.Take the balance before lifting.

Aikido TechniquesIf uke resists by tensing up, he is on balance. To get him off

balance, turn away from him and push him round in the same direction as he is pushing (away from the technique), aligning with his force. Then redirect his power upwards and reverse direction, throwing him circularly.

Figure 29. Juji Nage.Make sure uke’s arms are well wrapped around one other with the inside of the elbows together.

Henka Waza and Kaeshi WazaAlways do a technique as if you expect it to succeed, but, in

the street or in freestyle, always be ready to change to another one. With sufficient practice in the basic techniques, you will be able to do this effortlessly and without thought.

Henka waza is starting with one technique and finishing with another, without uke and nage changing roles. Kaeshi waza is the same thing, with uke and nage changing roles. Thus, kaeshi waza are counter techniques. The key in either case is to stay relaxed, and to flow with the technique which is what you should have learned in doing ukemi while redirecting your partner’s power. If you struggle, instead of using technique, the strongest and most flexible person generally wins. In a sense, all aikido techniques are kaeshi waza, because uke initiates the exchange with an attack, and nage then throws uke down. However, this is a matter of perspective, as nage should always control the initiative.

A nice series of henka waza is to start with ikkyo and changing sequentially to nikkyo, sankyo, and yonkyo. In each case, cut uke down to take his balance. As uke resists, change the technique, letting the elbow rise somewhat and applying the next technique. A key benefit is to learn to go from one technique to the next without fumbling, so start slowly and get it right before speeding things up. Another series is to throw uke with shihonage, without letting go, and as he comes back off the floor do kote gaeshi, and as he rises from the floor again, do ikkyo, then go back through the sequence with kote gaeshi and shihonage. The techniques should flow from one to the other.

An excellent exercise for ikkyo and for kaeshi waza is for uke to turn away from the technique as nage starts to do ikkyo, move

Henka Waza and Kaeshi Wazabehind nage and take over the technique, doing ikkyo on his partner, who then repeats the same move. Both people should feel for the advantage in this exercise, to feel when and how they can take charge without much effort. They should be looking for suki, rather than using muscle to make their technique work.

A typical kaeshi waza series is where one person strikes at another and he goes to do irimi nage. As nage sweeps uke through 180 degrees, uke captures the outstretched hand, slips under the arm, and does sankyo. A henka waza response is for the original nage to feel uke slipping away, and to grasp uke’s collar, unbalance him to the rear, and throw him down. This can continue with several exchanges of control. The key to slipping into the sankyo is to flow a little faster than your partner can handle and to extend that arm to take the balance. The key to taking back control from the sankyo is to relax into the sankyo and take your partner’s balance as he goes under your arm. However, the details are unimportant. What is critical is to feel where each of you is weak and where each is strong, and to relax enough to take instant advantage of an opening (suki). This is why kaeshi and henka waza are generally practiced by advanced students. You cannot do them effectively if you are still thinking about which foot to put forward.

For kaeshi or henka waza, timing is critical. Instead of trying to overpower your partner, flow with him, but change the timing so that you have the advantage. You can easily feel a difference, feel who has the advantage, by doing a series of shihonage techniques. If one person remains nage for the series, there is a different feeling between the techniques from when you are changing roles, with one person throwing and then the other person. The feeling of control comes early in the technique as one practitioner takes

Henka Waza and Kaeshi Wazathe balance of the other. Learning to feel the difference and learning to manipulate that control are crucial to both henka and kaeshi waza.

Ultimately, ukemi is a kaeshi waza technique, allowing you to escape from a bad situation and get back to your feet ready to continue fighting. The ideal situation is when you don’t even think about who is doing what and with what, but just flow. Learn to flow well enough, and you will be able to control the flow and take control of it. This is possibly the highest expression of aikido.

WeaponsWeapons are used as tools to improve technique, and they are

also used by attackers to escalate an attack. The weapons used for practicing technique are generally the bokken, jo, and knife. (Use of the sword to practice body movements and timing is discussed in an earlier section, see Page 33.) All of these weapons and others can be used in an attack the student may be unfortunate enough to be exposed to. The jo and bokken are like clubs. The knife is one of the weapons likely to be encountered in everyday life. The same principles also apply to defense against guns. Unarmed defense against any weapon is dangerous and should be avoided if possible.

In practicing weapons techniques, pay attention to the particular dangers of the individual weapon you are faced with, but don’t pay undue attention to the weapon: avoid being mesmerized by it. The attacks are almost the same as the unarmed attacks we practice, and so are the techniques. Always control the weapon during the technique and finish up holding it, but your intent should always be to deal with the person.

There is a tendency for nage to feel powerful when he has a weapon. When you have the weapon, as is practiced with the jo, do not let it determine what you will do. If uke manages to catch the jo and stop your technique, be ready to let go and do something else. This can be figurative, in the sense of changing the technique, partial, letting go with one hand while taking control of uke with the other, or complete, letting uke have the jo (briefly).

Freestyle and Multiple Attacks

Sword Techniques

A sword is dangerous. The point and edge are both potentially lethal, but the back of the blade or the pommel can also be used to devastating effect. A sword extends ma ai by the length of the blade, so nage must move faster, either in to do technique or out of range. As nage does a technique he must control the blade as well as uke’s body. This usually involves taking hold of the handle between uke’s hands and taking uke’s balance: if you have one hand on the handle of the sword and uke has two, he will control the blade unless you have his balance.

In response to a shomen uchi, move to uke’s side and strike down with your hand as he strikes, matching speed before grasping the sword. As you catch the handle, drive it down to overbalance uke, then lift up briskly, step forward and throw with a downwards cut, keeping the sword.

For doing shihonage, as uke lifts the sword, step in and catch both his hands and the sword. This stops him changing his grip or letting go of the sword. As he cuts down, don’t try to stop him. Instead, deflect the cut away from your body and step to uke’s side, pushing in the direction of his cut to take his balance. Continue the cut down and drive the blade back at him, as shown in Figure 30, making him jump back to avoid getting rapped on the shins, then step through and complete the throw, releasing uke’s hands but keeping hold of the sword.

Figure 30. Shihonage with a Sword.Drive the blade back towards his legs to make him jump out of the way.


Jo TechniquesMa ai is increased further with a jo than with a sword, and

nage must enter still more vigorously to cover the distance in time.

Techniques When Attacked with a Jo. Except for its length, the jo is dealt with in much the same way as any other attack: get off line and redirect it. In the case of a tsuki attack, you can slip to the side in an irimi movement, entering through a greater distance. You also have to enter further with yokomen. The jo is most dangerous at the tip, where it is moving fastest. You have to get inside this area and take out uke without getting hit by the tip. The other end can also be dangerous. When you have an uke who isn’t too keen to hit you and is holding back, instead of swinging the jo, they might hold it stiffly and unintentionally jam the butt end into your arm. A smart attacker can also do the same thing.

As for doing techniques with the sword, trap uke’s fingers on the jo.

Then he can’t let go, and you get control of him as well as the jo. However, remember that fingers are easily damaged, and show consideration for uke.Jo Tori. If you can, take the jo away from uke and use it against him. If he then catches the jo and you throw him, this is jo tori. The key to jo tori is to maintain your extension and use the stick to maneuver uke. If you use too much force you will end up with two short sticks. Instead, feel for his weaknesses.

One of the best techniques most powerful and prettiest to see is to sweep uke’s feet with the jo. When you do this, make a

Figure 31. Jo Tori. A Jo gives greater extension to both nage and uke.

Freestyle and Multiple Attacksbig movement to get uke offbalance first, or you will just hit uke’s legs and it will hurt. In the dojo, hitting his legs will annoy your partner. In the street, it will probably not break anything and will just irritate your attacker. As you sweep the feet, make sure that you do not try to take the legs at an unnatural angle, especially when sweeping the legs from behind.

Knife TechniquesKnife practice should be more focused than other aikido

techniques, because a real knife attack is more dangerous than, for example, a punch. Always practice as if the knife is real. As a result, the falls are harder and practice is usually restricted to higher ranks. A real knife with a sharp blade should be used for knife technique. Otherwise, students get careless. However, a wooden or rubber knife can be used as well to practice with less risk, particularly at first.

You must pay attention to where the knife goes, and control it. Could you have been cut with it if the attack had been real? Eliminate from your repertoire those techniques that result in close calls and focus on the ones where it is easy to control the knife or even use it to threaten uke.

When you are attacked by someone with a knife, don't focus on the knife any more than you would focus on an unarmed attacker. Look at it, see what type it is, and go back to a more general attention on the attacker and your surroundings. Make sure you notice if the knife is single edged or double edged, and if the point is sharp or not. Knife attacks can be slashing or stabbing. The point of the knife is the most dangerous part. The edge is a little less dangerous, but still to be avoided. If you ever are attacked for real, you will probably get cut. Don't panic over a cut.

Freestyle and Multiple AttacksIt isn't over until you bleed to death, which can take a long time. If you can, grab a weapon of your own. A broom stick is quite effective against a knife. It's longer.

Gokyo. Gokyo is primarily taught as a knife technique. It is

similar to ikkyo, with the crucial difference that uke’s wrist and weapon are more controlled. The thumb is applied to the inner side of uke’s wrist, limiting his ability to rotate it to cut nage’s arm.

For gokyo omote, the key is to enter early with an atemi as uke draws back or soon after that. With yokomen uchi, knock down the weapon by striking the middle of uke’s forearm as shown in Figure 32. Too close to the elbow, and the weapon might swing round and clip your head. Too close to the hand, and the weapon might slip past and cut your arm. Don’t knock the arm down too far. If you do, uke can continue the blow below your arm and cut your body or, at least, you will have to change techniques. The atemi knocks uke back, and gokyo can be applied. A late technique is less effective, there is serious risk of getting your arm cut, and it has to be done as an ura.

Gokyo omote also works well against shomen uchi. As shown in Figure 33, stop the strike with your rear hand on the elbow while reaching in to atemi to the face with the other hand. Immediately after knocking uke’s head back, taking his balance, reach up to grasp his wrist and step in to complete the technique.

Figure 32. Yokomen Uchi Gokyo Omote. Don’t strike the arm down too much or uke will slip the knife under your defense


Kote Gaeshi. Kote gaeshi is an excellent technique

against a knife. Once you control the weapon you can use it to threaten uke. Certainly make sure that the point goes closer to uke’s face than to yours. Also, when you do kote gaeshi as a knife technique, shorten the circle you make with uke’s arm. A big sweeping movement looks quite impressive in demonstrations, but for practical use against a knife, shorten the movement to the point where uke goes straight to the ground. (Be careful in the dojo.)

The turnover is basically the same as for any other kote gaeshi. However, there should be more emphasis on moving uke. Presumably your uke has moderately advanced ukemi. Bounce him on the mat and turn him over, tearing the knife from his grip as you do so. If uke holds on to the knife, rotate it out of his grip using the leverage of the knife itself. You can use the blade for leverage, but there is greater risk of injury.

Nikkyo. Straight arm nikkyo is probably the most effective technique against a committed thrust (tsuki) with a knife. Unlike other aikido techniques, it is applied against the back of the elbow (gyaku) and thus has little room for error. As uke attacks, slip to the side, catch uke’s arm, and extend it forward and then to the

Figure 33. Shomen Uchi Gokyo.Enter early and atemi to the face, taking uke’s balance backwards.

Figure 34. Kote Gaeshi with a knife.Keep the knife away from your own leg as you throw uke.

Freestyle and Multiple Attacksside, trapping it under your armpit and against your hip. If his elbow is incorrectly placed rotate it with both hands. Drive your

hip down and back. Practice this cautiously. As uke, throw the feet out behind and slap as you fall face down on the mat.

Sankyo. Sankyo is effective against knife attacks so long as nage can grip the hand without getting cut. Against an “ice pick” shomen uchi attack, which would not usually be used by anyone with any knife fighting expertise, it does lend itself to using uke’s knife to threaten him. By guiding the knife down, uke might even be induced to stick the knife in his own leg. If not, enter under the arm as shown in Figure 35, striking an atemi with the elbow as you do so, turn, and drive the knife towards uke’s ribs. This will make him jump out of the way while you remove the knife from his hand and take him to the mat with the other hand.

Figure 35. Sankyo Knife Defense.Atemi with the elbow as you go under uke’s arm. Keep a firm grip on both uke’s fingers and on the knife handle.


Freestyle and Multiple AttacksOneonone practice lets students develop and refine

techniques. However, aikido was developed to work with multiple attackers. In practicing for multiple attacks, nage must be comfortable with the techniques he will use and his ukes must be comfortable with the resulting ukemi.

The key to surviving multiple attacks is to deal with one attacker at a time, isolating and taking care of him while remaining aware of the others and the environment. By the way you move about the mat, you can draw each uke out. By constantly turning, you can avoid presenting an immediate target to the other attackers. By moving circularly, you can avoid being caught from behind. By using one attacker to block or take out another, the effective number of attackers can be kept down.

When you are faced by a number of attackers, only a few can attack at a time as they get in each others way. You must take and retain the initiative (as you should do in individual practice). This does not mean attacking first, although this can give an advantage, but it does mean not waiting for them to attack you either. Be particularly careful about keeping away from walls, edges of mats, corners, and obstacles. The idea of getting your back against a wall is not a good one. A wall cuts your options in half. A corner can cut them to a quarter.

The first rule is to move constantly and continuously. As they attack, move so that only one attacker can reach you. Move so that as they converge on you, you are continually changing the focus of convergence to a different place on the mat. Even your mind must move constantly. If your mind is caught by one thing, even if it is how well you threw the last attacker, you will be hit from behind.

Freestyle and Multiple AttacksStudents tend to become static when faced with multiple

attackers. They focus on what they are doing to the exclusion of all else. They set themselves on the mat and wait. This is wrong. Don’t wait for the attack, move, meet uke halfway. If the nearest uke is slow off the mark, move in on him and crowd him, take another uke, or just move somewhere else: whatever you do, keep moving. This cannot be stressed too much. The moment you stop moving you will get attacked from all sides.

Take out the nearest attacker, either quickly or using him to clear the mat around you. Move towards him as he closes with you so that there is less opportunity for another attacker to reach you at the same time. Keep moving as you throw him (without spoiling the throw). And keep moving from where you were when you threw him, so that you are no longer where the other attackers expect you to be. Constantly turn to check your back and beware of an uke who stays out of the pack waiting for a chance to get behind you. Most uke are too nice to remind you if you are leaving your back unguarded. This is unfortunate. As uke, in multiple attack practice, even if you just tap nage on the shoulder to let him know you are there, do let him know. Many aikido techniques involve rotary movements of nage’s body. Exaggerate these movements to constantly watch your back and use uke’s body to clear a circle around you. Weave each turn into your general movement about the mat. Weave the turn into your technique and turn away afterwards.

When two or more people converge on you at the same time, change the timing. Move closer to one and take out that one before taking out the other. Use an irimi movement to slip between the two, or past one on the outside. You can take out one on the way, or just move past and keep going.

Freestyle and Multiple AttacksDon’t back up because it draws all the attackers in on you.

Don’t let yourself be chased about the mat. Move forward, scattering them as you go. Plan your way around the mat, keeping away from the walls and corners and practice these movements slowly enough to avoid getting confused and caught when you have to do them fast.

Use different techniques. It is a bad practice to use one or two techniques all the time. In the street, it makes you predictable and too easy to defeat. Generally, use short snappy techniques, but don't truncate them. Rushing them will make them ineffective. If you hurry your techniques on the mat, they will become even smaller and more hurried on the street and probably won't work. Certainly don't use complex techniques and immobilizations. They take too long. What would you do if you are holding somebody on the ground and his buddy comes up and kicks you from behind? The exception is techniques like sankyo which can be used to clear a space by turning uke in a complete circle around you.

One technique I don’t like to see is when nage dives at the feet of one of the attackers, assuming he will fall over the top. I don’t like it for two reasons. One is that you are sacrificing your standing position. The other is that it isn’t a complete technique, so it looks sloppy even if it works. Third, it isn’t a good idea in the street. The idea is, however, a good one if carried out correctly as a koshi nage. You don't have to do a technique every time you touch an uke or one of them touches you. It’s nice to be able to, but an evasion is often enough, perhaps followed by a push to put uke in the way of the next attacker.

Pace yourself. Most fights last about ten seconds, but some drag on. If you get winded before the others, you are likely to lose. Fight smart. In the street, use obstacles to your advantage,

Freestyle and Multiple Attacksthrowing people into walls, cars, lampposts, or whatever. As an advanced student, you can throw ukes into one another or into walls, but there is a risk of injury to your partners if you do this.

It isn’t enough to understand these ideas. You have to practice them, and there are excellent ways to practice parts of the situation. To get used to multiple attackers, work in groups to practice basic technique. Throw one, then another. Initially, restrict the attacks to a single type, restrict the throws to one technique, don’t let the ukes attack all at once, and keep the attacks slow. As nage learns how to do this, increase the difficulty until it is a freeforall with substantially full speed attacks by the time you approach promotion to shodan.

In case you do get crowded by ukes, there are several ways to practice getting out of a huddle. One is to have two people hold your arms, and to do technique on both of them. This lets you understand how to handle the worstcase situation. The key is to work with one of your uke’s at a time, pulling with one of them to move the other one. However, you should never let yourself get caught like this.

Another good practice is the set of kumitachi exercises shown earlier (see Page 36). There, two ukes are attacking nage from 180 degrees apart. If you wait in the middle, you will get caught by both at once. The key is to move so that they do not both arrive in a position to strike you at the same time. For practice, set up with both ukes at ma ai, ready to strike when you move. When you are ready, move towards one uke and take that one out then turn to face the other. In the street, the movements would be less structured, but the same principle, of moving to control the timing of the attack, is still critical.

Freestyle and Multiple AttacksPerhaps even more useful is the exercises Saito Sensei shows

with one nage surrounded by several uke, either armed with sticks or not. The key is to break out between two of the attackers and push one of them into the middle. Particularly if they don’t expect it, this is quite easy to do. Generally an irimi escape is most appropriate. As with any other irimi movement, you must not warn them where you are going, or when. With six attackers, you have six openings to chose from. They should be thinking of hitting you, and not thinking of avoiding being thrown into the middle.

Practice multiple attacks with ukes in a circle around nage. Start with katate tori attacks and open handed techniques, leading uke so that he gets overextended and falls. As you get used to this situation and uke’s ukemi improves, increase the variety of attacks and defenses. Practice similarly with nage using a jo.

An initial example is shown in Figure 36. The exercise starts out with nage between two attackers. This is a vulnerable position, as both attackers could be on top of him at the same time. To avoid this, nage must move towards one uke, so that the attacks arrive at different times. He enters behind one uke, and throws him at the other. (In the dojo, throw him in front of the other uke.)


3. Nage now has all his attackers in front of him. Uke 2 is now the nearest. 2 and 4 attack.

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4. Nage moves behind 2 and throws him in front of 3 and moves away from 4.

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6. All uke’s converge on nage, but only 3 of them are close enough to attack effectively. Nage moves to throw uke 4.

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2. As they attack, nage slips out of the circle, moving to the rear of one of the ukes and throwing him into the circle, blocking ukes 1 & 5.

1. Nage is surrounded by 5 attackers.

5. Ukes 1 and 4 now converge on nage.


Uke 2 then moves round uke 1 and attacks, and nage throws him at uke 1, who is just getting up. To practice this, start with shomen uchi attacks, and irimi nage. Neither uke should move until nage moves, then they should both attack vigorously. Nage should

Figure 36. Two Attackers

Freestyle and Multiple Attacksthrow each attacker then stop, as the practice tends to become a freeforall after the second throw.

A more advanced situation is shown in Figure 37, where nage is attacked by five people. Again, the first thing for nage to do is get out of the middle of the circle. He does this with an irimimovement between two of the attackers, taking one and throwing him into the center. This blocks some of the attackers. He moves towards one of the remaining attackers and throws him, again blocking some of the others. He keeps picking an attacker and closing with him, thereby changing his position to avoid being caught by several of the attackers at once. He keeps doing this, moving round the mat avoiding being trapped in the middle of the attackers again, while avoiding the corners and edges of the mat.

Finally, practice the freestyle as if testing for a promotion. Again start slowly. Concentrate on the initial contact. If all the attackers are coming at once, how do you decide who to take out first? That matters less than doing it crisply and well. Usually, one attacker will outdistance the rest of the pack. If he is so eager, take him out first. You’ll have more time to set up that technique than the next one. Throw him in the way of the others while you move to limit your exposure. Usually, this will mean moving towards a wall to flank the pack. Don’t continue in this direction. Take out the next one that gets to you, and move through the pack to get back to the middle of the mat.

In a street situation, the attacks would be more violent, but so would the defenses. Nage now has to contend with obstacles such as cars and street poles, which can be both a danger and a tool. He should never let himself be surrounded. There is a lot to be said for taking out the biggest and meanest attacker first and spectacularly. However, it is more important to do whatever is

Freestyle and Multiple Attacksappropriate for the situation: don’t set your mind on doing any particular technique or strategy.


TeachingFor most martial artists, teaching is the high point of their

career. A few, such as policemen, do use aikido in their occupation but for most of us teaching is more important and certainly more frequent. Ideally, our art is so good that we never have to use it to defend ourselves in the street. However, few people are taught how to teach. Two common problems I have seen is for teachers to teach what they want to do (rather than what the students need), and to overload students with detail they are not ready to absorb.

Perhaps the most important point to remember when teaching is respect for your uke and for the class. You must create an environment where students can learn, where they can experiment. This is not traditional, but it is necessary for western schools, or they will have few students. It includes avoiding both physical and mental abuse. There is no excuse for a teacher injuring his uke. It merely shows poor control and inadequate technique. Similarly, while accidents will occasionally happen, there is no excuse for allowing students to injure each other. I am not talking about bruises and scrapes, but injuries requiring medical attention and time off work. Students do get carried away with enthusiasm, and this is good so long as they are working with people of a similar level who can handle the ukemi. However, students must show reasonable care when working with smaller, less strong, or less experienced students. It is your responsibility as a teacher to make sure they do so.

Class should be enjoyable. If students are tense and afraid, they won’t learn and they won’t stay for long. I don’t mean classes should be a laugh a minute though occasional jokes can relax

Freestyle and Multiple Attackseverybody. However, students should leave class with a feeling of accomplishment. What should you do if you have a student whom you refuse to teach, either because he cannot or will not learn, or because you do not trust the use he will make of the art? Certainly you should not beat him up until he gets the message. Just ask him to leave.

What should you do if you are challenged in class? I feel that a serious challenge should be refused. A class is no place to accept a challenge, and I do not accept challenges anyway. When I have been challenged, a refusal has been sufficient. The more usual situation is where students want to see who is better, and don’t have the maturity to realize that struggling in class simply proves they are not as good as they think. This is generally harmless, and might even help senior students if kept to a low level. However, it does prevent them learning what you are teaching and should not be encouraged. Occasionally, I will take an uke and find that he feels he has to prove he is better than me. Generally, my technique is adequate to handle the situation. If not, I’d ask him to hold less tightly, or strike more slowly. I’m not there to prove I can beat up the world, just to demonstrate what the class should practice.

The key in teaching is to demonstrate. I can do technique fast or slow. Students have enough trouble seeing what I am demonstrating when I do it slowly. They cannot see the details when I do the technique rapidly. So teach the details slowly, then teach the more advanced students the complete movement at full speed when they have mastered enough of the technique to benefit from it. (However, most times they will figure out how to do it fast on their own. You will only need to show it fast if the class is falling into a spiritless mode of executing techniques.)

Freestyle and Multiple AttacksAikido is no different for men and women. However, the

teaching of aikido must be somewhat different. Women have a different attitude to life, and different physical abilities than most men. They are looking for different things in life. Women need more coaching in things that are physically difficult for them, like ukemi. Men need to learn how to use less muscle, particularly at first. Techniques cannot be learned correctly when a student uses a lot of strength. Of course, as their techniques improve, they should learn how to feed more strength into the technique without losing control of it.

Many people in our society have a problem with being physically close to strangers. It is hard for some people to take a stranger’s head and put it on their shoulder to do irimi nage. Be patient and gently encourage them to get over this feeling. Also, encourage all members of the class to respect dojo rules for cleanliness. Everybody has a characteristic smell, some more pleasant than others, but nobody wants to work with a smelly uke in a dirty gi and having long toenails.

Another aspect of respect is to start on time and to finish on time. People do have other lives, and often have tight schedules. It is discouraging for people to hurry from work to get to class on time, to find it started early, or for somebody to have to leave when the class is still going because they have to get to work. Classes should run as scheduled unless the dojo burns down. Even then, you can work in the parking lot. This is particularly true with seminars, when people travel miles to come. If a class schedule is published, stick to it.

When you start a class, take a look at the people facing you. Ideally, there is a narrow spread of rank and ability. More often, there is a wide range. I’ve had a range from total beginners to

Freestyle and Multiple Attackssandan in a single class, with everything in between. This is challenging. However, I have never seen a high ranked aikidoka who could not benefit from more basic training myself included. On the other hand, the beginner cannot be expected to do complicated techniques with scary breakfalls. As a result, there is a tendency to always teach basics. Classes should be mostly basics, but there has to be enough higher level technique to keep the advanced students interested.

Part of the answer is to be more demanding of higher ranks. A sandan doing shomen uchi ikkyo omote should be doing the same basic technique, but should be doing it more precisely and studying it in more depth. As you walk around the mat, watch how people do the technique and give personal instruction appropriate to the student’s ability, physique, and rank. Keep advice down to one or two points of direction for anyone at any one time. More than this will confuse your students. Often, just a comment is needed to alert a student to something he thought he was doing and isn’t, or to push him to the next step forward. Unless they are totally wrong, I let everybody try the technique a couple of times before I help. You know what you taught, because it is your technique. Others, even advanced students, might need a few tries to figure it out. Push them too soon and they will revert to their way.

Some teachers talk too much. Aikido is an active art. Your students won’t learn it by listening to you talking. Perhaps the Japanese talked too little, but many western instructors talk too much. We spend little enough time on the mat. All that time should be used productively.

When you demonstrate a technique in a particular way, have everybody do it in that way. It is confusing to beginners if everybody is doing a variation on the technique, and if somebody

Freestyle and Multiple Attackscomes to your class, they should be ready to learn from you. They won’t do so unless they are practicing your technique. If they don’t like the way you do technique, they can go to a different teacher.

Your lesson should be consistent, starting at a pointappropriate for the class and moving step by step to a more advanced point. Jumping around, teaching a set of unrelated techniques, should be avoided as it confuses people. However, there is an exception with higher ranked people. If you find their freestyle too predictable, you might want to teach more randomized techniques.

I use the same basic class plan that I was taught with: warmup, ukemi, simple techniques, and harder techniques. I also do knee walking (shikko) every class. I like to finish with either multiple attacks or kokyu ho. I think a disciplined approach to teaching is important, because not everybody consistently and conscientiously practices what they don’t like. For example, westerners generally dislike knee walking, and so don’t learn to move the hips well enough for good standing techniques. People tend to arrive late and don’t warm up adequately on their own. They tend not to practice ukemi, and don’t improve it as much as they should. Stretching (increasing joint mobility), if done at all, should be done at the end of the class, when people are warm. However, I don’t see much need for stretching in aikido. Warmup, on the other hand, gets more important every year as I get older. Many injuries are caused by insufficient warmup.

Lesson Plan• Aiki taiso• Ukemi• Shikko• Techniques• Randori

Freestyle and Multiple AttacksTeach ukemi with the same attention to detail and style as for

nage’s techniques. Probably more students quit aikido because of getting hurt as a result of poor ukemi than for any other reason.

Insist on respect. Informality is fine, but lack of respect is not. Aikido practitioners (and I include the sensei here) should bow on and off the mat. They should bow to shomen and to each other. Students should bow to each other both before and after practicing. The order of doing these things and the form are less important than the feeling behind them. Sensei and advanced students should show by example.

It is a good idea to study henka and kaeshi waza before teaching regularly. Then if one of the students tries to get out of the technique you are doing, you can amaze the class with a pretty counter technique and avoid showing the school in a poor light. However, nothing is more impressive than having a difficult uke and effortlessly and slowly demonstrating correct technique.

I like to start the class slowly and finish slowly, building up to the more powerful techniques in the middle then slowing down again. However, now and again, it might be worthwhile to throw a curve at the class, because there isn’t time to warm up on the street.

There is a tremendous feedback from a class very positive feedback when the class is successful. Remember, once you are a teacher, people judge you by your students. If you are disciplined and a good technician, they will show that too.

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Moving OnEverybody finds comfortable places and we all like to stop

there. That's okay for a while. Enjoy them. But then let them go and move on. Practice, continual and focused practice is the only way to keep getting better.

Each of us owes a debt to the people, both sensei and students, who taught us. The debt isn't paid off by the monthly fee, nor by cleaning and other chores: those are so that we all have a place to practice. It is only paid off by passing on what we have learned to other students, and being as patient and caring with them as our sensei was with us. In doing so, we should be developing our techniques beyond the level we were taught.

The road leads onwardsThe best we can do in life

Is to follow it.

Glossary

ai hanmi mutual oblique stanceaikidoka an aikido practitioneraiki ken method of the sword developed by O Senseiaiki otoshi backwards hip throwatemi strikesayumi ashi normal walking: left foot, right footbokken wooden swordbreakfall anything uke does to avoid being hurt (same

as ukemi)chudan middle positiondan black belteri tori lapel grabfune kogi undo rowing exercisegedan low positiongi uniformgodan fifth degree black beltgokyo fifth techniquegyaku hanmi opposite (mirror image) oblique stancegyaku against the jointhanmi oblique stancehanmi handachi uke standing, nage kneelinghara center of the bodyhappo giri eight direction cuthasso no kamae defensive sword posture with the sword

pointed upwards and the handle by the earhenka waza changing techniquesikkyo first technique

ikkyo undo exercise for ikkyoirimi entering movementjo fourfoot staffjo tori techniques when uke grabs nage’s jojodan high positionjuji nage technique involving crossing uke’s arms in

the form of a letter “X”kaeshi waza counter techniqueskaiten nage rotary throwkake actual execution of the technique, after

kuzushikata tori grab to the shoulderkata tori men uchi grab to the shoulder with a strike to the headkatate tori wrist grab ki spirit (many other meanings also)koho ukemi backwards rolling fallkokyu nage breath throw, also kokyu hokoshi nage hip throwkote gaeshi wrist turnout throwkumi tachi pairs practice with swords (or bokken)kuzushi breaking uke’s balancekyu student who has not achieved a black beltma ai fighting distancemae geri front kickmarui circular movementmorote tori uke grabs nage’s arm with both handsmushin calm (literally empty) mind nage throw, throwernidan second degree black beltnikkyo 2nd technique: wrist turn in

omote in frontrandori unstructured practice, often multiple attackersryote tori both wrists heldsandan third degree black beltsankyo third techniqueshiho giri four direction cutshikaku uke’s blind spot: behind and to the sideshinai bamboo practice sword used in kendoshodan first degree black beltshomen “high position” or tokonomashomen uchi vertical strike to the headsoto outsidesuburi individual practice with a swordsuki an opening for attack (see tsuki)suwari waza practicing techniques when kneelingtanren uchi practicing striking a target with a bokken tegatana literally “knife hand”tenkan rotary escapetenchi nage “heaven and earth throw”tsugi ashi shuffling movement where the feet do not

cross one anothertsuki punch or thrustuchi insideukemi anything uke does to avoid being hurt (same

as breakfall)undo exerciseura behindushiro behindushiro tekubi tori both wrists grabbed from behind the back

(also ushiro ryokata tori)

yokomen uchi strike to the side of the head or neck; 45° downwards

yondan fourth degree black beltyonkyo fourth technique: forearm holdyudansha people with a black beltzanshin a short pause at the end of a technique to re

settle your mindzempo ukemi forward rolling ukemi

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Test RequirementsAikido test requirements for Sand Drift Martial Arts

Association are listed in the dojo handbook. These requirements are advisory only. The testers may waive any of the requirements or add any other requirements, though this is not usually done. Physical disability will be taken into consideration to a limited extent. However, we expect our students to be competent in defending themselves in the street. Support to the dojo will be taken into consideration.

For each test, there are some things we look for. For fifth kyu, all we really require is that the students can more or less do the required techniques without prompting from uke or watching other tests. (Of course, we expect and like to see a better test than this minimum.) Advanced students should demonstrate an understanding of ma ai and timing, as well as crisp techniques. Testing is not to see if you can beat up your uke, but rather to demonstrate correct form in the techniques. However, students should show proper martial spirit in the execution of the techniques, not being slow and studied.

For shodan, the student must show that he can demonstrate each technique satisfactorily in order to teach other students, emphasizing evasion and taking the balance, as well as throwing. Weapons techniques should show that the student understands how to defend against these techniques: it isn’t enough to merely demonstrate these techniques. The blade of the knife should not go anywhere near nage. The blade of the sword should be used to atemi at uke. The length of the jo should be used to nage’s benefit rather than seen as a handicap.

In freestyle, nage must demonstrate the ability to control multiple ukes, avoiding being chased around the dojo and into the corners. Nage must not ignore attackers behind his back, or take excessive time to deal with each uke. He must demonstrate a variety of techniques, not predominantly do any single one.

Contact Information for some Sand Drift Martial Arts Association Dojos

Dojo Contact Address Contact Name PhoneHombu 323 S. Washington Ave., *

Titusville, Fl 32780Dr H. T. Walker, director Dr Alan Drysdale, godan

(407) 2681467(407) 2692394

American Butokukan

48 Martinique Ave., Tampa FL 33606

Todd Jones, yondan (813) 2516987

American Butokukan

1104 N.E. 3rd St., Gainsville, FL 32601

Tom McMorrow, nidan (352) 3775421

American Butokukan

200 Loch Low Dr., Sanford, FL 32773

Karl F. Vierck, shodanK. Christopher Vierck

(407) 3232095

Balston Spa Tae Kwon Do

Balston Spa, NY Debbie Humphrey (518) 8849475

Atlanta Bodokan

155 Cavan Way, Marbleton, GA 30059

Sherman Phillips, shodan (770) 9487454

Boca Karate & Fitness Center

100A S.W. 2nd St., *Boca Raton, FL 33432

Kerwin Wright (407) 3945181

Curacao Budokan

2 Reigerweg, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles

Docco Engels, sandan (5999) 368907

Martial Arts Center

725 Branch Ave., *Providence, RI 02904

Glenn Webber, yondan (401) 4543325

Melbourne Aikikai

950 Pine Tree Dr., Indian * Harbour Beach, FL 32937

Bill Vintroux, shodan (407) 7771011

New Orleans Aikido Club

227 Riverview Dr., St. Rose, LA 70087

Larry Pohlman, nidan (504) 4663523

Northeast Aikikai

61A Parkhurst Rd., * Chelmsford MA 01824

Louis E. Perriello, godan (508) 4533485

Sand Drift Orlando

2533 Grassy Point Dr., Apt 207, Lake Mary, FL 32746

Kelly Boaz, shodan (407) 3307115

Palm Bay PD/ Sand Drift

P.O. Box 500432, Malabar, FL 329500432

George Melius, shodan (407) 5371887

Sand Drift Aikikai (Vero)

2501 27th Ave., Unit F11 * Vero Beach, FL 32960

Russ Davis, sandan (407) 5696366

Sand Drift West Aikido

5139 Shasta Way, Klamath Falls, OR 97603

John Bailey, shodan (541) 8832434

Tampa Aikikai 16603 Plum Rose Ct., Tampa, FL 33618

Dan Fernandez, sandan (813) 9601651

University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL Sherwin Mena (305) 6616066

* Dojo address

IndexAai hanmi 15, 68, 77, 121aiki ken 56aiki otoshi 93atemi 16, 32, 36, 51, 52, 62, 63, 64, 67,

69, 70, 71, 84, 87, 89, 103, 104, 105, 121, 125, 130

attachment 9awareness 23, 43ayumi ashi 16, 121

Bbalance 14, 15, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30,

31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 41, 42, 46, 47, 51, 52, 53, 64, 66, 70, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 102, 103, 104, 122, 125, 130

blade 39, 42, 100, 102, 104, 125blending 87body rotation 30, 71bokken29, 37, 40, 43, 73, 99, 121, 122,

123breath 27, 68, 91, 122breathing 22

Ccenter 14, 22, 32, 61, 68, 91, 111, 121chronic pain 20circular motion 3, 33, 41, 79, 85, 122combat pin 67, 71control 4, 8, 22, 24, 33, 34, 35, 36, 47,

53, 55, 59, 70, 73, 75, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 87, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104, 109, 114, 115, 126, 130

D

dojo 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 14, 20, 22, 23, 26, 62, 63, 102, 104, 110, 115, 116, 125, 126

Eelbow18, 19, 20, 37, 47, 49, 52, 60, 61,

65, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83, 86, 94, 96, 103, 104, 105

escalation 99evasion 25, 26, 31, 33, 73, 108, 125extension 1, 7, 13, 18, 26, 33, 35, 38,

41, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 60, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 73, 78, 79, 80, 82, 84, 85, 91, 92, 101

Fflow 13, 20, 22, 96, 97, 98force 6, 21, 25, 49, 57, 61, 67, 70, 72,

74, 75, 82, 83, 84, 86, 95, 101four parts to a technique 25freestyle 23, 54, 68, 96, 106, 111, 117,

126

Ggokyo 103, 121gyaku 15, 46, 48, 85, 104, 121gyaku hanmi 15, 48, 85, 121

Hhand ii, 6, 8, 13, 18, 19, 20, 27, 29, 35,

38, 46, 49, 50, 53, 56, 63, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 94, 97, 99, 100, 103, 116, 118

hanmi15, 16, 17, 18, 23, 30, 37, 38, 39, 52, 53, 61, 121

hanmi handachi 23, 53, 121happo giri 121

hara 22, 32, 121harmony 1, 4, 86hasso no kamae 39, 73, 121height differences 58henka waza 22, 33, 96, 97, 121hips 30, 31, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 47,

49, 51, 52, 59, 68, 69, 73, 74, 80, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 118

horizontal38, 39, 43, 68, 69, 77, 81, 83, 85, 90, 92

Iikkyo 3, 16, 24, 38, 48, 49, 56, 59, 61,

64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 73, 86, 90, 94, 96, 103, 116, 121, 122

ikkyo nage 68ikkyo omote 3, 24, 64, 66, 67, 90, 94,

116ikkyo undo 56, 122ikkyo ura 59, 65, 86immobilization 31, 33, 34, 78initiative 47, 51, 96, 106irimi 3, 27, 28, 29, 33, 39, 42, 47, 50,

59, 65, 67, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 97, 101, 107, 110, 111, 115, 122

irimi nage 3, 33, 39, 42, 47, 59, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 97, 110, 115

Jjo 49, 54, 60, 99, 101, 110, 122, 125judgement 4, 23, 119juji nage 94, 122jutsu 5, 29

Kkaeshi waza 22, 96, 97, 98, 118, 122kaiten nage 39, 49, 63, 64, 85, 94, 122kata tori 46, 47, 52, 71, 75, 78, 122kata tori men uchi 46, 122

katate tori 46, 48, 68, 75, 77, 85, 91, 110, 122

kicks 45, 53, 63, 108knife 99, 102, 103, 104, 105, 123, 125koho ukemi 17, 122kokyu nage 39, 48, 56, 86, 91, 92, 93,

122koshi nage 13, 68, 89, 90, 108, 122kote gaeshi 19, 29, 30, 38, 39, 44, 47,

50, 61, 81, 83, 96, 104, 122kumi tachi 41kuzushi 32, 33, 88, 122, 130Kuzushi 31

Mma ai 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 41, 43, 46,

60, 100, 109, 122, 125martial artist 25, 113marui 3, 122mat 5, 7, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22,

23, 31, 32, 45, 46, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 66, 76, 77, 81, 83, 84, 86, 98, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 111, 116, 118

mental ii, 4, 32, 34, 37, 114mind 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 22, 32, 106, 112,

122, 124mindset 23momentum 32, 33, 86, 88morote tori 48, 77, 91, 122movement 1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 13, 16, 20, 23,

24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 55, 57, 58, 60, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 96, 100, 101, 102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 118, 120, 130

multiple attacks 21, 35, 41, 54, 58, 106, 107, 110, 118

Musashi 6, 7Musashi’s 2mushin 9, 122

Nnikkyo 31, 61, 66, 68, 69, 72, 75, 81,

96, 104, 122

Oobstructions 17, 40, 55, 106, 108, 111,

126omote i, 43, 44, 60, 64, 65, 67, 68, 70,

75, 80, 83, 84, 86, 89, 103, 123opening 7, 25, 26, 31, 35, 46, 97, 123,

131

Ppain 15, 31, 60, 70, 76, 77point 8, 10, 11, 21, 33, 46, 53, 54, 56,

57, 61, 62, 70, 82, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 94, 100, 102, 104, 113, 117

pressure point 36, 76problems 27, 58, 79, 91, 113

Rradial nerve 76, 77radius 68, 76randori 54, 123ready 3, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 19, 25, 30, 34,

35, 63, 71, 72, 82, 87, 90, 96, 98, 99, 109, 113, 117

religious 4repetitive motion injuries 33resistance 19, 21, 33, 61, 65, 78, 90respect 2, 113, 115, 116, 118rhythm 61rolling 17, 18, 69, 84, 94, 122rotational movement 29, 69, 70, 72, 74,

75, 81, 107, 122, 123ryote tori 48, 94, 123

Ssankyo 39, 56, 60, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77,

83, 96, 97, 108, 123self defense 1, ii, 5shihi giri 40, 41shikaku 27, 50, 51, 60, 68, 87, 123shinai 29, 123shomen uchi 24, 38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 48,

49, 67, 73, 90, 100, 103, 105, 110, 116, 123

size 1, 16, 32, 66, 72, 79, 85, 93size of people 23soto 85, 123speed 23, 45, 57, 58, 100, 109, 115spirit 1, 4, 5, 7, 122, 125spiritual ii, 4stamina 108straining 2, 51, 61strength 1, 4, 21, 23, 33, 38, 48, 52, 53,

57, 62, 65, 66, 75, 79, 89, 115, 130suburi37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 44, 64, 73, 77,

81, 123suki 25, 26, 63, 97, 123, 130suwari waza 52sword 6, 28, 29, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41,

42, 43, 49, 56, 61, 64, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 80, 81, 82, 83, 99, 100, 101, 121, 123, 125

Ttakedown 19, 67, 71, 74, 75, 77, 80target zone 26, 53, 92teaching i, 11, 20, 48, 61, 62, 81, 113,

114, 115, 117, 118, 131tegatana 48, 67, 68, 69, 71, 75, 123telegraphing moves 10tenchi nage 32, 38, 48, 59, 77, 88, 89,

123tenkan 27, 29, 30, 46, 67, 123

throw 2, 7, 9, 13, 17, 19, 20, 22, 30, 33, 34, 54, 57, 58, 59, 68, 72, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 100, 101, 105, 107, 109, 110, 111, 119, 125

thumbs 18, 45, 47, 49, 57, 70, 74, 76, 82, 84, 94, 103

timing ii, 5, 8, 13, 19, 20, 24, 27, 29, 30, 35, 37, 41, 42, 51, 57, 58, 60, 65, 67, 87, 88, 97, 99, 103, 104, 107, 109, 116, 118, 125, 130

transition 70, 71trap 32, 71, 73, 79, 84, 93, 101tsugi ashi 16, 123tsuki30, 31, 47, 48, 50, 55, 91, 94, 101,

104, 123turning 30, 35, 40, 44, 46, 48, 52, 72,

74, 77, 80, 81, 84, 106, 108, 113

Uuchi 40, 44, 85, 87, 123ukemi11, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 31, 33,

45, 53, 57, 60, 61, 63, 66, 78, 79, 82, 84, 85, 90, 94, 96, 98, 104, 106, 110, 114, 115, 117, 118, 121, 123, 130

ulna 68urai, 43, 44, 64, 67, 68, 70, 80, 84, 86,

103, 123ushiro techniques 50, 51, 52ushiro tekubi tori 52, 123

Wwaiting 67, 86, 107, 109weight 13, 15, 34, 53, 56, 70, 92wrist 20, 41, 42, 46, 65, 68, 69, 70, 71,

72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 82, 84, 103, 122

Y

yokomen uchi 30, 41, 42, 49, 50, 53, 103, 124

yonkyo 39, 73, 77, 96, 124

Zzanshin 25, 34, 35, 124zempo ukemi 18zone of effective power 60

Progressing in AikidoBeginner:

● May be too aggressive or not aggressive enough● May use too much or too little strength● Often uncoordinated● No technical ability unless knowledge of other style

Ukemi: easily hurt even if strong Technique: doesn’t know any, only sees broad outlines when shown Atemi: may have excellent atemi from other style or none

Learning basics: how to stand, how to move, attacks, escapes, taking the balance (kuzushi), throws and holds (kake), ukemi

Expanding repertoire: additional attacks and techniques, more advanced ukemi unarmed, weapons, multiple attackers

Polishing repertoire

Shodan: key level● Should know all techniques from all attacks or be able to figure them out

Ukemi: fairly indestructible Technique: sound execution in all phases Atemi: good clean focused attacks as uke, correct atemi as nage

● Ready to teach in own school● Able to do the main techniques effectively

Increasing technical ability: Ukemi: fairly indestructible and cannot be surprised Technique:

Improving in depth and breadth of knowledge Learning the subtleties Mushin: no thought no conception, never surprised

Atemi: increasing power and focus Increasing attention to when and how instead of what

Looking for suki Manipulating distance to control timing Manipulating suki to direct the attack

Increasing understanding of other styles and arts

Strikes Strangles and locks Weapons Tactics

Improving teaching ability

Master (walks on water):● Always aware of surroundings● Never an unplanned opening for attack● Perfect technique without effort or thought

Aikido-Techniques

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