The way my Sensei explained it to me was that the first clap was to clear your mind of your everyday worries, second clap was to open up your mind to learning.
Well it was a part of the shinto ceremonies afaik The whole kamiza, bowing, clapping thing seems to have been transposed to OSensei from Shinto.
Atemi - whacking people Nage - the person doing the throw/ technique Shomen ate - a strike to the top of the head Waki gatame - side armlock/ armpit hold ... and I don't even do Aikido
It is much more difficult for taller people to do shihonage, or any techniques where you turn inside (katatedori kaiten-nage). Yoda was totally incorrect about waki-gatame though. He is talking about the judo/jujitsu version. (Just leave it to the experts mate )
You don't have to repeat a question on the same day. We'll answer you soon enough. Anything where you have to get lower than uke's hips is harder, and these things show up frequently in aikido. Ex: sheonage (like Dexter said); some entries to kaiten-nage (like Dexter said); all hip throws, and there are many of them; some versions of kotegaeshi; tansitioning from ikkyo to sankyo; sayu-undo. Even ikkyo takes a bit more finesse for a taller person because, when nage is taller, he strikes uke at a downward angle, and that downward energy can make uke stumble backwards.
Being tall-ish (about 6ft depending on the weather ) I've never found techniques particuarly difficult. But then I have always been supple and flexible. The biggest problem for tall people i think is maintiaing coordination. As a taller person you have a higher center of gravity which is harder to maintian than a relativly low center of gravity. On the flip side however being tall can be an advantage. Techniques involving lifting or stretching uke to take their posture are generally easier for tall people.
Forgive me if I ask stupid questions but I must state that I don't know pretty much anything about aikido (just few words) - so things which may seem very simple for you might appear quite confusing to me. Fair enough. "where you turn inside" confuses me... Pictures could be helpful but does these mean those hip throws what aikiMac mentioned?
Height is a pain initially if training with much smaller partners, but after a while you adapt yourself and tend to be on at least one knee for certain techniques in order to get the tech on with the correct degree of control, plus not leaving yourself open. As uke, being tall creates a whole lot more 'air' time when being thrown which becomes quite enjoyable the longer you do it. I also think it helps the vertically challenged members with their techs too because of the extra weight and height creating greater momentum to control, I'm the tallest and nearly the heaviest in the club and there doesn't seem to be any problems for others throwing me about.... We all range in different heights and have to adapt in everyday life, Aikido isn't any different. Good luck, I'm sure you'll enjoy it, it's a real challenge every time you get on the mat.
1) Yes! 2) Aikido can be learned by anybody. (Is there a pun there - any body?) 3) Emphasis on timing and correct body geometry over strength. Perfect aikido requires no muscle strength. Perfection is rarely achieved, but still, with that as the goal, you can sense how important timing and correct position is to the art. 4) You're shorter and probably lighter than Steven Seagal, and his aikido is very very good. At a seminar I met an aikido black belt even a little bigger than you. So, you could learn aikido too.
It's also worth noteing that different Aikido organisations prefer different postures. Some prefer low postures with wide stances while others prefer more upright postures where you are almost standing as you normally would. If you think your size will be a problem for a lower posture perhaps you may want to try a school with a more upright posture. Aikido is complicated in two ways. On the surface Aikido techniques themselves can involve very complicated combinations of movement. The techniques are designed to take advantage of the mechanics and limitations of the human body. At a deeper level there is the philosophical element which has a very broad scope covering many subjects including ki, the ethics of self defence and more practical matters related to techniques such as centrafugal force.
Thanks folks. Do you mean like this? Because you need to bend more if you are tall guy... I presume this was called: KatateDori Uchi Kaiten Nage (I can imagine if there is one foot/30cm difference between uke and nage in this kind of moves...) One more question run into my mind: 1) Do you shout 'kiaaaaaaai' or something... when doing moves
Here's a newbie question about Aikido for you: Is Star Wars originally based on Aikido? I know theres a lot of sword work (sword = light sabre), and a lot of learning to use ki (ki = "the force")? *please dont take offence! You should actually be flattered!*
One of the first questions asked why all the movements seem to be 'chops'. I heard that Aikido movements are strongly connected to sword movements, so a chop would be the closest thing. Is that true? I seem to like chops better anyway.. maybe that's why I'm so interested in Aikido. (I know this section is for questions, not comments...)
Read the thread called "Aikido FAQ -- Read answers here." That question as to strikes is in there, and it's answered. Yes, the chopping strikes come from Japanese swordfighting. The same answer applies to the other chopping movements in aikido: it's a carryover from Japanese sword fighting. The biographer John Stevens said in one of his books that the founder of aikido and his aikijujitsu instructor were the two best swordsmen in all of Japan in their day. Maybe Stevens is biased. I have no way of verifying that claim, but it illustrates how much sword movements influenced the formation of aikido. EDIT: I expanded the FAQ answer to cover the other chopping/cutting motions. Thanks for the question.
