name a first move...of course the student will have to make a move (just a random punch) so the other student can use his aikido trick... and yes I am saying that
[laughs] When you've studied aikido for a while you'll understand. What's being done here, is it defensive or offensive ? The technique is choku-tsuki. Despite this being just one image, it easily encompasses the emphasis of intention, technique can be used both offensively IE to attack if the circumstances require it or, defensively.
Let's take a step back for a moment. In the martial culture that Aikido is based on, perhaps the first lesson of attack is to learn a committed attack -- Whether that be with fist, knife, or sword, etc. The basis of such is not boxing or along that line of thinking but against what I would describe as a method of turning someone into a killing machine. So a lesser warrior could learn to attack with little regard to their own safety. The lesser warrior could then attack a greater warrior, be killed in the process but still kill the greater warrior. Mutual slaying. In the streets of Japan, this mentality was common because of the long history of warfare and the code of ethics associated with the bushi. An attacker could grab hold of their target and viciously stab them many times, killing the target, but with almost no regard to his own personal safety. Just what is it like to be faced with a weapon wielding attacker that only wants to kill you and does not care about their own defense? This is what the foundation of attack that Aikido is based on. So in Aikido, the uke is expected to launch a commited attack. A single and for this day and age, unrealistic attack, but what is important is not the attack as much as the commitment behind the attack. Aikido starts with committed attack, it isn't until later that other forms of attacking is put into the training. I know of many Aikidoka that cross-train and learn combinations and other ways to attack. These things are not part of Aikido for the most part, but at black belt levels, they can be or should be accounted for.
It depends alot on what school, which teacher, what co-students you have. Of course there will be schools where they put more enthousiasm or realism in the attacks. It's as simple as that.
No idea how you got such a wayward idea, Xav. How could anyone practice effective defence without having an effective attack to practise with? I've got this vision of a mat full of aikidoka standing still and looking at each other wondering what to do? It would be a bit like saying tennis only has returns and nobody ever serves a hard ball (note the topical Wimbledon input here ) The reality is that all clubs and styles vary. Some attack with a gentle and predictable set of techniques. Others go for a hard, fast and potentially damaging set of strikes, some predictable and some entirely random. Many clubs, IMHO, increase the intensity as the student becomes more experienced. remember, we use the energy of our attacker, so the harder they come at you, the more we have to play with.
yea exactly, u use the energy of the attack the attacker did...you don't attack so the opponent can use your energy! (of course for training somebody has to do an attack...)
Xav what I find funny is the fact that you have Kung Fu listed as your art in your profile yet here you are arguing the toss over what Aikido is with people who actully study the dam Art!!!
chill bro, i ve done aikido and some1 I know has done it 12 years, he told me it's more about meditating than fighting
chill bro? LMAO Ok so how much Aikido have you done? That's you personally, not your sister’s husband’s, tennis partner’s cousin’s tortoise! Basically at the moment then it looks like you are arguing with experienced people and the only experience you have is some Aikido and what a mate has told you?
It all makes sense now [Thinks to myself] "When was the last time I meditated my way out of a fight?" "How many prisoners have I managed to restrain whilst meditating?" Ten points for the correct answer on a post card.
*Spooky raises his hand* oh oh me first please me first!! er I know last time you dealt with a riot you went into seiza, closed your eyes, and let them fall over you????
I didn't know tortoises could do aikido. I guess O'Sensei really meant it when he said make it your own. I'm guessing the answer is zero, because you just let the Aikido Tortoise do it for you.
Obviously he didn't learn the aikido that we learned. Obviously he was doing something else. Aikido as we know it includes preemptive, offensive, strikes and grabs. It includes defensive strikes and grabs. It includes feints and baits for the purpose of getting a reaction out of the other guy. And it includes "irimi," commonly among the first few movements taught in aikido. "Irimi" more or less means "entering," as in move right into the other guy and take his balance. Irimi is a first move, a first strike. It's not a reactive strike. As a first strike it can be an offense, and it's probably taught in the first week of classes for a beginner. The fact that you friend did not learn irimi suggests to me that your friend did not really learn aikido.
I'll give you two for starters - Atemi to the head. - Palm or shoulder to the head like a wet fish. As I stated in a previous post that a committed attack is the foundation of what attacks Aikido is designed to counter and deliver, other forms of attacking are developed later. Atemi to the head or more specifically a palm strike to the face is possibly the first "Aikido" (unarmed) atemi that can be used offensively in itself ending the fight if it lands. The palm strike is thrown through the face of uke. What makes it Aikido like is based on the reaction of uke, if uke raises the hand and elbow to block, tori can turn this into Ikkyo (rolling armbar) onto uke. Note that if uke gets out of the way or parries then Ikkyo is not possible. If uke takes the hit, then this becomes irimi. Palm or shoulder to head like a wet fish is like placing your hand on the forehead of uke and staying connected. Whip the hand around like a wet fish out of water. This can be done with palm, forearm, or shoulder moving them in small but random circles. Uke should have the sensation of a wet fish on their face and head, causing them to lose balance and fall backwards as you move them around with constant forward pressure. A more atemi version of this is to use the arms and hands to slap the head of uke in all random circular directions while staying connected to them. This is basically a form of irimi nage. This morning, just before your alarm clock woke you up.
Ommmmmmm.........Ouch! Xav, Aikido is described sometimes as 'moving Zen' - so is sweeping the floor. If a mate is taught mostly meditation, that's OK, but this is not Aikido IMHO. Please don't generalise from that one specific, possibly poor example of an art which demands movement and includes 'commited' attacks. IMHO meditation is very helpful in achieving a focus during violence, but there's no point, for example, in overcoming a fear of water unless you then get in the pool and swim.
