No, this isn't intended to be a bozo "you guys flip and train too compliantly" thread. I was wondering, what's with the partner flipping/rolling/whatever after having his hand manipulated? Does the partner cause this motion himself to assist the hand manipulator? If so, why is this done? Just curious. I know 'nil about Aikido, and everytime I witness anything that has to do with Aikido, this question comes to mind.
If the aikidoka were to continue to "manipulate" the hand as you mentioned, the arm/wrist would break if the uke does not roll out/breakfall.
I use the dodgy term 'manipulate' because I'm not exactly sure what is done. Does it have known practice benefits, like teaching the defender to use more finesse in his/her movement?
What you're loosely describing is known as UKEMI - literally meaning "to receive" Ukemi are the skills used by the person taking the technique, on a superficial level ukemi is simply a way of surviving a good technique although is it a common mis-conception that the person making the ukemi is doing it to make the person doing the technique look good. What you see uke (the person taking the technique) do in the dojo resembles NOTHING like what Joe Shmo will do in the street when a technique is applied on them. Ukemi is a tool of survival and a valuable means of feed back. Used correctly it is a means of IMPROVING skills, used incorrectly it is nothing more than rubbish. Dave
Ill pip in and add. its mostly so you dont get hurt. A few months ago my Sensei lighltly hyperextended my elbow because I didnt fall properly, and there lots of techniques that wearnt being taught yet because most in my clas havent got a good handle on basic ukemi and Sensei doesnt want to seriosuly injure us.
I also know when I am the uke I tend to pick up more about the technique....Yes I do flip and roll most of the time when my wrist, hand, elbow, arm, or anything else is being manipulated. Just like people have stated, its mostly so the Uke does not get hurt....But I also know when I do this it helps me to practice my falls...haha. Just thought I would add my own thoughts...
Just an example: A few years back a friend and I were training when he mis-timed his "flip" This led to fractures of both forearm bones. Does that answer your question? P.S. We are still friends and still train together.
Hey Dusty, What others have already said sounds good, I especially like what Dave Humm contributed in this thread. Ukemi does have benefits such as learning to be more supple. Suppleness is a valuable trait, especially when grappling is involved. To bend but not break, to be agile, to be supple all basically mean the same thing. Being supple allows you to roll with blows and to take falls and such while being more "balanced" instead of being too rigid and easily unbalanced. Suppleness allows one to adapt to situations faster and better. As for training, when learning techniques, the Uke needs to learn to accept the technique so that Tori can learn better how to apply the technique. When Tori applies the technique well, Uke can learn what the technique feels like so both learn. The better the Ukemi, the more intensity Tori can apply the technique without hurting Uke (as Uke is using Ukemi to protect himself/herself). When training with intensity and against resistance, Uke can attempt to counter Tori. This is very good training, however, just like tapping out, at some point Uke or Tori must use Ukemi to avoid injury. Ukemi allows for intense training without injury. So "on the streets" the first choice is to counter the opponent, in other words, do not allow the opponent to apply the full technique. Ukemi is reserved for protecting on self, like rolling with a blow, when counters fail.
