We are, that`s why we don`t have to take a step to stop the opponent Won`t they just step forward with you?
No as the draw and step are one action Like the ideals of Aikido it is one move, as soon as someone grabs you move and draw. give it a go as it works, only time it will fail is if you do the move as 2 sections, then the other person can react - or if the person knows you are gonna do it - like any move I guess. SONSHU
all i can say on this mater is that in the founders home and dojo in iwama,were he developed what he called aikido or takemusu aiki,in his words +aiki ken+aiki jo +taijutsu=aikido. also the founder would always say in iwama that aikido should be a mix of 70%bukiwaza(weapons) 30%taijutsu. althogh many of osenseis students were not in iwama at all or very little so they never so this .
"The best sword is the one that remains sheathed" is a well-worn adage, but one which works on several levels and applies especially, I think, to Aikido. At the most literal level, it means that a swordsman can defeat an opponent with a drawn sword using his sword while it is in the scabbard - and the bokken, or bokuto, is in effect an undrawable sword. A legend recounts Miyamoto Musashi defeating an opponent using a bokken he was carving while the attacker came, and the bokken is a weapon in its own right, not just a 'practice sword.' At a more sublime level, it means that the best swordsman should not need to draw his sword, but should be able to diffuse a confrontation without violence. Aikido also teaches this - 'the best defence against a knife is a taxi,' as my former sensei used to say. But it also implies that the best swordsman should be able to confront an armed swordsman unarmed. The Muto-ryu (no sword school) of Kenjitsu was systematised by Tesshu in the 1800s, teaching students eventually how to defend themselves without a sword, by anticipating the attack and entering into it (like Aikido's irimi). But before one can learn to use no sword, as with so many of the Zen-influenced contradictions of Japanese martial arts, one must be able to use it. This is one of the important historical reasons for studying ken kata in Aikido - not because you are going to face an opponent with a sword nowadays, but because the training in maai (distance), atemi, breathing and irimi movement is integral to empty-handed techniques. The more circular movement is largely related to jo suburi.
The staff of Aikido Check out the video "The staff of Aikido" Pretty impressive. Remember friends that this is an imperfect world and our "perfect art" might not suffice. Sometimes we need a little extra. Perhaps help against multiple attackers or against a weapon or to reach across a distance quickly. Heck there might be a mean dog or two we must neutralize. Versatility is its own reward. CROSS TRAIN!
