Close armpit and crossing arms.

Yamaguchi sensei in action.

When studying footage of Yamaguchi and Yamashima sensei they can be seen to use the swing of the arms in a relaxed and specific manner. This resembles the movement swinging a sword. However when not equipped with a sword this armswing is used to perform Aikido techniques. Please note that the absence of the sword allows to let the arms cross as they would naturally when the swing is continued.

In the following clips try to identify the armswing and crossing of the arms which result in quick and effortless movements.

Due to technical problems I cannot embed video's.

 

Yamaguchi sensei:

https://vimeo.com/66660573

Yamashima sensei.

In this clip he uses the pathway of bokken strike to perform ikkyo. He does not cross hands here, but the movement often travels past his midline!

http://youtu.be/x7ZTMlfoorU

 

Our own experimenting with this principle:

http://youtu.be/5OhZRpnqxyo

 

Yamashima would refer to this as "Close armpit and relax". So there are Aikido styles which use round arm movements and more sword like movements. Try them and enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Use space.

 

Recently I visited the Gerrit Rietveld house in Utrecht. Rietveld was a Dutch architect and designer who used the concept of Space. His ideas are fuelled by what's NOT the material the object is made of instead the space surrounding it.

A few of his chairs...

 

What does all this have to do with Aikido practice?

All Aikido excercises should ideally be non aggressive and non competitive. This requires all techniques to use the space around uke instead of fighting the forces and structural alignment of your partner. In summary one should always be using intent, breath power and body movement towards the weak spot of uke. This will usually mean to use the space where he's not and cannot defend. It's not a weakness to avoid the strongest assets of uke, but a necessity for using Aikido technique. Note that the use of space is not confined to Aikido practice as it is used in all grappling based martial arts.

For me the excercise which shows this concept most clearly would be gyaku hanmi nikkyo as done by Fujita sensei. At 09:11 of the clip below. Maybe you should turn the sound off :)

 

Below I'll show a training clip in which I demonstrate these concepts for nikkyo kote gaeshi variations. No sound included. Note the use of balance points which are basically virtual points in space on the ground in relation to uke's use of footwork. Also trying to move around point of contact with footwork and te sabaki.

 

 

Enjoy practice.

Posted with Blogsy

The Cilinder.

A concept I've been thinking about for a while would be the concept of " The Cilinder". This is a description of a principle which concerns itself with the position of uke in relation to tori. When practicing the Zhan Zhuang posture the cilinder is identified as the space which is in front of tori when the arms are held in the hugging a tree posture.

Not like this, but more like this...

 

So it's a virtual cilinder in front of tori. I'll call the space in which you have the most control of uke inside the cilinder, if uke touches the outside of the cilinder,it is called outside the cilinder.

 

What is the relation of all this to our Aikido practice?

When training in Aikido uke is usually held outside the cilinder for protection of oneself and defensive in nature. When executing a technique, uke is allowed to enter the cilinder, and therefore easily controlled.

In the next clip this is easily studied. Irimi nage is an excellent technique in which this concept is identified.

 

 

Try to incorporate these concepts in one's training and enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Yamashima sensei video study.

This month Yamashima sensei is coming to West Europe again so I thought it would be nice to study a Youtube video which demonstrates a lot of usefull principles.

The video was shot at a seminar in Germany in 2014.

 

 

What are the principles at work?

 

- At 0:40. Yamashima sensei touches his belt with his free hand to show the use of hara. He uses his hip joint of the back foot. This is similar to the movement of a sword strike where both hip joints are used at the moment of the cut to maximize power. He is also heard to use a short burst of kokyu power.

- At 1:42. Use of whole body power istead of only hand and arm movement.

- At 3:02. "I turn my center". The arm stays in a relaxed but slightly extended state. Similar to the "unbendable arm" excercise.

- At 3:14. Use of whole body power and mainly by usage of "koshi" or hip joints.

- At 4:52. Turn shoulder and hand to connect to hip joints.

- At 5:12. Demonstration of opening and closing movements.

- At 5:54. Connect hip joint to shoulder in hanmi handachi waza.

- At 6:34. Soft connection excercise using palm to palm feeling or "barbarella lead".

- At 8:20 and 8:54. Barely visible. Attacking of center with second hip joint and hand from underneath hara of partner.

- At 9:03. "Figure out how to bring in koshi".

- At 9:53. Yamashima sensei closes the distance between his hara and his partner so technique is more powerful.

- At 10:42. "Enter and attack"

- At 11:00. Once again both hara almost touch due to the movement of Yamashima sensei.

- At 14:04. Correct use of arm in Aikido showed through shomen uchi strike. Whole body strike with minimum folding at the elbow joint.

So use hips, not hands seems to be the leading subject in this clip.

Enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Laziness is good?

Researching Youtube video's I encountered this very interesting clip of Benedetti sensei. Although quite a "long" clip for today's standards there are a lot of Aikido principles to be seen and learned. The aspect I like most about his Aikido would be the use of "lazy" movement. Relaxation used in a way that's very interesting to me.

Few points to study:

- Uses warmup swings in his Aikido practice.

- Walking is used as basics for Aikido, natural movement?

- Small hip movements coordinate with hand movements.

- Hands in the center and use of body axis.

- Upright small stance which I like.

- "You forget walking...". When tori tries to force a technique.

These are just teaching moments from the first 10 minutes of this clip, so enjoy and study...

Stéphane lives in Barcelona and teaches Aikido across Europe. He brings his inimitable Corsican style and his superb understanding of Aikido to every encounter. "Aikido is scientific laziness - and laziness must be very precise, not sloppy!"

Born in 1951, Stéphane Benedetti started judo when he was five and discovered aikido in 1966 under the direction of Asai Katsuaki Shihan during judo training in Germany. The meeting with Nakazono and Tamura Shihan in the same year proved decisive.

Enjoy practice.

Posted with Blogsy

Slow and relaxed?

Aikido practice can be done in multiple ways. Hard and fast, slow, moving, basic etc. Why I enjoy the practice used by Yamashima sensei would be the following:

- Relaxed, not focused on "reality" scenarios.

- Feeling and practicing the movements is done better when moving slow and relaxed.

- Soft touch reveals principles like unbalancing and tension problems in uke and nage.

- Room for experimenting with movements.

- Creativity will enhance during these methods.

- There's no use of pain induced movements, which I think is always based on competition and superiority.

- It's not lacking in substance, although to outside observers it may seem that way.

- Cardiovascular training is done without really thinking about it.

- Internal sensations like hip rotation and hara movements are better felt and studied.

 

Humor, nice practice and softness is shown in the next clip.

 

" It's a lot like Tai Chi". Yamashima sensei in Düsseldorf seminar 2014.

 

 

"Why you study Aikido?" "Enjoy" at 2:02 of the next clip.

 

 

Enjoy practice.

Posted with Blogsy

Hiroshi Ikeda: Foundation.

Ikeda sensei uses small spiral movements of his hips expressed by his hands. The "building" of this body and it's use he calls the foundation. In my view aikido's practice is not to move the partner but let the partner be moved by your own body structure which is balanced, responsive and sensitive. Enjoy this next clip in which he explains training the foundation and the need for different uke's.

 

Enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Jo nage principles.

Aikido throwing techniques done with the jo, or short staff.

 

 

 

 

What are the principles involved?

 

- Relax shoulders.

- Use hips, not arm strength.

- Extend whole body power into the tip of the jo.

- Use on/off principle in dealing with resistance.

- Use leverage and free movement of the whole jo.

- Feel!

- Move around point of contact with jo or body movement.

 

Jo nage is a training tool which I think is not practiced enough to explain and get used to Aikido's main principles. Following I have found a few jo nage clips from Ki Aikido's curriculum.

 

 

 

Enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Gleason sensei

Gleason sensei is an American Aikido instructor ranked 7th dan. His main teacher would be Yamaguchi sensei, which shows in his approach concerning Aikido and sword like movements. What I like about his style of Aikido would be a that it appears a feeling sensitivity based learning environment. Also added are the theories behind the movements. One's techniques are empowered by this way of teaching and learning. In recent years he also studied with Dan Harden and those principles are recognizable in his recent clips on YouTube from Aikido Sydney.

In the next clip a lot of things can be learned. He explains spiral movement and it's components. Here the six directions theorie, expanding the fascia of the whole body, can be observed. Aikido movements and experience combined with insights from other fields of interest is the way I like to study body movements and feeling sensitivity in my Aikido practice.

 

 

Enjoy practice.

 

Technique based training is low level, principles based are medium level and high level would be knowing, using and feeling one's fascial body tissue to create Aiki.

Thoughts?

 

Posted with Blogsy

" Hands and hips separate"

 

 

In Aikido movement one should pay attention to the principle which involves separating the movement directions of hip and hands. A human body is balanced because of this principle but also connection and power distribution will be able to arise.

 

In this slow motion clip of a baseball swing watch the relation between hips and hands. Notice the hip joint is not the waist. Hands and waist movement usually are the same whereas hip joint movement is in opposite direction. The moment of ball contact the arms and waist go in the direction intended while the hips stay stationary or counter turn. This creates power through whole body use in connection to ground strength.

 

Now study the next clip of Yamashima sensei and his subtle use of " Hands and hips separate".

 

 

To improve your natural movement abilities and power transfer possibilities in a relaxed manner study the whole body connection between hips and hands and their respective directions.

 

Enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

"Hand, taille, fuß"

"Hand, taille, fuß" is a German sentence translated in English as "Hand, waist, foot". I encountered this line in a book about Wu style Tai Chi in German language. What does it mean and how is this applicable to Aikido?

 

 

 

On two previous occasions I have encountered body movement practitioners refer to the principle that the hand leads natural movement of the human body. First during a seminar held by Peter Bacas sensei he instructed that in Aikido technique the hand leads the movement of the body. This seems to contradict the often used principle that the hara, or center of the body is the main component of Aikido movement.

Peter Bacas sensei.

 

Secondly a professional dancer led a workshop whereby natural movement was to be experienced and he instructed us to lead with the hand and the body would follow naturally.

My view on this would be that solo movement as well as partner work should involve using hand movement first.

Try to move like this:

 

1. Use intent to move the hand towards the centerline of uke.

2. Try to move the hand physically towards uke.

3. When resistance is met, turn your waist towards the hand.

4. Use the feet to connect to the ground. This connects hip joints to hands.

 

In solo practice it would be like this:

 

1. Use intent to position the hand.

2. Let the hand follow the path intended.

3. Let the waist follow the movement .

4. The hip joints connect to the hands.

5. Hips are naturally connected to the feet and the ground.

 

This practice builds an integrated natural moving body with power stored for use.

 

There's an exception to the hand, waist, feet principle when using soft arms as in the next clip by Yamashima sensei. Here the feet and hips move before the hands!! The arms are like ropes which follow hara movement.

 

Enjoy practice.

Posted with Blogsy

Sobue shihan demo.

 

 

Following I will present a video of Sobue shihan where a lot of principles used by Yamaguchi sensei can be observed. Some of the things I notice are:

 

- His stance often resembles a stance used in Wu Tai Chi Chuan. It looks something like this:

Back is straight, but not always upright. This builds a good ground connection.

 

- Arms are relaxed and he uses natural arcs of movement as seen in normal walking.

- Good "listening" skills.

- No awkward strength, uses structure of his body to connect to uke.

- Arms are used as "feelers" and connectors to achieve center to center contact.

- Sword like movements can easily be observed.

- Flows nicely from standing into sitting practice.

- No signs of aggression or rushing the movements.

 

 

Yamaguchi sensei has several students who are active in Aikido today. Endo, Yamashima, Tissier and Sobue are the ones I am currently studying.

 

 

Enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Wu style push hands.

Ma Jiang Bao push hands of the Wu style of Tai Chi Chuan.

The Wu style is one of the 5 major styles of Tai Chi Chuan. A complete system which has slow form, fast form and weapons training. Also a system of push hands has been developed by the parents of Ma Jiang Bao. Internal power delivery and softness are the components which I find very interesting in this Tai Chi Style.

 

So if one wants to enhance feeling sensitivity and internal power development Wu style Tai Chi might be a great addition to Aikido practice.

 

 

Enjoy practice.

Posted with Blogsy

Yamashima sensei using boken.

Yamashima sensei can sometimes be seen using the boken to explain Aikido movements. This is a teaching style which try to use from time to time and always results in a better understanding of movement. In the next clip he's seen to use it in a version of uchi kaiten nage. Notice tori doesn't move as much as uke and the subtle use of hand and arm turning in coordination with the hara. As always Yamashima also uses unbalancing techniques which are a result of his contact with uke.

 

Enjoy practice.

Posted with Blogsy

Kuzushi 8 or 14 directions?

Kuzushi in Judo is usually taught in 8 directions. I saw this photo online from a Judo sensei which indicates that 14 directions can be used. In Aikido technique Fujita sensei stresses the principle of using the mae and sumi otoshi points. These virtual points present themselves best when uke stands in a combative sword like stance. When uke has a more Judo type posture maybe the 14 directions presented in the picture can be studied and applied.

So weight of uke on both feet use sumi and mae otoshi points. When uke floats or is grounded these work the best.

When uke is moving and therefore is using one foot use the directions as used in Judo practice.

Enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Yamashima sensei connection excercise.

 

 

In the following clip from Yamashima sensei a lot can be learned concerning connection between tori and uke. During seminars of Yamashima a lot of attention is given to this particular practice method. The attack chosen is gyaku hanmi katate dori and the goal of practice would be to create a connection between uke's power and the relaxed structure of tori. Yamashima sensei stresses not to use the hand but instead use the rear foot and hip joints to connect uke to the ground. In later stages he will show the importance of using the hara region to direct the force of uke. In my opinion Yamashima sensei will use this compact structure and the elastic fascia of all body parts to instantly make a connection at the point of contact.

Recently I've thought about a whole body connection through fascia work which would not rely on a clear ground path from uke towards the rear leg of tori. This would imply that the force of uke can be felt and redirected upon contact and without a need for precise structural alignment of bones and muscles. This would require a lot of solo work towards making the necessary fascia connections.

 

The following clip will show principles used by Yamashima sensei in his practice.

 

- Use hips, not hands.

- Let uke attack strongly with structural alignment to improve connection work.

- When uke's power cannot be controlled through structure, turn the axis of your body.

- Let uke " throw" himself by using superior connectivity into one's own body and directing forces into weak points of uke. In this case towards the outside of the front foot of uke. Uke is not thrown but released into a weak spot concerning his balance.

- Use short bursts of kokyu power at the moment contact is made or has been established.

 

 

 

Thanks Lawrence for uploading the video and Aikido Leeuwarden for "next level" tips.

 

Enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Yamashima shomen uchi principles.

The next video reveals a lot of principles used by Yamashima sensei for shomen uchi attacks.

 

 

1. Shomen uchi ikkyo. Yamashima uses arms to make center to center contact and uproots uke from underneath.

2. Shomen uchi irimi nage. Opening of the centerline to create centerline attack from behind uke.

3. Armpit closes and arms resemble boken like movements, but with relaxed intention.

4. During irimi nage Yamashima sensei uses the lower arm of uke to control uke's center.

5. Irimi nage "throw" is closing of centerline and release of tensile strength.

6. Yamashima sensei arms are used as antenna's. To feel and connect to his own center and uke's center.

7. Alternative irimi movements against shomen uchi attacks.

8. Arms are relaxed and therefore always "fall" naturally in front of his own center.

 

 

 

A lot of principles can and be studied using Youtube and can be experimented upon in your dojo with a partner.

 

Enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Zhan zhuang posture

Why do a standing meditation posture for a movement based art?

 

Whang Xian Zhai.

 

 

 

 

The zhan zhuang posture will provide:

 

- Better feeling of balance.

- Improvement of hanmi posture in Aikido.

- Relaxation of the muscles.

- Opening of the joints.

- Provide structural alignment in your movements.

- Improvement of will power.

 

These are just a few of the benefits I encountered while practicing this unique excercise. A lot if martial arts have stillness training but in the Chinese martial arts there's been a martial art which used the zhan zhuang posture as their prime excercise. This martial art is called I Chuan. The originator Whang Xiang Zhai developed his method from Xing Yi, one of the three main schools of internal martial arts.

I would encourage every Aikido practitioner to study this posture and add it to your daily routine.

 

A few books I recommend would be.

 

The way of power by Lam Kam Chuen. Also available in Dutch as Da Cheng Chuan.

 

 

Warriors of stillness by Jan Diepersloot.

 

Enjoy practice.

Posted with Blogsy

Corpse pose.

Stiff as a corpse?

 

Today I'd like to give attention to a pose from Yoga which in my view will result in the most optimum state for relaxation. To relax the muscles is an essential part of Aikido practice. Unfortunately not a lot of Aikidoka really know how to do it. This excercise can be very beneficial to achieve this kind of relaxation. When you think about a corpse the last thing on your mind will be a relaxed state of being. Stiff and hard are the terms I come to think of. The times I can remember to be totally relaxed would be either when drunk or falling asleep. This pose can give you the benefits of total relaxation while being mindful of it. And no hangover :)

 

First I'd like to recommend a book called "Anatomy of Hatha Yoga" by David Coulter. Very usefull guide for any bodywork practitioner.

What makes it that the core ingredients and the stuff that make Aikido "work" are to be found in practices which involve relaxation and stillness of the mind? Only one way to find out.... To practice diligently and incorporate these excercises in your daily routine. Maybe you'll gain a lot more than only Aikido enhancing skills.

Enjoy practice and this instructional video.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Three excercises for solo training.

Corpse pose from Yoga.

 

I'd like to recommend three excercises which will give substance to your Aikido techniques. A lot of Aikido will be nice to look at but will lack content. What I mean by this, it's mostly an empty or "dead" form. The techniques are imitated but there's something missing. Usually the first few years of practice will consist of trying to remember the techniques and take tests. I've always got this feeling that there's something lacking. One could compare this to a beautiful bottle of wine which has a bad or mediocre tasting wine in it. The opposite can also be true, form not beautiful but with intent and alive. What's missing and how to fill your best bottle with the best wine there is?

 

I'd like my techniques to be filled with:

- Relaxed effortless power.

- Spontaneous adjustments of techniques.

- Balanced movements.

- Listening energy.

 

My top three solo excercises to attain these qualities would be:

1. Corpse pose from Yoga.

2. Zhan Zhuang posture from I Chuan.

3. Zazen posture from Zen Buddhism.

 

So when you feel something's missing, keep your attention on the next posts where I will share my view concerning these very interesting excercises. It should be noted that these excercises are done in addition to your "regular" Aikido practice.

 

Enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Opening of the joints.

 

 

 

I've studied a lot of literature concerning internal martial arts and mostly Tai chi texts. A lot of these articles contain the advice to "open the joints". Recently I came across an article in a Tai chi magazine which discussed the internal work of the Wu/Hao style of Tai chi. This style is one of the five main styles of Tai chi. The others are Chen, Yang, Wu and Sun style. Be sure to check these styles when interested in the development of internal strength and body motion in Aikido.

 

The article I read explained the method of power development in the Wu/Hao style. The idea is to "open the joints and drop the muscle". What does this mean and how is this trained? The body has numerous joints which can be expanded. This is a kind of expansion or extension which can be used in Aikido training. The feeling one tries to develop is likened to an overall inflation of the body. One feels bigger and larger than before the opening of the joints. The muscle however, must drop and give in to gravity. This will create a feeling of grounding as opposed to floating. The elasticity of the tissues will create a spring like power which rebounds from the ground to the point of contact. When pressure is put on your structure the joints compress and at the same time the muscle tissue returns the force into the opponent's structure creating a connection. When pressure is released one returns to the original "open" state. Usually a throw or joint lock has been made effortlessly.

 

So be sure to "open the joints and drop the muscle" at all times and use your breath power in coordination with your body movements and effortless power can be achieved.

 

One of the best Youtube channels which explain this type of force would be this Sifu. He's got a lot of video's which explain these concepts really well.

 

 

Enjoy practice.

Posted with Blogsy

Yamashima sensei ikkyo study.

Todat I'd like to explore a video where Yamashima sensei uses ikkyo to illustrate some Aikido principles.

Here's the video:

 

 

What I take from studying this technique by Yamashima sensei:

 

"Attack" means to do a subtle attack with the free hand and use the hip joint to do so. He doesn't use muscle strength but rather his hips to control his hand movements.

"Relax" means to not use stiff force or push and pull when doing the movements. When relaxed a better connection is made between your hands and your hip joints. Also uke's movement is better felt.

"Slow" means to not rush the movements but to move and practice slowly because structure and technique are felt more easily.

 

A few things I see and try to work on myself.

 

- Yamashima use his hands, powered by his hip joints, while in front of his center. This way he's able to use his hips to full effect.

- Subtle use of balance points like mae and sumi otoshi.

- Free hand attacks from underneath towards hara and centerline uke.

- He uses soft touch with his fingers to control uke's center, not uke's arms.

- Many times, one hand is used as opposed to the common line of thinking when doing ikkyo.

Ikkyo is receiving force and redirecting it when center to center contact has been made. No forcing of arm movements but rather a subtle use of hips and hands. I believe the the main principle which can be studied when performing Yamashima sensei version of Aikido.

Enjoy practice.

Posted with Blogsy

Bruce Lee quotes

Bruce Lee is a well known martial artist and actor. What a lot of people don't know he has written a lot of texts about fighting and movement based arts. I highly recommend a collection of these called " Tao of jeet kune do".

 

This book contains a lot of interesting quotes and philosophies concerning the martial arts. I'd like to dissect one of those today.

"Before I learned the art, a punch was just a punch, and a kick, just a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick."

-- Bruce Lee

 

Lately, I've come to a bit of an understanding concerning this quote. For me, it's explained like this in an Aikido context.

Let's say one starts in Aikido and irimi nage is being taught by your sensei. You try to imitate the movement to the best of your ability with a cooperative partner. You're doing irimi nage in your way. Later on you come to an understanding that in order to execute irimi nage there's alot more to it than just copying the movements, so you try to dissect the movements into the tiniest details. Feeling sensitivity, balance, intent, timing, positioning etc. are being studied. Usually this could be the moment in one's Aikido training where you could become discouraged. For irimi nage isn't irimi nage any more but a whole bunch of different principles which work, but only when done together will become irimi nage. At a later stage all these components are unconsciously put together and irimi nage once again becomes the movement which you "own".

This, of course, is a different version than your first attempts at irimi nage. An evolution of this theory would be the consideration of Morihei Ueshiba where he noticed a moment in his training where he had forgotten all "techniques" he'd ever learned but instead arrived at Takemusu Aiki. Spontaneous creation of technique.

 

 

In order to become free of technique, one has to learn the technique for an extended period of time. This is why my teacher will refer to irimi nage as the "twenty year technique".

Enjoy practice.

 

Posted with Blogsy