Up A Notch

It is very hard to avoid thinking about whether my aikido would be at all effective in a real confrontation. I say 'my aikido' because I don't doubt that aikido is itself very effective. The techniques of aikido are the same techniques found in other arts like judo or jujitsu. It is only the implementation and focus that is significantly different.

So I look at books and videos of these other arts in action and try to understand what makes their practitioners so pragmatically effective. The base-line answer I always come up with is training style. They are practicing essentially the same techniques - maybe with an emphasis on groundwork or competition - but the techniques themselves are generally quite recognizable. What is different is attitude.

Judo and jujitsu both incorporate a lot of drills, free practice and competition. At least that's how it appears. Therefore, their practitioners all get regular experience in making techniques work under pressure against someone trying to prevent them from succeeding. In my normal aikido practice I get none of that.

I am sure there are some aikido dojos where people do get those experiences. I am only speaking to my own current situation here in Saigon. I feel myself repeating the same techniques over and over in a lackadaisical context, stuck continuously at the same level because no more is ever required of me.

I am convinced that if I want to take my aikido to the next level, if I want to know unequivocally that my aikido is effective, then I must ratchet up my practice to include outcome oriented drills, free practice, and, if not actual competition, at least a form of sport or game that requires tori and uke to have specific and opposing goals. I do not believe these things are contrary to the spirit of aikido. Not at all. Actually, I think they are essential and were probably inherent in the style until very recently. I just think that without formal competition, aikido has not had a clear litmus test to keep it strong. With each generation of practitioners, shortcuts and weaknesses slip into practice and there is no way to challenge these deficiencies short of someone from another style walking into the dojo and demanding a match.

Anyway, I don't have all the answers, and I think this will take me some time to work out. But I do have a few immediate ideas that I can take to the dojo to try to force a higher quality of practice.

1. Insist that uke grab with intention. I already expect uke to strike with the intent of hitting me and not throw a hapless punch that misses me by a mile. Grabs are no different. The purpose of a grab is to seize control and I should expect uke to grab with force and a desire to take my balance.
   
2. Insist that uke follow up any strike with another. If uke throws one strike and stops, he is not mimicking a genuine flow of energy. Techniques work by capturing the flow of the attacker's energy. If the attacker halts his attack, there is no reason to continue to respond.
   
3. Pressure uke to attack again immediately. After uke receives a technique he should take the shortest possible route to a renewed attack. This then limits the amount of thinking that tori can do. Tori just needs to respond.
   
4. To help uke keep the pace moving, pursue him after the throw. Stay with him. Stay in his space. Even initiate the next encounter by striking first and forcing uke to react.
   
5. Do not practice techniques in the same sequence all the time. This is especially true with the 'numbered' techniques. Mix it up. Reverse the sequence. Do evens then odds. Uke doesn't need to know what technique is coming.
   
6. Especially with grabs, try to respond according to the direction of the energy. Uke grabbing and pulling should elicit a different technique than uke grabbing and shoving.
   
7. Do not practice techniques piecemeal. Don't be choppy. I can think of two ways to work through a technique without getting choppy.
   
   
   • Slow and smooth with deep, clean breathing. Or...
   
   
   • Uchikomi. I don't know if I am using the term correctly. But this is what I mean: working at speed, launch into the first part of the technique. Just keep hitting that first part, keep setting it up and backing out. Do it repeatedly until your are mentally ready to run through to the finish. Maybe you do it three times and on the fourth you pierce through to the completed throw. This is done a lot with hip throws but maybe it would be helpful with other techniques.
   
   
8. Practice jiyu waza at the beginning of class before time runs out. Initially start with grabs only. Maybe even one specific grab and each week after add another. When a barrage of grabs can be handled effectively, consider adding strikes. Utilize all available techniques and do not limit yourself to just a few favorites. You want to be able to make all techniques work under pressure.

YouTube - Kaeshi Waza

YouTube - Ganseki Otoshi

Thoughts on Kokyu-nage

I continue to struggle with kokyu-nage, or at least with certain versions of it. For example, ikkyo into kokyu. Or off a punch or strike where I enter on the outside and draw uke around and down and then take kokyu. With these situations I feel like I end up muscling through kokyu. I feel slightly off balance myself or like kokyu isn't really there and I am forcing it.

Reflecting after class today I remembered something I read recently comparing some technique from Daito Ryu to Aikido's kokyu-nage. It said they might look the same but that the first is executed with a vertical circle and the second, the kokyu-nage, is executed with a horizontal circle.

Now I know that the people I practice with are performing kokyu-nage in a very linear pull-push sort of way. I try to avoid that. I am trying to think circular. But I still meet resistance. So I started thinking about what is like to receive kokyu-nage. I thought about receiving the pull-push version and how as uke I feel like I am in a strong stance to resist. My balance is not taken unless I have been pulled so far forward that I fall that way and then what is the point of kokyu-nage? So I thought what it would feel like to receive it as a horizontal circle.

I imagine my arm being projected across my center line, being projected forward from (rather than clutched to) uke's center. The elbow is even with or lower than the wrist. Suddenly, my strong stance is corrupted. Weight shifts to the outside of the forward leg. By body tips slightly into uke. I'm pivoting a bit on the horizontal. Uke needs only a gentle motion to complete the throw. If he wanted, he could choose a gentle kiri-otoshi like move rather than kokyu.

I have tried to visualize how I might perform the technique this way, controlling not just uke's wrist but his elbow as well. Especially his elbow so that I can project it subtly across his center line in order to initiate a horizontal circle. I think there is something here. Now I will have to take it to the mat.

Ahh! An after thought. I also can see an alternate version. I would still first need to create that horizontal circle. But then in a situation where for some reason my arm is not in a position to cut smoothly through uke's center (maybe uke's shoulder is in the way or I just screwed up), I can use my elbow. My elbow can come up under the chin and keep going so that my hand is in uke's face. Sliding over his face, the hand finds his far shoulder to draw him round and down like kiri-otoshi. Seems hard to explain clearly, but in my mind's eye it feels quite simple and natural.

Receive Kokyu-Nage, Take Aiki-Otoshi (Part 2)

A few days ago, I mentioned a serendipitous discovery where I was able to receive kokyu-nage and take aiki-otoshi. It seemed to produce the best aiki-otoshi I'd ever been able to do. The problem was that my uke was a very small guy, and I didn't know if I was getting aiki-otoshi based on good technique and a legitimate opportunity or if I was only using my greater mass to bowl him over. Today, I got to try it out again. This time with a much larger uke. He is at least my size. Taller actually.

Like a lot of folks here, he exaggerates his movements and tends to sacrifice his own posture. So the chance was there. He was really pulling me right into aiki-otoshi. I took it. It worked flawlessly. I had the chance to repeat it several times. Again, they were some my best executed aiki-otoshi.

I cannot express how happy I am to have some success on the mat.

Ikkyo Into Tembin or Shiho-Nage

Here is one I have seen but haven't tried yet. But I want to make some notes right away lest I forget all about it.

Tori goes for ikkyo but fails to get it. Uke is resisting. Tori doesn't get enough of uke's elbow so uke remains a little too upright with the elbow noticably above the wrist. Tori lets his grip on uke's wrist shift a bit and lets the other hand drop behind and beneath the elbow (as opposed to trying to force the elbow down). Tori extends and enters right into tembin-nage or, possibly meeting other resistance, pivots tenkai into shiho-nage ura.

Sankyo Into Irimi-Nage

I just saw a quick video on YouTube showing how sankyo might become irimi-nage.



For whatever reason, sankyo is not going according to plan. Uke tries to spin out of it and clock tori with a cross body elbow. Tori relinquishes sankyo. The secondary (outside hand) comes up to guard against the elbow. At the same time, tori moves closer in away from the force of the strike, and the primary (inside) hand slips up under the elbow and across uke's body to deliver irimi.

It looked rather effective, and the issue of uke spinning out does happen, so I am sure I will get to try this sooner or later.

Receive Kokyu-Nage, Take Aiki-Otoshi

A serendipitous discovery. Today's practice focused on kokyu-nage, and I worked with several people. While taking the role of uke, I tried to follow and flow with the different techniques, keeping open to possibilities for reversals.

Here in Saigon we practice a technique with the unhelpful name Kokyu-Nage #7. Basically, it involves tori initiating ikkyo, meeting resistance and slipping and turning under uke's arm to a position where a more traditional and standard kokyu-nage can be taken. In that position, before tori really goes for the final kokyu, I was able to take aiki-otoshi.

A lot of folks that I train with here tend to over exaggerate their movements. With Kokyu-Nage #7 they often hurry beneath my arm without getting any of my balance. Then they try to really drag me out and down to set up their kokyu throw. That exaggerated motion practically pulls me into aiki-otoshi, letting my rear leg come forward and enter deep behind them. My body easily enters across their body to break their balance, and all that remains is for me to snatch their feet out. In fact, I did it several times today while under a little pressure to repeat myself and each time was among the best aiki-otoshi I've ever pulled off.

The caveat is that my uke were substantially smaller than me. So, did it work based on my technique or my mass? That's what I'll have to explore.

Repairing Uke

Yesterday, I got fed up and expressed that frustration here. Today, I want to think about some of those complaints and try to find more practical responses.

One of my most common frustrations and one of the greatest detriments to productive training is an uke who doesn't understand their role. An uke is not a punching bag or piece of exercise equipment. Uke is practicing aikido as much as tori. In fact, if uke fails to grasp their role and to behave in an aiki way, then they are hindering their own progress as well as tori's.

Here are some of the most common and easily repaired uke deficiencies:

1. Strikes that miss the target.
2. Strikes that try to predict where tori will go and then beat him there.
3. Grabs that make no effort to take control of tori.
4. Unresponsive uke who attack half-heartedly then fade into a dull lump, waiting for tori to drag them around like a sack of potatoes.
5. Uke who attack then go stiff, fiercely resisting like a piece of statuary.

Now I want to take these one by one and look at how these behaviors damage practice.

Strikes that miss the target. A huge piece of aikido is learning to calmly read uke's intent, energy and direction. When uke throws a strike that misses and tori responds, tori is practicing to react to non-threats. Tori needs to be learning how to distinguish between legitimate and ineffectual attacks. Likewise, if tori has to reach or otherwise distort his technique to capture the wayward punch or kick, then tori is practicing bad form.

Strikes that try to predict where tori will go and then beat him there. Sometimes uke will predict (consciously or unconsciously) where tori will move to and then aims his strike there. This is a cheat. Of course uke can predict this. Both uke and tori know what uke's attack and tori's response will be. It's a cooperative practice. This sort of behavior serves no purpose. And the same goes for tori. Tori should not try to get a head start on uke, executing technique before the attack is fully committed.

Grabs that make no effort to take control of tori. This behavior is of the same kind as strikes that miss or fall short. There is no real reason to respond to them. Also, uke is offering no commitment of energy and therefore performing technique will be that much harder. It is more likely that tori will have to supply the energy to get things moving and in doing so will wind up practicing something other than aikido.

It's like a game of catch. If you throw, I catch. If you don't throw, I can't catch. I come over to you and take the ball from you, but that is not catch anymore.

Unresponsive uke who attack half-heartedly then fade into a dull lump, waiting for tori to drag them around like a sack of potatoes. This is really just another version of the last issue, except that here uke strikes and then stops, standing in one place and waiting passively for tori to 'do' the technique. This is a mistake. In aikido we train to constantly follow the flow of the other person - it doesn't matter whether you are currently uke or tori. Also, it is not tori's job to 'do' the technique. Uke picks the attack and therefore uke picks the technique by his response to tori's initial body movement. If uke has no response then there really isn't any technique or least no need for one.

Uke who attack then go stiff, fiercely resisting like a piece of statuary. This is just the flip side of the last problem. When uke goes stiff and locks down it is true that tori will struggle to move him. It is also true that uke will not be able to move himself. If uke can't move, there is no conflict of energy to resolve and no point standing around on the mat.

In order for uke to attack, uke has to move. To move, he must flow. He can't stiffen up. When uke moves with committed intention toward tori, tori has the chance to blend with that intention and follow the path of least resistance, redirecting uke's energy, upsetting uke's balance and finally allowing uke a place to fall.

Complaining

I'm feeling extremely frustrated today.

At the moment, participation at the dojo seems to be declining. A lot of the people I have tended to practice with are just not showing up on a regular basis. And those that do look for every excuse to 'take a rest.' So my time on the mat feels wasted and uninspired. I want to take it up a level and they want sit around and chat. I stood there this morning while some guy interviewed me about my coffee preferences. All I could think was, "Damn it. I did not get up at 5:00 am to talk to you about coffee."

I am tired of having to coax and cajole people into some form of practice.

But the real issue today is yonkyo. I feel like I'm starting to understand it better. I've thought about it a lot. But whenever I practice it here I hit a snag. They want to treat yonkyo as a pain compliance technique and will not listen to the notion that pain has nothing to do with it. I think I prove my point every time and every time they flat out refuse to hear me.

They dig for that pressure point as hard as they can. Yes, it is painful. But I do not fall down because my wrist hurts. I do not stay down because my wrist hurts. Inevitably, some udansha gets involved to show my error. One person likes to take me down with ikkyo and then, when it is finished, add on a yonkyo grip. Pointless. I'm down because of ikkyo not yonkyo. That's the usual situation.

Today, the instructor tried to correct me. He applied his yonkyo and his yonkyo did not work. I guess I typically cooperate. I can't explain myself in Vietnamese and I have no wish to argue with anyone let alone the instructor. But today he applied yonkyo and told me to stand so that he could prove that I couldn't. I could. No problem. I did so repeatedly much to his chagrin. Finally, I just went along with the charade so as not to cause embarrassment to anyone. But I was so frustrated. I swear no one here has any understanding of practice. They have no ability to reflect or assess and they repeat the same unproven method over and over. There is no one that I practice with right now that qualifies as a competent uke. They give half-hearted, disinterested attacks with no follow through or commitment and then fling themselves to the ground because they think they are supposed to. Or else, knowing the technique being practiced, they attempt to dig in or otherwise thwart the technique before nage can he even initiate. Ridiculous. Whenever someone does that to me, stiffening up like a piece of statuary and refusing to be budged, I just want to punch them in the face or kick them in the nads to let them know how effective that tactic is.

I probably sound like a jerk right now. I certainly don't pretend to have all the answers. But I know when I am standing in a pile of crap and right now I am standing in a pile of crap and I want to wipe my feet. There is an apparently new dojo around the corner from the consulate and I intend to check it out today. There has to be somewhere better for me to train in this city.