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.