protectivearts

IKKYO – SOLVING FOR THE INFINITE

There was a time when students paid their teachers for each technique. At first glance that may seem expensive – especially if you believe the hyperbole that Aikido’s techniques are infinite – but that would be to confuse naming conventions for patterns of movement. Ikkyo. The first technique. The first teachings form the pedagogical foundation but to drawContinue reading “IKKYO – SOLVING FOR THE INFINITE”

SAN NO TACHI

The third paired sword exercise – we broke it down into its constituent movements of uchi komi and kiri kaeshi then rebuilt it as a flow sequence. But each component has its purpose – its bunkai. Any given point in the flow could be a terminal movement. Uchidachi’s opening gambit of kiri kaeshi could remove shidachi’sContinue reading “SAN NO TACHI”

KORYU 古流

Aikido is a modern art founded in the 1920s but its techniques are derivative from older material. With a penchant for hierarchy, Japan classifies its arts as Gendai (new) and Koryu (old) with the Meiji Restoration (1868) as the demarcation line. A great resource to begin researching Koryu martial arts is >here< and Don Draeger‘s worksContinue reading “KORYU 古流”