Class Notes – Page 37 – Protective Arts

ARTIFACTS OF TRAINING

I have used the phrase ‘artifacts of training’ sporadically to refer to conditioned responses that result from improper training assumptions and methods. One of the most notable is the ‘sensei effect.’ The sensei effect works on both teacher and student – the student ‘over-reacts’ to the instructor’s input (making any given technique look more effective)Continue reading “ARTIFACTS OF TRAINING”

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”