Category Archives: Reference Materials

JOINT CONTROL

Any martial artist must study the use and limitations of the body; its structure and mechanics – and specifically its joints. (The banner image shows the major synovial joints of the skeletal system.) In Aikido, we are principally concerned with the control of the opponent’s “center” but the techniques achieve this by working from theContinue reading “JOINT CONTROL”

Bill Bagwell

Japanese swords and smiths have an aura of the exotic, but the truth is a master smith in every culture is a wizard. The skill to transmute and forge raw materials into something beautiful and deadly is marvelous and magical. Bill Bagwell was an American mage of blade craft. He died February 17, 2021. TheContinue reading “Bill Bagwell”

DISARMS

There are of course doubters. Typically those who doubt the efficacity of any given disarm are well-prepared to anticipate the technique. In short, they know the trick and therefore know how to defeat it. This is a false dichotomy because “disarms are accidental if not incidental.” Disarm techniques are taught because one must know whatContinue reading “DISARMS”