Protective Arts

CHANGES

2018 rapidly comes to a close. Looking back, this has been a transformative year. Thanks to new leadership and new ideas, Portland Aikikai found a new home, became a non-profit organization, and elected a board of directors. These are all positive changes: growth.

Growth is a powerful metaphor. We grow from children to adults. Expanding skills and knowledge is growth in potential. Membership growth leads to a stable base. But the most heartening growth is watching the transition in leadership. The growth of those individuals committed to ensuring and guiding the future of the dojo.[1]

Many years ago, Okamoto sensei told me “a dojo is not a democracy,” indicating that there must be a unified vision for what the dojo should be. Not a pluralistic amalgam of compromises, but rather a normative declaration to ensure growth along a path.

道

Do: a way, a path, a road. There needs to be a clear vision of a direction a road to follow. And following any path is to travel the exact same route that others before you blazed. In Aikido, Dōshu (道主) is the “Master of the Way” and denotes the lineal path of descent from O’Sensei. An etymological emphasis on a traditional way.

Change leading to growth bounded by the deep ruts of tradition. In an earlier >post< I outlined the lineage of the dojo because it shows the connections we all have to the foundation of the art – and to those who walked the path before us.

When Mulligan and Okamoto sensei founded the dojo there was a unified goal to make it a premier training hall for Aikido, producing high-caliber Aikidoka. To guide their vision, they had exemplars of Aikido that inspired them, those teachers who provided the ‘spark’ or inspiration to train seriously: Yamaguchi, Chiba , Tissier , Shibata sensei to name only a few. And both Mulligan and Okamoto sensei continue to inspire the next generation(s) of Aikidoists to follow our lineage.

Because of Portland Aikikai’s lineage there is a definite style to the Aikido we practice. The set of core techniques and means to practice them defines the dojo. At its essence, these stylistic differences serve as distinguishing markers but also remind us of the traditional aspects of the art. Therefore they are important to maintain.[2]

Although I have not succeeded in working my way systematically through the kihon waza – the goal I outlined for myself in January 2018 – over the course of the past month I started to demonstrate those key features of gyaku hanmi katate dori ikkyo through yonkyo that constitute foundational techniques. Polemical and rhetorical style notwithstanding, these posts attempt to capture and synthesize the essential lessons from my teachers and my teachers’ teachers that I believe constitute the key stylistic markers that are the kuden of our dojo. Traditional presentations remain critical as a means to develop a solid base from which students can grow and to ensure there is a common understanding of the goals and methods in training. This is not a dictum of conformity, rather the kihon is where we all can grow in depth.

The transmission of correct basic forms is the primary responsibility of the teaching staff. The foundation must be solid before any complexities or refinements can be added. Building a foundation is tiring work. It means paying attention to the myriad details that we all assume we do correctly but often do not: is your fundament low, shoulders relaxed, spine straight, positional relationship correct, footwork and hand work precise and clearly articulated?

Presenting and training the basic forms and excercises is the single most important duty we as sempai have to cultivate kohai. It often means sacrificing what sempai think they want to work on – variations or individual expression. Trust me, there is plenty of room for individuated expression within the basic forms and exercises because everyone has a different body. There are universal lines (based on physiology and physics) but because we each have unique abilities and limitations, each one of us will need to execute and move along those universal lines differently. Trust the form but learn to make it work for you: that is training. Look for the expression of the art. The irony is that in walking a path blazed by others, you would think there was a prescriptive way, but the better teachers are really sources of inspiration in addition to being good coaches.

Looking forward into 2019, I am excited to see how Portland Aikikai will grow as a dojo with new leadership.

______________

[1] Christian Tissier makes the very important observation that to revitalize Aikido younger practitioners must be given the opportunity to lead.

[2] Iwama Dojo has long considered itself the keeper of the Aikido’s true waza (takemusu Aikido) as developed post WW2. Saito sensei’s multi-volume series is well worth owning in your reference library.

KIHON – IKKYO AND NIKKYO

It has taken the entire year for me to actually start a more systematic presentation of the kihon waza, which was my goal in January. And so it goes. Ikkyo through yonkyo – the first through fourth techniques.

Gyakuhanmi katatedori sets up the encounter. We focus on nage and the count.

Step with the back foot to strike atemi. The feet are parallel and nage is square to uke.
Nage’s striking hand now flows to uke’s elbow to destabilize uke. Nage simultaneously draws the grasped hand with the front foot 90-degrees to the flank.
Nage’s striking hand then takes uke’s grabbing hand to strip it and return it toward uke’s face.
Uke protects by raising the elbow, which nage then takes for the control and executes a downward cut for ikkyo.

The geometry of the footwork needs to be precise. Kihon waza should be didactic and regimented to ensure accurate transmission and execution. The angles of the hand work also requires discipline to allow fluidity to develop without inculcated bad habits (allowing openings).

Keep the cutting rose in mind. This is your mental map uke is at the center. Your atemi is on the E ->A line. The destabilization is H->D. Your return is D->H.

The footwork is a simple angle change – move in, strike, break balance and flank. Return through uke’s center from the superior angle.

The kihon handwork is a control/strip. Nage grasps uke’s hand to force a release and keeps a compression grab to execute a strike and control throughout the movement. Note that the grabbed hand must act as a spear-thrust to help drive uke’s response (elbow compression)

The strip is from the top (the high gate) meaning you must cover and control uke’s grab hand.

The second variation would be to come from the low gate which replicates the sword movement and looks like ai-hanmi insofar as nage does not grab uke’s hand/wrist but rather maintains a pressure contact.

low gate.jpg — pressure compress the low gate

As with almost all techniques, once contact/control is established with the upper body, the driving force is the lower half – engage those glutes and quads starting with the feet. Lower your fundament below the line of your uke’s hips by softening your knees then drive up and through uke’s position while pressing uke’s elbow toward their ear and simultaneously cutting down (uke’s elbow is your kissaki).

Uke is now controlled, their arm parallel to the mat and your vector of travel through their center is done with a downward focus on uke’s shoulder – the bursa should hit first to close any tsuki (openings) afforded to uke’s free hand. Following uke to the mat, nage drops the inside knee first to uke’s arm-pit while keeping a vertical pressure through the controlled arm toward the shoulder. Using the outside leg as a brace, nage can now sit seiza as uke’s arm slides down nage’s thigh to the arm trap. Sitting proper seiza, back straight, toes up, buttocks on heels, nage can slide uke’s arm flat to the mat.

In every pin where uke’s arm is flat against the primary rule is this: uke’s arm must be above the line defined by uke’s scapula. This is why nage’s inside knee must be at uke’s armpit and be the first point to touch the mat. Nage’s knee defines the pivot point and contact point so when nage slides uke’s arm down nage’s thigh, nage can maintain and increase the controlling pressure down and into the mat.

Arm above the scapula, nage should use the shyuto to control uke’s elbow (nerve compression) and the grasping hand needs to roll uke’s trapped hand so that uke’s shyuto is against the mat. Nage then applies a compressing pressure – palm to back of uke’s hand with attentive focus on uke’s index finger which needs drive toward uke’s ear.

In the second variation (which essentially is ai-hanmi) nage never grabs uke’s hand, therefore the pin is achieved when uke’s arm is flat against the mat, nage will press down on uke’s elbow but lift at uke’s wrist. Opposite force vectors to achieve a pain compliance (attacking the bone structure).

From ikkyo, all other techniques flow. [1]

Nikkyo is achieved just like ikkyo with only the pins being different. Nikkyo essentially results from uke being less docile once taken to the mat, necessitating a more robust pin. The omote version results from uke trying to rise, forcing nage to drive more forcefully on the shoulder and raising uke’s arm vertical. From that vertical position nage should pull uke’s arm tight to nage’s chest (eliminate all slack), then cradle uke’s elbow and forearm as nage leans forward from the bladder, keep your weight down but lift your tailbone (coccyx), and feeling uke’s arm can travel no farther, turn towards uke’s head without allowing the trap to loosen. This pin attacks the structure of the shoulder.

The ura variant has two primary approaches, both however result from uke being more stable and thereby preventing nage from coming directly through uke’s center. Meeting resistance, nage smoothly adapts by rotating to the outside line. Adapt and overcome! If this rotational energy is sufficient to bring uke belly to mat, then pin the arm flat and as uke tries to rise again, bring uke’s controlled wrist to the chest lean forward to keep compression and nage uses the free hand to control uke’s forearm which, grasping above uke’s wrist, is levered down – nage closes his elbow to ribs. A two-point bone lock that concentrates all forces at the base of uke’s wrist at the carpal bones (i.e., all those bones below the metacarpals).

Details to focus on for the nikkyo pin: Make sure that uke’s thumb is firmly pressed into your chest – allow no air gaps. The bones of uke’s hand should be aligned with uke’s radius and ulna – do not focus on ‘bending’ uke’s wrist. I describe this as bone locking for a reason – we are exploiting anatomical weaknesses. This compression is high to low (since uke is at a lower level – closer to the ground than nage).

A second variant occurs when uke does not go entirely to the mat with one rotation or when uke rises faster than nage can apply the pin. In this instance uke and nage are roughly at the same elevation. Therefore, nage must start the pin by compressing uke’s hand to nage’s chest, but then nage should force uke’s elbow up, such that nage can now palm uke’s elbow to do a dual vector compression – treat uke’s forearm like an accordion: drive your chest and uke’s hand toward uke’s elbow point which is being driven down and toward nage with nage’s free hand.

As part of kuden, I have shown Mulligan sensei’s ‘snake,’ reverse grip and use of the head as augmentations to the kihon. Keep those tricks in your repertoire.

________________

[1] A more refined approach would mimic Tissier sensei’s presentation but I would submit that one cannot focus on his flow pattern without a solid understanding of the basics outlined above.

CIRCULAR DISSOLVES

Circular dissolves. Master Keating explains the concept.

What we explore here is a counter-clockwise dissolve but the concepts are applicable to clockwise dissolves.

For the last several classes we have been exploring circular dissolves though the simplified cross-hand encounter – aihanmi katate dori (R/R, L/L grasps).

Setting the encounter:

Nage presents hand thumb up – uke grasps to control the offered hand.

Nage uses rokyu-kokyu to initiate a release, then uses the shyuto to cut over uke’s hand in a counter clockwise (outward) rotation to complete the release. Nage’s hand is now on the outside line.

Explaining the encounter:

Aikido uses similies and metaphors to provide context: “Shomen is like a sword strike,” “Chudan tsuki represents a dagger thrust,” etc., forgetting the importance of the analogy. A mid-level thrust is a dagger, spear, or punch. A direct assault is not a metaphor. Put yourself in the proper mindset. These are real encounters and you cannot assume an unarmed opponent.

What then is aihanmi katate dori? It is a straight thrust encounter between two same-hand dominant players. Review the doce-pares map – aihanmi is a #5 line.

Keating Doce Pares — Master Keating’s diagram

Notice that an encounter on #5 represents any number of possible scenarios: Nage thrusts uke grasps the hand to stop the thrust. Uke thrusts, nage responds. Nage and uke start in a cross weapon encounter.

The secret is: the specifics of the encounter are irrelevant! It is very easy to get lost in the nuances and many instructors make a living off playing these specifics as if they were the primary focus of training.

Cross weapons. You have precisely one problem to solve: control the center.

Control the center.jpg — Center controlled!

From a single handed encounter there are three primary strategies: beat, circle over (counter clockwise), and circle under (clockwise).

As usually given, Aikido’s aihanmi katate dori presented palm up is the circle over and when presented palm down it becomes a circle under. Put a weapon in your hand and it becomes more obvious – the arc is shorter to gain the advantage.

With a katana, this is the opening move in san no tachi, where the cut over controls the opponent’s sword with an attempt to take the opponent’s thumb. With a knife it is a bait and the circle becomes an attack to the opponent’s flexor tendons. With the empty hand it becomes a release followed by a controlling pressure on the outside dominant line. In all these encounters, the counter clockwise dissolve allows nage to control the centerline.

Think on this: the release is not an extraction or escape, it is your ‘go to’ move. From aihanmi with the counter clockwise cut over, contact is maintained arm to arm but nage controls the center from the outside line. The targets change depending upon the level of the response – at the gedan level, nage targets the tendons in the back of uke’s lead leg behind the knee. At chudan level the target can be a thrust to the center line (abdominal aorta) or a draw cut to the underside to hit the flexor tendons. At jodan level the target is the soft palate or eyes.

All these show the power of the response on the direct line (irimi). The bunkai shows the ‘why’ of the initial encounter.

The aiki lesson is the subtle maintenance of pressure combined with the freedom of flow. The initial point of contact is the axis of the encounter. Nage must learn to extract from the grasp without unnecessarily providing more pressure (information) or attempting to move the point in three-dimensional space.

Once that skill is mastered, the next step is pressure replacement – i.e. the back hand must replace the initial grasped hand to maintain control over uke. This was discussed when exploring a punch to the face with the use of the checking hand. Replacement is similar – in a two-beat tempo, you extract one hand and then place your opposite hand on the same spot without disrupting uke.

Hence the importance of aihanmi-katate-dori irimi tenkan as a developmental exercise. Nage must learn to cut over, extract, replace with the upper body and simultaneously enter and turn parallel to uke. The number of discrete moves (beats) nage must execute relative to uke is dramatic.

Beat	Nage	Uke
0	present hand	grab hand
1	cut over
1.5	extract
2	replace

Study that imbalance and consider: are you that much faster? In general terms there is a 2 to 1 imbalance in action (and this is just the upper body action). Recognize that this is a simplified matrix that we must build from. But it points to the need to understand action sequences and beats.

Although the start of class was with irimi-tenkan to develop dexterity and sensitivity, the circular dissolve can be done without the tenkan. Review Kotegaeshi to Iriminage.

Furthermore consider: Irimi nage direct on a 5, 3, 1 beat tempo.

Kihon waza is a 3 beat sequence. From aihanmi katate dori, nage (1) cuts over with the front hand while entering irimi, (2) grasps uke’s neck with the back hand, (3) uses the now free front hand to throw.

The 1 beat sequence is often shown as an ‘advanced’ technique because it is a continuous-connection throw. Nage executes the cut-over dissolve while driving forward low-to high with uke’s arm now trapped. A one-breath throw.

But neither of these beats anticipates a potential thrust, retract, thrust response from uke. The kihon presentation presumes that uke does not react to the initial cut over. Therefore, we must add beats to break facile model of the encounter. Nage may have to add checking moves (additional beats) to follow uke’s retracting move (a set up to a second thrust) and this is where a 5-beat pattern comes into play. From aihanmi katate dori, nage (1) cuts over the front hand while entering irimi. Uke counters by retracting for a second thrust, thus nage (2) checks uke’s arm with the back hand, (3) replaces the control with the front hand, allowing the back hand to climb up the limb and (4) grasp uke’s neck with the back hand, (5) to use the now free front hand for the throw.

Circular dissolves on the vertical plane are done primarily with the upper body. Horizontal dissolves are executed primarily with the lower body. Ushiro-tenkan is a tool to explore that aspect of the art.