Aikido pedagogy has a recurring failure mode: it introduces words long before it stabilizes their referents. Terms like center, connection, and timing are used frequently but imprecisely, because they are experienced with the body (somatically). The very point of practice is to refine how those concepts are felt, both individually and in a partnered exchange.Continue reading “THE AXIS OF THE ENCOUNTER”
Tag Archives: axis
IRIMI NAGE
In the last several classes I have focused on irimi-nage starting from ai-hanmi katate-dori. To develop precision and accuracy, I’ve emphasized how nage’s hand position determines the flow of movement. More importantly, the moment of contact defines the fixed point around which all subsequent action resolves. What do I mean? Much like tai no henko,Continue reading “IRIMI NAGE”
WEAPONS INFORM MOVEMENT
In a prior article, I explained ikkyo and irimi-nage arise from the moment of contested weapon access—the effort to draw and the counter-effort to suppress. The last Saturday weapons class continued that line of thought, focusing more precisely on ikkyo and nikkyo as a means to draw the katana in a contested encounter. Protecting theContinue reading “WEAPONS INFORM MOVEMENT”
Protective Arts 