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: kihon
SOLO TRAINING
When I began training, I was told that the minimum time commitment to earn shodan in Aikido is to train three classes per week for a period of five years – and this presumes progress through time on the mat under competent instruction with honest training partners. If you do the math, however, the USAFContinue reading “SOLO TRAINING”
KIHON – Hanmi Handachi Shiho Nage and Uchi Kaiten Nage
Kihon waza are the developmental base forms and they show the correct way to train in order to allow for proper developmental growth in the art. Normative words demand definition: what is a “correct” way to train and what is “proper” development? I recall hearing a shihan once quip, “Aikido works. Yours doesn’t.” A pithy summationContinue reading “KIHON – Hanmi Handachi Shiho Nage and Uchi Kaiten Nage”
Protective Arts 