For some time now, I have incorporated a basic hand and body exercise into my “warm up” sequence from Bagua Zhang – “opening hands” (see 3:36 for a reminder). The Bagua movement in isolation may seem awkward at first. I present it as a global body movement adding trunk and hip rotation and done oneContinue reading “BAGUA OPENING HANDS”
Tag Archives: range
SWORD TAKE-AWAY: Tachidori
Testing for shodan requires demonstrating weapon take-away techniques against tanto, jo, and bokken. Simplify the phrasing and the concept we are discussing is disarms. Here is the secret: all empty hand techniques in Aikido are disarms. You have been doing nothing but disarms since your first ikkyo omote. Aikido is not an unarmed art. IContinue reading “SWORD TAKE-AWAY: Tachidori”
RANGES OF COMBAT
For all its elegance, Aikido is not a Ryū -流, – a complete art. Its formal curriculum lacks a full set of techniques at every range – maai “interval.” This is a simple observation, a discussion of fact, not a normative evaluation of its merits. Like most traditional martial arts we are discussing contact range – closeContinue reading “RANGES OF COMBAT”
Protective Arts 