Tegatana Awase

Tegatana awase

Tegatana awase is a basic exercise in Tomiki Aikido. Mostly it is used to study good posture and distance.

Don’t bend the posture in the lower back. Of course the study of tegatana awase goes beyond posture and distance. When Uke (senior) moves around, Tori (student) must follow smoothly Uke’s movement while keeping posture and a proper ma-ai.

Using the concept of “jukozo” creates a new dimension in this exercise. Every joint of our body must be flexible to store or to pass incoming movement or power. Jukozo gives you the possibility to acquire the skill of immediate response to the movements of Uke.

Body block or keeping the body 

During tegatana awase the position of the arm and chest has a concave shape, called Gankyōbappai (含胸抜背). This is a phrase used to describe the postural adjustment at the chest level (Empty the chest & Pull out the back ). Keep the concave shape of the chest and stretch the spine to widen the back. Important is not to tense the muscles. There is a resemblance with the posture of ritsuzen (standing meditation), holding a ball between the arms.

During your training there will be many situations to apply “body block”.