Eddy Wolput

Haragei, the physical side

Haragei, the art of hara is a concept with a lot of interpretations and is essentially a concept referring mainly in a metaphysical context. There is also a physical aspect when we look at “haragei”. The hara in single words is the part under the diaphragm and consist of “koshi”, “tanden” and “yobu”. In some historical documents written by famous swordmen, the skill of the hara is referred to and even explained how to do it.

The perfect handling of the sword is produced by the integration of three elements: the rotation of the koshi, the diagonal tensions produced by this rotation and the displacement of the body.
Morita Monjuro

Rotation of the koshi, mostly translated as rotation of the hips, is in many cases explained too simple. Rotation is not only in the horizontal plane, but also in a vertical plane. By adding diagonal tension or movement, the rotation of the koshi becomes multidirectional.

Multidirectional movement creates a kind of sphere and can be seen as a balloon in the lower part of the trunk, in other words Hara.

Hara Power is frequently mentioned in publications on Bodywork and Martial Arts. Some of the publications give you a good insight in the development of the Hara. I already wrote some ideas and info on the concept of Hara. But new developments are coming to the surface after daily training and need some explanation.

Where is “hara” localised?

Hara is a 3-part structure in the lower part of the trunk.

Koshi
Tanden
Yobu

The term “koshi” is usually translated either as “kidneys”, or as “hips” or as “pelvis”, but these translations are approximate. Koshi is an area located on the lower back, the opposite of the tanden located in the lower abdomen.
The tanden and the koshi, located on either side of the body, in practice form a whole. Each use of the koshi muscles is transmitted to the tanden by stimulating it by pressure, which positively activates different parts of the nervous system. Yobu is referring to the waist and these muscles will be used for turning action of the trunk.

The muscles of the koshi and the tanden form a unit, but their roles are not the same. The tanden is the centre of the hara and is the place of a relative no-movement. The training of the koshi is synonymous with the training of the tanden.

In our study, Hara will be used in many exercises, especially during Tenshikei movements.
However, a practitioner cannot develop Hara without breathing and the movement and stretching of the respiration-related tissues. Full development of the Hara will include the winding motion of tenshi, rotational internal movement or silk reeling movements. The power generated by tenshi is called tenshikei and is expressed by the movement of the arms or legs.

Mata-股 = 胯 – kua & 裆 – dang

Japanese terminology and Chinese terminology can create some confusion and need some explanation.

The translation of “mata” can be “inner thigh” or “groin”, “crotch”, “femur”……
In our study, reference has to be made in the area around the hip-joint.

In Chinese martial arts and movement methods, 2 words are used to describe the “mata” region.

胯 – kua or kwa
裆 – dang

“Kua” in Chinese has a reference to “hips”. Our waist and hips have to be relaxed and loosened. . Only then can power flow down from the body to the legs and your feet. It helps to give your feet the foundation of your strength. Then your power can build up throughout your entire body.

How to relax or loosen up our hips? During practice, we have to bend our knees, flex (means bend or fold, not tense up) our hip joints, and sit on our legs.

“Dang” means “crotch”, the place where our legs meet the body. Our crotch has to be round like an arch. When our crotch is round and open, we can shift weight more freely. If we make our knee move very slightly closer to each other, our crotch can be made round. You will feel also the heels will go slightly outside. Keep weight on the ball of the feet.

Yobu – Yao

The waist is a part of the Hara and is used during many body movements. For example the turning of the trunk happens more efficiently when the muscles of the waist are used.

The efficient body movement is achieved by integrating the diagonal tensions of the body which cross it from the legs to the arms. By applying this skill, the force spontaneously filled the tanden. The use of the waist is an integral part of a full body movement. This skill can be seen in tenshikei or winding power, a kind of rotational strength.

An example with wooden sword training

To strike correctly from the tanden and the koshi, it is necessary to obtain a perfect handling of the body or a perfect handling of the sword. It is a skill that is produced by the two diagonal forces which go from the right leg to the left arm, and from the left leg to the right arm.
The cutting power of the sword is produced by the integration of the three elements: the rotation of the hara, the diagonal tensions produced by this rotation and the displacement of the body.

The mechanism of sword cutting can be used when you apply atemi to the opponent by using tegatana or other parts of the body to produce a shock into the opponent. It is of course also very effective with some throwing technique like “shomen ate” or “gyaku gamae ate”.

Serape effect and diagonal tension

“Muscles must be placed on their longest length in order to exert their greatest force”

The serape effect is a rotational trunk movement that It stretches the muscles to their greatest length; when this tension is released from these muscles they shorten for the completion of the movement, a greater velocity is applied than had the muscles performed from a normal resting length.

Hara is a key factor in the use of the of diagonal tension, in other words: Tenshikei

The rotation of the pelvic girdle is a part of the tenshi movement and is important for creating a more efficient use of power in the direction of the target. The rotational movement of this large body segment, the trunk, enables a summation of internal forces that is able to be transferred from this large area to a smaller area as such as the arm and the hand for applying force to the opponent.

Conditions for developing “hara” strength

There are some conditions to achieve an efficient exercise

Correct breathing (kokyu)
Winding movements (tenshi)
Relax or loosen up koshi and mata
Using intent (I in Japanese – Yi in Chinese)

Correct breathing

Basically, during practise our intent is not on the breathing process. Breathing is an involuntary process. Nevertheless, during exercises, focus can be put on certain aspects of breathing to strengthen the breathing muscles.

During breathing, pulling the perineum is a skill to put pressure on the hara and forces to provide movement to the muscles used for deep breathing. By exerting these muscles become stronger and will support the “tenshi” movements. As a result, tenshikei power becomes more effective and stronger.

Winding movements

Winding movements create a kind of corkscrew strength. This strength does not initiate from the foot. It initiates from the trunk of the body. It transfers down toward the foot when standing, and then it rebounds from the foot back up and on through the body. When sitting in seiza, the same can be performed. The movement start at shoulder level, next a diagonal movement and finished by a movement of the pelvis. Releasing the tension happens in the opposite order.

Relax and loosen up hip joint

It is often said in many dojos: “drop your shoulders”. But if your “koshi” or pelvis is frozen or too weak, you will have difficulties dropping your shoulders. If pelvis are frozen, you cannot bring down your hara, if your pelvis is too weak, you will hold up your hara too high.

Strengthening the koshi and loosen up the hip joints will give support to the hara. Even in a standing or sitting posture, you need the feeling of sitting upon the sit bones.

Using intent

I in Japanese – Yi in Chinese – Yi is mostly translated as “intention” or also as “wisdom mind”. It refers to one’s experience or knowledge base. A practitioner might have a strong spirit, but without good tactics, combat knowledge and martial skills, the practitioner would not be able to fight very effectively.

So, intent is the skill to access your knowledge base which is acquired after successful training. The beginners knowledge base is very limited and using “intent” is very difficult and mentally tiring. After sufficient training, the knowledge base becomes a source derived from all your training experiences.

Practical exercises with diagonal tension

There are many exercises with diagonal tension. Mostly it will depend on the practical use of the exercise in the syllabus of the chosen martial art. In case of Tomiki’s Aikido, Tandoku Undo Tegatana Dosa is an excellent choice to incorporate diagonal tension.

Keypoints Tandoku Undo Tegatana Dosa 1

Take chidori ashi posture
Lift hand above head (jodan)
Feel the line between the foot and the hand
Lower hand into chudan posture
Perform koshi mawari
Do not turn the feet and knees
Keep your “koshi” flexible but firm

During the 2nd half of the exercise, keep diagonal tension line.

Keypoints Tandoku Undo Tegatana Dosa 2

Start with chidori ashi posture
In chudan posture, turn palm upwards
Turn waist, keep arm in front of chest
Turn palm downwards
Turn waist to the front
Keep the movement of knees minimal
Keep “koshi” flexible but firm

During this exercise, keep diagonal tension line

During the 2nd half of the exercise, keep diagonal tension line. Turning of the waist and diagonal tension generate power into the hand.

Keypoints Tandoku Undo Tegatana Dosa 3 -part 1

Chidori ashi posture
Keep the movement of knees minimal
Use diagonal tension

Keypoints Tandoku Undo Tegatana Dosa 3 -part 1

Chidori ashi posture
Using waist without moving feet and knees
Use diagonal tension

The impact of the back

When using kyokotsu properly, it will affect koshi and oscillate between 2 positions according to kyokotsu movement.

Normal posture and slightly pulling in arms, kyokotsu is in forward position.

Pushing out arms, kyokotsu is in backward position and tilt the pelvis forward.

If you wish to see the Truth…

“If you wish to see the truth then hold no opinions for or against anything. To set up what you like against what you dislike is the disease of the mind.
Do not search for the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.

When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way, nothing in the world can offend, and when a thing can no longer offend, it ceases to exist in the old way.”

~Seng Tsan, Third Patriarch of Zen
Hsin Hsin Ming 信心銘 – Verses of Faith in Mind

There is certainly something positive about lockdown during the Corona-COVID-19 pandemic. Our life has changed completely, especially our time schedule is different. If you are a martial art instructor, during lock down the dojo is closed and the contact with the students or practitioners is reduced to online meetings or occasional meetup outside the dojo. As an instructor, you get more time for yourself and study concepts beyond basic and advanced training.

There are several stories of people who have been isolated for quite a while. They developed a method to practice their martial art. For instance, Kenji Tomiki was imprisoned after the war for a few years and created solo exercises from his experiences with several martial arts experts. These solo exercises formed the nucleus of an Aikido method focused on basic movements and techniques applicable in randori.

The result of investing time in personal training

If you do “personal training” as an instructor without students due Corona problems, the result of investing time can be very different from the thoughts you had when you embarked on your martial art journey. Your mind and body are not the same as a few years ago when you were a beginner.

One must accept that “change” is an all-pervasive concept in one’s life. Cultivating “curiosity” cannot be neglected in your training. Looking beyond all you have learned is a skill that should be cherished to the fullest.

Beyond existing methods

From a scientific standpoint, the research process basically follows a certain pattern.

The research process consists of eight steps: choosing a topic, studying the literature, developing theoretical and conceptual frameworks, formulating the research question, research design, data collection, data analysis and drawing conclusions.

In martial art, the process of research as part of our training follows also a certain pattern. But we are in a situation (pandemic) comparable to that of Tomiki during his time of imprisonment. Of course, we have more options because we can search the digital world for information, but the situation of not having training opportunities is the same. Some of us don’t even have a training partner.

Topic of research

Two topics may serve as an example to other research.

Physical and fitness training
Martial art movements

The question is whether to choose scientifically proven methods or methods based on mystic beliefs without any scientific proof. In this blog about martial arts training, some methods are discussed with respect to physical training, but also to a more metaphysical type of exercises primarily based on Japanese and Chinese methods with backgrounds in Taoism, Zen-Buddhism and similar philosophical ways of thinking.

The following methods are up-to-date, scientifically studied and the effects of these exercises may be repeated in a scientifically approved situation. The research process serves to formulate a conclusion, with physical and mental exercises resulting from the research.

Especially competitive martial sport is extensively researched for better performance. Scientifically tools are used to increase efficiency power and or speed. The Kodokan Judo Institute has published since 1958 a scientific report on Kodokan Judo on a regular base. The 1969 report has an item written by Kenji Tomiki.

Zhangzuang or Ritsuzen ( standing exercises) are a kind of exercises researched in hospitals with qualified personnel.

Some of the health-exercises like Qigong or Kiko can be executed on different levels from a pure physical point of view to a more metaphysical or a combination of physical and metaphysical. You can find many scientific studies on the internet. These studies are executed under scientifically rules and the results are published in academic magazines for professional metal health and physical body workers.

There is also a crossover concept using martial art movements useful as physical and fitness training. Plenty of examples can be found in modern fitness methods linked with popular music.

The “traditional” dilemma

When you enter the world of martial arts, you will see mane different views on how martial art has to be practised. As martial arts have always a flavour of conservatism and some of the practitioners are trapped into a “traditional” dilemma.

The question is about understanding the traditional elements in a martial art. Most martial arts have some traditional culture as a part of their training. Some “traditional” elements have no meaning in our Western way of thinking and are practised just as a kind of mannerism, doing something without knowing the origin and meaning of the action or movement. Trying to understand the traditional elements with an open mind is not easy, and sometimes there is a tendency to dogmatism in your martial art.

Removing traditional elements of a martial art need a deep understanding of the traditional culture. On the other hand, some instructors are adding cultural elements with or without understanding the content. Removing and adding elements with understanding sometimes creates a “new” martial art or sport with of without cultural value. The choice is up to you.

Understanding the technical syllabus

As a high level instructor we can choose to research the existing methods of our founders with the tools based upon scientifically proven methods. Of course, there are metaphysical or psychological elements which are difficult to measure with our tools. Take for example the concept of “sen” or “hyoshi“, as explained by Miyamoto Musash i.

The barrier between science and pseudoscience is not clearly defined and can create problems when we seek for the Truth.

The “Truth” dilemma

This post started with a quote by Seng Tsan, Third Patriarch of Zen (Hsin Hsin Ming 信心銘 – Verses of Faith in Mind).

I believe most practitioners are not looking for the “Truth”, but they found a method for practising a martial art. If they never have a confrontation, mentally or physically, there is no need to find the “Truth”, because they found the truth in their method. Unfortunately, some of the practitioners became “True Believers” and are not open for the “Truth”. During a confrontation, maybe they will win, maybe they will lose.

“The True Believers” – The critically acclaimed true story about the human cost of hero worship in martial arts. The term “True Believers” is inspired by a book by Eric Hoffer.

Eric Hoffer (July 15, 1902 – May 21, 1983) was an American moral and social philosopher. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, The True Believer (1951), was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen. (Wikipedia)

Finding your Way

Again, finding the “Truth” is letting go all pro- and contra- opinions. Martial Art is not a cult, but it is a tool to become aware of the world around you and inside you. Dogmatism will disturb your progression, on the other side, if you are happy………

The Art of Cutting

Integrating the use of kyokotsu and tanden has an enormous impact on cutting efficiency. This effect is due to a wave of power generated by the kyokotsu skill. You will find some info on a “wave of power” blog post.

Lifting the sword in jodan position with Chidori ashi foot posture, keep the centre line straight and spine in a natural position.
When the sword moves forward, start pulling in kyokotsu
By pulling in kyokotsu, the pelvis will tilt
Almost at the end of the cut, push kyokotsu forward to neutral position. Pelvis returns to neutral position.

Pulling in kyokotsu and releasing it affect the use of the back muscles and the pelvis.

When kyokotsu is pulled in, the sword or in case of an unarmed action, the tegatana will move forward and makes contact with the target. When kyokotsu returns, the sword or tegatana will generate a cutting action.

In case of an unarmed action, the returning kyokotsu is generating a pulling action without excessive local muscle power.

Grasping the handle or wrist

A ring of power is discussed earlier. This also applies how to hold an object with the fingers. The object can be a handle of a sword or the wrist of an opponent. Grasping is not a question of muscle power, but it is making an unbreakable ring with thumb and middle finger. This is basically a very simple skill and makes the grasping of a wrist or sword handle very solid. The idea is to close the energy circuit between thumb and middle finger. When understanding this simple action, you can use it in different situations.

During “kiri-oroshi” or cutting exercise, the correct grip on the tsuka of handle is important. Also it is not a good idea to drop the sword behind the back. This is a signal about too much relaxation in holding the sword. Sometimes you can see warming up with the sword with this method, but as a method of cutting it has to be avoided.

Te-no-uchi

Previous paragraph gave you some information about the grasping skill. Of course, when using a sword for cutting or grasping a wrist to apply a “waza” on the opponent, just holding is not enough. Power transfer is necessary to become efficient in applying a waza.

Te-no-uchi is a phrase mostly associated with Japanese weapon arts. A popular description is about “wringing out a towel”. If too much power is used, the towel will be damaged, if the wringing is weak, most of the water will stay in the towel. An interesting observation is made in the Journal-of-Physical-Therapy-Science.

The skills of various kinds of motion must be maintained so that activities of daily living (ADL) can be performed fluently. An important objective of Occupational Therapy is to improve a patient’s ability to perform ADL. However, there are very few studies that have tried to scientifically analyze skill contributing to the quality of ADL. Therefore, we focused on the motion in wringing out of Towel, which is done frequently in ADL, and analyzed the factors that contribute to this motion. We hypothesized that the factors that contribute to this motion include the subject’s age, gender, grip strength and motion pattern. These factors were analyzed. The results show that the female elderly group, although weak in hand grip strength, was able to squeeze the maximum amount of water from the towel. We speculate that this group of elderly females were most efficient at wringing the towel because this was a common household chore for them and because of this, their level of skill was the highest among all the groups.

Uchi gaeshi, soto gaeshi, tenshikei and meguri

During te-no-uchi action or wringing out the towel, an uchi gaeshi or inward twist can be seen. This inward twist is basically a wrist and forearm movement.

When lifting the sword into jodan or hasso position, a soto gaeshi or outward twist is performed. As with the inward twisting action, local excessive muscle power has to be avoided. The twisting is not only affecting the wrist or forearm, but is a part of generating ‘tenshikei” or spiral power.

Te-no-Uchi, wringing out the towel

Te-no-uchi is more than wringing out the towel. It is a technique in which the fingers, palm, wrist and forearm play a major role. The twisting effect is to compress the soft tissues and, by loosening the tension, the tissues return to a neutral situation. When reaching the target, ten-no-uchi is applied to create one block between sword and body.

The relationship with “meguri”, referring primarily as an action of the wrist, but it is actually a motion of the whole body. It’s some type of te-no-uchi. Tenshikei or spiral power is also an expression of the power generated by te-no-uchi.

Tandoku undo tegatana dosa

Te-no-uchi is an integral part of tandoku undo tegatana dosa. In a previous paragraph I mentioned this in relationship with uchi gaeshi and soto gaeshi. During the execution of aiki-age and aiki-sage an internal movement is made, a rotations of the fore arm around the transverse axes. See a previous post “Wave of Power“. Although the turn of the hand is made around a point in the palm with an upward direction, the power target is in the wrist joint, the part when you push for example someone.

When performing aiki-sage or bringing the power down, the point of power is at the thumb side of the wrist.

Exercise for aiki age and aiki sage

The pendulum exercise is already mentioned on numerous occasions in this blog. The pendulum is a comprehensive exercise and can be “settled” for different purposes. When Tegatana moves upwards, the emphasis is on the aiki-age point. When Tegatana descends, we concentrate on the Aiki-sage point.

The question about the relationship between the art of cutting and aiki age & aiki sage is self explaining. The photos come from a book on Aikido. The word Aikido is a general term for defining the art of Aiki.

“Wave of Power”

Much has been said in the debate on internal and external power. Most martial methods are built around a variety of concepts, including interior and/or exterior components. When a debate is held, we must look at the context of the debate. Basically, we should be aware of the definition of internal or external power given in the martial art we are discussing. We cannot accept a debate on good or bad unless we know the inner and outer aspects of martial art or combat sport.

Martial art built around flexible circular movements is considered as an internal method. While a martial art with a lot of muscular tension is considered an external one. Muscular tension is considered a linear action. The question about internal or external still exist and the linear/rotational answer is not sufficient. There are other aspects to take into account. Having a debate about internal and external will take up a lot of time and space. So we will consider a few creative thoughts.

Taking up space or not

External and internal movement

Very simply, external motion is a movement that takes space to perform. Running is one example of external movement, just like waving your arms or jumping up and down. A body or limb spinning around its center line without going anywhere is an expression of pure internal movement.

In the case of the internal movement of the human body, it can be clearly defined. It refers to rotations of the torso or limbs around their transverse axes, something that can take place with almost no external movement through space.

Linear and rotational movement

Linear: to move the body in space – external movement
Rotational: to turn the body around and axis – internal movement

A paradox?

If the torso turns around its axis, it is called internally, but our arms if outstretched move in space (external?). Our arms itself can turn around its axis, in this case we have an internal movement. All the movements we do with our body have an internal and external aspect. Talking about internal and external has to include both aspects and cannot be separated.

Another thought about the paradox of internal and external

Movement of the arm may be considered as internal and/or external action. If this movement is merely a local action, the effectiveness will be rather low, even if an internal aspect is included. Some people think that internal movements should always be stronger or better than external movements. Unfortunately, this is not true, both concepts need to be balanced to become effective for the task we use it. If the external aspect is performed with too much muscle contraction, the internal aspect will find it difficult to integrate. If the internal aspect depends too much on the relaxed or relaxed posture, the body will have problems to move correctly or perhaps completely frozen or collapse.

Another Creative Thought: Root and target

Everybody is familiar with Darwin’s famous book: The Origin of Species. The title suggests that there is an origin or a source for everything. This is a very simple thought and when one looks at the use of power in our martial art one can discover the same thought behind our source of actions. Of course, we can have a debate about where that source came from. Again, it has to be looked at in the context of this discussion. Where is “the root” as a physical part of our body?

root: source of force for movements
joint segments: transfer of force by using the joints of the body
tip: end of the line of force or the point of transfer into the opponent

Take for example an action with “tegatana”, the so called sword-hand. In a very simplistic way of thinking, the shoulder is the root and tegatana is the tip. Mostly tegatana will be used as a striking weapon in case the arm is not immobilized by opponent. Tegatana is moving in space and this movement can be considered as an external movement. On the other hand, there is an internal movement included if the arm is rotated around the transverse axe.

A wave of power

When power travels from the root to the tip, it takes time to reach the target. Power goes a certain way, and at first sight it moves linearly. But actually, most of these moves are characterized by a wavy motion. Basically, there are 3 types of waveforms in the human body in the context of our martial applications, but also in the context of all human movements, a wave pattern can be discovered. The idea of bodily wave pattern can be found in a book written by Jacques Lecoq: The moving Body.

Undulation and inverse undulation (1&2)

In undulation the wave of movement starts from the feet, goes through the hips, chest, neck and at last, comes to the head. We can see a small undulation for example when a person starts to walk. The power of movement starts from the ground and is dragged through the whole body. Inverse undulation is the same “wave of movement” as undulation but it starts from the head and goes through the body to the feet. The concept of rebound can be found in the inverse undulation.

Walking or running is a good example to illustrate the harmony between undulation and inverse undulation. The integration of external powers like gravity, inertia or others is necessary to use the human body as a whole system.

Eclosion (3)

Eclosion is a movement of opening and closing. It starts from the ground in a closed position and gradually expands towards the open. The movement starts from the center of the body and moves towards the head, hands and feet. The rhythm is important, and hands and legs should arrive in the open position at the same time. The closing movement is the reverse of the opening movement.

The role of kyokotsu

The “kyokotsu” exercise is one of the exercises for generating a waveform pattern. Of course, it takes several months of regular training to feel the wave of power. Most people have no flexible torso, especially at the level of the sternum. The kyokotsu exercise is not only a movement of the lower part of the breastbone, it forces the torso to open en close in different directions. The concept of “eclosion” discussed earlier can be found in this exercise.

When we move our kyokotsu forward or backward, it affects the pelvis by tilting it in both directions. Moving kyokotsu creates an undulatory movement in the body along the spine.

Kyokotsu is not the power generator, but the kyokotsu movement invokes the body to move according a wave pattern. Movement generates power with the help of the floor and gravity.

The better we can connect the different body parts, the more efficient use of power is possible.

A first goal to achieve is the connection between the elbows and the kyokotsu. The muscles in the back can be felt when a connection is made between kyokotsu and elbows. If we move the elbows without the use of the back muscles, there is no connection.

The next goal is connecting kyokotsu and pelvis. Don’t move pelvis without connecting with kyokotsu.

Tenshikei or winding power

The idea of winding power can be illustrated by the squeezing of multiple fibres. It stores power and by unwinding its release the power. By using the correct skill or technique, the power can be used to neutralize the actions of an opponent.

Tenshikei can be seen as a form of using an internal movement to generate power. The key to a successful procedure is the ability to keep the muscles and tendons flexible. When muscles and tendons become stiff and lack mobility, power generation will lack efficiency.

Elbow exercise

This is an exercise to develop a basic idea of tenshikei with a partner. It is an exercise and cannot be seen as a technique for self-defence. Tenshikei skill can be used in different situations if the training allows the study of this kind of power generation.

The elbow exercise can be performed with various concepts and some concepts do not use tenshikei or winding power effectively. If the focus is on the use of leverage, the winding energy will be virtually absent because the production of energy comes from the use of leverage. Below is a sample of an internal movement generating tenshikei taken from a DVD by Hino sensei.

Another view at the 2 types of power

Previous was mentioned external and internal power and its relationship with the surrounding space. But of course, there are different ways of looking at the use of power by the human body. To apply power, a movement is needed to give transport to the strength generated by the body with the help of our main source of power “gravity”.

Open and closed chain movement

In open-chain and closed-chain exercises, the chain referred to is a series of body parts, such as a hip, knee, ankle, and foot. In an open-chain exercise, the body is stationary while the limb moves. In the closed – chain exercise, the limb is stationary while the body moves. For example, a squat is a closed-chain exercise because your feet stay stationary while your quadriceps do the work.

In martial arts open and closed chain movements can be seen during basic training and randori. The open chain movement uses the momentum from the limb accelerated by the body. Closed chain techniques are those that use the ground and the stabilization of the body to produce the power. Open chain techniques depend on motion and speed to build their inertia while closed chain techniques use the ground to brace the body and transmit the force to the target.

In randori, the use of local power is often seen to force a movement on the opponent, or to block a lock on the arm or wrist.. Those manoeuvres belong mostly to the category of a closed chain movement. If the practitioner is more skilled in the use of full body power, the combination of linked chains can give more power. By using an appropriate technique or movement, the game of strategy becomes important.

Rendo, the art of mixing

In the music industry, the art of mixing based upon existing songs is very popular. Mostly it is used during festivals for dance. It is a kind of becoming into trance. Body and mind are becoming one, and the movements of the body can be seen as whole body movements.

The art of Rendo is a similar process where different movements are mixed into one whole body movement. We are not using the word “mixing”, but we use “linking”. Rendo has also a time component, because it takes time power travelling from the source or root to the target. The previous elbow exercise is an example of linking different movements by using winding and unwinding power.

Strategy and power

If the focus is on power, internal or external, it is not “the solution” to win a fight. It is important to have a method “how to use power” in a fight. This method is based on a mix of skills in the range from pure physical to pure spirit. Of course, as usual, the extreme ends have to be avoided, it is better to use a well-balanced method.

One of the most difficult skills in martial art is the use of a wave power pattern. Most practitioners will rely on the power of a closed chain movement, mostly locally executed. For example, only arm power generated by the muscle of the arm and shoulder.

As I mentioned in other blog posts, the concept of a creative mind is one of the cornerstones to become a skilful practitioner.

Ankles, knees, pelvis and kyokotsu

The motions of the body are magical, we can move many parts of our body in order to accomplish many physical tasks. But we can more with our body, there are certain parts that we have to pay attention to and we will discover many other physical features of our body.

Kyokotsu movement

Kyokotsu in general can be translated as “sternum”. In our case it is a special point on the sternum. By focusing on this point, we can move the sternum.

The Kyokotsu movement involves flexibility in the sternum and, by extension, the ribs and shoulder blade. The objective is to enhance the flexibility and mobility of the sternum and scapula. When moving the sternum there will be no compressing of the lungs and heart, and through the practice one’s whole rib cage will actually be expanded, or larger than it was previously. Moving the sternum is also affecting the movements of the spine and in extension the pelvis.

Turning the pelvis line

Pelvic manipulation consists of using kyokotsu. When kyokotsu is slightly pulled in the spine is straightened. When kyokotsu training is done enough, it will also affect pelvic tilt or rotation automatically.

To give you an inclined sensation of the pelvis using kyokotsu, you can try the following 4 steps. If the remark is made about an upright spine, it is not completely upright, there are always curves but less than in a normal posture.

4 steps to tilt pelvis

Normal posture with curved spine
Straighten legs, straighten the spine by pulling in slightly kyokotsu, called Gankyōbappai*
Bend over, keep legs and torso straight
Push pelvis in the direction of the ankles, keep torso as 1 block

*Gankyōbappai (含胸抜背).
This is an expression 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.

After learning the rotation of the pelvis, different posture heights can be performed with an inclined pelvis. Fundamentally, it’s an ankle movement and not knee-shifting. Even though the knees are bent, the work is done by moving the pelvis towards the ankles. You will notice that the gravity point located in the hara descends almost straight down.

Often you will hear about Achilles tendon problems with older, experienced practitioners. This is due to the abusive use of the knees and pelvis. To prevent such problems, adequate training for ankle flexibility should be introduced. A simple exercise involves moving the pelvis down and up with the ankles.

Tilting the pelvis simply using the pelvic muscles, creates tension in the pelvic region, especially when the footwork is used to move. A frozen pelvis cannot be used with skills such as tenshikei or meguri. Using only the pelvic muscles has no impact on the rest of the body structure.

Turning the pelvis line is only possible when the “mata” or “kwa” is flexible and not tensed up. Should you fail to soften your groin, a frozen pelvis will result. Some tension should be felt in the calves, especially when a deeper posture is adopted. Don’t lift the heels of the floor.

Proper kyokotsu training will affect the entire body, and after adequate training, flexibility and mobility is possible in the torso area. A frozen torso will be avoided. The use of kyokotsu during posture practice will benefit the ability to maintain a strong right posture. Legs and arms are attached to the torso and need flexibility and mobility during body movements. In martial arts, frozen limbs are a major disease when someone is attacking you. This will happen if you didn’t follow proper training, focused on movement. Remember a book written by John Wilkinson, a Tomiki Aikido Pioneer:

Aikido, a Dialogue of MovementDownload

An exercise for pelvis, ankles and kyokotsu

During this exercise, the use of kyokotsu can be practiced. Pull the sternum in when going down and straighten breastbone when arms are raised. The ankles are bent and straightened throughout the movement.

Although it seems that the point of gravity is receding, in reality, it is descending directly.

Tension and relaxation

Excessive tension in the muscles can produce “frozen” joints, but complete relaxation will do exactly the same thing at the other end of the movement spectrum. Total relaxation is a kind of stagnancy or a state of inactivity. Both situations have to be avoided.

The problem of over-tension is often noticed by the practitioner if someone makes a remark on too much tension. The slackening of the muscles is a more serious problem because if someone makes the remark “relax”,. The practitioner has mostly a misunderstanding about “relax” and is not thinking about reducing the tension, but the practitioner focuses more about total slackening the muscles. It is maybe better if we talk about “high or low muscle tone”.

“Muscle tone” is often confused for “muscle strength” and although related, they are not interchangeable terms. Tone refers to the amount of tension in a muscle when at rest state (not actively contracted). Muscle tone helps our bodies maintain posture.
The Low muscle tone is characterised by the muscles having less tension at resting state and feeling “floppy”. High muscle tone is created by excessive contraction of the muscle. High and low muscle will interfere with the power management of the body.

Taikan

Taikan (体感) or bodily feeling or sensation has to be improved before we can start with releasing the tension. If you experience tension you have to know from where it is coming. The same with relaxed, if you don’t feel your body, it is very difficult to solve this slackening of the muscles.

In Taikan’s case, this is a “somatic” concept, we use our sensory system to feel our movements. Although it is a natural process to feel something, if our mind is not focused on the feeling process, we will miss a lot of information how to handle different situations.

Some of you will notice the word “taikan”, as another trendy word to describe a natural process. The Japanese Wikipedia and Dictionaries provides an explanation of Taikan (体感), mostly describing the concept of feeling. The English version provides a few insights from a medical perspective.

The somatosensory system is a part of the sensory nervous system. The somatosensory system is a complex system of sensory neurons and neural pathways that responds to changes at the surface or inside the body. The axons (as afferent nerve fibres) of sensory neurons connect with, or respond to, various receptor cells. Sensory receptors are found all over the body including the skin, epithelial tissues, muscles, bones and joints, internal organs, and the cardiovascular system.

How to use “Taikan” in our practice?

Most practitioners enjoy practicing with sweat. There are some health benefits from such training. Cardio and fat burning are boosted during such training. Unfortunately, this is not the correct method to use the concept of Taikan when you like to discover the different body feelings when practising. In particular, the concept of “muscle tone and reduction of muscle tension” requires a workout at a slower pace. Everyone is aware of the slow movements of taichichuan. There is some logic behind the slow movements, feeling the bodily movements is the first step towards a more efficient martial art.

So the first stage consists of starting “kihon” at a slower pace. Feel the movements and after a while you will become the movement. From now on, you can increase the pace of motion and concentrate on what you actually do. Of course, to maintain the concept of fat burning and cardio, remember to spend time on this important element of your training. A healthy and strong body is necessary for exploring the feelings of body movements.

One important tip is to avoid vigorous “randori” in the first year when the emphasis is on Taikan. The first step of randori, kakari geiko is possible at a slow pace. Ask your partner to co-operate.

Tai-sabaki – Movement Control

Tai-sabaki – Shintai – Shizentai

All the practitioners of the Tomiki method, whether it is Aikido or Judo, are familiar with this model of footwork. This is one of the many overlapping components between Aikido and Judo. It is used in numerous books written by Kenji Tomiki. In “Judo et Aïkido”, an abbreviated English version of his Japanese books, the same concept is used to explain the footwork exercises.

Unfortunately, we cannot find indications how to use footwork in a proper way. We have the pattern, we know “shizentai or natural posture” is necessary during body movements, but most of the practitioners don’t know “how to….”. It is very easy to say “just practise”. The question arises “how to practise?”.

How to..?

Everybody knows that the answer coming from famous teachers when you ask them for something you don’t understand.

“Case by case”

Such an answer is not solving your problem. In case of footwork, we have to consider the basic types of footwork. Besides the basic types, we also have to think about the relationship between the body weight and gravity. And don’t forget the concept of “MA-AI“. By understanding the different aspects in proper footwork and practised these during solo-training and partner exercises, the finalisation will come forward during randori. As Kenji Tomiki said: colouring the dragon’s eye.

Basic types footwork

These are already discussed in other blog posts.

The moving body and shizentai

Among the fundamental elements of martial arts are, taijū no idō or moving the body weight with footwork and taijū no dendō or the transfer of body weight one of the most important concepts. Hino Sensei (Hino Budo’s method) says: “Strictly speaking, the motion of the body weight is to move by making his body a single block. For example, moving forward, or backward, being a solid block”.

Both skills (taijū no idō and taijū no dendō) are based upon proper footwork. And footwork includes also the use of shizentai or in Hino’s words “one’s body a single block”. Don’t take his words out of the context, because we have to take in account another concept or skill: Jukozo or the flexible body.

I would like to repeat a remark I made in other articles:

The main purpose of ritsuzen or standing meditation is to create a “linked” body-system.

This isn’t about standing still. This is an exercise with a lot of movement controlled by your mind. In essence, there is neither footwork nor arm movement. Nevertheless, it is possible some movements can occur when kyokotsu and koshi are involved.

Standing still or creating “shizentai” is the first step in footwork exercises. Advanced practitioners need just a few seconds to adopt shizentai, beginners need more time and need to practice a lot.

More to learn about ritsuzen and shizentai: A ring of power

Shintai and tai-sabaki

Kazuko Kudo a 9th dan Kodokan Judo made an interesting comment on footwork:

Advance-retreat (shintai) – Under this single heading we include both the advance-retreat (shintai) type of movement and turning movements (tai-sabaki).

To master the advance-retreat style of movement you must first master the following way of walking. Usually humans walk by putting their weight on one foot and advancing the other, then shifting their weight to the advanced foot as soon as it touches the floor and advancing the other foot. If we walk backwards the process is the same, only in the opposite direction. Forwards or backwards, this walking method always leaves your weight on one foot for an interval during which your body itself remains back with that support foot.

In his remark, he is talking about the normal way people are walking. In the next comment he talks about a martial way of walking.

In judo walking methods, on the other hand, we move our legs, hips, and bodies forward or backward all at the same time, you must not put one foot forward and leave your body behind or advance your body and leave one foot behind.

How to master this walking method? The first thing to remember is to maintain the natural body position. In judo we walk in the natural position, or to put it slightly differently we walk with our hips. As you walk do not let your feet move too far apart or too close together, do not let your body—head, shoulders, hips—rise and fall, and walk in a sliding smooth fashion across the floor.

Further, he advised to study the skill of “tsugi ashi”. He called this “following feet”. Tomiki’s Unsoku-who is using exactly the same method as Kazuko Kudo explained.

About Tai-sabaki, there is also an interesting comment

Movement control (tai-sabaki)

The Japanese words tai-sabaki are capable of two interpretations. In the wider sense they simply mean all natural body movements including the tsugi-ashi advance-retreat motions we have just been explaining. In the narrower sense they indicate the ways we manipulate and control our body’s motions.

He explained several items included in tai-sabaki:

Carriage of the head
Use of the eyes
Breath control
Use of the torso
Hand movements
Foot movements

These items are also explained by Senta Yamada in his book about aikido: The principles and Practice of Aikido. Some of Kudo’s comments, you also find in Tomiki’s Judo and Aikido.

A contemporary of Sentia Yamada was Tadashi Abe, a student of Morihei Ueshiba. In his books about aikido, he described the art of tai-sabaki as a three-fold action.

Koshi sabaki
Ashi sabaki
Te sabaki

Tadashi Abe studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and is also considered as one of the aikido pioneers in Europe.

Tai-sabaki – Movement Control

The word tai-sabaki is commonly used in Tomiki’s Aikido to describe the ability to avoid an attack. Of course, avoiding can be considered as a part of tai-sabaki. However, tai-sabaki has more to offer the practitioner.

In the words of Kazuko Kudo, Movement Control is the mantra to fully understand Tai-sabaki. Kenji Tomiki explained in fact the idea of Tai-sabaki when he talked about Tsukuri. This concept was developed by Jigoro Kanon the founder of Kodokan Judo. But again we must admit, most of the explanations are just words, so called buzzwords.

When we practise our exercises, one of the goals has to be the control of our movements. When practising with a partner, controlling the movements of the opponent becomes the goal. The attack is just the result of his movement.

Tsukuri or preparation

From “Judo and Aikido” by Kenji Tomiki:

Bringing your opponent’s posture and position into such a relation to yours as to make it easier for you to throw him is called tsukuri (preparatory action). Breaking your opponent’s posture and making it unstable is aite o tsukuru (to prepare the opponent) and assuming at that moment a position and posture convenient for using a technique according to the change in your opponent’s is jibun o tsukuru (to prepare yourself). Thus you must use the most adequate technique after making a thorough tsukuri.

Jibun o tsukuru

It is paradoxical to emphasize ukemi as a form of jibun o tsukuru, but by mental and physical understanding, the concept of “jukozo” or “flexible body” becomes more understandable.

It is a common fact, when a beginner comes into the dojo, he or she likes to know how to throw the opponent. The newbie is in most cases not interested in the fact, you can only throw someone if you can control yourself.

In the older days, ukemi training was one of the foremost methods for beginners to learn to do breakfalls and build up stamina. This was the explanation given to the beginner. It took several months to become more or less skilful in the art of falling. Ukemi or protecting the body is a very physically demanding exercise. When practised correctly and with full commitment, ukemi training becomes a cardio training with a lot of peak moments. Also the body becomes used for different kinds of impact when it hits the floor. The body creates a skill to avoid hard impact by using jukozo to distribute the impact to a bigger surface or into a larger body movement. A big rolling ukemi is such an example.

Aite o tsukuru

Preparing of the opponent consists in destroying the opponent’s balance before performing a technique and putting him in a posture where it will be easy to apply it. (Kenji Tomiki).

Without proper jibun o tsukuru, aite o tsukuru wil be very difficult and every attempt to throw the opponent will fail in most cases. Of course you can succeed by using extreme physical strength, but we are looking for a method useful for the lesser muscular practitioner.

Tai-sabaki becomes one of the pillars of aite o tsukuru together with the many exercises found in “sotai dosa“. The 7 balance disturbing exercises (shichi-hon-no-kuzushi) are another example of sotai dosa in the Tomiki Aikido training program.

A “Corona” approach

Corona – COVID-19 is a pandemic that excludes all forms of social contact, such as practising martial arts as a method of partner training. But there is a positive aspect for practitioners lacking the workout with a partner. For those who continue their solo training, the emphasis is more on the efficiency of the body movements you perform during training.

Before Corona, we had a basic solo practice, like unsoku and tandoku undo. Of course we can do these exercises during the pandemic time. Nevertheless, this ignores a certain ability that we have to develop as a true martial art person. This ability is called: Creativeness.

Without creativity, training will soon become extremely boring and interest in training during Corona will fade. In fact, creativity is also very useful in normal time without the fear of the virus.

Warming-up & Kiko & Ritsuzen

Tenshikei & Unsoku & Tegatana dosa & Happo undo

Program

Warming-up
Kiko – breathing exercise
Ritsuzen – standing exercise
Tenshikei – using koshi & tanden with tegatana
Unsoku-ho – foot work
Tandoku undo Tegatana dosa – footwork & tegatana

When there is a chance to practise with someone of your “bubble”.

Sotai dosa – partner exercises
Randori
Kata

Warming-up

Wake-up the mind and body is the message. It brings the body and mind into a situation for further exercises to improve your body skills.

For example, when the heart rate becomes higher, the heart is pumping more blood to the organs and extremities. When we do breathing exercises, we will have more benefit of the intake of oxygen.

In the field of metaphysics, the body become more relaxed and “ki” will reach every part of the body.

Warming-up exercises mostly focus on stretching muscles and tendons, but also on stretching energy-channels if your interest is focused on the metaphysical side of training.

Kiko – breathing exercises

During those exercises, the most basic skill is pulling up the perineum during the intake of breath. It creates more pressure in the body and the transport of “ki” is more efficient. It is the same if you do these exercises to increase oxygen in the blood and have a better transport to the organs and extremities.

Please refrain from doing these exercises when you are suffering of bad medical situations.

Ritsuzen – standing exercise

This has nothing to do with standing still. This is an exercise with a lot of movement controlled by your mind. Basically, there is no footwork or arm movement involved. Nevertheless, it is possible some movements can occur when kyokotsu and koshi are involved.

The main purpose of ritsuzen is to create a “linked” body-system.

Tenshikei – using koshi

Tenshikei is best described as rotational exercises with the use of koshi and controlled by kyokotsu.

Koshi includes the pelvic region, the muscles of the lower back and the front muscles of the lower body.

In many martial traditions, the use of rotational movement is a major skill to develop during training. There are many names for this skill. In our blog we mentioned already chansigong (silk reeling exercises), meguri or a skill developed by the late Hirokazu Kobayashi. Tenshikei is a word used by Akira Hino to explain the rotating power created by spherical motions inside the body.

Unsoku-ho or footwork

We can consider 2 types of footwork

Shintai type of footwork – moving forward, back, left and right side
Tai-sabaki type of footwork – body turns with footwork

Kazuko Kudo a 9th dan Kodokan Judo made an interesting comment on footwork:

Advance-retreat (shintai) – Under this single heading we include both the advance-retreat (shintai) type of movement and turning movements (tai-sabaki). Advance-retreat movements, as goes without saying, are the vital fundamental movements that let you move your body straight forward, backward, left or right to get it into the required position. If the ways you move your feet and body are correct and if they agree with the various postures and methods of standing with your opponent, when these movements appear in a technique, that technique will be correct and free of strain.
From Judo Online Dojo

There are some “basic patterns” to study during martial art footwork training. By just doing those basic patterns without understanding the underlying principles, the result will be disappointing.

Shintai type of footwork

tsuri ashi
tsugi ashi
ayumi ashi

Tai-sabaki type of footwork

de mawari ashi
hiki mawari ashi

Tandoku undo Tegatana dosa

Combing footwork with arm/hand actions is a training method to develop whole body movement. It is an important training tool towards partner exercises.

Rendo -The art of linking

A “martial art body” is determined by the word “Jukozo” or flexible structure.
When we see how someone is catching a ball, we can get an idea how the body works during a whole body movement.

The synchronisation of the body with the ball is the main concept. Catching with a stiff body will not be very successful in catching the ball.

Developing a flexible structure – Jukozo

This has nothing to do with stretching exercises per se; rather, it has to do with learning to maintain a certain suppleness and adjustability in the body.
By controlling different parts of the body, we can create linked movement segments. The power of Rendo is going further than the power of an isolated movement of the arm.

We can move the arm or we can move the arm as a whole body movement.

Isolated movement = Movement segment

From a scientific point of view, a movement segment is “a functional unit made up of two adjacent articulating surfaces and the connecting tissues binding them together. “

This is for most of us too difficult to understand, we need a more simple and practiacal explanation.

The green dots are 3 centres to create a stable posture.

The yellow dots show the movement segment of the arm.

The red dots show the movement segment of the leg.

Of course, this is very simplified, but it has some practical use for our training.

Whole body movement

Whole body movement is made by linking movement and postural segments and it is called “rendo”. It is not only a physical action, the brain (and its functions) plays also an important role.

Postural Segment

Once again, simplicity is key to success in an entire body movement. Too many details create a malfunction in our brain. Also, understand that there are more than 3 points required to move an arm (or other segment) efficiently. Maybe one time you will feel so many dots that it becomes a flow. Each point during the movement can be handled by your mind… the game of “ki” begins.

Of course, it is not easy to control the linking process. Controlling the mind using “zanshin” or focusing the mind may be the first step of the control process. Zanshin is a skill how to use the mind to control our body and movements. Many martial traditions mention this skill and use the art of standing – Ritsuzen – (ZhanZuang in Chinese arts) to perfect the focusing skill. Ritsuzen is a simplistic method to create Jukozo. Ritsuzen uses three main areas of his body:

The Mind residing in the head
Sternum
Pelvic region

In our research on martial arts training, most methods mention vertical posture as the most favourable to apply a punch or strike to the opponent. Even when working at the office, the upright posture is the healthiest.

Let us examine these centres and begin with the centre of the basin, the pelvic area or hara.

Hara, the pelvic region

The word “hara” is often used to describe the use of power in martial arts training.

Hara can be described either as the physical centre of a human being or as the metaphysical centre.

As part of our training, the hara may be considered the physical centre and it contains the centre of gravity. This is true in most cases, because it is possible that the centre of gravity is somewhere outside our body. The centre of gravity is not fixed in any particular place.

If you’re doing an Internet search, there’s a lot of information out there. And some of this info can be helpful during our training.

The balancing, equilibrium, or pivoting point of the body.
It is the point where the sum of all the forces and force movements acting on the body is zero.
It is the point at which all the weight of the body may be considered to be concentrated and about which all the parts exactly balance.

A physical view

When standing, the centre of gravity in the human body is located in the front of the sacrum at the height of the sacral vertebras.

A metaphysical view on hara

In our western culture, the pelvic region has still a kind of taboo. The association with our sex organs makes it difficult to talk about this region. From a metaphysical point of view, the pelvic region is a source of energy. When you have an interest in this matter, I suggest you to look into the many articles on the internet on Traditional Eastern Medicine and Healthy Living.

So, please put aside your taboo thinking and see our pelvic region as an important part of whole body movement.

Kyokotsu, the sternum centre

Like the hara, kyokotsu is a small part of the body which cannot be regarded as a hinge. Basically, it cannot move by itself. Nevertheless, with the help of the surrounding muscles, it is mobile and will affect the spinal column and the attached muscles. Since the spinal cord is involved, it will also influence the use of the hara or pelvic region.

Movements of the arm is not only by using local arm muscles, but it is a process of a whole body movement. By controlling kyokotsu, we can use the muscles of the pelvic region and the attached legs.

Connection between hand and kyokotsu is by determining the “dots” between root, segment and tip.

The Mind

The function of ‘The Mind” is briefly described in another post: “The science of training”.

Previously I mentioned Zanshin or controlling the mind to perfect the skill of focusing the mind. It takes a lot of training time to become skilful and maybe this goes beyond too much the motivation to do a martial art. If you go this path, you cannot ignore the metaphysical part of training.

Many martial sport champions acknowledge the importance of this part of the training. Controlling the mind is a basic skill to create high competence in your art. And this applies also for all sports or professional activities.

On the other hand, if your martial art activity is some kind of social gathering with friends, this is not a mistake but don’t expect a high level performance. Martial arts have different faces, and you can make a choice.

Happo Undo

8 directions exercise

After the Second World War, Kenji Tomiki and Hideo Ohba made a famous film about “aiki” for judo students. In this film, Kenji Tomiki shows his version of “Happo-Undo” or the exercise of the 8 directions.

If you look closely, Tomiki actually moves in four directions, but each direction is executed on the left and right side.

In many Japanese martial arts you will find multi-directional exercises. At first sight, the exercise is focused on the performance in different directions. Some teachers are referring this to attacking different opponents. But there is also an important mental aspect on the performance of a multi-directional exercise.

The mental aspect

Changing the starting point of a multidirectional iaido kata in the dojo was a teaching tool by Ishido Sensei* to raise your awareness of the content in the kata and not becoming distracted by the environment.

When performing happo undo, don’t start always facing the same side of the dojo. Also go outside, for example the park, and do your happo undo. After some training, your happo undo becomes a happy undo.

*Ishido Sensei was my teacher Iaido for about 25 years and while the content of his teachings was for the most part highly technical, sometimes his explanations went beyond the technical aspect.

Basic movements and happo undo

Tegatana go-dosa or 5 hand blade movements are at the heart of Tomiki Aikido. It is found in atemi waza, kansetsu waza and uki waza.

When Santa Yamada, a Tomiki Aikido pioneer, was around, he was always referring to the basic hand and arm movements. Generally, he taught only 4 movements and didn’t use the 5th movement (o-mawashi).

These 4 basic movements can be used in the happo undo the pattern besides the frontal linear movement, demonstrated by Kenji Tomiki.

Gassho uke and happo undo

Gassho uke is used to deflect the attacking arm of an opponent. Mostly when the attack is aimed at the head.

An interesting anecdote on “gassho” may be found in Geof Gleeson’s book: Judo Inside Out.

When training in aiki jitsu under Professor Tomiki he often used the symbol of prayer, the placing of two hands together as signifying the purpose of prayer and religion – the duality of God and man, the yin and yang becoming one.
Geof Gleeson

The exercise gassho uke happo undo becomes more than a physical exercise. As Ishido Sensei mentioned on many occasions, the mind is also important during training. When the 2 hands were put together, the power of the 2 arms comes together and creates a ring of power. We need the mind to keep this ring of power intact.

Koichi Tohei, a famous student of Morihei Ueshiba, was well-known for his research in the field of Ki. He developed many exercises with the Ki concept as the most important item.

You must be able to conform to all circumstances and to change the direction of your spiritual flow instantaneously and completely while maintaining a posture of strength
Koichi Tohei

Nagashi and Hakkei

In this blog post I will try to explain different types or methods to practice Tandoku Undo or the main ways of moving the body and hands picked from Aiki skills, then simplified and abstracted and organized as an exercise course.
The result of this training can be seen in the skills of Nagashi and Hakkei.

Nagashi and Hakkei

These two concepts have already been covered in a separate blog post. Certain explanations are needed to light up a concept of “moving body”.

Nagashi: Within the context of Tomiki Aikido, nagashi is the skill of a flowing movement and its derivative power “hakkei”.

Hakkei: Is a sudden power, generated by using nagashi or flowing movements. Tenshikei and koshi-mawari are integrated components for producing hakkei.

Some advice by Shigeru Uemura, former Shito-Ryu karateka
When we release the muscles, an energy linked to gravitation is released. With the muscular relaxation, the movement is immediate, in a single time.

The moving body

A moving body has 3 main methods to generate force:

Taïjū no idō – using footwork
Taïjū no dendō – using body weight
Tenshikei – diagonal tension

These are fundamental components of budo. By using the concept of “rendo” or “linking movements” flowing movements are created: nagashi

Body weight and using gravity play a substantial role in generating force when using Taïjū no idō and/or Taïjū no dendō.

Hino Sensei (Hino Budo method) states: “Strictly speaking, the movement of the body’s weight is to move by making one’s body a single block. For example, moving forward, or backward, being a solid block.

Posture training and static tandoku undo-tegatana dosa are the main methods to create one solid but flexible body. Next step is to use the flexible but solid block together with a proper footwork by using the skill of Rendo.

Taïjū no idō

stepping with gravity — Taïjū no idō by using gravity

Controlling own body during displacement is controlling the force of gravity.
Taïjū no idō is a skill for example to avoid an attack from the opponent. By applying the proper footwork, the distance between tori and uke can be managed in favor of tori. Sometimes the skill of avoiding an incoming attack can be done without displacement of the feet.
Gravity gives weight to the physical body and can be utilized to start displacement during footwork.
The force generated during this displacement is called “Ido ryoku”.
Another skill to generate ido ryoku is tenshikei or diagonal tension.

Taïjū no dendō

Taïjū no dendō or transmission of body weight.
This is a skill to transfer body weight into the opponent without pushing or tensing muscles.

Inoue- sensei from Japan Aikido Association is an expert on this matter.

Putting weight into a movement
If we attack with shomen uchi or shomen tsuki (straight forward attack) we need to put the weight into the attack.
When performing tegatana awase, we also can put weight in the tegatana.
Don’t confuse putting weight into the opponent by a pushing action. Pushing in many cases is performed by using local muscle work. Although this is not a mistake, it is more efficient to use the skill of Taïjū no dendō and/or Taïjū no idō with a flexible body and generating force by performing “nagashi”.

How to put weight into a movement?

To answer this question we can use an exercise from tandoku undo as an example: soto-gaeshi in a slow motion version

Body weight is dropping after the arms start to move down. There is a connection between the arms and the body weight. Gravity is used to drop and not local muscle power. Important is to keep the body vertical, in line with gravity.

If we only bend our knees or only using arm strength, there will be no Taïjū no dendō involved.

Tenshikei

Using diagonal tension as a source of force is already mentioned many times in this blog. Please refer to the different articles of Tenshikei.

A famous Budoka, Morita Monjuro wrote an interesting essay about diagonal tension.

The perfect handling of the sword is produced by the integration of three elements:
1. the rotation of koshi (koshi mawari)
2. diagonal tension produced by this rotation
3. displacement of the body
Morita Monjuro

Even for Morita Monjuro, a body in motion is needed to produce strength and its application.

An application of rotational force by Senta Yamada

The rotation force is transferred to the uke body using diagonal channels. To get an idea of the paths of power, one may consult the concept of tensegrity. This is called Budo’s case, Jukozo.

Patterns of footwork

Dynamic tandoku undo is based upon different pattern of footwork. These include:

tsugi ashi
tsuri ashi
ayumi ashi
de mawari
hiki mawari
tentai

Some examples of footwork training methods

Unsoku-ho

In Tomiki Aikido, the exercise unsoku-ho is a very basic footwork pattern and can be adjusted depending on the circumstances. The origin of this exercise can be found in Kodokan Judo.

By integrating Taïjū no idō and Taïjū no dendō into Unsoku-ho, a new way of practising footwork is created. If you like to experiment with unsoku-ho, don’t be afraid to change the fixed pattern. Aikido is a skill to react in different situations and fixed formats has to be avoided when you reach a more advanced level.

Types of tandoku undo

Static tandoku undo – basic – about postures, body movement and tenshikei. No footwork is involved.
Dynamic tandoku undo – integration of footwork into postures and creating a moving body.

A number of versions of tandoku undo exist. Mostly we use an adapted version taught by Senta Yamada. The history of Tomiki’s Tandoku Undo is briefly described in my book The secret weapon of Aikido Written 2008/2009 and published 2010, free to download. In this blog, many elements of my book are being discussed in light of my growing experience and research on these subjects.

How to practise Tandoku Undo?

There are a number of ways in which the tandoku undo can be practiced. Mostly Unsoku ho or footwork is practised first, followed by Tegatana dosa. Counting every posture in performance is a perfect format for beginners who are not familiar with the sequence of movements. Advanced practitioners are benefiting more from other types of practice. We talked about it in a previous blog post.

As we began our article with some explanations about the “moving body” and its fundamental elements, we must concentrate on these fundamental elements and integrate them into our practice.

Tegatana dosa without footwork allows you to concentrate more on integrating tenshikei (rotational force). Integration of footwork adds an extra item in the training and the synchronisation of the footwork with the movements of the torso and upper limbs is an extra difficulty to overcome.

Each Tandoku undo exercise may be done as often as desired. The concept of “nagashi” or flowing movements can be incorporated without counting the positions.

Static tandoku undo

In this type of training, there is no footwork. Although a very small turning movement of a foot is used sometimes to create “Chidori ashi and koshi mawari“. Only basic arm movements are used.

Shomen uchi & shomen tsuki
Uchi mawashi & soto mawashi
Uchi gaeshi & soto gaeshi

The names of tegatana movements can be different depending on the use of the tegatana. A more recent version is focused on the use of tegatana as a sword. See also Nagashi kata.

Shomen no uchikomi/tsukikomi
Kiri kaeshi
Maki zuki
Kesa uchi (not discussed in static tandoku undo)
Tenkai/tentai no uchikomi (not discussed in static tandoku undo)

Dynamic tandoku undo

Tegatana – Shomen uchi & shomen tsuki
Uchi mawashi & Soto mawashi
Uchi gaeshi & soto gaeshi
De-mawari Uchi mawashi
Hiki-mawari Soto mawashi
Ko mawashi
O mawashi

The integration of footwork makes this type of solo workout very dynamic, and depending on the speed usage, it becomes a sort of cardio workout.

By using the concept of “ju & go” power, another dimension can be added. Go-power typically uses a penetrating, linear force, whereas ju-power usually uses a circular, flowing force. The original Nagashi kata, an older version of tandoku undo is characterized by flowing movement and generates ju-power. The first exercise shomen uchi & shomen tsuki is an example of go-power, although there are elements of ju power movements included.

In previous articles on tandoku undo tegatana dosa, using chidori ashi is exaggerated for introducing basic mawari koshi. By adding more velocity** to the exercises, the use of chidori ashi becomes only important at certain points of the exercise. Especially when the direction of the movement must be adapted in accordance with the circumstances. Over-focusing on a concept can destroy the effectiveness of a body movement application.

**Velocity is equivalent to a specification of an object’s speed and direction of motion.

Tegatana – Shomen uchi & shomen tsuki

Static method

This exercise includes some technical applications besides the fundamental elements like chidori-ashi, koshi-mawari and nagashi.

A study of postures: jodan, chudan and gedan no kamae

A study of basic atemi-waza – striking or pushing techniques

Koshi-mawari and tenshikei is also the key to successful application of “hakkei” or explosive immediate power.

Dynamic method

The integration of footwork makes this exercise highly dynamic. Footwork is based upon ayumi ashi and tsugi ashi. These kinds of footwork are extensively practised during unsoku-ho. In the beginning, it is preferable to use a slow speed method.

The application of atemi-waza becomes more obvious in the dynamic method. During the static method, the integration of chidori-ashi, koshi-mawari and nagashi is fully developed and the benefit of it will come to the surface.

The skill of “hakkei” or “sudden power” during dynamic performance must be considered as a tool for further development of randori and self-defence applications. Timing in this case is a crucial element and cannot be overlooked.

Uchi mawashi & Soto mawashi

Static method

Like the preceding tegatana dosa, several interpretations may be used for practical purposes. By utilizing a more linear approach, Atemi waza or striking techniques are more visible. When using “nagashi”, a flowing flavor is noticeable.

Dynamic method

When using footwork, the concept of “hakkei” can be practised and still having flowing movements or nagashi.

Uchi gaeshi & soto gaeshi

Static method

Nagashi is the main feature of this tegatana dosa, though certain hakkei elements may be detected.

Dynamic method

As for the previous tegatana dosa (nrs1 and 2), a dynamic approach makes the concept “hakkei” more obvious.

De-mawari Uchi mawashi

The main feature in this tegatana dosa is a circular footwork pattern. This is an application of “irimi” using circular footwork.

Hiki-mawari Soto mawashi

The main feature in this tegatana dosa is a circular footwork pattern. This is an application of “ura” using circular footwork and soto mawashi.

Ko mawashi

Sometimes reference is made to “tentai” or 180° bodyturn. Note that footwork is done after you have sufficiently turned the body.

O mawashi

Big movements are characteristics of this tegatana dosa. It can be performed in a more “atemi waza” format or a “nagashi” format.

Influence of velocity

Speed is not just the execution of the exercise with more speed, but the direction of motion has an important part to play. The 3 basic tegatana dosa, the focal point is straightforward. In older versions of tegatana dosa, the performance includes a moving on the side with a rotating body. This can be seen at the beginning of this post. Senta Yamada performing Uchi mawashi.

A rotating body will increase the power of a body motion if it is made correctly.

Body turns may be made at 90°, 180°, 270° or other angles.

Speed also influences the various levels of impact of the workout on the heart rate zones. This was discussed in Aikido, a Holistic Approach.

Aikido, a Holistic Approach?

Many groups are advertising Aikido as a holistic training method. A way of Life. There is a danger of putting the mental and technical side to the foreground and the physical aspect is sometimes almost forgotten. The “Ki” or life force is only needed to perform. Nothing is less true.

Aikido and holistic training

Holistic: relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis and dissection into parts

Age-appropriate facets of physical training, understanding of technical, tactical, physical and mental factors are needed to develop efficient training methods. These factors are deeply interdependent.

Some tactical information is needed to perform with excellence during fighting and competing, and is according the ethical rule we like to integrate in our methods.

A mental factor in training has to be integrated by using some forms of meditation or other program to boost mental activity during training.

Physical Training

As most of us will notice, a heap of the older practitioners, instructors included are overweight. The cause of this unhealthy situation is a lack of efficient physical training and unhealthy food. We will focus on conditioning the body (and mind).

First, we wish to bring forward some “knowledge” from Wikipedia, Heart Org and Fitbit.com. Afterward, we will discuss this in the context of our Aikido training.

Intensity Levels

The metabolic equivalent of task (MET) is the objective measure of the ratio of the rate at which a person expends energy, relative to the mass of that person, while performing some specific physical activity compared to a reference, set by convention at 3.5 mL of oxygen per kilogram per minute, which is roughly equivalent to the energy expended when sitting quietly.

Only… This is quite complicated, but if we use a formula, it becomes more clear.

The formula using MET: (MET x bodyweight x 3,5) x 200 = Kcal/min

The problem arises with the value of MET. Which one we have to use? A source of information can be found at “Compendium of physical activities”.

Using Heart Rate

Another method to measure the efficiency of the training is by using the heart rate. This is typically used as a measure of exercise intensity by using a device around the wrist or with a chest band. It is an indicator of the challenge to the cardiovascular system that the exercise represents.

The target zone?

When you work out, are you doing too much or not enough? There’s a simple way to know: Your target heart rate helps you to get max benefit from every movement you make. Knowing your heart rate (or pulse) can help you track your physical level.

First Things First: Resting Heart Rate

Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute when you’re at rest.

For most of us, between 50 and 90 beats per minute (bpm) is normal.

Maximum and Target Heart Rate

This table shows target heart rate zones for different ages. Your maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age. This is just a rule of thumb and is not very useful when you enter the level of professional top sport.

Target Heart Rate Zone is divided into 4 to 6 zones depending on the purpose of the training and the goal to reach.

The Heart Rate Zones

By using 4 heart rate zones:

Rest	↘︎40% of heartbeat reserve+ heart resting beat
Fat burning	40%-59% of heartbeat reserve + heart resting beat
Cardio	60%-84% of heartbeat reserve + heart resting beat
Peak	↗︎85% of heartbeat reserve + heart resting beat

Heartbeat reserve is your max heartbeat minus the heart resting beat.

Example : age 30 yrs and resting heartbeat of 60 / max BPM 220-30=190 / Heartbeat reserve= 190-60=130 / 40% of 130=52 / 52+60=112 BPM starting fat burning

How to conform our Aikido techniques and/or movements is a crucial question for our training method. Many fitness and power training exercises have a great value for our health. But are those exercises functional for our martial art?

4 training goals for Aikido

Heart Rate Zones give an indication how intense we can practice the different functional components of the Aikido syllabus without losing the technical correctness of the techniques. Fundamentally, we can distinguish 4 different goals in our training.

Mental and physical preparation, creating a martial body
Healthy movement adapted to develop efficient techniques and/or movements
Developing cardiovascular system to develop physical stamina to endure efficient training performances
Peak performances needed for combat and/or competition

These training zones don’t need to be executed in this order.

Aikido exercises and/or techniques can be used for any of the 4 mentioned training Aikido goals and can conform to the directives of the Heart Rate training zones. Depending on the choice made by a practitioner, training has to be guided by the goal of the practitioner. This is a real challenge for the instructor. Creativity is one of the basic requirements of a good instructor.

Mental and physical preparation, creating a martial body

A martial body can be seen as “a holistic” concept how the body is functioning during training and daily life. Synchronising all the parts of the body is the main purpose of this training method. Posture training and moving posture are the main components together with martial art techniques.

Healthy movement adapted to develop efficient techniques and/or movements

If the movements are executed in a wrong manner, it becomes unhealthy, and can create serious physical problems when we get older. Using the body with a holistic concept can avoid physical problems in the future. On the other hand, the martial aspect cannot be forgotten and must be included in the training method.

Movements like tandoku undo unsoku & tegatana dosa are used as an exercise to develop a link between the 3 body parts. During posture training we become aware of these 3 parts

Developing cardiovascular system to develop physical stamina to endure efficient training performances

By controlling the speed of the exercise, we have an impact on the heart beat. Monitoring the heartbeat with a device (Apple watch, Fitbit, Polar, Garmin,…..) is very helpful. During partner training a watch is lesser convenient, but there are different methods to avoid the problems

Peak performances needed for combat and/or competition

Peak performances cannot be forgotten for those practitioners involving into randori or shiai. Without a firm stamina, people cannot enjoy peak moments in dojo or other places. This has nothing to do with winning or losing, it is about enjoying the art of the moving body and mind.

Personal training scheme example

This scheme is based upon a person – 72yrs/87kg/180cm/resting heart rate 58/heart rate zones – fat burning 93-109 – cardio 110-131 – peak 132+

Training goal (solo training during Corona pandemic)

Keeping body and mind synchronised and in a good shape. Martial art aspect is integrated by using functional exercises.

Warming-up: ballistic exercise, kiko (qigong) hachidanken (baduanjin)
Posture training: shizentai (central line), gedan (moving koshi-pelvis), chudan (kyokotsu open/close), unstable standing (image=wooden platform in water)
Moving posture training: unsoku – tsuri ashi (gedan posture) – ayumi ashi (jodan posture)
Tandoku undo – tegatana dosa (static) 1-3
Tandoku undo – tegatana dosa (dynamic) 1-7
Tandoku undo – flowing – ki no nagare
Cooling down – closing the energy posture

Find here 2 examples of heart rate evolution during a 1hr session. It gives an indication of the heart rate zones. By doing “tandoku undo” with a higher speed, the effect is visible. Example 1 is rather slow (bpm 115) and example 2 is more cardio oriented thanks to the speed increase of the tandoku undo (bpm 130). The overal bpm is around 100-110bpm.

An example of heart rate zones

The peak moment in the beginning is an exercise called “pendulum” and is a preparation to take up with Kiko-hachidanken, breathing exercises synchronized with the movements. By doing the pendulum at the beginning, the intake of oxygen during Kiko is more effective.

The Next Step

Question: What is the purpose of doing Aikido always in the same way for years and years like a robot?
Answer: If we do the exercises (solo & partner) by doing it frequently and many repetitions we will progress in our Aikido.
It is a delusion to believe we can progress by just doing without an evolution of understanding, mentally and physically.

Tradition and evolution

Both can walk hand in hand together for the unreachable goal of the purpose of Aikido training. This training is focused by most of the practitioners on the physical and mental aspect of the training. Of course, for some practitioners, there is also a spiritual dimension. This can be subject for another discussion, but let’s talk about physical and mental aspects of the training.

Aikido training is constantly subject to evolution, which will change the final result depending on our understanding. Tradition or the legacy of our founders is not discarded in our training, but is subject to changes according to the degree of the practitioner. A more experienced instructor shall provide a more differentiated form of training than an instructor without teaching experience. Of course, creativity will also play an important function.

The smallest detail can change a complete movement

Once, Shishida Sensei said: “A perfect movement is a matter of one thousand details”.

Can you imagine if you have a better understanding of a detail what will happen to the movement? And if you understand several details, what is going to happen?

An example: the back heel

The picture on the left, the back foot (the heel) is pushed down
The middle, the heel has lifted 2cm, weight is on the ball
The right, heel is lifted completely

The impact on the knee angle

There is an impact on the knee angle of the back leg. There is also an impact on the knee angle of the front leg.

Many instructors will advise not to pass the knee line before the toes of the front leg. By lifting the back heel by 2cm, the front knee moves slightly back. When lifting the back heel completely, both legs are almost stretched, the body becomes unstable.

The small detail of lifting the heel has an impact on the stability and also on the power generation of the body.

By keeping tradition alive, but taking care of a small detail, there will be an evolution in the management of body motion. If there is a full understanding of the use of the detail, movements will improve in many circumstances. If the detail is not easily understood, efficient body movements will be destroyed, although the tradition is kept but not well understood.

Another example: counting movements

ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, shichi, hachi

When we teach the choreography of Tandoku undo – Unsoku or Tegatana dosa to beginners, we use a method of counting important postures within the sequence. Generally, this creates a robot-like movements. This is maybe convenient to teach to beginners, but if you do still this counting after a few years of practice, I think you miss the point of practicing Tandoku undo.

A more advanced practitioner has to focus on smooth and flexible movements without the interruption caused by counting the major postures within the sequences.

The difference between “stop” and “pause”

We can consider a posture as a paused movement at one point. We can also take the movement as a series of infinite amount of paused movements, which are following each other.

A paused movement is in some cases when the breathing change from inhaling to exhaling or vice versa. In the example of soto mawashi hiki mawari, there is a pause at the end of the sequence just before lowering the hand to the side. This is the transition between inhaling and exhaling.

A pause is a part of a movement sequence, a stop is the end of a physical movement sequence.

Physical and mental movement

Life is about movements, if movements stop, life is also stopping. If we don’t see an external movement, there is of course an internal movement. Physically, the body is in a situation of “paused movement”, mentally there is no pause.

Entering the Arena of Competition

In this “Corona” time, we are waiting for a vaccine to cure the sickness. The vaccine, in most of the cases, is injecting the illness in a very reduced portion. The body is reacting and creates enough antibodies to fight the sickness.

Getting into the Arena of Competition is injecting a vaccine to prepare the practitioner for a fight against the illness of martial arts: Delusion.

Only if the vaccine is not well prepared, the fight in the Arena becomes so important and becomes itself a delusion of invincibility.

Thinking about this “Next Step”, the entering of the Arena, cannot be adopted lightly. I believe, it was not the intention of Kenji Tomiki to create a system with competition the final goal. How to become a “social being” with respect to others must always precede the vaccine of competition.

Opening/closing the armpit

The “opening and closing” of the armpit is managed by using kyokotsu or sternum in the correct way. This is necessary to perform an efficient movement when aiming for a target.

Using kyokotsu and “koshi” in a correct way (koshi-mawari) is the key to send the power of the base (earth) through the arms into the opponent. About koshi mawari, you can consult: The influence of Chidori ashi.

Controlling “kyokotsu” or “sternum”

Controlling kyokotsu or sternum is explained by Akira Hino in his book: Don’t Think, Listen to the Body.

The picture on the left is a sort of simplification of the mechanism. It has also an influence on the utilization of the koshi.

When the sternum is moving, the spine is also moving. This creates a pelvic tilt.

The pelvic tilt has to be the result of a full body movement. Just doing a pelvic tilt has no influence on the movement of the upper body when there is no connection between upper and lower body. Also just doing a sternum movement has no effect on the lower body if there is tension around the spine.

Straight line and koshi mawari

Directing for the target is a simple action with a lot of difficulties. The skill of opening and closing the armpit has to be entirely understood, mentally and physically.

When there is no control of the armpit, there is a probability of missing the target.

To resume, we can point out:

Rotation of the torso
Extending the arm in a straight line aiming at the target.
Opening and closing of the armpit.

Using a jo to perform taijū no dendō and koshi-mawari

During “corona” time it is necessary in a partner exercise to maintain distance, especially when you are practicing with someone not belonging to your nearest social contacts. The “jo” or medium range stick is the ideal tool to make contact and still maintaining a distance.

This video clip demonstrates taijū no dendō and koshi-mawari with the help of a jo or a medium range stick. It gives the opportunity to feel how partner is using power to push you back. There are some points to take into account on both sides of the stick.

How to push the stick forward?

Starting from a “chidori ashi” posture with the hand holding the stick near the body. Move the center line forward until you feel pressure in the ball of the front foot. Start turning the body while extending the arm forward.

How to receive the incoming stick?

Chidori ashi posture. Move the center line back until you feel pressure on the heel of the back foot. Start turning the body to absorb the power into the floor.

Relationship with compatible martial arts

A clear relationship with Jodo Kata “Suigetsu”. The straight line and koshi-mawari is only successful if there is a control of the armpit and the extended arm holding the stick.

Remark also the straight center line and the advice not to bend the body and arm.

There are of course more examples about opening and closing armpit in relationship with koshi mawari. Simply for the purpose to keep this post compact, my advice to find out by yourself and find similarities in other martial arts.

The influence of Chidori ashi

During “corona” time, we manage to do a lot of solo training. Solo training for a prolonged period can change our movements. It is necessary to understand the mechanism behind the changes. This post is an attempt to explain some points I am working on during this “corona” time. I have the opportunity to practice in my Dojo without the danger to get infected by the virus. Most of you will notice the modifications in my ideas for training, after all, life is always changing according to our experiences.

Chidori ashi

The influence of Chidori ashi is a rather complicated and includes more than the placement of the feet. Of course, there is a pattern for foot placement. But we cannot forget the role of the center line, gravity, pelvic tilt and some other elements.

A basic “chidori-ashi” pattern

Hanmi gamae or half posture is a basic stance in many martial arts and it is used in a lot of circumstances.

Chidori ashi is mostly used to have a bigger range of hip/lower back turning: koshi-mawari.

After some training, you will find out your own direction to use hanmi gamae and certainly the benefits of Chidori ashi posture.

The centre line

The centre line is an imaginary vertical line. In general, this line is perpendicular to the floor. The picture of Teruo Fujiwara shows a perfect centre line.

During taijū no dendō (transferring body weight), the center line can tilt a few degrees depending on the conditions.

Offensive Centre line

The first set of the JAA-Tandoku undo – shomen uchi/shomen tsuki – is using the center line in an offensive way. This originates from swordsmanship. When the sword breaks away from the center line, we are vulnerable to an attack from opponent.

Some points to take into account:

The centre line is a straight line in front of the spinal column. Everybody’s spine has a different shape. Some of us bear a natural hollow lower back, others have almost a hunchback.

Center line is not a fixed line in a perpendicular format to the floor. It is possible there is some inclination of the center line. If the inclination is going out of range, we need to do some adjustment to avoid too much tension. See below for this kind of adjustment.

When we learn to move “koshi” or lower back, we will take into account the structure of our spinal column. It is not wise to force our structure into a stance which can result in chronic pain.

Before we perform the movements of tandoku undo tegatana dosa, we must first master the skill of koshi mawari.

Protecting the center line

Both hands are protecting the centre line after adopting a chidori ashi posture.

In his book on Aikido, Senta Yamada made a notice about the importance of the centre line. Yamada sensei is using a hanmi gamae.

Stepping into “kamae” – hanmi kamae or chidori-ashi – has to take into account the important concept of the centre line.

The hands are protecting the own centre line and are pointing towards the opponent’s centre line.

A weapon is protecting your own center line, and on the other hand it is also threathening the center line of opponent.

Angle of inclination

The centre line has on top a direction range of 360°. The angle of the inclination is rather small when standing in shizentai.

The angle will increase when adopting hanmi gamae or Chidori ashi posture in the direction of the posture. The range of movement (forward, backward and turning) is influenced by the placement of the feet. (See below)

During inclination, the role of koshi comes into play for adjustment by using a pelvic tilt.

Pelvic tilt

Koshi mawari is a very complex movement and “pelvic tilt” is a part of a complete koshi mawari.

There are 3 positions of the pelvic:

Neutral
Posterior pelvic tilt
Anterior pelvic tilt

Neutral stance is used in the situation when no action is needed. A posterior pelvic tilt is in general used when the inclination of the body is going forward and we need to make adjustments for applying taijū no dendō. A anterior pelvic tilt is used when we retreat for an incoming power. The anterior pelvic tilt is needed to execute the rotational movement of the body – koshi mawari –

Range of turning movement

By using “chidori ashi” posture, our range for koshi mawari is much larger than for hanmi kamae. Chidori ashi posture opens the front of the koshi more than a basic hanmi gamae. While a basic hanmi gamae has a range of about 135°, chidori ashi posture has a range of about 180°

Range of bodyweight movement

When adopting hanmi gamae or chidori ashi posture, the body weight can move in an efficient way forward, backward and turning. A combination of these 3 actions is possible. There are 3 basic body weight postures, and in each posture we can turn the body. By adding “tsughi ashi” or sliding feet, we create almost unlimited possibilities of movements for offensive or defensive tactics.

2 forward – offensive movement
3 neutral
4 backward – defensive movement

Taijū no dendō and gravity

Basically the center line and gravity are in the same area, but it is possible to have a small inclination depending on the situation. For example, just before a strike or a push is applied, the body moves a little forward to put body weight on the ball of the front foot. Releasing this tension will rebound the power stored in the tension. A pelvic tilt is needed to transmit the power of gravity (stored in the tension of the front foot) into the opponent. The line of gravity is moving forward to keep the body up.

Forward movement

The body in the previous picture has an egg shape. If you generate a mental image of an egg shaped central body, you will feel and understand the interaction of the pelvic tilt, the center line and gravity. The influence of Chidori ashi and the associated elements becomes apparent if you practice this on a regular footing.

Partner practise

It its necessary to use partner practise to experience the influence of your solo training. In “corona time”, weapon training can be a solution. This will be a theme for another “post”.

Kokyu ryoku as a result of Taijū no dendō

taïjū = body weight – dendō = transmission, conduction
Kokyū-Ryoku (呼吸力, Breath Power) Is the concept of relaxed power generated from the tanden. There is an implication in the word kokyū that this type of power does not clash with uke. (From Wikipedia)

Kokyu is mostly translated as “breath”, but can be understood as the concept of “prana” in yoga. Although it must be mentioned that breathing is only a small part of the prana concept also called “life force”. Breathing is a dynamic process and is an integral part of our being as a living person.

Another definition can be found in a a popular Japanese book:

Aikido: Tradition and Competitive Edge

In a book written by Tetsuro Nariyama and Fumiaki Shishida – Aikido: Tradition and Competitive Edge – Kokyu-ryoku and toitsuryoku is briefly mentioned. Correct use of the body and breathing can develop focused power: toitsuryoku. Some basic movements are explained to develop this kind of power. These exercises are very basic and you will find them also in other aiki-arts.

Don’t Think, Listen to the Body

Written by Akira Hino is an attempt to create a method to develop a martial body, useful in the many martial arts lacking an understandable method for developing soft power. This method is used as a supporting aid in our research.

An introduction into the practical use of opposing isometric tension

“Taijū no ido & Taijū no dendō“, the relationship between the two concepts was discussed by using some Tomiki Aikidō techniques and/or exercises. The article is based upon a workshop we did some time ago. More explanations are needed to deepen the knowledge of these important concepts

In 2017 we made a short videoclip about “manipulation of structure”. At that time we were not aware about the importance of Taijū no ido & Taijū no dendō, and in particularity the use of Taijū no dendō concept. It was briefly mentioned, but the understanding was not so deep.

During Corona-Covid19 time , more people perform solo-training. Unfortunately the focus is mostly oriented upon the sequence and the outer appearance. Of course there are some on-line video clips with more information about the inner development during solo-training. There is perhaps one disadvantage with on-line teaching: no hands-on experience.

The example of bringing Taijū no dendō concept into the training has the same disadvantage: no hands-on experience. If you need this hands-on experience, find someone in the near future to solve your problem and give answers to your questions.

This post is an attempt to describe a solo-training pattern with words and some pictures. It is not the ideal format, but hopefully the near future will bring enlightenment.

There are “5 Steps” to consider in this kind of training

Step One: Awareness and moving bodyweight
Step Two: Stepping by using bodyweight
Step Three: Basic Tegatana movements without stepping
Step Four: Basic Tegatana movements with stepping
Step Five: Sotai dosa with integrated Taijū no dendō concept

First step in studying Taijū no dendō

Moving body weight

Body weight can move in 3 ways

Vertical plane
Horizontal plane
Combination of vertical and horizontal plane

Becoming aware of the bodyweight is the first step to explore the basic idea in Taijū no dendō. Body weight can move up and down. Imagine a structure as in the picture. Sometimes reference is made to tensegrity also called Jukozo, a term used in Japanese architecture for flexible structures.

Sometimes reference is made to tensegrity also called Jukozo, a term used in Japanese architecture for flexible structures.

Bodyweight can be put on different parts of the feet. During ritsuzen or standing exercises, bodyweight can change in all directions.

Bodyweight can move forward, backward or to the sides. Basically it can move following a 360° pattern. Keep the vertical line straight. Don’t disturb this line by bending the body forward for example. After some time practising, you will experience the vertical line in the body.

Second step

Ayumi ashi

Using the knees to transmit the bodyweight into the opponent is not by bending the knees, but by lowering the bodyweight which creates kneebending. Chidori-ashi walking is an exercise without a partner to learn how to move the body weight.

Another concept in the the training is the concept of “opposing isometric tension”. When the body weight is moving forward, the direction is going down into the front foot, in particular the ball of the foot. This creates opposing isometric tension. When lowering the body weight and the heel is touching the floor, the power of the opposing isometric tension is moving into the floor and makes your posture more stable.

Start with a chidori ashi posture. Hand to the side. Bodyweight backwards.
After turning the body, bring bodyweight forward and create opposing isometric tension.
Put bodyweight more to the heel and release opposing isometric tension in the foot and leg. Koshi is lowering.
Lift back foot and move it forward
Assume chidori ashi posture.

Repeat this walking several times.

Third step

Tandoku undo (static exercise)

In the 3rd step we will introduce basic hand/arm movement based upon the “godosa tegatana” or 5 basic tegatana movements. Integrating koshi-mawari is necessary to create full body movement. Of course Taijū no dendō concept is a part of the movement. There is no stepping involved yet.

Although the exercises are primarly influenced by godosa tegatana, the first exercise is “shomen uchi” and is a basic movement with an origin in swordmanship. Basic tegatana movement, also called Tandoku Undo is a set developped by Kenji Tomiki and Hideo Ohba.

The use of opposing isometric tension is also a start for “hakkei” or explosive power. When the opposing isometric tension is guided into the floor, there will be a rebound and this can be directed into the hands. As a simple example “shomen uchi’ with isometric tension. Five basic tegatana movements use the same isometric tension method to produce “kokyu ryoku”, power generated by Taijū no dendō.

Fourth step

Tandoku undo (dynamic exercises)

Combining stepping and basic tegatana movements.

There are basically 2 methods of stepping:

Ayumi ashi: discussed earlier in this post – see Second Step
Tsugi ashi: using opposing isometric tension can create a sudden step forward full of power.

Shomen uchi with tsugi ashi

In Tomiki’s Aikido, Tandoku undo has a lot of versions. Most recent version use “shomen uchi” as the starting movement. Shomen uchi is a vertical downward strike to the head of an opponent. There is a relationship with a vertical strike with a sword (kiri oroshi). In koryu no kata daisan, tachi tai tachi, the first kata is ai-uchi or simultaneous strike. In many Japanese martial arts, a vertical strike belongs to the omote-waza or the first set of techniques/movements.

Fifth step

Sotai dosa

Using Taijū no dendō concept during paired exercises. An example can be seen at the beginning of this post.

How to use Taijū no dendō?

Using Taijū no dendō is already discussed in the 5 steps mentioned earlier. Sometimes it is necessary to step out of the box and introduce Taijū no dendō in another situation. Because we don’t have always a partner to experience bodily contact in real-time, we can mimic situations during solo-training.

For example, imagine someone is grasping your wrist and you like to apply balance disturbing with the gedan concept from 7-hon-no-kuzushi.

The turning of the hand can be used in aiki-age (upward movement or jodan) or aiki-sage (downward movement or gedan).

The turning point is in the palm of the hand. When using the wrist as a turning point, the line of power will be broken. An example with “gedan”.

The “original” tandoku undo

Early 1950-ties movie of “tandoku undo” by Kenji Tomiki becomes a very actual topic in this “Corona” Era. Most of the practitioners, who are doing solo-exercises on a regular base tried these kind of movements to keep their aikido alive. The funny thing is, the modern form of tandoku undo is very different from the original one. And there is another problem, most of the exercises nowadays are very robotic and missing deeper content. So, practioners are looking for replacements in yoga, tai-chi or other the like popular methods. But maybe we have to go deeper into the content of these exercises.

Some of the exercises in the original tandoku undo have a flavour of Kodokan Seiryoku-zen’yo-kokumin-taiiku.

From Illustrated Kodokan Judo (1955)

Kodokan Seiryoku-zen’yo-kokumin-taiiku

These physical exercises consist of a combination of varied physical movements designed to assist in the harmonious development of the body and at the same time serving as a training in ways of attack and defence.

Another interesting pamphlet was published in 1939 and is based upon Kodokan Seiryoku-zen’yo-kokumin-taiiku.

Click to access elementary-school-martial-arts-judo-instruction-map-around-1939-.pdf

In 1939 (Showa 14), the elementary school enforcement regulations were revised, martial arts were placed in the quasi-regular section of the “gymnastics” elementary school, and were taught by boys in ordinary elementary school for more than 5 years and high school students outside of class hours. ..
” Elementary school martial arts guidance point ” establishes purpose and method of implementation as follows.

By performing simple basic movements of martial arts (judo / kendo), the mind and body are trained and the martial arts spirit is cultivated.
Twice a week, 30 minutes each, outside the regular hours.
Leaders are limited to school teachers.
Instructions will be given in groups at the outdoor playground.
Kendo uses wooden swords and bamboo swords, and does not use armor. Judo does not use Judo clothing.
And this to “lecture” (country language, using the history of the teaching materials, the significance of martial arts, cultivate the martial arts spirit) aims can be achieved by performing together.

Content of Original Tandoku Undo

Shomen tsuki
Uchi mawashi
Soto mawashi
Shomen/Yokomen/Kesa/Kesa
Happo undo
Uchi gaeshi/ soto gaeshi
O uchi gaeshi
O soto gaeshi
Uchi mawashi tentai
Ko mawashi
O mawashi de mawari
O mawashi hiki mawari

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Shomen tsuki

The original “shomen tsuki” tandoku undo is a thrusting movement forward and left/right side. The body is fully stretched in the thrusting movement.

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Uchi mawashi

Big stretching movements, forward and left/right side.

When using “koshi mawari“, the roundness of the movement becomes more apparent.

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Soto mawashi

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Shomen/Yokomen/Kesa/Kesa

Different types of tegatana-atemi, based upon the use of “short sword”.

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Happo undo

Shomen-tsuki in 8 directions using left and right side.

This exercise can be done with a weapon, onehanded or 2-handed.

The use of tegatana in this exercise can be very varied and can be “tsuki” or “uchi”.

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Uchi gaeshi/ soto gaeshi

At first sight, this exercise is almost a sweeping arm movement. If we come closer, the inside and outside turn of the arm is more apparent. Many techniques can be developed from this exercise. In the various Koryu no kata, many examples can be found.

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O uchi gaeshi

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O soto gaeshi

A very dynamic and strong exercise based upon soto-gaeshi movement (see earlier). Integration of koshi-mawari create a spiral body movement.

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Uchi mawashi tentai

This tandoku undo movement is removed from later versions. Nevertheless, this movement is still practised in different techniques.

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Ko mawashi

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Explanation of these particular turning movements is provided in this article.: De-mawari & hiki-mawari

O mawashi de mawari

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O mawashi hiki mawari

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Evolution and Innovation

If we look at humanity’s slow rise from prehistory, there have been three waves ofevolutionary acceleration. The first was the transition from hunting-gathering to the development of the agricultural age. This happened roughly a few thousand years ago. The second was the industrial revolution, propelled by the invention of automation and standardization. This happened a few hundred years ago. And the third is the “digital” revolution and this started a few decades ago.

One of the dificulties in the process of Evolution is the concept of Conservatisme. This is not always to be bad, but to keep going on and to improve your way of life we need the concept of Evolutionary Innovation.

Evolutionary innovation focuses on orientation TOWARDS today’s way of life and improving it.. To use this concept we have to accept the idea that we sometimes have to leave the “fixed” path of our predecessors.

“Revolutionary ideas rely on evolution to survive”

It is a fact, most people cannot surpass the concept of a fixed or so -called standard form. Although we need a fixed form to pass on the concepts and techniques of a martial art, it is important at a certain moment in our training to forget the fixed form and start your own method based upon movements stored in your subconscious mind. This is already discussed in blog posts concerning “katachi” and “kata”. Also the post about “Matrix Aikido” can give you some insight.

Using equipment from other disciplines

When we don’t have a partner to practise our waza, we can use a tool to mimic a body-part of the opponent. The tool in my mind has to mimic the fore-arm of an opponent and the idea is to practise arm and wrist techniques. This is not a new idea because other Aikidō sensei are also using such a tool. For example a “Neribō”.

Neribō (neri:to knead & bō:wooden stick)

The Neribō stick was introduced in Aikidō by Hiroshi Tada (Aiki-Kai)

The neribô is a tool that can be used in the practice of aikido solo; it is a wooden cylinder with a variable diameter and a length of around half a meter, with rounded edges to avoid hassle in operating it. Simulates the uke’s forearm , so you can train with neribô to perfect mainly the basic or gokyo techniques ( ikkyo , nikyo , sankyo , yonkyo , gokyo), to keep the level of execution unchanged, or simply when you have the pleasure. Its use is useful especially when you consider training time on the tatami insufficient to achieve your goals , but also when you want to intensify the study of a technique, nikyo for example, which is unthinkable to replicate for dozens or even hundreds of times on an unfortunate human uke .

Because the arm of an opponent is not so stiff as the wooden Neribō, an alternative can be found in the use of a TheraBand FlexBar Resistance Bar.

TheraBand FlexBar® to improves grip strength in the arm, hand and shoulder. The resistance level are: yellow (6lbs. of force), red (10 lbs. of force), green (15 lbs. of force), or blue (25 lbs. of force).

As you can see, the FlexBar is a flexible tool with a resistance degree depending on the kind of FlexBar. You can bend the FlexBar, but you also can twist the tool. The moment when you loose the bending or twisting power, the FlexBar returns to the original shape.

Of course it has not the same feeling as the arm of the opponent, but playing with the bending or twisting power will improve your grip on the arm of an eventually opponent. The control of you power is increasing when practising often with the FlexBar.

Tomiki-Aikidō waza with FlexBar

These are some examples how to use FlexBar with Tomiki Aikido waza. Use your imagination to develop other methods to use FlexBar. Have fun…

Oshi-taoshi

Gyakute Kote Hineri

Junte Kote Hineri

Tenkai Kote Hineri

8 Tegatana no dosa

Can we change the technical heritage of Kenji Tomiki? This question was addressed in another blog-post and there is of course no definite answer. If you are a true “purist”, changing is not a possibility.

On the other hand, Kenji Tomiki made many versions of his technical repertoire and gave the advice to research and improve.

Tandoku-undo or Tomiki’s solo-exercises has many versions and are practised as a multipurpose exercise.

The main ways of moving the body and hands were picked from Aiki skills, then simplified and abstracted and organized as exercise forms.
Teruo Fujiwara – student of Kenji Tomiki

An early version by Kenji Tomiki

A starting point – Tegatana no dosa

Tomiki Tandoku Undo is based upon 5-handblade movements. The movements are combined with a foot-movement pattern.

When Senta Yamada introduced “Judo or Yawara Taiso” in the late-fifties/early-sixties to the Western practitioners, he used 8 different forms. Those 8 forms are considered “multipurpose” exercises.

Tegatana soho 1 : Kihon no kamae – Fundamental posture, power is concentrated in tegatana (1)
Tegatana soho 2 : Uchi mawashi – Inside sweep (2-3)
Tegatana soho 3 : Soto mawashi – outside sweep (4-5)
Tegatana soho 4 : Uchi gaeshi – soto gaeshi – Inside turn and outside turn(6-9)
Tegatana soho 5 : Uchi mawashi tentai – Inside sweep with forward turning (demawari) (10-11)
Tegatana soho 6 : Soto mawashi tentai – Outside sweep with backward turning (hikimawari) (12-15)
Tegatana soho 7 : Ko mawashi – Compact method of tegatana soho 2 and 3 (16)
Tegatana soho 8 : O mawashi – Big turning forward and backward (17-22)

courtesy Adrian Tyndale

When practising these exercises, a full mental focus has to be put on the movements. It has almost no improvement on our movements if we just do those exercises as a robot. Don’t be afraid to include ideas and concepts from another source. Remember, when you practise randori, the real skill is the changes you can make as an answer to the movemebts of the opponent. When the time is there , you can test your movements in a “randori” game.

Lets start with compact “tandoku-undo’

Compact tandoku undo is a combination of 2 or more tegatana exercises (based upon tegatana go-dosa)

First you start with some warming-up exercises. In fact this is not really necessary because tandoku-undo can be used as warming-up. Although this is based upon the previous 8-tandoku-undo, there are certainly big differences.

If you don’t have a lot of space to practise, you can use a non-displacement version of tegatana dosa. Here an example – tandoku undo 1 – 3

If you have more space, about 4x3m, tandoku undo can be practised in 90°-180°-360° directions. Koshi-mawari is of course needed to create an efficient turning movement. Turning of the koshi is based upon the change between shumoku-ashi and chidori-ashi. Understanding the concept of ‘tenshi” to create “tenshikei” can help you to improve your movements.

Tegatana soho 1 : Kihon no kamae

In this tegatana exercise different kamae or body postures are used to practise forward movement as an attacking movement (shomen-uchi and shomen-utsu). The use of a 180° or 90° body turn is an extra supplement and can be seen in the old movies of Kenji Tomiki and Senta Yamada. In the more “sport” oriented method, the straight line method is mostly practised.

Koshi-mawari is integrated in this tegatana exercise. The turning of the koshi is always the first action before you do the striking movement. The turning koshi (tenshi) generate power to perform an efficient foot movement. A foot movement before the koshi turning and strike with tegatana is a mistake and makes you vulnerable to a counter-attack of the opponent. Stepping actions without a blow can be used to bring yourself in the distance of “rikakutaisei” or safe distance with the possibility to strike efficiently.

Tegatana soho 2 : Uchi mawashi & Tegatana soho 3 : Soto mawashi

Inside sweep and outside sweep are 2 movements with the arm and can be used to deflect an incoming blow from opponent. Because this is a multifunction exercise, uchi mawashi and soto mawashi can be used as a defensive action against grasping attacks. In this exercise the “fibonaci” concept comes to the foreground. Changing the direction (180° or 90° ) is done randomly, there is no fixed direction pattern. By using creativity, but keeping the concepts of uchi mawashi and soto mawashi, there are many possibilities to perform this exercise. The videoclip below is just an example and is not a fixed format.

Turning the koshi is always initiating uchi mawashi and soto mawashi. These sweeping actions are done without tensed muscles, the idea of an empty body (mugamae) is included.

Tegatana soho 4 : Uchi gaeshi – soto gaeshi

Although we often see sweeping actions with this tegatana exercise, the main action is about turning the arm inside and outside. The action resemblances the turning over of a book page.

Koshi and arm turning in any direction of a circle makes this exercise not an easy one. Combining the stepping, koshi turning and armturning demands a lot of synchronisation. Mental focus is needed in order to perform those movements.

Stepping and turning

There are a variety of angles within a 360 ° circle. If you describe a perfect spherical rotation (encompassing all 360 ° angles) with koshi in every situation, then all movements are always round, from whatever angle you start them.

Next tegatana soho (5-6-7-8) includes stepping actions with a multifunctional use. In “koryu no kata“, many examples of this simplified kind of movement and stepping are used in the various waza (codified techniques which can be used in different circumstances).

Tegatana soho 5 : Uchi mawashi tentai – demawari

A forward turning step with an uchi-mawashi arm movement. This movement is well-known from koryu-no-kata dai-yon. The final movement, the arm-sweep to the back is a movement performed during hiki-otoshi from basic-17 katachi/kata.

Tegatana soho 6 : Soto mawashi tentai -hikimawari

The first time when you try to perform this exercise you can have an unlogical feeling. You have to start with the front foot, putting backwards and turn koshi while you perfom a big soto-mawashi (outward sweep).

Tegatana soho 7 : Ko mawashi

A ver compact tandoku-undo exercise using uchi mawashi and soto-mawashi. You also can include a kind of uchi gaeshi and soto gaeshi.

Tegatana soho 8 : O mawashi

Big sweeping circle is the characteristic of this exercise. Many ushiro-waza use this movement. An example you will find in koryu-no-kata dai-yon.

The effect of koshi-mawari

There is an interesting aspect on the integration of koshi -mawari in our martial art movements. The range of our movements becomes greater when integrating koshi-mawari.

The skill of koshi-mawari is defined by 3 major aspect:

use of chidori-ashi
vertical turning of koshi
horizontal turning of koshi

There are more aspect in koshi-mawari, but lets keep it simple, if this is possible, and only discuss the 3 major aspects to make the range of the movement greater. Making the range greater is not performed by overstretching the arm, or leaning into the direction of the target. The vertical and horizontal turning of the koshi has a dramatically increase of the range.

By using a sword the range of a cut can be visually presented.

Kiri-oroshi – a vertical cut with the sword

This is “kiri-oroshi” or vertical cut. Of course each “style” has a special flavour, but in general most of the cutting is according this method. Mostly, the head of opponent is the target. If the cut is lower, there is the possibility to cut the wrist or other target.

Chudan no kamae with vertical koshi-mawari

When talking about koshi-mawari, mostly a horizontal turn is considered. Vertical turn of the koshi is more difficult to perform and need a lot of training. The example here is of course a little exaggerated, but it expressed visually the vertical turn of the koshi.

Remark also, there is no change in the position of the sword when performing the vertical turn.

From chidori-ashi to shumoku-ashi

Adopting chidori-ashi no kamae with vertical koshi turning, and again some exaggeration to illustrate the vertical turn.

From chidori-ashi to shumoku-ashi, the range becomes greater. The supplemental range is about the size of the sword part for kiri-oroshi to the target (head).

Koshi-mawari is using a horizontal & verical turn of the koshi.

Integration koshi-mawari in kiri-oroshi

Performing kiri-oroshi while using koshi-mawari (horizontal & vertical turn of koshi) will greatly improve the range, but also an improvement in power generation by using a full body concept.

Tai-jutsu and koshi mawari

Using koshi-mawari (horizontal & vertical turn of koshi) when performing tai-jutsu (unarmed techniques) will have the same effect as the use of koshi-mawari during armed techniques (sword, spear or stick).

Koshi-mawari & sotai-dosa

The main ways of moving the body and hands were picked from Aiki skills, then simplified and abstracted and organized as the exercise forms.
Teruo Fujiwara

In the Tomiki system, the use of solo-exercises and paired exercises are incorporated into the training method. Originally it was called Judo Taiso or Yawara Taiso and the purpose was to introduce judo students to Aiki-arts.

It was Senta Yamada who brought Judo Taiso/Yawara Taiso to the UK in the late 50-ties/early 60-ties. Most of his teaching are forgotten due to the focus too much on the sporting side of Tomiki Aikidō. Nevertheless, Judo Taiso is very valuable to understand Koryu no kata.

The creation of “Judo Taiso” (Judo Gymnastics)

The time when I studied under Tomiki-shihan in 1956-1958 is called ‘the age of Judo Exercise’ (Yawara Taiso). The main ways of moving the body and hands were picked from Aiki skills, then simplified and abstracted and organized as the exercise forms. These forms are ‘Judo Exercise’ (Yawara Taiso). The plan of making ‘Judo Exercise’ (Yawara Taiso) is that by doing them repeatedly, we can learn Aiki as if we learned hundreds of thousands of skills which can benefit our bodies in a positive fashion. . ‘Judo Exercise’ (Yawara Taiso) is the valuable legacy of Tomiki-sensei.

Around 1950-1952, Kenji Tomiki developed a training-system for the many aiki-jutsu techniques. It was called judo taiso or judo gymnastics. This training-system was created according to the judo principles, (Judo Taiso 1954 by Kenji Tomiki) and includes 11 solo exercises (Tandoku Undo) and 8 partner exercises (Sotai Undo)

What is Judo Taiso?

Judo taiso is a modern gymnastic training-system to learn atemi waza (striking techniques) and kansetsu waza (joint techniques). These fundamental movements are the expression of the power and rhythm in atemi waza and kansetsu waza.

Tandoku Undo are exercises to develop good posture and balance. Judo principle shizentai-no–ri (principle of natural posture) is clearly expressed in these exercises. The use of the handblade is a reflection of the many aiki-jutsu atemi-waza and kansetsu-waza learned from Morihei Ueshiba.

Tegatana soho 1 : Kihon no kamae – Fundamental posture, power is concentrated in tegatana (1)
Tegatana soho 2 : Uchi mawashi – Inside sweep (2-3)
Tegatana soho 3 : Soto mawashi – outside sweep (4-5)
Tegatana soho 4 : Uchi gaeshi – soto gaeshi – Inside turn and outside turn(6-9)
Tegatana soho 5 : Uchi mawashi tentai – Inside sweep with forward turning (demawari) (10-11)
Tegatana soho 6 : Soto mawashi tentai – Outside sweep with backward turning (hikimawari) (12-15)
Tegatana soho 7 : Ko mawashi – Compact method of tegatana soho 2 and 3 (16)
Tegatana soho 8 : O mawashi – Big turning forward and backward (17-22)

List provided by Senta Yamada

Sotai undo – 8 partner exercises

In paired exercises the primary concept is the relationship with the partner/opponent and the way of controlling the partner/opponent by using the different tegatana-soho.

Aigamae or regular facing posture
Gyaku gamae or reverse facing posture
Hineri or inward turning of partner/opponent body (or body part)
Gaeshi or outward turning of partner/opponent body (or body part)

Nr	Name technique	Grip to wrist (*)	Movement of tegatana
1	Ai gamae ude hineri	Ura dori	Soto gaeshi
2	Gyaku gamae ude hineri	Omote dori	Uchi gaeshi
3	Ai gamae ude gaeshi	Omote dori	Uchi mawashi
4	Gyaku gamae ude gaeshi	Ura dori	Soto mawashi
5	Ai gamae tenkai ude hineri	Omote dori	Soto mawashi tenkai
6	Gyaku gamae tenkai ude hineri	Ura dori	Uchi mawashi tenkai
7	Ai gamae tenkai ude gaeshi	Omote dori	Uchi mawashi tenkai
8	Gyaku gamae tenkai ude gaeshi	Ura dori	Soto mawashi tenkai

* Omote dori : grip to wrist on inside – Ura dori : grip to wrist on outside

Koshi-mawari and sotai dosa

Koshi-mawari is in general translated as turning the hips. From previous posts we know this is not correct. Koshi-mawari is a very complex way of moving with the lower torso. Koshi-mawari can be considered as the movement of a ball (kyūten*)

Kyūten – 球転 Ball rolling, ball rotation

In Chinese martial arts, the concept of Dantian and Chan Si Gong (silk reeling exercises) is related to kyūten and tenshi & tenshikei.

1- Ai-gamae ude hineri

From “Judo Taiso” book

Below: from 1950 movie

Senta Yamada performing sotai dosa “Ai gamae ude hineri”

The originals by Kenji Tomiki for this sotai dosa (1), give no indication of a focus on Koshi-mawari. When watching the performance of Senta Yamada, an early disciple of Kenji Tomiki and Morihei Ueshiba, we can see some indications of using koshi. There are many examples of Yamada sensei, where he is using koshi-mawari. Unfortunately he did fail to explain how to perform “koshi-mawari”.