hyoshi – Study Group Tomiki Aikido

De-ai, timing factor

Author: Eddy Wolput °1948 – 7th dan Aikido (JAA-Tokyo/Japan) – 5th dan Iaido – 5th dan Jodo.
Part of the material in this article is not directly linked to the Japan Aikido Association (NPO) program or Shodokan approach. Other concepts are incorporated into the study of the subject presented.

Timing

Timing, a crucial factor in martial arts. It is clearly expressed in the skill of “De-Ai”.

“Find the vulnerable moment in the opponent at the moment when he launches his attack. This kind of counterattack that is executed in the void instant when your opponent is just beginning to launch his attack is called “deai”.”
Kenji Tokitsu – 1979 – Le voie du karaté – pour une théorie des arts martiaux japonais

But what distinguishes de-ai from concepts like go no sen, sen no sen, and sen sen no sen? De-ai skill counters in the moment an attack takes place. When it comes to “sen sen no sen” it can be clearly distinguished from de-ai. Because one executes this tactic before the opponent physically attacks. The attacker may have been intent on attacking. But he still hasn’t moved. This means that the defender must anticipate a potential attack and strike first. Go no sen tactic involves neutralising and counterattacking. There are a number of ways to neutralise an attack. The rule for aikido “use nagashi“.

De-ai can be seen in classic “western movies. The first one who draw the pistol is always losing.

Fibonacci

The Fibonacci spiral is a logarithmic spiral with a growth factor based upon the Fibonacci sequence.

In our practice of Aikido movements, the Fibonacci spiral is everywhere. The question arises whether the sequence has some value in our formation or whether it is a gadget invented by someone ages ago. This question is not fully answered, although a number of explanations are used to underline the value of this logarithmic sequence.

Our movements contain always some spiral action, even when we try to do a straigth movement. Cutting with a sword is certainly a spiral action, and if we look closer, the Fibonacci sequence is there. Using the skill of modelling, we can create a spiralling image in our mind which can be helpfull to improve our cutting. The image can also point out the moment when we start “tsugi ashi” during the cut. Of course, we can have a debate about the starting point. Finding out the exact point depends on your skill of “hyoshi”.

When the swordblade is about the level of the blue cross, tsugi-ashi start forward.

The power is going down in the rear foot, when the hand is about the highest point, tsugi ashi start forward.

Uchi-mawashi is another example with a spiraling action.

We can use a big movement or a small movement. The ratio is the same.

The power is going down in the rear foot. When the hand is about the lowest point, tsugi ashi start forward.

The timing

I mentioned “hyoshi” before and you will notice, this is a high level skill. You cannot learn or improve your “timing” if you don’t have control on your body movements by using the subconscious mind. If you use the conscious mind, your timing will always fail.

The conscious mind is used to create a pattern in its subconscious… Then you forget about it. In my opinion, you can’t learn the timing without utilizing the subconscious mind. Some “timing” exercises can give you a clue whether you are successful or not. And the best way of learning timing is “randori”. Of course, this not only applies to the timing concept. Other concepts should also be tested in a freeplay environment.

De-ai and suwari-waza

Suwari-waza or kneeling techniques are very common in the traditional training of Aïkido. In Tomiki Aikido Koryu-no-Kata, are based on the early training of Morihei Ueshiba in mostly Daito-Ryu Aikijutsu.

Koryu-no-kata is divided in sections numbered from 1 to 6. Each section is subdivided in smaller sections. Each section has a special item for study. Suwari waza is one of those.

As an example for de-ai in suwari waza, we will look at Koryu-no-kata suwari waza, an application of oshi-taoshi. When opponent’s arm is at the highest position, tsugi-ashi start and the arm is pushed down at the same time. The back knee is used to add power.

Hideo Ohba was the lifelong disciple of Kenji Tomiki and was also a prewar student of Morihei Ueshiba. Hideo Ohba is also famous as Ueshiba’s resisting uke during a demonstration in Manchuria. A biography of Hideo Ohba below

hideo-ohba-biography Download

Hideo Ohba & Takeshi Inoue – Sakai & Yamaguchi

Is there any value in Suwari-waza?

The question is one-sided. It is also necessary to take into consideration some negative aspects of Suwari Waza. But let me introduce you to someone who can tell you some things with an experience in the dojo of Morihei Ueshiba.

“As a martial artist who still practices actively, I would like to speak in to the issue of “knees.” Especially for Aikidoka, knees have been a part of the body that have suffered maybe the most damage and are a cause of problems for many. During my travels to countries around the world, I constantly meet people who can no longer sit in seiza, or who wear braces and supporters because of knee injuries suffered while practicing Aikido. I have met students whose knees are so damaged they can’t really bend them any longer, much less sit in seiza. Knee problems are not the sole property of students outside of Japan. There have been famous high-ranking Japanese Aikido Instructors both living in Japan and abroad who have suffered knee injuries during their Aikido careers. It is one thing to develop knee problems due to aging, but there are many Aikido instructors who have developed knee problems through the over-practice of suwari waza… and they had the advantage of a cultural heritage that prepared them for the practice. “
Gaku Homma, Morihei Ueshiba uchideshi

In another paragraph Gaku Homma made a provocative remark:

“Remember that many of the new students you will be encountering will be bigger in stature than you. Suwariwaza techniques will be difficult for them, so practicing suwari waza will put you at an advantage despite your size difference. To gain control over your students, practice suwari waza. And during examinations, if there is some individual testing that you are not fond of, have them test last, and make them wait in seiza until it is their turn.”

Koryu-no-kata suwari waza added value

Koryu-no-kata’s total package includes 177 techniques, 25 techniques can be considered as suwari-waza. Most sitting techniques do not have “large” shikko (knee walking) moves, but use small displacement movements. There are a few basic methods for body displacement.

Tsugi ashi method using knees
Ayumi ashi method using alternate small steps
Tentai or 180° turning

The negative impact on the knees is not that high, nevertheless sitting on the knees is not a common habit of Western people.. One advice can be: avoid kneeling practice too much.

The added value of some suwari-waza needs to be mentioned. For Tori, working on your knees means you don’t have to worry about connecting your upper and lower body. The legs are now limited in the role and the hips naturally become in the right place. This makes it easier to focus only on the movements of the upper body and hands. Likewise, the partner’s possible answers are limited, which further simplifies the technique. At the same time, it is also a useful simplification to take the role of Uke as a beginner and which ends up falling from a much lower position and therefore less frightening.

Offensive and defensive “waza”

Something about offensive and defensive

People are offensive and defensive in many situations, mostly when there is a stressful situation. In one situation, one person may have offensive behaviour, whereas the other side may have defensive behaviour in response. Attacks and threats may be categorized as either physical or psychological, and their effects may also be categorized as such.
The offensive and defensive behaviour can be accompanied by the use of force and aggression; the difference lies in how that force or aggression is used in a situation. The skills needed for offensive or defensive behaviour without becoming aggressive depend entirely on the concept of having respect for our fellow men.

There may be a shift between offensive and defensive actions during a confrontation or training situation.
In a given situation, the offending person, by their offensive behavior, takes the action, while the defensive behavior on the other side is a response to this action. As a result, the defensive person becomes the target of the attack or threat.

The body is responsive to offensive and defensive behaviours. A person may experience an adrenaline rush, heavenly breathing, blood running down his face, sweating, and increased heart rate.

Spatial interval during offensive and defensive behaviors.

The space range is linked to “hyoshi”, a concept of synchronization, cadence and tempo. Physical distances within the spatial range will be discussed below.

In general, three distances are used as a concept to explain the range of space between two practitioners.

Chikama – it is the small distance, less than a step
Ma – when the opponent takes a step to be able to seize or to strike
Toma – when the opponent has to take multiple steps to attack, often with a weapon

Example “Toma” attack with weapon

From Koryu no kata dai san

Example of “Ma” – striking attack with “tsugi ashi”

Many examples in Koryu no kata

Also possible with “tanto” strike

Example “Chikama” – Eri dori without stepping

Many examples in Koryu no kata

Spatial interval in Tomiki Aikido

The red circle and its contents, is just one indication of how to measure the distance between two practitioners. The images in the second row show the position and method of contact between the two practitioners.

You can easily reach your opponent, but your opponent also can reach you easily. The distance from a judo perspective.
Issoku itto no maai: This distance is a distance where you can reach your opponent with one step forwards and you can avoid your opponent’s action with one step backwards or sideways.
You cannot get to your opponent and your opponent cannot get to you either. Fundamentally, your weapon or hand and the weapon or the hand of your opponent do not come into contact.

Offensive and defensive waza

A basic rule to apply offensive and defensive actions (waza application) is the need to physically contact an opponent.

Offensive actions may be applied primarily to three parts of the adversary.

Body – head and trunk by using a strike or push
Elbow and surrounding parts of arm
Wrist and hand

Defensive actions are frequently performed when the opponent uses an offensive action. This offensive action, sometimes goes hand in hand with a step to bridge the gap with the body. The defence against such an action can be a body turn (Koshi-mawari) or a stepping out of the line of attack by applying tsugi ashi or Ayumi ashi. After a defensive action and energy absorption, a switch to an attacking action can be used. Then it is possible to use tenshikei and hakkei.

Hakkei, explosive power

The key rule of explosive strength is the ability to stretch and twist the muscles, tendons and fascia around the bones. Building and releasing such strength is called tenshikei. There are 2 kinds of tenshikei: stationary and dynamic.

Stationary is without moving the feet, the distance is “Chikama”.

Dynamic hakkei is when you use movement (tsugi ashi or Ayumi ashi) to build momentum. It is known as ido-ryoku on a basic level. Ido-ryoku can also be thought of as tenshikei, because the power moves through the body and uses diagonal and spiral paths. Mostly, this is used when both practitioners are at the “Ma” distance.

Contracting and releasing muscles, tendons and fascia

In our study, muscles, tendons and fascia are a system and cannot be considered a separate system of muscles, tendons or fascia. Nonetheless, the muscle system plays an important role in the Western view of fitness.

What are the types of muscle contractions?

Isometric: A muscular contraction in which the length of the muscle does not change
Isotonic: A muscular contraction in which the length of the muscle changes.
Eccentric: An isotonic contraction where the muscle lengthens.
Concentric: An isotonic contraction where the muscle shortens.

Concentrating on the eccentric method has a few important advantages for martial art training. Eccentric contractions literally increase your muscle fibres, making the muscle itself physically longer.

“Longer muscles mean greater flexibility, and greater flexibility means greater injury prevention.”

How to contract and release our movement system?

Tenshikei creates a spiral activity. This enhances the potential energy in the body that can be used by releasing the “tension” in the body. Rotation of a “Flexbar” provides a visual picture of what can occur in the human body (muscle, tendon and fascia). The release of the Flexbar will be felt by a strong rotation to neutral or normal position. Letting go is a passive activity and requires no muscle contraction.

The human body is filled with spirals and these spiraling structures serve as power channels. This concept of spiraled structure is also used in many methods of healthy postures. For example “Alexander techniques” use a spiral design.

A major mistake is to concentrate on creating tension in the muscles by concentric action. This is no muscle building competition. The ability to twist and release or unwind the body can be done in a flash of less than a second.

The training objective must be directed towards the eccentric movement, that is to say the elongation of muscle fibres. Lengthening is created by a twisting movement and affects not only the muscles, but also the tendons and the fascia.

Tenshikei skill is a method to use full body movement, not at the same time, but following the logic of the moving force.

“You need to train the movement in full.” Because, as Aristotle once said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

This is an example of tenshikei.

How to perform an eccentric contraction, useful for tenshikei?

There are 2 ways to create tenshikei contraction

By yourself as an active movement
Using the power of opponent in a defensive action

In solo training, several examples can be found as active tenshikei motion. Tomiki’s tandoku undo can be transformed into a long tenshikei exercise. Contracting and releasing the internal motion system is a challenging physical workout that can be performed by all ages.

Using the power of the opponent can be found in Tomiki’s 10-Ura Waza.

Omote & ura in Martial Arts

Omote techniques are taught to beginners and are considered less effective if the movement is not performed completely as most beginners always do. Efficiency is not that high despite the overall view appears good. Students are initiated into the basic movements of martial art.

Ura techniques are more efficient since the student has more control over internal movements. Some of these techniques are defensive, where the enemy’s attack is absorbed. Strategy is an important component, in addition to total control of body movements.

Ura waza is sometimes considered a contra-technique. I believe this explanation is too simplistic and reflects only a form of defensive behavior. Ura waza is the ability to shift from defensive to offensive action. You can see it clearly in “ura waza katatachi” or the techniques known as counterattack against basic techniques.

10-Ura waza, switching from defensive to offensive

Find here 10-ura waza, a switch between a defense action to an offense. After studying the basic waza, the practitioner studies the same basic waza as a response to the basic waza carried out by the adversary/partner. Please remember the logical evolution from katachi to kata. More info here.

Still not a randori (sparring). The objective is to study how to use basic waza under more advanced conditions. There is no resisting force involved. The attacker’s waza is real and with the intention to throw or hold.

Some pictures below will illustrate the 10-Ura waza.

Hyoshi – cadence, rhythm or tempo?

musashi tokitsu Hyōshi is most commonly found in the classical martial arts, referring to cadence, rhythm and tempo. In the famous “Book of Five Rings”, Miyamoto Musashi describes it as three timings: before, during, and after an activity in relation to the enemy’s attack.
See : Sen or pre-emptive action

As described by researcher Kenji Tokitsu, hyōshi can refer to the rhythm, cadence, or momentum in things. Momentum is related to the speed of a body (mass).
The relation between two combatants brings into play the whole set of “hyoshi” manifested by each of them: movements, facial expressions, breathing, the ebb and flow of muscular tension, mental state.

Hyoshi is the synchronisation of cadence, rhythm and tempo.

Cadence
Cadence refers to the speed and time taken to complete a series of a single movement.

Rhythm
Just as musical rhythms are defined by a pattern of strong and weak beats, so repetitive body movements often depends on alternating “strong” and “weak” muscular movements.

Tempo
Tempo is the speed of synchronised movements

Kihon training

In kihon training there are many different “sen”. You need to understand the hyoshi and be able to use it properly in order for you to improve your randori.

2.0 go-no sen (up to 2nd kyu or blue belt)

This is a beginners hyoshi. There is an attack, your brain is acting in a conscious way, you are performing the exercise or defense as told by the instructor.
It is the slowest one and not very useful in randori. It is mechanical training.

We can practice a kihon technique thousands of times and we can execute one very quickly. But it is not the mechanical speed which is important, but the tempo of the synchronised movements.

1.5 go-no-sen (1st kyu or brown belt)

It is still a mechanical approach to attack and defense. The synchronisation is much better than the 2.0 approach. You have more control on your movements and some of the substructures of the techniques will be done from the subconscious.

1.0 sen no sen (1st dan and higher)

An approach of 1.0 means when the opponent’s attack comes, the defense by tori simultaneously counters. In other words, these two techniques (attack and defense) are executed at the same time and the execution completes at the same time with the opponent’s attack.

I must emphasize that these numbers are used simply to describe the speed of the training approaches. So, a tempo of 1.5 is biomechanical structurally faster than 2.0, even though an actual 1.5 combination could be slower if it is purposely executed very slowly. I want to make sure that the readers to understand clearly that a “hyoshi” speed I am referring to is different from the popular mechanical speed.

0.0 sen sen no sen

This is an approach which will raise the eyebrows, because the defender will act before a physical attack will happen. In our modern society we cannot act with a violent action against a person who maybe thinks about attacking you.
On the other hand it is possible to take precautions before a physical confrontation will happen. I am not referring to your precaution you take because you are afraid of the confrontation.

Is it possible to use this in kihon training? Yes, this is about taikan or bodily feeling without a physical contact.
Multiple people are sitting with their back to you. Point your finger to someone of the group and shout a kiai* to a person in particular. If that person feels your pointing he will stand up.

* Kiai (気合) is a Japanese term used in martial arts for the short shout uttered when performing an attacking move. Kiai or yelling (with or without a sound) can also be used to teach taikan It starts in the hara; from a physiological perspective, this means the yell should start in the diaphragm, not the throat.

Using hyoshi in your training

Sen or hyoshi can be used to explain the different levels in your kihon training. The application of kihon waza, the basic movements and techniques of Budo Aikido, will be further deepened in randori geiko. Here the use of hyoshi cannot be omitted from the different methods of randori.

So if the instructor is asking you to do a technique faster, don’t change the rhythm and cadense. The secret to do it faster is “relaxation”.