Tag: Pattern

The Butterfly Experiment

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.

Chiko-go-itsu – Knowledge and action are one

Yoshida Shōin

The Rorschach Test

The Rorschach test is a projective psychological test in which subjects’ perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a person’s personality characteristics and emotional functioning.

Rorschach’s test is/has been used as a tool to analyze “perceptions” of a patient.
“Butterfly Experience” is a tool to study your ability of a connected body. The perception you have about a connected body is not always truthful. But by using a partner, you may know whether you are connected is real or just an illusion.

The Butterfly Experiment

How can I experience the outcome of a “connected body?
The “Butterfly Experiment” is an exercise that is not directly related to any martial art situation. This exercise can make your body connected while working with a training partner.
The partner maintains an upright posture. The body is neither stiff nor too relaxed. The arms are in front of the body, the fists are lightly squeezed. The resistance to butterfly motion is structural.

When the body is connected, it generates a tremendous amount of power without relying too much on muscle strength. Rendo allows the flow of force to increase and transfer to the target efficiently.

Akira Hino on the concept of Rendo

The butterfly experiment is not part of a normal training routine. The experiment can be done from time to time experiencing your progress in the creation of a connected body and the associated power.

Kinetic Chain a Western approach to Rendo

A “Kinetic Chain” is a term used to describe how force is transferred through different parts of the body to produce movement.
The concept was introduced by Franz Reuleaux, a mechanical engineer, in 1875 and adapted by Dr Arthur Steindler in 1995.

Using power means moving your body. If the body does not have a synchronized posture, the power will be scattered and finally we may lose our stability and fall.
Moving the body can happen in a stationary or dynamic situation. Neither situation can be experienced properly if there is no balance or stability.

Our movement system

Our motion system’s got multiple subsystems. In general, we can talk about three fundamental things.

  • Stabilizer system
  • Mobiliser system
  • Our brain

The movement of our body is the result of the use of muscles and tendons and ligaments attached.
There’s a thousand ligaments and tendons all over the body. Ligaments and tendons are made of connective tissue.
Ligaments connect one bone to another. Tendons connect a muscle to a bone. Both, however, are vital for good body mechanics.
Another part of our system is fascia.
A fascia is a structure of connective tissue that surrounds muscles, groups of muscles, blood vessels, and nerves binding some structures together, while permitting others to slide smoothly over each other.
And we cannot forget our brains, or else we cannot function properly.

Stabilizer system

During any movement, the stabilizing muscles act to stabilize the body or part of the body. It is also important to note that there are no specific stabilizing muscles in the body. The name just outlines exactly what these muscles do.

Mobiliser system

These muscles are found close to the body` surface and tend to cross two joints. They are usually composed of fast fibres which produces power but lack endurance. Mobilizers help with rapid or ballistic motion.
Biceps and triceps are examples of this.

Stationary training

Basically, this kind of training focuses on the stabilizing system of the body. The mobilizing muscles of the upper body and arms perform large movements without excessive tension in these muscles. The goal of these exercises is not to create big muscles, but to create a synchronous movement between the stabilizer and mobilizing muscles.

Footwork

Footwork is closely related to balance and stability. Footwork exercises are basically working on the stabiliser muscles.
Practitioners of an older age can have a lot of benefit of footwork to keep their balance and stability during dynamic training.

The mobilisers of the upper body are in general not used during our footwork exercises and are kept in a relative fixed position.

Why holding the arms in this position?
This exercise is a good workout to strengthen the stabilisers of the upper body.

Koshi mawari

Koshi-mawari is in general translated as turning the hips. 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*). Korindo-ryu aikido is largery based upon this concept.

*Kyūten – 球転 Ball rolling, ball rotation

Koshi-mawari can be performed at any time without a break, when your koshi is lowered sufficiently, with slightly springy knees. This makes it easier to react spontaneously to changes in any situation.

Stationary Tegatana Dosa

The posture is slightly deeper than the normal posture. This deeper position provides the opportunity to practice easier “Koshi mawari” or the so-called lower back rotating or hip rotating.

  1. Shomen uchi
  2. Shomen tsuki
  3. Uchi mawashi
  4. Soto mawashi
  5. Uchi gaeshi
  6. Soto gaeshi
  7. O mawashi

Numbers 3 to 7 are based upon the 5 original basic arm movements developped by Kenji Tomiki.

Power is generated by koshi mawari and directed into the arms and hands.

Footwork without Tegatana Dosa

Dynamic Tegatana Dosa

Mawari or turning/pivoting exercises

Applications of solo training

Without a suitable test, our solo practice may become an illusion. There are different ways to challenge your skills with a Training Partner. Some of these methods can be seen as an application of martial art solo exercises. Other testing methods can be considered as a learning tool to find out if our movement is effective in our daily life.

The first steps in Aikido as a martial art

Can one deal with an offensive action of the partner acting as an opponent?
First, we must find something from how far an offensive action can be effectively executed. Offensive action may consist of a strike, a push or a seizure.

How to deal with a simple offensive action is not at first glance a real street combat situation. This is a learning tool for finding the right timing, distance followed by a neutralising action with a “kuzushi” result. This may be followed with a “waza”.

Weapon training

Weapon training can be a great help in creating a connected body. Let me give you an example with a “Jo”.

Strategy, a secret

Without a strategy, victory in combat will be based on muscle power alone. Using “Chiko-go-itsu – Knowledge and action are one” is necessary to develop effective use of strategy.

Looking for the thruth

I’m not looking for the right answers in doing so,” . “I am just focusing on being able to do a certain task or technique. That is different from trying to be right.

Akira Hino

There is “Kata” and “Kata”

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.

“Kata”

In Western languages we can write “kata” as one word, but the word does not actually mean anything to the average person in our society. Persons with an interest in Japanese arts have an idea of “kata”.

There are several explanations for the word “kata” depending on the context. If we can read the “kanji”, the meaning becomes more clear, but still the real meaning need some context. Unfortunately, most of us cannot read kanji.

  • 型(かたkata) type, style,model, pattern – set or sequence of positions and movements in martial arts, style in kabuki, noh, etc.
  • 形(かたkata) form, shape, figure
  • 方(かたkata) method of, manner of, way of
  • 肩(かたkata) shoulder
  • and many more….

Kata no subete by Takeshi Inoue

The word kata in the context of martial arts and describing a set of movements, can be written by two different kanji (型 and 形).
And to make it a little more complicated, we cannot ignore the word “katachi” (かたち) which is often used to give a name to a logical sequence of basic movements.
かたち (katachi) and かた (kata) are different, though related, words.
かた (kata) is a somewhat more complicated term to describe a structure of physical and mental actions. On most of its uses, it’s more commonly written with the kanji 型 than 形, though they can be interchangeable.
In the book of Takeshi Inoue (Tomiki Aikido) Kata no Subete, both kanji are used.

Kata or a virtual Obeya

Obeya: Big Room or Creating a place where people come together to develop a clear understanding about the who, why, what, how and when.

Tim Wolput – Lean Japan Study Tours

Kata serves as a source of information to transfer knowledge through concrete actions. This is a virtual place in which knowledge is stored by teachers and experts. Knowledge is directly bound up with action.
Action without knowledge is a waste of effort, whereas knowledge without action is unnecessary.

Chiko-go-itsu – Knowledge and action are one

Yoshida Shōin

It’s the Sensei’s role.

To learn the kata you need someone with expertise and who is eager to transfer the knowledge by using the action of doing. Most of the Sensei will teach you in a special place called Dojo. Of course, this may occur in the house of the Sensei or in a place specially built as a dojo.

Studying kata is an incredible way of feeling mind and body. A qualified teacher will feel your problems and can provide solutions to resolve them. Of course, the solution (knowledge) is pointless unless practiced.
Real development can only be reached through knowledge and action.

The “purpose” of practising kata

Sen-no Rikyu, who founded the practice of the tea ceremony made an interesting commentary: “Keep in mind that the tea ceremony is no more than making tea and drinking it.”
It takes a lot of effort to make this “natural” thing happens.

The basic idea of kata or katachi is to introduce understanding of the relationship between form, function and meaning.

“the Society for Science on Form”

Making natural movements is no simple task. We all know the Sensei’s remark: lower your shoulders, release the tension….. relax…..
Practicing kata is a great tool to experience all your unnecessary tension during your movements.
When Hideo Ohba created the kata forms of the dai-Ichi (first) to dai-roku (sixth), we were taught to practise these forms for purposes other than randori or demonstrations (grading, Embu…). Doing a grading is not to show how many kata you know, but to demonstrate your sensei the result and fusion of knowledge and action. In fact, you do not demonstrate the kata, you should become the kata.

What Ohba Sensei particularly stressed in formulating these kata was the organization of different techniques in such a way that students could learn connections between techniques easily and naturally.

The real “kata” test: Randori

The tea ceremony is based on kata, but the goal is to drink tea in a joyful atmosphere without unnecessary tension and stress. You must become a “Uke” for the person preparing the tea. Become “one” with master of tea.

When referring to uke within a martial art context, the perception is mainly of someone who attacks and then becomes totally passive. Another perception can be of someone taking big breakfall or jumping to show big dramatic ukemi (breakfall).
Uke must become an active part of the kata and mind and body move in coordination with tori.
The interesting point is the use of power during the movements. You always need power to develop a technique that works.
In this blog you will find articles related to power and its efficient use. The problem is “how to use power”.

Martial art kata is a tool for learning natural movements in a situation without unnecessary tension. There’s no stress in losing a battle. The mind is free to do any action learned during your stay in the virtual Obeya studying how to move in a natural way.

The practice of «randori» is accessible to all ages, males and females, adults and children…

And what about “shiai”?

There are many forms of competition. But the purpose of competition is not to become champion, but to perform in the most efficient way.

What is the purpose of kata competition?
What is the value of becoming a kata champion?

Just drink your tea and relax 😉

Tomiki Aikido Syllabus – Basic Framework Training Tool.

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.

Study Group Tomiki Aikido – Shobukai Dojo Syllabus
This article outlines the “basic framework” employed in the Shobukai Dojo. The emphasis is mainly on “how to move the body” and “how to control the opponent”.
Members of the Shobukai Dojo study how to move the body and the methods of control of the opponent before being able to proceed with Tomiki Aikido Kata.

What Is a Martial Art Syllabus?

A syllabus is a document that presents all the necessary information on a martial art course. It lists the topics you will study while you practice martial art.
The course programme is a working document and a personal document. The syllabus can be used as a guide for the instructor as well as for the dojo.

Living Syllabus 

A syllabus is not fixed and basically a “living syllabus” can be updated as often as the teacher considers it necessary. This creates a vibrant, living document that students can interact with. Of course, the interaction between the instructor and the students is a major factor in updating the program.
Unfortunately, the emphasis is sometimes too much on a programme given by an international institute which does not allow much interaction between the institute, the instructor and the students. In this case, we cannot refer to a “living syllabus”.

An international institute program can be basically a policy guide to be used to generate a “living syllabus” for the local group.
So you can find a different program among the local groups while teaching the same concepts and principles.

Shobukai Dojo Syllabus

A Tomiki Aikido Syllabus can focus on various options for study and training, depending on the kind of dojo students.

  • Grading tool
  • Competition as the main goal
  • Sparring (randori)
  • Bodywork, efficient body movement
  • Self-protection and self-defense
  • Movement therapy
  • Other goals

The Shobukai Syllabus is based on the ideas and concepts of Kenji Tomiki and his nearest followers. There is an influence of other Aikido methods and Bodywork of independent instructors.

The program is built around various types of core concepts.

shobukai-syllabus-2022-englishDownload

Basic arm movements

Our hands are one of the most important tools of our body. Tegatana translates into “sword hand”, but also includes the arm.

Basic arm movements can be performed either stationary or dynamically.
The stationary method emphasises the use of the “Koshi” synchronized with arm movements (tegatana). A dynamic version is integrating footwork.

Basic arm movements are based upon the basic arm movements developped by Kenji Tomiki.

The Stationary Method

The 1st part of the videoclip gives a overal impression, the 2nd half focussing on the use of the koshi.

The Dynamic Method

The integration of footwork into the tegatana exercises is the first step for practising “hakkei” or sudden power.

Hakkei Tegatana Dosa

When practising tegatana dosa in a stationary or dynamic way, movements are relatively big. The performance is quite slow and with no explosive power.
After several years of training, sudden power or Hakkei may be introduced.

Footwork – Unsoku-ho

In the Tomiki Aikido method a formalized exercise is wellknown by most of the practitioners. Because the focus is more on the pattern or in which direction to move, the most basic ways of footwork is in the backround. In the syllabus, the basic ways of footwork (ayumi ashi, tsuri ashi and tsugi ashi) is mentioned as a basic exercise. The different methods are integrated in the dynamic tegatana exercises.
When practising footwork, the arms are hold high and the intention is to hold a big ball between the arms. The arms are not used to push or pull, the power comes from the footwork initiated by the koshi.

Ayumi Ashi forward

Ayumi Ashi backward

Tsugi Ashi

Testing the solo exercises

Sometimes during training, the instructor can test the posture and movement of the student or to give feedback (interaction). All the movements of the solo-exercises can be tested.


Some testing examples

Testing posture and tsugi ashi

Ko-mawari testing

Kumi Kata (Judo)

The definition of Kumi Kata is grip fighting. The word “grip fighting” means to take a grip that will give you an advantage over your opponent. But also not to allow your opponent to take a comfortable grip to be able to counter.

The mastery of Judo Kumi Kata is a critical component for any judoka to succeed in modern judo. Without this skill being very well developed it is difficult to see how any judoka can experience the ability to throw ones opponent cleanly, effortlessly and with grace and beauty.

Ridatsu ho & Seigyo ho

Grasping the wrist in Aikido is a kind of strategy skill similar to the strategy skill of Judo Kumi Kata. Without this skill, we are not able to perform kuzushi and waza.
Tegatana kihon dosa (basic hand and arm movements) can be used as a setting up for gripping skills and controlling the opponent: Seigyo ho
On the other hand, kihon dosa can be used as a defensive action when the opponent is grasping you: Ridatsu ho

Both methods will depend on a correct and powerfull gripping skill.

The are different ways to grasp the wrist of opponent.
The purpose of grasping the wrist is to control the opponent action.

The comments of holding the sword, the golf ball and the soft tanto apply also for grasping a wrist.

Some examples of grasping the wrist

The example shows an offensive way to capture the wrist of the opponent. When the opponent performs an offensive movement, you can apply a basic arm movement and then grab the wrist.

How to seize

A strong grip can be catogorised in 3 major metods. See picture.

In essence, grasping the wrist in Aikido is similar to grasping the hilt of a sword. 
The basic rule is to grip firmly with the middle finger and thumb, keeping contact with the base of the little finger.

A study performed by The University of Western Ontario on the Individual finger strength and published in Journal of Hand Therapy gives the following results:
The percentage contributions of the index, middle, ring, and small fingers to grip were approximately 25%, 35%, 25%, and 14%, respectively.

While the ulnar side of the hand (ring and little finger) is taught as the dominant side when holding the “tsuka” of a sword, there is a lack of control if you don’t use the middle finger and thumb. When you start grabbing with the middle finger and thumb and index finger, the ring and the little finger, you will have a strong grip with many possibilities of precision.

3 important points

  • Base of little finger
  • Middle finger
  • Thumb

Exercises to develop correct wrist grabbing

Using Thera Band Flexbar

Soto gaeshi & uchi gaeshi
As mentioned earlier, both movements can be used both offensively and defensively. When you grip a wrist to apply a technique, Soto gaeshi or Uchi gaeshi may be applied. An exercise with the Flexbar almost gives you the feeling of gripping a wrist with a certain resistance.

Holding a golf ball.
Holding a golf ball is a good exercise to power up the middle finger and thumb.
Index, ring and little finger just close, but do not put pressure. Do not tighten the ball or you will lose control of the ability to manipulate your hand and arm movements.

Other examples of grasping

  • Holding tsuka
  • Grasping softanto (soft training dagger)

Holding tsuka
Hold the tsuka with the middle finger, the thumb and the base of the little finger. Index finger and ring finger close without any pressure.

Holding softanto (soft training dagger)

Soft tanto is a safe training tool used during sparring (randori). Frequently used in a Tomiki Aikido training program.

More pictures
European Championship Antwerp 2014 – Zuiderpershuis

The same comments apply as for holding the ball or holding the tsuka of a sword.

Kihon no katachi – Basic Aikido Techniques

Kihon no katachi is not the ju-nana-hon no kata or ju-go-hon no kata (an early version of kihon no kata), but it is a collection of basic aikido techniques usefull during friendly sparring (randori). It is a basic techniques syllabus.
There are 4 different kinds of techniques in Tomiki Aikido. All techniques start from a “tegatana awase” situation.

  • Atemi Waza
  • Hiji Waza
  • Tekubi Waza
  • Uki Waza

Atemi Waza

Kihon dosa or basic movements is the source for succesfull applying atemi waza. The philisophy behind atemi waza is explained in differents posts on this blog.

  • Shomen ate
  • Ai gamae ate
  • Gyaku gamae ate
  • Gedan ate
  • Ushiro ate

Hiji Waza

The use of “seigyo ho” or seizing skills are necessary to apply a skillfull hiji waza.

  • Oshi taoshi – straight arm push down
  • Hiki taoshi – straight arm pull down
  • Ude gaeshi – entangled arm
  • Ude hineri- entangled arm
  • Waki gatame omote – elbow lock
  • Waki gatame ura – elbow lock

Tekubi Waza

The use of “seigyo ho” or seizing skills for control are necessary to apply a skillfull tekubi waza.

  • Kote Hineri (uchi gaeshi)
  • Tenkai Kote Hineri
  • Kote Gaeshi (soto gaeshi)
  • Tenkai Kote Gaeshi

Uki Waza

Generally, this type of waza is translated as “floating techniques”. Basically, kuzushi or balance disturbing is performed as a throwing technique. All examples of wrist grabbing can be used to throw the opponent.
We distinguish 3 area

Kihon no katachi describe 3 major throws using Uki-waza skill.

  • Mae otoshi
  • Sumi otoshi
  • Hiki otoshi

Sparring or Randori Ho

  • Kakari geiko – continious predescribed attacks, no resistance
  • Hikitate geiko – continious predescribed attacks, escape possible for uke
  • Randori geiko – both can attack and defend
    • Dojo sparring
    • Shiai format

Example kakari geiko

Tanto randori – competition format

Randori no kata, a basic structure

Kata and katachi

The Japanese word ‘kata’ refers to the shape of an object, or the outline of a form. It is used in architecture as well as in pottery, painting and other visual expressive media. Kata is also a method to transfer the mechanics of physical arts like martial arts from teacher to student. It’s not just a physical transfer, but the mind is just as important. Kata is the result of a deep understanding of katachi and includes the so called secrets of the art.

Inside kata, there is a sequence of numbered or named steps, called a set of patterns. Within the named kata set, there are different templates for achieving different goals. A kata is considered complete when it has all its actions named for execution.

Each distinct step has its own name, such as the step to strike, the step to escape the enemy’s hold, or the step to counter-attack. Each kata has its own tempo and flow.
You will not understand Tomiki Aikido Kata unless you understand Kenji Tomiki’s rational thinking and philosophy.

Katachi is a sequence of steps needed to understand how body movements work. Each movement is divided into several stages and follows the logic of “form, function and meaning”.

The basic idea of kata or katachi is to introduce understanding of the relationship between form, function and meaning.


“the Society for Science on Form”

The art of Kata which includes katachi can be found in all levels of Japanese society and are in many cases an “alien” concept for Westerens. Lets have a look and drink a cup of tea.

The Tea Ceremony

The tea ceremony was developed in Japan in the late sixteenth century, and has a simple format — a host serves tea with some sweets, the guests drink it and then express thanks; that’s all.
Foreigners are often mystified as to why such a minimalist event can require years of training.
However, the motivation of this art is shared by all cultures. Imagine a talented host from any country whose way is so easy that guests are enveloped in an ambience of tranquil happiness.
Sen-no Rikyu, who founded the practice of the tea ceremony made an interesting comment: “Keep in mind that the tea ceremony is no more than making tea and drinking it.”
It takes great effort to realize such a “natural” thing. The same can be said about Randori no kata.

Randori no kata

The (judo) randori-no-kata were developed by Jigoro Kano as a teaching aid when it became apparent that he had too many students to effectively demonstrate throws and grappling techniques in his classes. The kata were developed in five years that followed the establishment of the Kodokan, between 1882 and 1887. They originally consisted of ten techniques each and were expanded to fifteen techniques around 1906.

The Randori-no-kata (乱取りの形, Free practice forms) of Kodokan Judo consist of two kata that illustrate the principles behind techniques used in Randori (乱取り, free-practice), allowing them to be practiced with maximum efficiency. The randori-no-kata includes nage-no-kata (投の形, forms of throwing), which teach and demonstrate concepts of nage-waza (投げ技, throwing techniques) and katame-no-kata (固の形, forms of grappling), which are intended to teach concepts of katame-waza (固技, grappling techniques).

Wikipedia

Aiki-Randori no kata

The concept of randori no kata for aikido techniques is borrowed from Kodokan Judo.
Kenji Tomiki introduced aiki-techniques to Judo students by using Judo Taiso, a scientific approach for studying Aikido techniques and body movements.

The purpose of Aiki-Randori no kata is to introduce atemi-waza and kansetsu-waza as a teaching aid to apply during randori.
Originally, Kenji Tomiki selected 15 techniques which became the basic kata for randori practise. Some years later, Basic 15 kata was transformed into Basic Kata of 17 techniques.

Form – Function – Meaning (Aiki-Randori-no-Kata)

Basic 15, 17 or…. are techniques allowed for practising aiki-randori. These techniques are reconstructed to apply safely without a chance to have severe injuries. It is always possible to have injuries when you are not focused.


The “basic” form can be called katachi or kata, depending on the level of the performers. As said, those techniques has the function to operate safely during training. The meaning “concept” is to integrate the basic principles of the art into the form.


When the principles are not included, the performance will lack depth and there will be no harmony between “form – function – meaning”.
Remember the concept of simplicity in the art of drinking tea, a presentation of basic techniques kata follows the same concept. By showing form – function – meaning, simplicity will come forward without adding unnecessary elements.

Correct or efficient? A question of real power.

The phrase “right or effective?” refers to the balance between “randori no kata” and “randori”. What we see during randori no kata presentation is not necessarily the same as during randori.
The reason for these differences may be found in the ways how to perform kata and randori. When kata was introduced into Shiai, some elements were added to give a more dramatic spectacle to the observers (audience and judges).
Randori’s performance is an entirely different story. Randori uses adaptive skills based on experiences gained through randori sessions with different people. Techniques will be dependent upon changing circumstances.
The real competence in randori is the capacity to adapt a technique for the moment. It is possible, the randori version may differ with the kata version or supposedly correct form at first glance. When you look closer, there are no differences if “form-function-meaning” are included in the kata.
The power derived from the simplicity of kata is often underestimated by Aikido practitioners. True power is only possible when the mind and body move in harmony without fanciful things. Too much detail in kata can destroy overall performance and practitioners can be lost as a result of unnecessary items.

It is said there is an impact on randori from kata training. Randori no kata is about a basic structure and the goal is to create a stable picture of a movement in your subconscious. Your adaptability can transform the kata version into an effective randori version.
If the kata becomes a presentation without the appropriate content, it can no longer be referred to as “randori no kata”. We can call it “presentation kata”.
Randori is a tool to provide efficiency to your techniques and body movements. But randori is by no means the only tool. Just focusing on randori will distort your Aikido experience as a method to improve you as a human being.

The influence of “ukemi”

Ukemi, the art of taking a throw or a pinning technique.
Ukemi is a necessary evil to survive a training session, randori or competition. Without a certain ukemi skill, you are exposed to injuries during training.
But there is a difference between kata ukemi and randori ukemi. During kata, you know what kind of throw or pinning technique is coming. During randori you don’t know, you have to act in the moment.
People can do a beautiful ukemi during kata for a certain technique. The same technique during randori can produce an ukemi as a real surviving one .

Hiki-otoshi according the kata method. Ukemi looks nice.

Randori approach of hiki-otoshi. Ukemi is not in an acrobatic fashion.

Acrobatic ukemi versus surviving ukemi

During kata performances, shinsa or shiai, ukemi becomes sometimes very acrobatic. Especially executed by younger people. This kind of ukemi can mask the performance of a sloppy technique.
In randori, the situation is different. You are thrown or not thrown, you survive with your ukemi skill or you don’t need to do ukemi.

Ukemi seen as an escape technique

Ukemi may be taken from two perspectives.
The first meaning of ukemi is the survival action to prevent injury when you are thrown or pinned down, mostly during training.
The second sense of ukemi is to anticipate unsafe action by taking care of your body.
Thus, jumping can be thought of as taking care of your body before the power enters your body. On the other hand, this may become an illusion for Tori, he or she may think of, using an effective technique, but in reality it is false.
To cure this delusional illness, randori can be the remedy if it is correctly applied effectively.

Kata – Shinsa – Shiai

Takeshi Inoue the autor of a book on Koryu no kata, who knows in detail the background of the creation of the Koryu no kata wrote:

kata-no-subeteDownload

In about 1958, we practiced mainly the unsoku, tandoku undo, yonhon no kuzushi (a former version of the nanahon no kuzushi/7-hon no kuzushi) as well as the jugohon no kata (basic15 kata). In around 1960, the junanahon no kata ( basic17 kata) and the roppon no kuzushi/6-hon no kuzushi were created and then the dai-san no kata was devised as a kata of classical techniques. During the mid-60 Ohba Sensei and others worked on the creation of the kata forms of the dai-ichi (first) to dai-roku (sixth), which we practice as the koryu no kata, in order to work on techniques for demonstrations and for purposes other than randori. What Ohba Sensei particularly stressed in formulating these kata was the organization of different techniques in such a way that students could learn connections between techniques easily and naturally. After he had organized the techniques to some extent, Ohba Sensei reported to Tomiki Sensei and demonstrated what he had done for him. He received some advice from Tomiki Sensei and then added corrections to the kata. (“Bujin Hideo Ohba,” Kyogi Aikido Soseiki no Ayumi; Ohba Hideo Sensei o Shinobu, p. 67)

There is a tendency to emphasize what I call a misunderstanding about the goal of Koryu no kata as a source of knowledge to bring efficiency into your Aikido. As mentioned in the quote above, the purpose of Koryu no kata is to give you a structured syllabus which can be used for non-randori purposes
Remember, Kenji Tomiki was not happy about bringing kata to the competition.
The difficulty with the kata has to do with the different versions of the kata. Everyone claims to know Hideo Ohba’s original version. Even among the closest students of Hideo Ohba, there is neither concord nor unity. Once I showed a photographic example, how a technique was done by one Ohba student to another Ohba student. She replied, that was not how she was taught by Ohba.

My view on Koryu no kata

Koryu no kata consist of basic structures for practising “goshin” or self-protection, introduction to weapon handling.
Some parts of koryu no kata can be used as a trainingtool for better and more efficient body use.
The progression of koryu no kata can be seen as a sequence of techniques which transforms into “katachi” and later into “kata.
Without proper “basic “training, koryu no kata stays an empty shell and your aikido will not improve.

Koryu no kata – basic structures for non-randori training
Aiki-Randori no kata – basic structures for randori training

The Mind, driving force behind Aikido

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.

I mentioned on several occasions the importance of the mind during Aikido training. Training or exercising is not always done during the training hours provided in the dojo. Exercise is also possible in the park, at the seaside or in a place where you can do your workout. This may include solo training or practicing with a partner. Whenever and wherever that is possible.

I like to start the day with about 30/40 minutes exercises.

  • Warming up – 7 minutes
  • Kiko/qigong – 15 minutes
  • Ritsuzen/zhanzuang – 10/15 minutes

The morning workout is before breakfast, but after a few major things… Obviously, you can’t practise with a full bladder…

It’s important to practice before reading your social media messages or email messages in your mailbox. The mind is free from good sleep and ready to practice.

Exercise in the morning prior to breakfast became a routine. However, do not be frustrated if you can not do your morning routine. You may have time by day or evening.

Focus on what your are doing

You should feel how your body moves during warm-up. Never do it with power, just let the body do the movements and act as an observer.

Start to breath

Kiko or qigong are practised by breathing much. You need to sense how the diaphragm works. You may feel the fresh air in the morning. All the good things of fresh morning air are absorbed through the body. During your sleep, all the waste is stored somewhere and ready to be expelled when you breathe out.

Move your body without moving

Now it is time to move your body with moving. If someone else watching you, that persons doesn’t see any movement. But within your body, there is a lot going on. Ritsuzen (Japanese) or Zhanzuang (Chinese) is practiced with the mind. You create “dynamic” pictures in your mind and your inner body will react to these pictures. My favourite pictures while “standing” are:

  • You are somerwhere peaceful. Perhaps by the sea. Standing with a natural posture (shizentai). Allow gravity to help you with relaxing mind and body.
  • Standing in the seawater with a big balloon in your arms. The water is at “kyokotsu” height.
  • The water pushes you at the back forward and when the rebound arrives, the water pushes to the rear
  • The water is pushing you alternately onto the right side of the body and the left side.
  • Push the balloon down and let the balloon go back up. Keep the balloon in your arms.
  • The balloon transforms into a big heavy ball. Lift the ball up and let the ball fall down. Keep the balloon in your arms.
  • Finish with “shizentai” posture, image you have a heavy kettlebell in your hands.

The mind game and the influence on your body

Does your mind has an influence on your body?

Where the mind goes the body will follow.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Heart rate control is used to see how it affects your body during practice. Ritsuzen/zhanzuang has certainly an impact on heart rate. If you use a dynamic image in your mind with a heavy charge, the heart rate is raised. The example below, shows during ritsuzen/zhanzuang a change in the heart rate when the load of the image is changing. A low impact gives a heart rate of about 89 bpm, a medium impact gives a heart rate of about 100 bpm.

Heart rate will vary according age, gender and condition. The example above:

  • Age: 73 yrs
  • Gender: male
  • Resting heart beat: 56 bpm
  • Condition between 46-50: We use cardio fitness score in combination with gender and age to calculate cardio fitness level. 15 – 30 signifies a low cardio fitness level, A score between 30 – 38 is considered average cardio fitness. Anything above 40 qualifies as a high cardio fitness level.

In “The search of Wu” a book written by Dr. Yu Yong Nian, some clinical experiments are described.

Before training and in resting conditions your heart rate is 74 bpm and respiration rate is 19 pm, now assume ZZ and bend your knees so that your total height is 3cm less that in ordinary standing (straight knees) after 40 minutes you will reach 106 bpm heart rate and 30 bpm respiration rate. So by just tuning your bending knee angle and the time of standing position, it results clear responses from your heart and respiration: external conditioning has been changed into internal conditioning which I call qualitative changes. 

Dr. Yu Yong Nian

The description by Dr. Yu gives an indication about the influence of a standing exercise on your body. Many more experiments are described and are documented with a lot of data.

There is another interesting item in this book.

Physiologic changes appearing during non-moving exercises are differing completely with moving ones.
During the non-moving exercise, although heart rate is growing up, the increase is steady and can be maintained even during a certain time, but also very important fact is that the respiration rate is never irregular so that suffocation/oxygen debt is avoid, no surplus of carbon dioxide, in a word all internal metabolism is running harmoniously well and adapting hand in hand with the physical effort. How come the body can reach this high level of compensation in front of growing physical demands? We explain it as the harmony in the mental and the Qi.

Dr. Yu Yong Nian

Here is talking about oxygen debt during physical exertion.

In post standing you can control precisely the amount of physical effort, set it up according to each physical condition and maintain during a long period a steady increase of Heart rate during exercise. But according to our experimentation in most of the case you cannot exceed the double of resting HR. Because when the amount of physical effort is exceed this value, muscles and tendons will feel like a painful electric shock contraction and cannot but stop any physical exertion.We can finally say that in ZZ you will progressively reach the maximum amount of physical effort you can bear: regular increase of HR, but without any oxygen debt or out of breath situation common to conventional sports as described previously.

Dr. Yu Yong Nian

As a last item about visualization (imaging).

Using visualization during ZZ exercise refers here to Imagination activity or Recall activity, it is involving high brain functions from the Cerebral Cortex such as memory, attention… so that the practitioner can benefit a faster internal control/monitoring.

Dr. Yu Yong Nian

The result of modeling in your training.

While most studies are focusing on the benefits of physical training on the mind, using the mind to improve physical performance is a field of study mostly for top athletes.

A study quoted in Verkhoshansky and Siff’s book Supertraining , showed a group of athletes who were instructed to lift an empty barbell while visualizing or imagining they were lifting the maximal weight they could lift for that movement. When retested they showed an increase in strength for that lift despite doing no other training for that lift.

Skill training can be more efficient with “modeling”. Some studies have been carried out with a positive result. For example, a study in 1985 took thirty college students of equal (perceived) skill and gave them a putting challenge, telling one group to imagine the ball going in the hole, another group to imagine the ball missing the hole, and giving a third group (the control group) no mental task (Woolfolk et. Al., 1985). As you would expect the group imagining a successful shot saw skill improvement overtime with the control also showing improvement, though not as large as the visualization group.

But even beginners can have the benefits of imaging during the physical training.

Using the mind in your Aikido training

Modeling

Modeling is the application of nonhuman phenomena as a template for improving your performance. Examples of nonhuman phenomena include earth, wind, fire, water… It is up to your creativity to use images to create a model within your brain.

As a matter of fact, a person can also be a role model for improving your performance. “Sensei” may be regarded as a model.

The model that we create in our mind has a tremendous impact on the functioning of our body. In the beginning, when you start using images, your conscious mind is the manager of your behavior.

After sufficient training, your conscious mind will act as an observer and your subconscious mind will take control of the operation of your behavior. Of course, it only works positively if the entry was right. When the entry is wrong your programming may crash your behavior.

Martial Arts examples

Te-kagami – hand mirror technique

Tenchi-nage – Heaven and earth throw

Toraissoku – Tiger’s footwork

Oroshi – Wind blowing down a mountain

Uroko-gaeshi – Turning fish

Nami-gaeshi – Returning wave

Taki-otoshi – Waterfall

The final Image

After all, Aikido is the way to harmonize the “ki” or life energy among people and the environment.

Sotai renshu – Embrace the inevitable.

One of the very purposes of studying Martial Arts is to learn to utilize and cultivate unconventional movement options.

Sotai Renshu – Partner Training

In pairs, the primary concept is the relationship with the partner/opponent and how to control the power and the mind of the partner/opponent. It is the body which expresses the power originating in the mind.

From a purely technical point of view, we will examine our body in relationship with the body of our partner/opponent. Later, we can go further into the mechanics of the mind and the generation of power.

Relationship with partner/opponent.

We distinguish 2 major technical characteristics.

Our position in relation to partner/opponent

  • Aigamae or regular facing posture
  • Gyaku gamae or reverse facing posture

The result of our action on partner/opponent

  • Hineri or inward turning of partner/opponent body (or body part)
  • Gaeshi or outward turning of partner/opponent body (or body part)

Contractive power versus “jukozo”

Most of our movements in our lives arise from muscle contractions. The muscles always work in pairs, one muscle is the active actor (agonist) whereas the other (antagonist) is the passive actor. This is the conventional way of thinking about how the body moves.

An example to specify the activities of the agonist and the antagonist:

The agonist and antagonist work together in any type of movement. Once a muscle is tensed, it can no longer relax on its own. This requires the contraction of the opposite muscle. So as your biceps contract to bend your arm, your triceps stretch. Now your triceps becomes the active part. As an agonist, the muscle contracts, allowing your biceps to relax as an antagonist.

Furthermore, in martial arts, the use of the power of the partner/opponent is part of the strategy. Unfortunately, contractive power is not always a good partner when we need to use the competence of “jukozo”, the competence to absorb and store incoming power. Especially the contractive power of the arms and shoulder can negatively affect the release of the power of the legs and torso.

But there is an additional way in which the muscles lengthen (other than only through the contraction of the opposite muscles). This functionality lies at the heart of the “Jukozo” concept. It is actually a push/pull concept without local muscle contraction. The push/pull motion is the result of the use of the kyokotsu, your breathing (diaphragm muscle) and the rotation motion of the abdomen, in other words hara, Koshi and tanden.

Basically, jukozo uses the capacity to store power in the muscles, tendons and fascia while stretching or compressing and not by contracting the muscles. Most of the power will be stored in the tendons and fascia, the muscles themselves have a much lower capacity and are mostly actively used for their contractive features. The push/pull action depends completely on the push or pull quality of the tendons and the fascia

The picture shows a push/pull action. The partner/opponent is pushed while he is turned. There is also a pull to with the result he is bending backward. The pull is created by koshi turning and a backward tsugi ashi, the push is the result of a stretching movement while pulling in kyokotsu. There is no muscle contraction or bending the arm. It is a simultanious action.

Tenshikei (Japanese) – Chansigong (Chinese)

Jukozo is based on a skill which favors spiral power. Our body always generates energy by following a spiral path consisting of muscles, tendons and fascias. We may use a special training method to develop tenshikei ability. During the training, we use rotational movements mostly coming from the lower part of the torso. Koshi is one of the most significant components of the lower torso.

Basically, it means that power is not transmitted linearly, but that it coils and spirals along the limbs. This means that there are two directions (clockwise and counterclockwise). When examining Tomiki Aikido Tandoku Undo Tegatana Dosa, we can clearly see the 2 directions of coiling movements in Uchi-mawashi/Soto-mawashi and Uchi-gaeshi/Soto-gaeshi.

Uchi Gaeshi

The rotational motions are created by using the “koshi” muscles and those, of course, follow the rule of contraction and relaxation. But we use an unconventional method, the muscles associated with the arms and shoulders are not contracted. The “hara” muscles (Koshi and tanden) are responsible for the rotation movements. A push/pull action is achieved if the muscles in the arms and legs are relatively relaxed.

The result of tenshikei training takes longer than the well-known methods for improving the core muscles in the gym. To control the movements of these muscles, the average practitioner requires many years of regular training. The control of rotation movements can be seen in the performance of top level sports people.

Controlling incoming power

When the incoming power penetrates the body, most people will respond by contracting the muscles along the power path. It will obviously interfere with the storage of incoming power. A better way is to use the “Jukozo” skill, a skill to absorb and store incoming power in the tendons and fascia.

The incoming power, for instance, when someone grabs your wrist and does a twisting movement, follows a spiral path through the body. This energy can be stored within the tendons and fascia. Ready to operate with flexibility.

The better we can store the power, the better we can use the stored power to counter the partner/opponent attack. Countering the attack means avoiding conflict with the strength of the partner/opponent.

An example – the wrist grip.

It’s a practice, not a martial application. Nonetheless, the integrated body movement may be used in martial applications..

The partner/opponent has a strong grip on our wrist. There is no pulling or pushing by partner/opponent, but an inward twisting action of the wrist. Start a release action at the foot, thereafter the leg, the hip joint, the torso, shoulder, arm and wrist. Avoid contractions of the muscles, power transfer will stop at the muscle contraction.

By the way, muscle contraction is also a method to generate strength. There are times when such a method can be used. But especially as a beginner, it is preferable to use the jukozo method rather than the contracting method.

Kenji Tomiki and Hideo Ohba during WW2 in Manchuria

Control your own power!

Basically, we don’t want to give the partner/opponent the opportunity to use our own power against us. A highly skilled partner/opponent may simply use a clever action to cause some sort of blocking action in your body.

Incoming power does not necessarily travel within our body. The incoming power could also be very local. For instance, when someone grabs with one or two hands without pushing, pulling or twisting. All power is centered on our wrist.

In such a case, stretch the tendons and fascia the gripped wrist without pulling, pushing or twisting on the arm of partner/opponent . By releasing the power generated by the stretching movement, an undulating movement will distort the body of the partner/opponent.

Senta Yamada is stressing the softness of the body to transfer spiral power into the body of uke.

Active and static power

The body under mind control, may produce various types of useful power during martial art training and its application as self-defense.

Usually two types will be used.

  • Active Power – Power by hitting, kicking, pushing, pulling or twisting and entering the body for the purpose of hurting or throwing.
  • Static Power – The power to immobilize the body of the partner/opponent or part of the body. Many examples in koryu no kata where partner/opponent has a grip on you to immobilize.

The use of different types of power will depend on the circumstances and will become part of the strategy. Every martial art can have a different type of strategy, but the efficient use of power depends on the same principles.

Uke/Tori and switching roles

Perhaps you noticed that I did not use the words Uke and Tori in previous paragraphs. In many martial arts explanations, the words Uke and Tori are used to define the role of the attacking and defending or winner and loser. That kind of thinking is actually a “one way of thinking”. Uke is thus the receiver of a successful movement. Uke act as a loser and this of course has an impact on our way of thinking. During basic training, Uke carries out ukemi or breakfall. Uke has a losing concept. Whereas during the randori, the concept of loser is not allowed. To avoid losing during randori, most of the practitioners will block the movement of partner/opponent. What we have pointed out in the previous paragraphs is completely forgotten. Jukozo or flexibility is replaced by muscle contraction resistance.

Actually, during basic training, randori or martial applications, there are 2 people (or more) performing Uke/Tori movements. Each person acts at the same time as Uke and Tori. In fact, we may be talking about a Uke/Tori person, an expression of duality as described in an earlier post about Ju and Go. The duality in the Uke/Tori person is also related to the concept of Onmyō – Yin/Yang – Our movements are acting by using opposing forces – tension(*) and release. The concept of opposing forces is in Oriental philosophy explained by the well-known words: Yin and Yang, in Japanese: Onmyō.

(*) Tension shouldn’t be confused with muscle contraction. In our case, tension is stretching tendons and fascia to increase power. It is also possible to build power through compression, a skill to allow input power and transfer in the ground. Rebound is the outcome and is only possible with the competence of Jukozo. For this case, an exercise as shotei-awase can be mentioned.

Conscious and sub-conscious mind

When people start with martial art training in an unconventional manner, many new things need to be learned. This process is principally realized by the conscious mind. The motions of the body begin at a slow speed because our conscious mind is actually a slow process. But we got a faster processor, our subconscious mind. The moment we do not have to think about how to operate, the subconscious mind may take control of the process of our body moving.

Even if you are a practitioner with many years of experience, the moment you start the non-standard path, you are again a newbie. Thus, your conscious mind takes control of the process and your movements are still slow until the unconventional method of movement can be performed by the subconscious mind. This process may take several years, depending on the depth to which the conventional method is grounded in your mind.

Moving from solo to partner training is actually a test of whether the unconventional method has replaced the conventional method and how anchored it is.

We need to embrace the inevitable. Can we do it or not?

Mushin Mugamae

This expression is quoted many times by Kenji Tomiki and his followers. Mostly it is translated as “Empty mind, empty posture”.

Basically, it’s a good idea to use this translation as a beginning to try to understand Mushin Mugamae. There is more to this expression than just “Empty Mind, Empty posture”. However, putting the phrase “Mushin Mugamae” in your mind makes a mind filled with thoughts. This is also true when we adopt a combat posture. As a beginner, the conscious mind will create the thinking combat pose. Unfortunately, using the conscious mind is too slow to respond to the actions of the partner/opponent.

Unconventional movement and training

One of the very purposes of the study of martial arts is to learn how to use and cultivate unconventional movement options. This process may be regarded as “the path of a martial art practitioner”. Becoming a skilled practitioner is not an easy way, but for those who are on the way, it is an experience that can also be monitored for the purposes of everyday life.

As mentioned above, the use of the conscious mind is too slow to react to a sudden move of the partner/opponent or even sudden events in everyday life. The unconscious mind can handle such events if you have the ability to “mushin mugamae”.

Study or technical training takes place at a slow rate. After acquiring the bodily sensation, stored in the subconscious mind, the reaction may be very quick or even slow. That will depend on the circumstances. An image is slow, while a pattern is slow/fast.

From image to pattern, from slow to slow-fast

There are many ways to bring content to the movements of our body. For instance, how to use weight transfer during walking. Within the brain, there are images of the various aspects of walking. The first image is created when we have learned to stand vertically. Later, we start walking, foot by foot. How to use this image depends on our experiences throughout our lives, and based on these experiences, we have created patterns. Learning new patterns of movement takes time and needs to be done properly from the start.

Beginners are not only associated with “novices”, but also with experienced people who are learning new skills. Starting with a new “model”, we start slowly and sometimes we exaggerate the motion by making it bigger. That allows us to create a bodily sensation. This is a condition of subconscious usage. Without a bodily sensation, every action will depend on the conscious mind or the inborn fight or flight reaction**. The physiological changes that occur during the fight or flight response are activated in order to give the body increased strength and speed in anticipation of fighting or running.

A highly skilled practitioner can use the fight or flight reaction in combination with the patterns stored in the brain. If it is still at the stage of using the conscious mind, the fight or flight reaction will have an uncontrollable effect on performance.

It takes time to build experiences to create a model or pattern after creating an image. Sometimes a pattern is corrupted or may not be used in martial arts situations. We need to reprogram something. Reprogramming is a challenging process because bad habits must be removed and new moves must be created. It takes more time to start again, then start anew as a beginner.

**The fight-or-flight or the fight-flight-or-freeze response (also called hyperarousal or the acute stress response) is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival

A Wet Towel In Space Is Not Like A Wet Towel On Earth

Both in static posture or dynamic posture we use the feet to take power from Earth and transfer it to the arms and hands.

Gravity

Gravity is the force through which a planet or other body attracts objects toward its centre.

What else does gravity do?

Why are you landing on the ground when you’re jumping rather than floating in space? Why does everything fall when you throw it away or let it fall? The answer is gravity: an invisible force that attracts objects together. Earth’s gravity is what keeps you on the ground and what makes things come down.

Anything that has mass also has gravity. Objects with more mass have more gravity.

The gravity of the Earth comes from its entire mass. Its entire mass creates a combined gravity attraction over the entire mass of your body. That’s what gives you weight.

Gravity and martial art

Gravity is necessary to create the equilibrium of your posture. If you fail to act on the concept of balance, gravity becomes your worst enemy and you will fall.

What is balance?

Balance is a situation in which your body has stability. It does not take much effort to keep your position. All forces that apply to your body are canceled out. When you are in balance, it is very hard to throw you or move you. This is true standing.

Gravity applies to everything in the body. If you combine the effect of all gravity forces, you can summarize it as a force applied at a single point, the centre of gravity. Put another way, “Hara” is the centre of your physical being. If you can put your mind in “Hara”, you are a balanced person, physical and mental.

Exercises used in training should consider the concept of gravity. Without a good body structure, you will not be able to use the power of the earth and you rely only on the local muscle power. And even if you use local muscle power, earth mass and gravity are needed. Sadly, it is not the most effective way to move the body and use power.

Practical exercises

There are many practical exercises to train in martial arts. Some have a direct advantage in martial art applications, others have an impact on body structure and power generation. Some exercises are directed towards improving health.

Since you don’t always have a partner to practice, solo training may be an option. Most practitioners are familiar with the basic solo exercises of their Aikido method. Tomiki Aikido isn’t the exception.

The objective of this article is to explain certain exercises with a “creative touch”.

All the exercises has 1 important concept: we have to use the power of the earth.

Gravity is the greatest source of power by touching the opponent. During solo training, the adversary may be in your mind, but maybe you can use a boxing bag. It is also possible to use various weapons as a tool to enhance your body movements including the use of gravity.

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

Local muscle power is not used during the 3 metods. The use of gravity is an important source as well as the solidity of the Earth. Without control of the body centers, local muscle power will replace the flexible and elastic power organised by koshi and kyokotsu.

Moving koshi forward and back

Push with the hand (backside) on the sacrum forward. Let the body return and start over the pushing.

After some practise, you will notice the movement of “koshi”. This is an important step forward in the concept of using “koshi” or hip-power.

Oshi taoshi exercise

Move the arms up with the dynamics of lifting kyokotsu. Dropping kyokotsu into koshi and feet.

While we say “use kyokotsu”, this is not the power source. Kyokotsu is the controller which sends the power to the arms. When kyokotsu returns to the original position, it controls the downward power to the legs via Koshi.

Rowing exercise

Body moves forward before the arms. This is controlled by kyokotsu.

Tenshikei, diagonal/coiling power

Sometimes a comparison is made between tenshikei and wringing a towel. Of course, if you don’t know about “tenshikei”, this conversation is ridiculous.

Tenshikei is the rotational power generated with a body skill using gravity. If there is no gravity, you will have probably a difficulty to generate tenshikei or diagonal power.

Role of the knees during tenshikei exercises

Think about a ball between the knees. There is a certain tension (opposing forces) between the 2 knees.

The example shows a ball when adopting “shizentai – mugamae”. The same feeling must be experienced during a forward posture or a 2x shoulderwide posture (kiba-dachi or jigotai)

A simple example of Tenshikei movement

Between the knees, an image of a ball can be used when performing uchi-mawashi and uchi-gaeshi/soto-gaeshi.

Using waist and hips during tenshikei skill

This topic is a difficult one. In martial art the waist is a part of the koshi. Koshi is mostly translated as hips, but this is partly wrong. The hips are a part of koshi.

Our waist usually turns only from five degrees to thirty degrees. Occasionally, it turns forty- five or ninety degrees. Many practitioners use their hips instead of their waist without realizing it. This is because it is much easier to use our hips than our waist. The waist gives power for the push and also functions as a rotational tool. This action is basically “tenshikei” skill.

The hip joint is used to push down into the leg.

When moving forward or back, the ball of the front foot is used as the rebound tool or as a shock absorber. The heel of the front foot is slightly lifted. Using power for moving forward comes from the back foot. When moving back, the front foot is the driving foot.

Taïjū no idō – Taïjū no dendō

Taijū no dendō or body weight transmission (body weight conduction) is a skill to transfer power into the opponent by using body weight and gravity.

Taijū no idō or body weight shift creates “power transfer” in the body of opponent by displacement of the body.

Both methods are basically dependent on the use of gravity with or without footwork.

There are many kinds of footwork. Most of them are based upon using losing balance and regaining balance. Using gravity is the main source for this kind of footwork. An example is “rolling foot movement during pushing”.

Not all the foot movements have “losing balance – gravity” as the main source of movement power. The driving power of the leg can be used to move forward or back.

Driving leg – receiving leg

Moving around is a matter of using koshi, knees and ankles. The pressure between the feet and the earth has also to be taken into account.

There is always a leg which is doing the action – the driving leg. There is also the receiving leg with an absorbing function, but also a rebound action.


Where is the pressure in the foot?

Both in static posture or dynamic posture we use the feet to take power from Earth and transfer it to the arms and hands.

Mostly, the pressure will be on the ball of the foot. Triangle formed by 1-2-3

But it can also move more in the direction of the heel without losing the pressure on the ball. Triangle 1-2-4.

Point 1 will act as a kind of pump to transfer Earth’s power up. During breathing exercises, the mind can use the “pump” image to bring Earth”s power to the koshi and further to the arms when inhaling. When breathing out, point 4 will receive the down power.

The mechanism of pump and switching from point 1 to point 4 is very useful during Taijū no dendō or bodyweight shift.

Although we speak about points, we have to consider the image of the triangles. Using triangles makes a better use of the feet soles surface without forgetting the different points marked in the picture.

An important point of attention is the stability of the knee. Keep an imaginary ball between the knees.

A simple exercise to introduce the foot pressure skill. When moving up, use the ball (point 1 – pump) to take the Earth’s power up by breathing in. At the end of inhaling, push the breath down end let it sink into the heel (point 4). After a while you will feel the action of the pump.

Grabbing the floor with the toes

Sometimes you can read this advice. And this advice is not only for martial arts, but also other sport are involved like weightliftting and sports with a squating action. Grabbing with the toes has to be viewed as grabbing with the plantar fascia. Find here a nice animation:

When you start using the triangles in the foot, the plantar fascia is the driving element in the use of the Earth’s power along the body structures. If the plantar fascia is not correct working, the rest of the body will act accordingly mostly with a faulty structure. The result is a damaged knee or hip joint. Even the neck will have a negative impact.

The importance of the plantar fascia

Plantar fascia – the longest ligament of the foot. The ligament, which runs along the sole of the foot, from the heel to the toes, forms the arch. By stretching and contracting, the plantar fascia helps us balance and gives the foot strength for walking.

Regularly shift weight from one foot and leg to the other stretches the tight muscles of the feet. Thight muscles often contribute to plantar fasciitis pain, also called heel spurs.
One basic move simply puts your body weight from heel to toe with a rocking motion. This promotes balance along with foot strength. (pendulum exercise)(rolling feet movement)
This will also actually massage the foot by applying different pressure in a graduated fashion along the foot.
Another move allows for a rocking motion from the outside of the foot to the inside of the foot.
This will strengthen the lateral muscles and medial muscles of the leg. Your weight will shift from the arch to the outside of the foot.

Tegatana Awase

Tegatana awase

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

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

tegatana awase02

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

Body block or keeping the body 

3gankyo bappaiDuring tegatana awase the position of the arm and chest has a concave shape, called Gankyōbappai (含胸抜背). This is a phrase used to describe the postural adjustment at the chest level (Empty the chest & Pull out the back ). Keep the concave shape of the chest and stretch the spine to widen the back. Important is not to tense the muscles. There is a resemblance with the posture of ritsuzen (standing meditation), holding a ball between the arms.

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

bodyblock

Tenshikei – rotational body movement

Tenshikei

spiral line012Tenshikei is the Japanese term for chan shi jin or silk reeling, a skill in Internal Chinese martial arts. The name derives from the twisting and spiralling movements of the silkworm as it wraps itself in its cocoon and the pulling off the silk from the coccoon. The body is imitating this by winding and unwinding movements.

Tenshikei uses the diagonal tension and releasing of the muscles and tendons in the central body. Tension and releasing are controlled by the kyokotsu.
Kyokotsu as a control centre of the movement, uses the tanden,koshi and yōbu as the stability platform.

Hara – Tanden, Koshi & Yōbu

Basically Hara is the lower part of the central body. Mostly it is translated as “belly” or “abdomen”.

  • Koshi means the area of the hips. It also includes the lower back.
  • Tanden is a point below the navel, loosely translated as the energy centre (Chinese medicine and martial arts). It is the focus point for internal techniques and exercises.
  • Yōbu is the waist area. The Chinese word is Yao. The waist is the part of the abdomen between the rib cage and hips.

In our study, Hara will be used in many exercises, especially during Tenshikei.
When the body moves, the Tanden is the centre and is the place of a relative no-movement.
The muscles associated with koshi and yōbu will be used to start movements. There are other methods to start movement like using gravity, but this is discussed elsewhere in this study.

Morita Monjuro (1889-1978)
Famous Japanese swordman wrote some interesting notes on the relationship between tanden and koshi in hitting with a sword.

The striking at a single pace: the tanden and koshi by which all kind of strikes are possible

Tanden and the musculature of the koshi form a unity, but their roles are not the same. The tanden controls the koshi. The training of koshi is synonymous with the training of the tanden, center of the body, and thus it becomes a training of body and mind … We can say the training of each technique strengthen the muscles of the koshi and the tanden. Which has almost the same effect as to strengthen the tanden practicing zazen. If the practice remains at a mere technical manipulation, the effect can not be the same. By producing the art of the koshi and tanden, we can strengthen our mind and body.
To hit properly from the tanden and koshi, we must use a perfect structured body and a perfect handling of the sword. This is a gesture that is produced in accordance with the two forces that go diagonally right leg left arm, left leg and right arm.
The perfect handling of the sword is produced by the integration of three elements:

1. the rotation of koshi
2. diagonal tension produced by this rotation
3. displacement of the body

Twisting and untwisting

In a basic format the twisting of the upper body will follow a certain sequence.

  1. Turn the shoulder line. Keep gankyo bappai **
  2. Turn the body along the diagonal line.
  3. Turn the pelvis line.***

Feel the spiral movement in the body. Avoid muscular tension by pulling the muscles, the tension you feel is the result of the twisting

Untwisting follows the reverse sequence.

** Gankyōbappai (含胸抜背).
This is a phrase used to describe the postural adjustment at the chest level (Empty the chest & Pull out the back ). Keep the concave shape of the chest and stretch the spine to widen the back. Important is not to tense the muscles.

***Turning the pelvis line is only possible when the “mata” or “kwa” is flexible and not tensed up. If you cannot make the groin soft, you will not make the full twisting movement.

Tenshikei solo exercise – twisting and untwisting

rolling tanden01

Using a modified kyokotsu exercise – see earlier.
The arrows show the direction of the movements.
Don’t tense the muscles, just release the tension when turning to the other side.
The exercise is “one” continuous movement.

Tenshikei and force

Twisting and untwisting creates force, this force can be transmitted into the opponent.

Tenshikei lines

Partner exercises are an example for applying twisting and untwisting.
In the example the force of twisting and untwisting will be transmitted by extending the arm and creates the opportunity to apply “oshi taoshi” or pushing down.
Extending the arm and putting the weight into the opponent will create “hakkei” or sudden power.

Tenshikei from the lower body

tenshikei lower body

The body is a system which includes also legs, feet…. To create a full-body tenshikei, we must take out the tension of the knee.

The lower part of the central body will become involved in a full-body tenshikei.

See example : Bring the bodyweight on the the right foot, take out the tension of the right knee. Make a full tenshikei by moving the shoulder line, the diagonal lines and the pelvis line.

Both shoulders should be moved as 1 unit.

Ido-ryoku

Ido-ryoku can be  translated as ‘locomotive power”. When we grasp the arm of the opponent we can move our body a certain distance, this creates some power called momentum.

In Newtonian mechanics, linear momentum, translational momentum, or simply momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a three-dimensional vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. (Wikipedia)

Another meaning, although related to the previous one, ido has the idea of “shift”. It is not always necessary to move the feet. Body weight shifting (taijū no idō) is a method to produce power without the use of the feet.

 

Ido-ryoku is the effectiveness of “physical movement” that works even without a locomotive power in a mutual relation between two practitioners. (Prof. Shishida – Aikido Lecture & Seminar at the 11th TAIN International Festival / 2015 Aikido World Championships On Thursday October 22, 2015.)

Unsoku ho – Footwork exercises

Forward and back unsoku

An exercise about “kuzushi” or feeling and using gravity
Using gravity is only possible if the knees and hip joints are flexible.
Again, the sensation of feeling and using gravity will avoid to give a signal to the opponent .

unsoku zengo

We start slowly and sometimes we exaggerate the movement by making it bigger. This gives us the opportunity to create a bodily sensation. Use the kyokotsu point to start the movements.

Sideways unsoku

The previous remarks have the same impact on the sideways unsoku.
By pushing into the ground, the body will raise. Of course we can direct the power sideways, but still we are giving a signal to the opponent.

unsoku sayu

wrong & correct

walking stick

Use the line from the foot to the shoulder line as a stick to keep balance.
The knee of the leading leg must be flexible.
The “walking stick” knee is not locked but not bend.

Diagonal unsoku

In this kind of unsoku we must consider the use of the central body axis or seichusen.
As with the other kind of unsoku, don’t push the leg in the ground to generate power, but use gravity.

unsoku naname zen

unsoku naname go 01

unsoku naname go 02

seiza exercise
The concept of the central axis can be used during suwari waza or sitting techniques.

Gravity

The driving force of the movement of the body on the earth, the weight of the body is more fundamental and important than the muscle contraction force. The weight is conscious, but whether you desire or not is constantly working towards the center of the Earth. Movement is established only when there is weight.

The biggest mistake a human being with consciousness and muscle makes in the movement of the body is to think (consciousness) that the main power of movement is muscle tension contraction. The main role of muscle contraction force is not to create the main motive force of movement, but to create a trigger for movement (to break the equilibrium relationship), to accommodate movement (lead to a new equilibrium relationship), amplification / adjustment It is to do. What is more important is to receive the information (energy / weight) conveyed from other parts and to convey the muscle itself to the next part as a conduit / conductor. In the meantime, it’s the task of proper amplification and adjustment. It is a very serious problem that you are not aware of the seriousness of the ability to accept / conduct this information (weight / energy), and therefore you are not trained in that ability.

Gravity – reality & bodily sensation

Gravity, or gravitation, is a natural phenomenon and is related to our body weight. Using gravity in body weight displacement is an economical way of moving around. The moment when a baby start to stand up and walking, gravity will affect the movements. Unfortunately during our life we forget sometimes the feeling (taikan) of gravity.

An exercise to feel the effect of gravity on the body.
It is a natural reaction putting a foot in the direction of a balance disturbing situation.
The body reaction is immediate and there is no conscious thought about how to step.
The sensation of “gravity” can be very helpful to avoid the use of pushing power into the ground when trying to accelerate an attack. Pushing into the ground gives a signal to the opponent, so the opponent can respond easily.
It is also helpful to understand “pushing” power without using local muscles (arms).

feeling gravity

Budo or Sport?

The emphasis is on Budo Aikido which includes randori geiko (not shiai). There is no “rules book” in Budo Aikido.

Frequently I am asked about the difference between Aikido as a martial art (Budo) and Aikido as sport (Kyogi).
Budo has 2 parts : Bu and Do
The word do means path or way, but refers to a special way – a path which its goals leads to nowhere, and is followed for its own sake. It becomes The Way. The Way follows no particular route, it is self-traveled, naturally individualized path to spiritual enlightenment.
Bu means “war” but it also suggest the sheathing of the sword or the cessation of struggle.
During the “Flower Power” movement in the Western countries Budo became less orientated to the idea of fighting.
Another evolution created a kind of Martial Art more orientated to the competition arena. Before the war, of course there were also competitions in Martial Arts. Examples are Kendo and Judo. Prewar competitions rules book was slightly different and not so elaborated as nowadays. Modern competition has a lot of “olympic” influence. In the past Budo training and competition were very close to each other, while today the difference is more obvious for practitioners.
Sometimes the general public cannot see or understand the difference between Martial Sport and Budo.
While in Kyogy-Aikido there are you versus the opponent, in Budo-Aikido you try to become one with the opponent and this is a precondition for using the concept of “Sen”, control of the movements.
Budo-Aikido people are generally more sensitive to the movements of the training partner. Technically precise movements are the goal in your training. Many Kyogi-aikido practitioners are relying more on muscle power, body weight, speed, combination techniques. In Kyogi-Aikido you can win by making half points, while in Budo-Aikido there is only total control of the situation.
Speaking about ethics, it is your choice how to finish a fight in a Budo environment. In Kyogi-Aikido, there are no ethics, only rules how to make points and prohibited actions. Ethics will vary according to the society people belong. Western people have different ethics than Japanese or other Asians.
Both methods have their merits and can be useful in daily life and can have a positive effect on our behaviour. The application of Aikido as self-defense or goshin-jutsu need of course some adaptation to become practical in real-life situations.
There are more similarities than differences when we compare both methods. Many Aikido methods will have a hybrid format with either the emphasis on the sporting side (Kyogi) or the classical side (Budo).

Budo or sport

Non-conscious body driven & conscious mind driven

“mushin”
The legendary Zen master Takuan Sōhō (1573-1645) said: “The mind must always be in the state of ‘flowing,’ for when it stops anywhere the flow is interrupted and it is this interruption that is injurious to the well-being of the mind. In the case of the swordsman, it means death. When the swordsman stands against his opponent, he cannot think of the opponent, nor of himself, nor of his enemy’s sword movements. He just stands there with his sword which, forgetting all techniques, an is ready only to follow the dictates of the subconscious. The man has effaced himself as the wielder of the sword. When he strikes, it is not the man but the sword in the hand of the man’s subconscious that strikes.

The big difference between Sport and Budo is in the use of the conscious and non-conscious mind.
In Budo Aikido, the body is driven by the patterns stored in the mind. These patterns are not mind driven but act as the circumstances are asking for it. In Kyogi Aikido, the practitioner is planning everything and actions are always according the rulebook.
The concept of mushin is a basic element of Budo Aikido, the mind is neutral and not interfering consciously with the martial action. Kyogi Aikido is a limited version of Budo Aikido the mind is always busy interfering with the action.

Hajime and Mate

In Sports Aikido there is hajime and mate. In Budo Aikido this doesn’t exist. If you ask a western practitioner about “hajime”, his answer will be probably : starting training, starting a technique or starting a match.

Yōso* – Fundamental elements

Kenji Tomiki was inspired by the ideas of Jigoro Kano in formulating his Aiki method. Kodokan Judo is based upon “principles”. Principles are concepts and are the essential characteristics of the system.
Man has formulated many laws related to our environment. The laws of Newton are such an example.
There are laws specific to the human body, rules specific to the relations between human bodies, as well as rules proper to the relations between the human beings within the framework of martial arts. All these laws are real and concrete realities, and together with the principles creates a system useful in the Eastern and Western countries.

Training in martial arts will take in account the laws and rules of

• Psychology, the science of behavior and mind, including conscious and unconscious phenomena, as well as thought.
• Physics, lit. knowledge of nature, the natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion and behavior through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force.

Yōso* : literally translated as “principle”, but in the context of our study we use “essential element” or “reality based upon laws and rules”.

Yōso in Budo-Aikido and Kyogi-Aikido

There are many fundamental elements in Aikido and most of them can be applied in Budo-Aikido and Kyogi-Aikido. There are 2 Yōso in both methods which are the most basic.

• The relationship between your mind and body
• The relationship between you and the body – mind of the opponent

From image to pattern

In order to understand laws and rules in human movements, many specific movements must be analysed to understand before we can create a pattern. There are many ways to put content into each of these movements. One of the content is for example the displacement of body weight during walking. In the brain there exist an image about walking.
How to use this image depends on our experiences during our life, and according these experiences we have created patterns.
Sometimes a pattern is corrupted or not suitable for use in martial arts situations. We have to (re)program a pattern.
Especially at beginners level, the conscious mind is used to remember the script of the movement.
Beginners level is not simply associated with “novices”, but also with experienced people who are learning new skills.
When starting with a new “pattern”, we start slowly and sometimes we exaggerate the movement by making it bigger. This gives us the opportunity to create a bodily sensation. At this point of your training you are going to use the unconscious mind.

The Standardisation or Guidelines?

Stylization and standardisation go hand in hand when an “Institution” creates a syllabus with techniques for grading or competition purposes. There is obviously a potential danger around the corner. The creativity of the practitioner will be killed when the Institution is taking too much the lead in the training process.
Of course, we need some guidelines depending on the characteristics of the martial art.
In this document is explained how to move the body. Don’t confuse guidelines with ”how to do techniques”.
The purpose of the guidelines is the creation of basic body movements patterns.

Pattern inclusive taikan (bodily sensation/experience) is your personal standard based upon guidelines practised during training. You will use taikan to sort out useful information and not becoming confused by an overload of information swirling around on the internet.
On the other hand, pattern is useful to understand diverse information from skilled bodywork teachers or martial arts instructors.

The parameters for basic movement pattern

How do we know our guidelines are correct?
To answer this question is necessary to understand the purpose of our basic movement. We have to set up the goals of our basic movement.
The efficiency of martial art techniques can be measured by the result we are obtaining after setting the goal of our manoeuvre. Stylization and standardisation can become a trap for you. Winning a “kata” by using stylization is a delusion. Your movement is maybe acrobatic but not efficient. Doing a grading using stylization and standardisation is a delusion and gives a signal you don’t understand what you are doing.
It is important from the beginning to start a body movement correctly. Ishiki or consciousness and awareness are necessary to develop efficient patterns.
Changing the pattern once ingrained requires more work (it’s estimated that 10 times the initial number of repetitions must be performed in the new way to over-write the existing pattern) than establishing the pattern in the first place. The implications of this are that spending time getting a pattern correct early on saves extra work later if you make changes to a problematic pattern.

Not all the knowledge can be written in books or taped on video clips.

Tacit knowledge (as opposed to formal, codified or explicit knowledge) is the kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalizing it. For example, that Tokyo is in Japan is a piece of explicit knowledge that can be written down, transmitted, and understood by everybody. However, the ability to speak Japanese need also interaction with a person. There is non-verbal communication and this will be learned during conversation lessons.
Martial arts belong to the category with non verbal knowledge. This knowledge will be transferred by the teacher during one to one training. Taikan or bodily sensation is one of the secrets.

Bodywork in Tomiki Aikido

Bodywork existed in the original Tomiki Aikido and included solo & partner exercises. The use of the body was extensively explored in these exercises. Of course studying these exercises is time-consuming and if the focus is solely (for university students) on competition much of the knowledge will not be taught.

The science of training

Primary movement patterns.

2895036Humans have several primary movement patterns that are learnt and refined throughout early life. Many of those primary movements are learnt by a baby without an example of another person. The baby has no role model.
When the baby starts to discover other people movements, a mirroring process starts in the brain of the baby and copies the movements of other people. Refer to the book written by Marco Iacoboni.

 

During your early years of life, your brain records and refines several primary movement patterns that it will need again and again. These patterns, once ingrained, allow your brain to quickly put them in to action and modify them slightly as the environment dictates.

Learning or modifying basic movement patterns

Primary movement pattern is learned without a role model, basic movement pattern is learnt by using a role model like parent, other children…..Or martial arts instructors.
Using walking as an example. Your brain is recalling the basic pattern known as ‘gait’ and could modify this to uphill or downhill or over uneven surfaces or in a crowd with shorter steps than usual.

The patterns are used in many variations but in the brain, the basic movement pattern is always the same. So a strike with the hand-blade, a fist or a knife is a replica of a basic movement pattern in the brain. What changes is the speed at which they occur, the loading in the movement (due to the weight of a weapon), and other minor refinements (where the target is and the timing of the start of the movement).
With a basic movement pattern the relative timing of the body segments stays the same. So, in striking with the hand-blade, if the action took one second the timing and sequencing of the joint movements would all be proportional to that one second. If in a strike with a weapon, the action took half a second the timing and sequencing of the joint movements would still be in the same proportion as in the hand-blade strike.

This allows us to ‘slow down’ and perfect a movement if someone is having a hard time with it, and as if by magic, when we speed the movement up again the improved movement should prevail. This is one reason that getting it right is more important than getting it done. The purity of the movement greatly increases the forces that can eventually be developed and can significantly reduce the injury risk simultaneously.

0.5 seconds for the mind to recognise what has occurred

libet bookBenjamin Libet states in his book, “Mind Time: The Temporal Factor in Consciousness (Perspectives in Cognitive Neuroscience),” that it takes 0.5 seconds for the mind to recognise what has occurred.
When someone attacks you, you usually try to defend with your hands, but this is just a conditioned response. However, if you enter into your opponent as your opponent is about to attack, your opponent will be turned back on himself and his attack will suddenly stop. This is because you are entering in before 0.5 seconds and entering the unconscious mind of your opponent. That is why you can control your opponent. Once your pre-0.5 seconds unconscious mind is controlled, you cannot break free from that condition. Usually, after 0.5 seconds, both you and your opponent are in the conscious world, and because such pre-conscious control will not work, it will become a simple exchange of power and technique.

Sen or pre-emptive action

5 rings011There is only “one” pre-emptive action, but we discern three types in pre-emptive action.

• One is a pre-emptive action from me to the opponent, and it is called the active pre-emptive action.
• Another is a pre-emptive action when the opponent is to strike me, and it is called the reactive pre-emptive action.
• The last is a pre-emptive action when both the opponent and I are to strike each other, and it is called the interactive pre-emptive action.

There are no other type in pre-emptive actions.
A pre-emptive action is the decisive factor in victory, it is the most crucial in martial arts.
There are many details in a pre-emptive action, but as it is up to the logic of the moment and you need to see the mind of the opponent and use the skill of martial arts to win.
In the “Fire” book (The book of 5 Rings) by Musashi Miyamoto, you will find a similar explanation.

Chikara wo Nuku 力を抜く

In a Japanese dojo, you hear sometimes the expression. Chikara wo Nuku. Chikara means power or force. Nuku means to pull out or withdraw. You may hear for example `katana wo nuku`, to pull out (unsheathe) your sword. It means start of the action.
The “chikara wo nuku” concept is not only important in martial arts but also in everyday life when there is friction between 2 people. Finding the timing to remove the tension is a skill very useful for quarrelling people. There is also an expression when a fighting couple makes up, moto no saya ni osomatta – the sword is sheathed back in its scabbard.

Chikara wo nuku is the ability to drop or release power in a proper manner and timing when you feel resistance in an exchange with the opponent. In toshu randori (unarmed randori), you can either create a tension or pressure and release it or you receive tension from your opponent and skilfully direct and release it. Properly executed, you can create moments of great surprise for your opponent. When the opponent is surprised, his power is often disrupted and creates moments of receptivity in him.

The function of muscles

The most serious mistake that people have about body movements is that they believe movements are primarily generated by conscious contractions because they have consciousness and muscle.
Basically there are 2 kind of using muscles in the training for Tomiki Aikido.

• bridging the distance
• manipulation of opponent

Bridging the distance

In bridging the distance, the function of muscles is not to generate the main power of body movements, but to trigger the start a movement (to lose balance) by using gravity, to control it (to create new balance), and to redirect into the opponent. Using gravity is an economic way of using energy and is certainly according Kano’s maxim :

“Seiryoku-Zenyo” (maximum efficient use of energy)

 

Manipulation of the opponent

Manipulation of the opponent is the result of the body communication by using the concept of “sen” or initiative.
Besides “sen”, we must also consider the distance between the 2 bodies. The attack of the opponent has to be controlled by using “mikiri” or the manipulation of the distance by an extremely thin margin. This action of control must be very precise. By using the tenshikei skill we can transmit our power into the opponent.
Pulling or tensing the muscles will destroy the capacity of listening to the communication of the 2 bodies

autopietic system

Jukozo – Flexible structure – Tensegrity

Tomiki wrote many articles and books about Budo, mostly Judo and Aikido. In his writings, but also in his lectures he stressed a lot “shizentai” or natural posture.
Shizentai is a posture neither limp or neither rigid. From shizentai we can move in any direction. If someone is pushing we can move away without changing the distance in our relationship with the opponent or partner.
Flexibility is a concept prevalent in all parts of Japanese society. Even in Japanese architecture, flexible structure is a basic concept due to the many earthquakes.
The old temples were built on a principle of flexi­bility, with thousands of interconnecting wooden parts that absorbed and dissipated the force of an earthquake as it traveled up and down the structure. Unfortunately this concept was overlooked by early 1900 Japanese architects until there was a major earthquake in 1923. From a modern architectural perspective flexible structure or “jukozo” was a revolutionary concept, and reinvented by Japanese archi­tects as the only defence against earthquakes.
In Western society, tensional integrity or floating compression is a similar concept (see Tensegrity on Wikipedia).
In martial arts, skill of “jukozo” or the interconnecting parts of the human body is one of the basic premises of study from the beginning in your training. Jukozo is direct related to “rendo” (interlinked movements) which will be discussed later.

Soft-Tissue-Therapy-Tensegrity-Structure1-e1426098026118  tensegritty01