Tag: Tomiki

理 合Ri Ai – Unification of guiding principles

Nothing in the world is absolute, that is the principle

Translating Ri 理 is not an easy task. Of course, if we search in the dictionary, we find: logic, reason, justice, truth … principle.
Martial arts are founded on many principles. Unfortunately, by using the word “principle” the perception of the principle becomes a rigid one. Perhaps we can use a clearer expression: Guiding Principles – Qualities or characteristics that function as a norm of behavior within the framework of human behavior.

Ju (柔) is flexibility and adaptability, but also strength…..a paradox?

Anonymus

Martial Art Guiding Principles

Martial arts can be viewed as a form of human behaviour and need guidelines to create an effective system free of aggressive impulses to harm your training partner.
Martial arts may be practiced as a form of learning self-defense or as a method for surviving an aggressive encounter with an attacker. Of course, the goal of your training in a martial art may vary, and the training method will vary accordingly.

Classical Bujutsu or Budō and martial arts with a competitive format (Judō, Kendō, Karate-dō, Tomiki Aikidō …..) need guiding principles to create order in chaos. Even MMA uses certain guidelines to ensure effective performance.

If you see “principle” further in the text, please remember to read it as “guiding principle”.

Flexibility and adaptability as a strength component

Flexibility and adaptability are necessary to apply the principles in your training. Jigoro Kan saw “Ju” or “flexibility and adaptability” as the main principle of Judō and also as the core value.
Because Ju no Ri is about flexibility and adaptability, it gives sometimes a paradoxical feeling to Western people. The paradox is in the interpretation of Ju no ri. Ju (柔) is translated as flexibility, but there is also a component of strength.
Easterners tend to be more open to paradoxical thinking, they believe that it’s normal to meet contradictions. However, westerners are the opposite, they are strict with logic and rule-based thinking.
The difference can be seen during training , Western people are more focused on understanding before doing while Eastern are focused on doing before understanding.

Rihō

If you examine the meaning of Riai, you will find the word “Rihō in addition to “Riai”. The word Rihō is mostly found in texts about kenjutsu (Kendo, Iaido, Jodo,….)
Why using the word Rihō in the context of Aikido? Aikido movements are said to have risen from the RI of kenjutsu Japanese swordsmanship.

For martial arts, Riho is said to mean ” rules (guiding principles) necessary to learn and practice the technique “.

Aikido according to Kenji Tomiki.

Aikido (or Aiki randori) according to Kenji Tomiki should be seen as a form of training for atemi waza and kansetsu waza. It may be taught as a second method of training in Kodokan Judo. Tomiki used the principle of Judō to explain the use of the techniques taught by Morihei Ueshiba, especially atemi waza and kansetsu waza.

Aiki means making your spirit “fit in “with your opponent’s. In other words it means bringing your movements into accord with your opponent’s. After all it means the same thing as the “principle of gentleness” for it is an explanation fo the princle from within.

Kenji Tomiki – Judo and Aikido

Principles (RI-理) of Judō

JU NO RI – The Principle of ‘gentleness,’ ‘flexibility’ or ‘adaptability.’

In “The Illustrated Kodokan Judō” (1955) published by Kodansha we can read about Kodokan Judō “Elevation of an art to a principle”.
Judō uses the maxim of the maximum-efficient-use of mind and body. The major property attributed to Judō is explained in a general way by the principle of JU.

Kenji Tomiki goes much deeper in the formulation of the Ju principle. For him, the main Judō principle can be divided into 3 sub-principles. Those sub-principles can also further divided into more specific principles.

  1. The principle of natural body (shizentai no ri), which concerns posture. This is a natural, unrestricted posture from which it is possible to attack and defend, adapting to any kind of assault.
    • Courtesy
    • Initiative or Lead (Sen)
    • Eyes
    • Posture
    • Movement
  2. The principle of gentleness (ju no ri), which concerns the position of defense. It says, do not oppose the offensive power of any kind of antagonist with force. Rather, render that force ineffective by moving your body out of the way (taisabaki).
    • Viewed from the relation of force
    • Viewed from the relation of movement
  3. The principle of breaking balance (kuzushi no ri), which concerns the position of attack. This says to go and build a chance of winning by taking advantage of the breaking of your opponent’s balance or by adhering to his body.
    • Stability of standing man
    • Breaking balance in 8 directions

Kata, Kokoro and Ri

Kata should be meant to aim at acquiring the ri or principles by practicing kata movement to the point the ri or principles becomes part of yourself. Therefore, the significance of learning kata lies not only in learning each “form” of technique but in learning and acquiring the ri or principles of each technique.

The principles cited by Kenji Tomiki (and others) may be seen from a physical and mechanical perspective. This is the first level of learning the “RI” or “Guiding Principles” from the kata. There is not yet understanding, only a copy of the movements.

The next level is the assimilation of the technical content in the mind, and here it becomes somewhat confusing. If your entire body is not involved (physical, mental and spiritual), the outcome will always be on a purely physical and mechanical level. When you read texts about Japanese martial arts, you will encounter the word “kokoro 心” and it is mostly translated as “heart”. Alternative words like “mind” or “spirit” are used. Therefore, you need to understand kokoro as an expression of a mind and body system.
There is a connection between breathing, the physical heart and the mind. When breathing is disturbed, it impacts the physical heart and the mind.

Rihō, practising the method to acquire the Ri

Kenji Tomiki formulated a training course for Aiki-randori based upon the Judō principles mentioned earlier. The physical and mechanical process of the training is the first stage to perform.
The training course for aiki-randori is divided into 5 level:

  1. Fundamental movements (kihon dosa)
  2. Fundamental techniques (kihon waza)
  3. The system of breaking away (ridatsu ho)
  4. The system of control (seigyo ho)
  5. The system of randori (randori ho) divided in 3 steps
    • Kakari geiko
    • Hikitate geiko
    • Randori geiko

Steps 1 through 4 comprise the so-called kata training. Step 5 alone is randori training. Further, kata training can be distinguished into application practise (kakari geiko) and energetic practise (hikitate geiko).

Datsuryoku muscle relaxation) 脱力

Datsuryoku or the power originated by muscle relaxation. Without relaxation, movement becomes rigid and slow.

Datsuryoku state can make your movements more powerful because it makes it possible to convey the weight to the opponent more efficiently than delivering techniques with tightened muscles that could work like putting the brakes on your movements.

One of the big obstacles to obtain datsuryoku relaxation is called Itsuki.
Itsuki 居着き is a Budo/Bujutsu concept that has been used for centuries. Itsuki literally means “stabilized” status, and is considered a bad thing.
There are two major types of itsuki.

1) mental
When your mind comes to a pause after an unexpected thing happen to you and you cannot process it even for a split second, or when your mind is fixated on one idea/strategy and cannot accept other possibilities, your mind is at itsuki state.
Instructors make sometime this mistake when they try to demonstrate a certain technique and opponent is not cooperative. The result is often a more tensed muscular movement. The technique is frozen in the mind.

2) physical
When you cannot move your body or respond to the attack immediately, when you have to anchor your foot to get a drive into your push, or when you lose your balance and cannot promptly recover it, your body is at itsuki state.

Ri of centering

There are 2 major lines to be practiced for centering and you cannot separate them. When practicing, keep physical, mechanical and mental concentration on the action of keeping a proper posture and extending power from the center of the body.

Median line
This line is important in maintaining proper posture. Sometimes it’s called the midline.

Center line
Standing line on the midline

The two lines result in the Seichusen line. When one line is not perfect, there is no Seichusen (the rationale for centering).

The rationale of centering is also found in the art of Kyudo.

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Seichusen (正中線) no Riai practice

Seichusen or practising the center line
Aikido has a lot in common with Kenjutsu. Seichusen or the practice of the center line is an interesting example of Riai practice. While seichusen is not explicite mentioned in the Judō principles, it is hidden in the principle of posture or shizentai no ri.

There are two types of Riai training for Seichusen training. You will find these also in Tomiki’s training method for Aiki-randori.

1)Practice for positioning
In the offense and defense of the seichusen, you place your opponent on your seichusen line and not to put your body on the opponent’s seichusen line. In order to do so, it is necessary to practice footwork, hip preparation, and agility.

1)Use a technique along your seichusen line
In order to be able to something on your seichusen line, it is necessary to feel your midline (median) and seichusen line. Solo-exercises like tegatana dosa are the first step to feel your seichusen line.

Controlling the centerline

Simply pointing tegatana at the center of the target is not the same as taking the center line. 
Controlling the opponent’s center line is not a simple physical thing but rather a form of pressure which results from a physical, mechanical and mental action.

Using the center line depends upon the following requirements

  • Shizentai no ri – about a good posture
  • Ju no ri – efficient use of power and distance that the technique can reach
  • Hyoshi – Ma – distance, timing, interval to the target

Applying Riho – the training method

When you practice basic or kata movements, to create Riai you have to keep the requirements discussed earlier in your mind and incorporate them into the physical and mechanical performance.

Of course, when one learns something new, one cannot think of all these demands in practice. The first level consists of an easy physical and mechanical action. Do not think too much about how it is done, let the body do the simple action. After a certain training, we can add a couple of requirements in the action.

Physical and mechanical action without using muscle power, only posture and movement.

  • Let opponent grasp your wrist, no thinking
  • Turn body, and set handblade
  • Step forward, outside opponent
  • Bring hand at side of head opponent
  • Bring bodyweight forward

Basic Kata – approaching the opponent and awase

In this simple example, many elements must be integrated to create Riai.

  • Courtesy (shizentai no ri)
  • Proper posture (shizentai no ri)
  • Footwork movement (shizentai no ri)
  • Eyes – Metsuke (shizentai no ri)
  • Correct distance when meeting -Ma-ai (shizentai no ri)
  • Meeting of handblades (ju no ri)
  • Keeping center Seichusen (ju no ri)
  • Initiative or Lead – Sen (shizentai no ri
  • …..

Beginning basic kata, like other kata, seems simple at first glance. The physical and mechanical performance is easy to remember.
If one studies the content and tries to incorporate Riai (unification of guiding principles), many difficulties will arise.
During awase or meeting with the hands, if there is a mistake in the distance, the opponent can take over the initiative (sen). If there is too much force involved, there is a chance to loose balance and the opponent will take over the lead.
The breathing must be kept low (abdominal breathing), exhale not completely because the opponent will have a chance to attack you.

And what about Kuzushi no Ri

Kuzushi is loosely translated as breaking the balance. On the surface, from a physical and mechanical perspective, this is not a misunderstanding.
But as you already know, translating Japanese may give rise to misinterpretation.
If you want to integrate Kuzushi no RI in your training, you can perhaps use the idea of disrupting your opponent’s balance, physically and/or mentally.

Tomiki’s use of kuzushi is borrowed from Kodokan Judō. Disrupt physical balance in 8 directions and can be considered as an indication of unbalancing in any relevant direction.
When the center of gravity falls outside the foot area, the body will react to regain balance. It creates a chance to attack.

Practising at 70 with the help of Riai

The age of 70 is considered to be an old age even in Japan.
Applying techniques with physical strength and momentum, and continuing to do them with muscle strength when you are young, will gradually become unusable as you age.

Aikidō does not rely mainly on the extreme muscle strength required for some combat sports. It can be practiced while you have the stamina and fitness to maintain your posture and to move around. This is one of the major guiding principles: shizentai no ri.
Starting at 70 with Aikidō when your life was mostly sedentary need a training method adapted to physical and mental situation of the would-be practitioner.

Applying ju no ri requires of course a certain physical strength, but if applied properly older people can still practice the art of Aikidō.
Having the competence of Riai, the practice will create the realization of the enjoyment of Aikidō.
Practicing randori is even possible if the method is constructed with no risk of serious injury.

Kata – The true essence of Budo

“Kata contains the fundamental principles and the core value of Budo and it is kata that actually defines them as arts”

Kata – The true essence of Budo martial arts? Simon DODD*, & David BROWN

Kata in Tomiki Aikido

Kata in Tomiki Aikido is associated to “Basic 15 or 17”, techniques for randori and “Koryu no kata”, traditional techniques of Aikido. Of course, this is a simplistic explanation of the significance or goal of this training tool called “kata”.
Randori and kata are the 2 sides of a coin called Tomiki Aikido. It was borrowed from his Kodokan Judo teacher, Jigoro Kano. The two must be practiced as one method with full intention and cannot be separated into two different methods. Kata and randori are the same, and consist of the same values and concepts.
Practitioners begin with the study of “Basic Kata” and after understanding the message behind the kata, randori may be incorporated into the training.
Kata is a significant factor in understanding Randori’s objective. Without understanding “randori” will in most cases be an indication of muscle power versus muscle power. Proper kata training leads to proper randori training.

Definition of Kata
Perhaps a good definition of kata comes from Matsunobu** who offered the following:
Japanese arts have been preserved and transmitted through kata, literally “form” or “mold”, through which students learn structures of art, patterns of artistic and social behaviours, and moral and ethical values, all in accordance with a prescribed formulae. Kata is a set of bodily movements that have been developed and preserved by precedent artists. The most efficient and authentic way to master the artistry, it is believed, is to follow the model defined as kata.

**Matsunobu, K. (2011). Creativity of formulaic learning: Pedagogy of imitation and repetition. In J.Sefton‐Green, P. Thomson, K. Jones, & L. Bresler (Eds.), International Handbook of CreativeLearning (pp. 45‐53). Abingdon: Routledge.

Kata has 2 important components:

  • Spiritual component (not to be mistaken for a religious component)
  • Pedagogical and practical component (the movements contain a learning process)

If you don’t understand the impact of those 2 components, maybe something is escaping of your idea about “formal” performance.
Japanese culture has an alternative word for form, ‘katachi’, referring to a form devoid of meaning or purpose.

Akira Hino, a contemporary Budo researcher made the following comment:
“Using the body” means “using bodily sensations” without thinking about the movements and without making them.

If you can perform and understand Tomiki Aikido Kata with the quote of Akira Hino in your mind (spiritual component) and with the fundamental actions (practical component) as a basic skill, I believe you are on the way to perform “Kata”.

Kata, katachi or…..?

The difference between kata and what we are familiar with as “form” (called katachi in Japanese) is that the former is a content- attendant, embodied, habitual, contextualized, and value-laden form, whereas the latter is an abstract and empty form. Kata historicizes, socializes, and spiritualizes the individual, but katachi formulates, abstracts, and standardizes one’s imagination and thought.

Creativity of formulaic learning: pedagogy of imitation and repetition,Matsunobu, K. (2011)

The next demo is performed by a young woman I’m not familiar with. Is she performing “kata” or “katachi”? Is she getting the message from junanahon no kata? Or is it just doing a series of movements learned from copying the instructor’s movements.

17-hon no kata or katachi

Most Western martial artists have no understanding of social or cultural influences in their art. Attempting to do “kata” with a Western spirit will lead to a ridiculous display. However, as a Japanese martial artist, we must follow the directives of the founders and teachers of our art.
To paraphrase Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate: Three stages of mastery are 1) learn the sequence, 2) correct stance and technique, 3) understand.
Learning the sequence contains as well techniques, many behavioral actions before, between and after a technique is performed. The second stage of kata mastery is based on how the body must adapt to the kata and not change the kata to adapt to the body. It is only during the third stage, the practitioner and the kata are one and the performance of the kata becomes a masterpiece.

The goal of kata training is “to fuse the individual to the form so that the individual becomes the form and the form becomes the individual”


The 17-hon no kata of Tomiki Aikido is probably the first sequence of techniques they are learning as a Tomiki Aikido practitioner.
Of course, before 17-hon no kata(chi) is taught, beginners are learning the art of ukemi and basic movements as a solo exercise. It is even possible they work on some partner exercises to learn basic movements needed to study basic kata.

There are 17 basic techniques in this kata for using during a freeform of practising (randori). Randori and kata are interconnected by common concepts formulated by Kenji Tomiki.
The spirit behind kata and randori must be the same, the ourward performance can be different, but the underlying principles must come forward in both.

Learn the sequence

During the study of Basic Kata besides the sequence of the 17 techniques, other actions must be considered.

Posture – Kamae

Mi-gamae: the physical side of posture
Kokoro-gamae: the mental side of posture

Mi-Gamae is defined as the state of proper posture and attitude, which can cope with the opponent’s offense.
Kokoro-Gamae is a mental part of Kamae, it is necessary to always keep the mind of “Sen” to cope with the opponent’s action

Footwork – Unsoku-ho

Proper footwork is used to keep efficient posture during movements.
Different kinds of footwork will be studied separately.

Handblade – Tegatana dosa

Tegatana or handblade movements has a direct relationship with the manipulation of a sword. Using a sword is based upon the used of whole body movements. Tegatana is the expression of the whole body action during the performance of the Basic kata. When the whole body movement is not visible through the eyes of a skillfull practitioner, the Basic kata will lead to a ridiculous display without inherent physical and mental strength.

Meeting – Tegatana awase

When Tori and Uke come to the distance of physical meeting, both need to keep a strong Kamae (Mi-gamae and Kokoro-gamae). There is no muscular contraction involved, there is a kind of tension produced by the mind and this is reflecting in a strong physical posture.

Physical and mental strength – Kigurai

Kigurai is strength or a commanding presence, which is naturally possessed and derived from confidence acquired through repeated training. Kigurai is deeply associated with the previous items needed to perform Basic kata.

The 17 techniques

The 17 techniques need the previous actions to become efficient waza for use during randori. How to perform the technical content of the waza is clearly explained by the contemporary Tomiki Aikido teachers following the principles explained by Kenji Tomiki. For non-Japanese speaking people, I suggest to read Tomiki’s book “Judo and Aikido” and try to understand the underlying principles. The book doesn’t contain the 17hon no kata, but describes very well the principles behind.

Improve the physical and mental actions

After learning the sequence, the practitioners must improve the elements of the Basic kata without changing the physical and mental content. You have to adapt your mind and body to the kata and not the other way around.
This is a very hard time for most of the practitioners, especially for those who are competing and their only goal is “winning medals”.

Entering competition and forgetting the skills from the Basic kata and using different methods to win medals is in fact cheating. The winning of the medal is not representing proper Tomiki Aikido.

Understanding

Understanding has many levels, moving from one level to another is an ongoing process and it starts when you are a beginner to an advanced practitioner and beyond. The more you understand, the closer the gap gets between you and the kata, until there is no more gap.

And what about randori? When one comprehends the underlying principles and actions of basic kata, perhaps the difference between kata and randori disappears.

Hara Tanden – An Imaginary Spot

When the muscles of the lower abdomen are tensed, the seat of body’s power, the tanden, appears. The tanden is the tension of the muscles and appears only in the living body. It was not discovered through western medicine or academics because it cannot be found in a dissected body.


“The Essence of Budo” by Prof. Sato Tsuji, (Professor of Literature, Kogakkan University) and Kawakubo Takiji, Iaido Hanshi

Content of this article

Introduction

Is the Hara Tanden the core of your being or is your brain the core?
We can address this from a western perspective, but also from an eastern perspective.
Talking about Hara Tanden may be very confusing for many of us. If you try to understand Hara Tanden with your brain, you will undoubtedly have a short circuit in your head.
Attempting to approach Hara Tanden from an Eastern point of view with our Western education will give many difficulties and errors in the translation of the concepts involved.

Hara Tanden, your engine

For those who have a problem with Hara Tanden’s concept, we can do a comparison with a rowing boat with outboard engine.

Are you going to use the engine or the paddles?

Most of us only move our bodies as efficiently as we can. Unfortunately, we just paddle even though we have an engine in our body.
Hara Tanden is about where our centre of gravity is. Your lower body muscles can be used to move more efficiently. Hara Tanden will serve as a base for upper body support. Without a strong support base our motions will become unstable and the power of our upper body will simply depend on the local muscle power.
To use our motor effectively we need fuel, Hara Tanden uses “Ki” produced by effective breathing.
Understandably, the words Hara Tanden or Ki mean nothing to you. It is very difficult to explain them.

2 different explanations

Of course, there are many more explanations, but these are examples from the West and the East.

From Wikiwand:
The Hara or lower Dantian, as conceptualised by the Chinese and Japanese martial arts, is important for their practice, because it is seen, as the term “Sea of Ki” indicates, as the reservoir of vital or source energy. It is, in other words, the vital centre of the body as well as the centre of gravity. For many martial arts, the extension of energy or force from this centre is a common concept. Many martial art styles, amongst them Aikido, emphasise the importance of “moving from the hara”, i.e. moving from the centre of one’s very being – body and mind. There are a large number of breathing exercises in traditional Japanese and Chinese martial arts where attention is always kept on the tanden or hara to strengthen the “Sea of Qi”.

The “Wiki” text is certainly written from a Western point of view, trying to define something we don’t understand.

From a Chinese text on Dantian (Tanden):
Anatomically speaking, what is in the tanden is the lower abdomen, and it is nothing more than a multi-layered structure of the intestines. However, from a mechanical point of view, the lower abdomen is a place where the force called gravity and the repulsive force generated from the ground are in opposition .

The physiology of the joints, a masterpiece of manipulative science, explains that this up and down force that collides in the pelvis draws a circle along the structure of the pelvis. The imaginary Tanden stands in opposition to be supported by this circle. In other words, it can be said that the sense of fulfillment you feel when you put effort into the tanden is, first of all, a sense of vertical balance that arises from the feeling of stepping on the ground, or more simply, a sense of mechanical stability.
Concentration of energy in Tanden means performing abdominal breathing. Specifically, the pumping action of the diaphragm causes gentle cardiopulmonary exercise in the upper part, and repeated contraction and relaxation of the internal organs, mainly the intestines, in the lower part.
Also, “bringing the mind down” is actually a way to release the tension in the brain.

The Chinese text (translated) is less philosophically orientated than the wiki text.
The Chinese and Japanese understand the idea of “Qi/Ki” very well because it is part of their culture. Most martial arts texts are mainly practical and explain how to carry out the movement of the body.

There is no magic involved

The word “Ki” or “Qi” is often used to describe the magical power of the martial arts of the Orient and is often translated as energy. This translation is in fact not covering the concept of “Ki” or “Qi” as understood by Japanese or Chinese practitioners. A paper written by a Western follower of Chinese Martial Arts and TCM will give you some practical insight of the “Ki” or “Qi” concept.

qi-e6b094Download

Observations on the importance of the yao/koshi to the actor in Japanese Noh ̄ and Chinese Jingju (‘Beijing opera’) From an article by Ashley Thorpe

Ki or chi/qi

Energy may be considered as a culturally specific phenomenon, but there is correspondence between no ̄ and jingju. In Chinese, qi can mean breath, air or spirit, but it is also a technical term used in traditional Chinese medicine to refer to a vital life energy. The conception of qi as referring to the energy of the actor is in evidence in jingju, as Jo Riley explains:
Qi means more than mere breath control. A performer who has qi is considered to be ‘in-spired’, moved by a special kind of energy or filled with presence. During training, the master will often point to the student’s abdomen and demand that the student draw up his qi. This is the heart or residence of qi, the undefined and indefinable centre of the human body from which presence( force) flows.
Shelley Fenno Quinn has suggested that qi [in Japanese, ki, 気] was used by Zeami Motokiyo (c.1363-c.1443) to describe the technique of the no ̄ actor in producing his voice.

Basic training

The focus on basic training automatically raises significant differences between the two forms. In no ̄, an actor develops through the learning of kata [型], movement patterns that form the basis of plays. Techniques that might be regarded as basic, such as kamae [構え] and suriashi [摺り足], underpin all kata, are used on stage in performance, and thus cannot easily be demarcated as a distinct set of basic training exercises (even though these techniques might still be described as the ‘basics [’基本]). Incontrast, jingju has training explicitly conceptualised as jiben gong [基本功], ‘basic techniques’that are only practised off-stage, but nevertheless are central to underpinning the quality of movement on-stage. Jiben gong includes exercises designed to cultivate specific skills, fitness and endurance in the actor, including in the yao [腰] ‘lower abdomen and thighs’, tui [腿] ‘legs’, taibu [台 化] ‘stage walking’, yuanchang [垈 魁] lit.‘circular course’, a training exercise in which the actor practices fast stage walking by repeatedly circling around the room, shanbang [山膀] ‘mountain arms’, yunshou [云 手] ‘cloud hands’, tanzigong [毯子功] lit.‘carpet training ’but meaning the conditioning of the body for acrobatics, and bazigong [把子功] ‘weapons training’. Thus, jingju performers do not begin by studying particular plays or characters, but by focussing on how these foundational skills and movements should be mastered. Once central aesthetic ideas are understood and the body has become accustomed to the demands placed upon it, jiben gong is extended according to the conventional requirements of one of four role types in which the actor may specialise: male [生], female [旦], painted face [昌], and clown [丑]. A professional actor must have technique “inside the heart” (xinli you, 心里有), a state fully achieved only by solid training in jiben gong as a child, and further consolidated throughout adulthood. Thus, the conceptualisation of the ‘basics’ and its relationship to the actual material performed on stage is different in each form.

Building presence (kigurai) – harnessing tension: the significance of yao/koshi 

In no ̄ and jingju, I have experienced energy emanating from the lower section of the trunk of the torso (yo or koshi in Japanese, yao in Chinese). The term yao/koshi is difficult to neatly translate into English. Koshi can variously refer to the pelvis(to include the hips, pelvic carriage, lower spine, sacrum and coccyx), the lower abdomen, the upper thighs, the centre of gravity in the lower abdomen, and all the muscle and other bodily material situated around these areas.
In my own experiences of training, although I can locate the central locus of energy reasonably precisely to a specific area of the body, I would never describe it as only element of the lower trunk working to produce, support and distribute energy. I find the yao/koshi to exist as a kind of ‘interconnectedness’ between the skeletal and muscular structures in the lower section of the torso. For instance, in no ̄, I find that the locus of energy emanates from the base of the spine. Yet, tension is also achieved by pushing the base of the spine inwards and extending the hips backwards, creating a solid central focus of compressed energy around the lower back more generally, which is then forced further downwards. Indeed, teachers have often stressed to me the importance of having good koshi, which supports the basic kamae stance. In jingju, energy is considered to emanate from an area described as the dantian [丹田], an ‘energy centre’ situated towards the front of the waist just below the navel which is also cited in relation to Chinese martial arts, Qigong, and Taiji. Basic exercises aim to strengthen the yao as a means to cultivate stamina and suppleness in the dantian, which, in turn, supports all movement, from walking, to gesturing, to acrobatics.

Some Japanese expressions

To write concepts, the Japanese use one or two kanji (or more) to express a complete concept. An explanation in a Western language requires more words and still cannot transmit the message fully. Find a few examples here.

  1. 呼吸法 Kokyū-hō: breathing method – in the context from Martial Arts: Abdominal Breathing.
  2. 緊張 Kinchō: tension 弛緩 Shikan: relaxation – “Tense” and “tension” (緊張) is often used to describe the prolonged or continuous contraction of muscles, tendons and other parts of the body.  Its opposite is “relax” or “relaxed” (弛緩). Breathing is an alternation of tension and relaxing.
  3. 含胸抜背 gankyô bappai: relax the thorax, elongate the back. “Lower the chest means the chest is drawn in to enable chi to sink down to the dan tian (or the abdominal energy field about 3 inches below the navel)”.
  4. 気位 Kigurai: pride, haughtiness. Kigurai can be seen as fearlessness or a high level of internal energy. What it is not, is posturing, self congratulating.

Kyokotsu and 含胸抜背 Gankyô Bappai

Kyokotsu (sternum) and Hara Tanden are connected through the spine and the attached muscles. Especially the latissimus dorsi plays an important role.
The use of the sternum is called 含胸抜背 gankyô bappai: relax the thorax, elongate the back. This skill opens the shoulders for power transfer coming from the legs.

含胸抜背 gankyô bappai

Become conscious of the point in the middle of the chest (the midpoint where both nipples are connected) and pull it down while pulling it back. Open the shoulder blades with the latissimus dorsi instead of opening them with the trapezius muscles of the shoulders

Kyokotsu is the lower point of the sternum in the Hino Budo exercises. Most of the exercises in previous posts on kyokotsu have to be seen as methods to make the torso more flexibel. Of cours, kyokotsu is translated as sternum and all the points on the sternum can be considered as the focal point for exercises and movements.
Using 含胸抜背 gankyô bappai is in fact the more practical application of the sternum manipulation.
After creating gankyô bappai, we can make a link between the sternum and the arm, especially the elbow. Most of the Aikido methods have exercises to develop “Hiriki” or elbow power. Unfortunately, when there is no connection between the sternum and the arm, elbow power will solely depend on arm muscles.

Pressuring Hara Tanden

Before we can transfer power from legs to arms, we need to be conscious of Hara Tanden in the lower torso.
When we look inside the abdomen, we may not be able to see the Hara Tanden. The creation of the imaginary spot is the result of a breathing technique by controlling the diaphragm and the pelvis.

The main action of the pushing down is a backward action against the spine.

Sometimes you will find a text: “Lower the chest means the chest is drawn in (or pushed down) to enable chi to sink down to the dan tian (or the abdominal energy field about 3 inches below the navel)”.
When you push down the breath, the Ki/Qi sinks into the Hara Tanden.

After several sessions of breathing exercises, you can feel the Hara Tanden in the lower part of the torso.
We can connect the upper part of the body with the hara tanden by using gankyô bappai. “Become conscious of the point in the middle of the chest (the midpoint where both nipples are connected) and pull it down while pulling it back. Open the shoulder blades with the latissimus dorsi instead of opening them with the trapezius muscles of the shoulders“.

気海息 or “Kikai breathing”

This is about abdominal breathing (Hara Tanden breathing). As you will notice, the first word “Ki” is a breathing related word.

There are many types of breathing, but in martial arts abdominal breathing or kikai breathing is preferred. Not all abdominal breathing is efficient for martial art power. Hara tanden breathing creates pressure in the lower abdomen.
When the muscles of the lower abdomen are tensed, the seat of body’s power, the tanden, appears. The tanden is the tension of the muscles and appears only in the living body. It was not discovered through western medicine or academics because it cannot be found in a dissected body.

Moving system

The arms and the legs are fundamentally our tools to perform actions like grasping an object or walking around. The torso is the place where our main components of our body are located.

Anatomically, the arm begins at the sternoclavicular joint, the connection of the collarbone and the sternum. Manipulation of the sternum or gankyô bappai affects the spine and the arms.

The legs are connected through the hipstructure to the lower end of the spine. The opening of the crotch is necessary to transfer the power from the legs in the spine. By controlling the Hara Tanden, we stabilize the pelvic girdle and give access to the power coming from the legs.

Mata no chikara – Power management from the groin

Hara Tanden is mainly used to transfer power from the legs to the upper body.
股 Mata is mostly translated as crotch, inner thigh, groin or femur.

Using “round crotch” is not only in martial arts often used, it is also important in artistic body movements.

圓襠 En machi – Round crotch
股の力 Mata no chikara – powering up Mata

Making crotch round is a skill to open the groin for transfer of power. The iliopsoas is the muscle that controls the hip joint.
Using Hara Tanden to develop legpower uses iliopsoas muscle. If this muscle is not not active, the upper and lower limbs will not work together. You can’t even push the floor.

Making crotch can be created naturally by doing the following. Open both hip joints while pulling them left and right, both knees are subtly tightened inward. See picture above (圓襠 En machi – Round crotch)
The breathing exercises “Hachi Danken” are very helpfull in making the crotch round.

Fundamentally making crotch round is the same as gankyô bappai, the opening of the shoulders.

Tsugi ashi – Using The Iliopsoas

Tsugi ashi 次 足, mostly translated as “succeeding or following legs/feet” or “shuffling”. There are many explanations for this kind of footwork.
Fundamentally, tsugi ashi is build upon the use of the ilipsoas. Without an active iliopsoas, we cannot pressing down the feet to generate power.

The distance between the feet when using tsugi ashi
Between the feet, in most instances, there is a width of approximately shoulder width. When the distance becomes greater, it becomes more difficult to carry out tsugi ashi.

How to activate the iliopsoas and perform tsugi ashi (shomen uchi)
The example is given when using a sword, but it is also possible when using tegatana or handblade.

  1. Open the front of the hips to activate iliopsoas, front foot is ready to move forward
  2. Push with back leg into the ground, knee of front leg softens
  3. Put front foot heel forward softly on floor
  4. Put ball front foot down, heel back foot goes up, knee of back leg softens
  5. Move back foot forward, don’t cross feet

If iliopsoas is not enabled, it becomes hard to push with the rear leg. The rear foot is going to have a dragging effect.

The iliopsoas and shomen tsuki
The same skills as with shomen uchi strike will be used during shome tsuki.
In Tomiki Aikido, tanto-randori is a method to explore your skills against an attacker who is using a frontal attack (shomen tsuki) to the chest with a soft tanto.
A frontal attack (shomen tsuki) can also be used as a frontal strike to the face with the palm of the hand.

Ayumi ashi

Ayumi ashi is normally associated with ordinary walking. This is correct. Unfortunately, most people are not walking efficiently and are frequently exposed to loss of balance. We see this often with elderly people.
Keeping balnce is important in ordinary life and certainly during martial art training.

How to keep your balance during walking?

  • The heel of the right foot in front lands on the ground. When the heel of the front foot lands, the back foot is firmly pushing the ground without lifting off the ground.
  • Then, when the front right ball of foot touches the ground, the rear left heel rises.
  • When you fully step into the sole of your right foot, the left knee come forward.
  • The left foot is brought forward

One of the more important skills in ayumi ashi and tsugi ashi is the flexibility of the knee. The knee must be very relax and this gives the ability to stretch and bend.

Aikido, Kenjutsu without a sword

A Japanese sword is often used to explain the skills of Aikido. Most Aikido practitioners cannot manage the sword properly and are lacking in depth.
However, if practitioners can find access to a qualified instructor, the swordsmanship skills will improve and the impact on some skills of Aikido can be huge.

You need some basic skills to understand the relationship between Kenjutsu and Aikido. Without these skills, training with a sword or a stick serves no purpose.

How to hold the handle of a sword

Holding the sword can be done with 1 hand or 2 hands.

If you don’t have a proper grip, the power generated by the body cannot be transmitted in the sword.
In a another post of this blog, the art of grabbing the wrist, some explanations were given about holding the handle of a sword.

The use of the middle finger and thumb is a fundamental skill for holding the handle, but also for grasping the wrist or dogi.


  1. When grasping start with tegatana
  2. Use middle finger
  3. Close the grip with the thumb

In a book for Taichiquan practitioners, there is reference to the use of the middle finger. The treatise known as the Yang Family Forty Chapters (translated into English by Douglas Wile in his acclaimed book, Lost T’ai-Chi Classics from the Late Ch’ing Dynasty) is titled “An Explanation of Fingers, Palm, Fist, and Whole Hand in T’ai Chi.”
Each individual finger is assigned a name as well. For example….., the middle finger is referred to as the “heart finger” or “hooking finger.”

The use of kyokotsu

The power comes from the legs and is started with the koshi. To transport the power to the arms, kyokotsu is the distributor for the upper body how the power is used. Therefore, you need to move the kyokotsu in sync with the movement or technique.

  • Kyokotsu as distributor

Here, the front leg is used to push. The groin of the front leg should be open to allow pushing from the koshi into the front leg. The strength of the front leg goes up to the koshi and upper body. Kyokotsu serves to transfer power in the arms.
You can find many more examples on the Internet about using the internal power of the legs, most of the time using the back leg.
It should be clear, getting out of the box can be very refreshing in how you think and move.

As we saw in the previous example, the synchronization of the leg power, initiated by the koshi and transmitted to the arms, requires a lot of training. Do not expect to become skillful after a couple of workouts. It takes several months or more of regular training.

Exercises for arm-sternum linkage

The manipulation of the kyokotsu (sternum) increases the flexibility of the upper body and spine, and becomes the key to the coordination of the entire body.
When it comes to martial arts, it is a key factor in the use of weapons such as swords and sticks.
Arm movements are driven by the strength of the legs and the connection to the upper body. If the upper body and spine are flexible enough, the opening and closing of the scapulas (shoulder blades) will connect the upper body and spine to the arms.

Fundamentally, we will use 2 kinds of sternum movements

  • Up and down
  • Forward and backward

Both movements control the push and pull motions. The use of kyokotsu is dependent on the flexibility of the torso and we can improve the kyokotsu movements during exercise.
Moving upward/downward and forwards/backwards can be carried out as an exercise. Do not use your shoulders actively in exercises.
One more difficult exercise is the movement of the body diagonally. During this exercise, kyokotsu is at the core of the movement.

Diagonal Movement and Kyokotsu

Open and close

  • When the kyokotsu is directed towards the spine, the scapulas open the back. The power will have a pushing effect.
  • As the kyokotsu moves away from the spine, the scapulae close the back. The power will have a pulling effect.
  • Pushing and pulling does not result from muscle contraction of your arms. The strength comes from the legs and goes up. Koshi and kyokotsu work as distributors.

Cutting with a sword can be one example of using kyokotsu. This makes clear the functioning of the kyokotsu movement.
Moving the kyokotsu is not power, it opens the door to the use of power with the arms.

Cutting with a sword

Vertical cut

When kyokotsu is pulled in, power is a pushing action into the arms. A forward cut utilizes the downward motion of the kyokotsu.
Lifting the sword above the head uses the upward movement of the kyokotsu.
The point is to stretch the upper body and connect the lower body.

During lifting and cutting with the sword, the rotational action of koshi cannot be ignored. Koshi mawari is integral to the movement of the body.

Horizontal cut

When kyokotsu is pushed out, power has a pulling action. A horizontal cut is based upon a pulling action. Naturally, when koshi turns, there is a forward movement as well.

Diagonal cut

The diagonal line used to cut can be improved through the use of kyokotsu. Watch this diagonal exercise when using kyokotsu.
Before the sword cuts downward, the arm and hand holding the sword rotate by using the arm length axis.

Pushing and pulling

The concept of pushing is easily understood by most of the practitioners. And after some sessions, most practitioners understand the absence of arm and shoulder muscles contraction during the push.

Thinking outside the box may be refreshing for the mind and body.
Pulling has to be seen as a “reverse” of pushing. Don’t pull towards your own centre. Pull away from you centre. Using koshi mawari is certainly a part of this action.
Pulling seen as a “reverse” pushing doesn’t use arm muscle contraction.
Some instructors use the following definitions:
Judo Push when pulled – Pull when pushed
Aikido Enter when pulled – Turn when pushed
Of course, these definitions are “defensive” in their nature. When we are in attacking mode and the opponent is in a defensive mode, we still can use “pushing and pulling”. It is important in these actions to hide your intentions.

The question arises, which kyokotsu actions when pushing and pulling. The examples of cutting with a sword give some answers.

Some examples

  • When the arm is lifting up (jodan), kyokotsu is up and moves slightly forward.
  • When the arm is going down in a rather vertical direction (shomen uchi), kyokotsu went down and moved inward.
  • When the arm turns outside (soto gaeshi), kyokotsu moves slightly forward
  • When the arm turns inward (uchi gaeshi), kyokotsu moves inward

More examples can be given, but we have to understand the logic behind the use of the kyokotsu. Manipulation of the sternum opens the door to efficient power management.

Don’t focus too much on kyokotsu, we need to understand that body and mind are “one” system and should act as “one” system.

The objective of practice is not to use movement simply to reach a destination, but awareness of the full experience of a journey. Many things may be missed while being fixed on reaching the goal or price. The quality of the movement measured at the end of a movement is a product of everything that has come before.


Coiling power and Aikido

Tenshikei 纏絲勁 is a Japanese term for a Chinese martial arts term Chán sī jìn. “Tenshi” commonly refers to Silk-reeling in traditional styles such as Taijiquan (太極拳).

Coiling power is the result of specialized training method to improve “Elastic Potential Energy”.
Tenshikei is the basic idea of a training method to store energy in the body.

We consider 2 basic forms of energy:

  • Energy generated by muscle action and converts in muscle power useful for creating momentum and leverage
  • Energy stored into the ligaments, tendons and fascia usefull for converting into kinetic potential energy

Elastic energy

Elastic potential energy is stored in ligaments, tendons and fascia and is the result of 2 possible actions of the body

  • the action of compressing and releasing of a springlike movement
  • the action of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow movement

How to use elastic potential energy

We will use drawing a bow and shooting an arrow as an example to explain the converting from eleastic potential energy to the power at the target.
The power must first be stored up by by pulling the bowstring. The energy stored in the archer’s bow represents elastic potential energy. When the bowstring is released, this stored elastic potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, which is then transferred into the arrow, propelling it into flight.

The human body and the archer’sbow

The human body can function like a bow. If there is no string, the body has no inherent power. By dropping for example the body weight into the hara, we create the same as adding a string to the bow.
A body rotation acts as pulling the string of a bow. Rotation is a movement without displacement of space. It signifies a movement without displacement.

Rather than treating the body as one large bow, you must realize that we could compartmentalize the body into multiple smaller bows. A leg can be considered as a bow, the same applies for the arms. And we cannot forget our spine which can act as a large bow.

The characteritics of an archer’s bow
The “back” of a bow, the part that faces a target, is stretched or pulled away from itself. The “belly” of a bow, facing the person shooting it, is pushed together. Not to forget the ever important neutral axis, this runs longways through the bow from tip to tip, it has the job of keeping tension and compression separated. When a bow is unstrung, it is basically like a stick, it has yin and yang in it, but they are not seperated until it is strung. When you put it under tension, by restricting the two ends, it is in a dynamic separated state. If it is well made, the forces of tension and compression will be balanced, and therefore power is maximised.
When pulling the string extra energy is added to the bow. When releasing the string, the stored energy is transferred into the arrow.

Ko-mawari, using compressive force

The exercise emphasizes the rotation of the body and the use of the legs as a compression force. The compressive force is generated by pushing down the koshi in the direction of the foot. The knee has no active role to play, however it is not held in a fixed or rigid position.

Research and Kenji Tomiki

Sometimes, people blame me not to follow the traditional methods of my teachers. In fact, they are shortsighted and they cannot see through the movements and see the basics supplemented by methods to improve efficiency.

Kenji Tomiki created some basic methods derived from Morihei Ueshiba’s art and asked his students and followers to do more research to develop an effective Aiki-randori method.
This research is definitely a key activity for Tomiki Aikido instructors. Of course we have to cherish the work of Kenji Tomiki, but we have to keep in mind that the method was and is still not complete.

Warming-up

The moment you put your foot in the tatami, your training begins. Generally, training begins to warm-up. The concepts of Aikido are integrated in the warming-up exercises explained in this blog.

Body-turning warming up can be used to integrate the “tenshikei-concept”. The upperbody is turning on the bottom of the pelvis. The turning has a diagonal direction. The legs are neither static of dynamic, the movement os the legs is the result of the body turning.


Unsoku-ho – footwork

The are various methods of footwork and the most basic are:

  • Ayumi ashi – alternate stepping
  • Tsuri ashi – sliding feet
  • Tsugi ashi – shuffle
  • De-mawari – forward stepping and turning
  • Hiki-mawari – backward stepping and turning

Step forward and backward with weight displacement and body rotation.

De-mawari and hiki-mawari

Tsugi ashi and basics

Posture and footwork

Essentially, “Mushin Mugamae”* is adopted at the outset of a confrontation. During the confrontation, different situations may arise and require different postures and different footwork.

We may go forward and back in a straight line or we may use a zigzag pattern.
The straight line will be used especially in the absence of physical contact. The zigzag line method will be used mainly during physical contact.

*mushin mugamae

Bodyweight shift

Shizentai is an essential posture to begin with.
Body weight can be moved left or right. Keep the centre line to the opponent’s centre.

At times we may put the two feet parallel when adopting a posture in randori.
When moving the body weight, hold the center line towards the opponent.

To move the body weight, we need to lower our body weight center by releasing the tension in the groin area. The area of the groin in the body is where the upper thighs meet the lower abdominal area. By releasing tension, we create a rounded crotch that is necessary to shift body weight without losing balance.

Body turning and Tenshikei

During Aikido training, body turn is frequently used to avoid an incoming attack. But body turn is more than avoiding an attack, it can be used to improve your power used during a confrontation.
Important is the correct timing when using body turn.
Another important item in body turn is the use of the “koshi”.

Koshi
All good martial techniques arise from the Koshi 腰.
The ideograph is read in Chinese like Yao and into Japanese like Yo or Koshi. In martial arts literature, Koshi/Yo* is typically translated as “hips” and Yao as “waist.” Those translations are incomplete and deceiving.

*koshi / yo 腰=waist, hips – 腰部-Yōbu= pelvis, pelvic region, hips, loins, waist

A good place to start is not trying to translate these words in your native language. Any translation will inevitably lead to a restriction of our comprehension.

Tenshikei
Turning body does not always create “tenshikei” or “coiling power”. To coil is to circle around a point, area or axis using a spiraling motion.


Tenshikai is explained by Akira Hino, a Japanese Budo researcher as follows:
To explain Tenshikei, I’ll give a metaphor of a rifle. Think of it as having the same mechanism as a rifle. Your body is the rifle barrel, and Tenshikei is the spiral grooves cut in the inner surface of the gun barrel. The spiral grooves create a longer distance for a bullet to travel, and by gaining frictional resistance during the travel, the bullet increases its force and precision.
Hino , Akira . Don’t Think, Listen to the Body!: Introduction to the Hino Method and Theory of human body and movement control (p. 97).

Coiling power is not easy to generate. A great deal of training is needed on how to use the flexibility qualities of the body. The arms and shoulders are just used to transport the power to the target. Fundamentally, they are not used to generate power.

Kyokotsu – Using the sternum

The use of kyokotsu has no energy output. The lower part of the body (koshi-tanden) is the source of the power coming from the legs. Koshi is the one who started it.
The role of kyokotsu is to prepare the upper body to transmit power from the legs to the arms.
By moving kyokotsu, the power can be guided toward the arms through the front or the back of the body.
See also the picture about vertical cutting with a sword.

Aikido waza

Step, shift and turn

Fundamentally, when practising techniques, we will perform a step, followed by body weight shifting and finishing with body turning.
In Tomiki’s Basic 17 Kata, “step,shift and turn” is often used to perform waza from the tegatana awase distance.

Of course, it is possible to practise bodyweight shift and bodyturn with a partner without stepping. But in most of the cases, we need some stepping to finish with a technique.

You can find a few examples from Hideo Ohba and Itsuo Haba in the next video clip – Yawara Dojo 1978.

Koshi mawari and basics

Integration of koshi mawari is necessary to generate coiling power. There are several ways to enhance koshi mawari and tenshikei.
Solo exercises as mentioned above in this article are the first steps when you like to enhance the effectiveness of your basic techniques.

Kote gaeshi

Kote mawashi

Aikido waza within the framework of Randori

Before you can get into randori, you need to learn how to apply techniques when the situation occurs.
It’s a pretty unique concept in Tomiki Aikido to do randori where we put Aikido waza against Aikido waza. The goal is to use Aikido concepts in a randori setting.
Of course, you must have a basic skill set.

Aiki-Randori, the approach of Kenji Tomiki.

I have been asked by people of various sections as to the wisdom and possibility of judo being introduced with other games and sports at the Olympic Games. My view on the matter, at present, is rather passive. If it be the desire of other member countries, I have no objection. But I do not feel inclined to take any initiative. For one thing, judo in reality is not a mere sport or game. I regard it as a principle of life, art and science. In fact, it is a means for personal cultural attainment. Only one of the forms of judo training, so-called randori or free practice can be classed as a form of sport.
Jigoro Kano

Wikipedia

Probably, Jigoro Kano knew very well he could not stop the sportification and competisation of Judo. The same story we can find in the sportification of Karate. Gichin Funakoshi was not a fan of “kumite”.
Aikido as a competition sport is the result of Kenji Tomiki’s way of thinking. He thought that by sportification, Aikido couldt be promoted in the same way as the promotion of the Western Sports. There is of course also the pressure by the Councel of Waseda University.

Randori

Randori or kumite* is a kind of sparring used by Japanese martial arts, but you will find similar training methods in non-Japanese martial arts.
To be clear, randori is not competition, although randori can be used in a competition format.
During sparring, focus is on the fundamentals of the method and includet stability, mobility and smart use of power.
Another feature of Japanese martial arts is the use of “waza” and “kata” to teach the important elements of the art.
Sparring or randori is the method to test the efficiency of your skills learned through the study of waza and kata.

*Although in karate the word kumite is usually reserved for sparring, some schools also employ the term randori with regard to “mock-combat” in which both karateka move very fast, parrying and attempting acts of extreme violence with all four limbs (including knees, elbows, etc.) yet only ever making the slightest contact. Total control of the body is necessary and therefore only the senior grades can typically practice randori. In these schools, the distinction between randori and kumite is that in randori, the action is uninterrupted when a successful technique is applied
https://www.karatedo.asia/

Waza can be described in 2 ways

In general, waza can be practised in 2 ways

  • Hard techniques (Go), relying on athletic performance and muscular power. Hard, in martial arts terms, means using force mainly produced with the help of our external movement system.
  • Soft techniques (Ju), relying on internal resources of the practitioner. Soft, in the case of martial arts, signifies a yielding, accepting, or non-resistive.

Most of the martial arts using a combination of hard and soft techniques. Sometimes hard technique is dominant, sometimes soft is the dominant factor.
The engine of waza is movement and is called tai-sabaki or body movement. Tai-sabaki has 3 main components:

  • Koshi-sabaki – concerning the hara region
  • Ashi-sabaki – concerning the legs and feet
  • Te-sabaki – concerning the arms and hands

The integration of the 3 components is necessary to perform an efficient action. The study of kata is the most important tool in Japanese martial arts for studying fundametals.

Kata, collection of waza

Kata may be thought of as an old presentation of type of techniques and concepts.
The transfer of knowledge of the practice of kata can not be replaced by watching video clips without practice. Nevertheless, video and digital tools may be helpful in the absence of teachers.
And there’s also a concept of “feeling”. A teacher may give you the physical and mental sensation of waza. Of course, there are practitioners who have the capacity of kinetic awareness just by looking at the movements.

Kodokan Judo

Kodokan Judo Go-no-kata and Ju-no-kata are 2 examples of hard and soft techniques in 1 martial art. Although Kodokan Judo is promoting the “Ju” aspect of their art, when the competition side comes to the foreground many competitors forget the softness.
The “Go” aspect of Judo can be found in their approach of what is called “Olympic Judo”. Most of the Judo matches are dominated by the “Go” aspect. Of course we must remember, hard techniques also have some “Ju” influences.

Tomiki Aikido

Aikido is a martial art and the techniques has the label “soft”.
The goal of the soft technique is deflecting the attacker’s force to their disadvantage.
Soft technique doesn’t mean without power. The defender is using power in a very smart way. The “Ju” aspect is the dominant factor.

A special feature of Tomiki Aikido is the concept of randori. In fact not all the randori formats in Tomiki Aikido can be called “Aikido”, we better call it “Randori Kyogi” or “Sports Randori”.
During Sport Randori most of the practitioners change their mind from a soft approach to a hard approach. For some practitioners, winning or not losing becomes the goal.

The Philosophy of Competition (JAA NPO)
Sports Aikido was borne from the research on reorganization of Aikido from educational viewpoint made by Professor Kenji Tomiki who was the initial Chairperson of our Association. Tomiki Shihan preached the necessity of practicing “Randori” in parallel with the practice of “Kata” in order to make Aikido to serve modern education and to develop as a valuable national culture. “Randori” is the practice with which the players can compete mutually with their free intention. By studying “Kata” and “Randori” in combination, technical principles of Budo such as Shizen-tai (natural posture), Kuzushi (posture-collapsing technique), Yawara (flexibility in movement), Sen (way of taking priority in movement), Ma-ai (distance keeping), Metsuke (way of eye-focusing), and Tou-ho (sword method) can be internalized in oneself for the first time.
On the other hand, the competition was set for making it objective that the ability is cultivated through Randori practice and using it as a material for reflection toward further improvement of spirit and technique. The competition can be expected to have a nurturing effect on such as keeping calm, fighting spirit, mind of suppressing one’s desires and overcoming oneself, and being merciful and compassionate. Therefor it is not expected to fall into the harm of supremacy of victory in the competition, taking advantage of its purpose and features.

Winning is not the same as not losing

During randori, a mixture of hard and soft can be seen. If the level of the practitioner is insufficient, too early exposure to randori can create an attitude of “not losing the fight by blocking”. Of course, randori can be fun and is a magnet for many practitioners. The non-Japanese martial arts have a similar problem.
In Chinese martial arts, the pushing hands method is an often used method to test the skills of yielding and power explosion. It is transformed into a competition method. The perception of these events has nothing to do with martial art itself. Most of the time this is a muscular display where the strongest and heaviest has the largest opportunity to win. Avoid losing is carried out by blocking an opponent’s action using muscle power.

Aiki Randori-ho

The early practitioners of Tomiki Aikido had an advanced knowledge of Kodokan Judo. People like Senta Yamada (6th Dan Kodokan Judo) and Miyake Tsuneko (6th Dan Kodokan Judo) are well known by the older generation of Tomiki Aikido.
Both teachers broke away from mainstream Tomiki Aikido after the introduction of competition into Tomiki Aikido. Kenji Tomiki and Hideo Ohba actively promoted the competitive concept. But for those who were high level Kodokan Judo, the creation of a new competition format was not a major goal for the study of Aikido.
When Senta Yamada came to the United Kingdom in the late 20th century, he remarked that there is a certain advantage in the “tanto-randori-competition”.

Before adopting the competition in Tomiki Aikido an experimental format randori was introduced to the students of the Judo Club called Aiki-Randori.

Text published for Aikido-Division – Waseda Judo Club (around 1950)

A way of Aiki-Randori
by Kenji Tomiki
Professor Waseda University
Physical Education

People who have learned Kodokan Judo or Aikido will benefit a lot from the atemi-waza and kansets-waza randori-ho.

Table of content
Section 1 General
Chapter 1 What is Aiki-Randori-ho
Chapter 2 The development of Jujutsu (or Budo) by “sportification”
Chapter 3 The importance of a renewed Budo (Bujutsu) in education
Chapter 4 The importance of sportification of (Budo) exercises
Chapter 5 Aiki Randori-ho and Goshin Jutsu (selfdefense)
Section 2 Techniques
Chapter 1 Warming up  (light callisthenics, flexibility and toning exercises, ukemi)
Chapter 2 Basics for Randori (posture, unsoku, tegatana, kumimasenai *, kuzushi)
Chapter 3 The techniques for Randori-ho (atemi waza, hiji waza, tekubi waza and uki waza)
Chapter 4 Combination and switching techniques (renraku henka waza) for atemi waza and kansetsu waza

*Kumimasenai : how to avoid to be gripped, punched or kicked

What is Aiki Randori-ho?

To revive old style jujutsu atemi waza and kansetsu waza, aiki randori-ho was created. Aiki randori-ho is modernized old style “aikido” and is a way to practise atemi waza and kansetsu waza.
Aiki randori-ho is following the same footsteps as my teacher Jigoro Kano, creator of Kodokan Judo. He developed Judo Randori by combining the best elements from Tenjin Shinyo Ryu and Kito Ryu.
Repeating the kata endless time was the old way of training, however randori training has the following advantages :

  • The emphasis is on making the will alive to investigate the mechanism of techniques, the content is more important than the outer form.
  • Modern sport education develops human character and improves the personality of the human being. Aiki Randori-ho is suited for this education goal.

To reorganize old style jujutsu into randori-ho, Jigoro Kano limited randori-ho to nage waza and katame waza and created the “kumu” method of training, grasping eri and sode (collar and sleeve). This method became the trademark of Kodokan Judo.
The downside of this method was atemi waza and kansetsu waza were almost entirely omitted. To use the full potential of old style jujutsu we must keep the atemi waza and kansetsu waza in the format of aiki randori-ho.

Aikido (old style) has its roots in the former Aizu-han, especially in the Takeda family, teachers of Daito-Ryu Aiki Jujutsu. My master Ueshiba who was taught by Sokaku Takeda, added original elements and the style was called first Aikibudo and later Aikido. He taught his art as an ascetic practice. (shindo-no-gyōhō)

The content of Morihei Ueshiba Aikido (not contemporary Aikido) could be assigned to old style bujutsu. It is in principle empty hand fighting (toshu), but sometimes against tanto, katana, yari and bo. The practitioners are able to use those weapeons by themself. In other words, it is a versatile martial art suitable for real battle. The training is just like old style bujutsu based upon repitition of the form.

Kansetsu waza are the most advanced in Aikido, above all others. Kansetsu waza is frequently used against tanto, katana, yari and bo.
To revive kansetsu waza in aiki-randori, I have added techniques from old style judo kata.
In contrast to the Judo Randori-ho Kumu-method (grasping the dogi), in Aiki Randori-ho I introduced Rikakutaisei, keeping posture apart. The meaning of rikakutaisei is using atemi waza and kansetsu waza when you are not grasped and avoiding punching or kicking.
The purpose in old style jujutsu of atemi waza and kansetsu waza was to inflict damage to the opponent. In Aiki Randori-ho the purpose of atemi waza and kansetsu waza is nage (throwing) or osae (holding), which makes no difference with the concept of Kodokan Judo nage waza and katame waza. Atemi waza and kansetsu waza must be performed in Aiki Randori-ho without the intention to hurt the opponent.

On Jujutsu and its Modernization

The next article is based on the older article (1950) and contains an overview of the methods for practicing Aiki-randori.

On jujutsu and his modernisationDownload

Shiai – Competition

Shiai is the testing of oneself. The phrase is made up of two Japanese words. “Shi” means “to test” and “ai” means to meet. It’s generally accepted that a shiai is a competition, but the concept of the word implies “testing” more than “fighting.”

Sadly, not everyone understands that concept. Winning a medal becomes important and sometimes the concepts proposed by the founders are ignored.
Investing in loss is not an option for those individuals. The good news is that not everyone is looking for medals and champions. Investing in losing can be very beneficial to improve your skills with the correct attitude and training. Not to lose competition through blocking must be avoided.
Many champions understand that winning is the result of training and the next contest again requires training and persistence with the right attitude.

Kuzushi – A figure 8 question

Bertrand Russell once said, “Mathematics is the subject in which we never know what we are talking about nor whether what we say is true.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, mathematical problems were discussed in societies and solutions were almost formulated according to religious beliefs and axioms. Mathematicians from this period assumed that axioms are true without being able to prove them. In certain societies, mathematics were an intellectual game to show superiority to ordinary people.

Some martial arts are also based upon religious or mystical beliefs. Some are invented as an intellectual tangle that needed a certain belief of unproven facts about our origin of life.
Basically, there’s nothing wrong with those axioms as long as they don’t stop you from being creative.

Follow the rules, but don’t let the rules controlling you

Breaking the balance, upsetting the balance or kuzushi is a concept that should follow certain rules. If the concept turns into an intellectual game, the application is not always useful in training or randori. Sometimes people adapt to the circumstances of randori in favor of the intellectual ideas. Basically, it is cheating by creating an illusion of effectiveness based on an intellectual tangle that is useless in a confrontation with someone who does not follow the rules.

Kuzushi

The noun comes from the transitive verb kuzusu (崩す), meaning to level, pull down, destroy or demolish. As such, it refers to not just an unbalancing, but the process of putting an opponent to a position, where stability, and hence the ability to regain uncompromised balance for attacking, is destroyed.

Wikipedia

There are many examples to explain the skill of balance breaking – kuzushi. A famous picture used by Kodokan Judo explaining “minimum effort, maximum efficiency”.
A body out of balance can be easily manipulated.

Cardinal and inter-cardinal directions

Cardinal directions are an interesting concept because practically every culture on Earth has independently used them or something analogous to them, from Chinese ancient cultures to European and Arabic cultures, to Aboriginal Australia….

Cardinal directions are a concept that can be used strategically in martial arts to define the direction we move during footwork or when we use power.
The four cardinal directions are merely labels used to describe the specific directions of force and movement. The 4 directions are complemented by intersectional directions.
Tomiki Aikido or Shodokan Aïkido, both as a symbol using cardinal directions.

Origin of the Nihon Aikido Association symbol

“Ten no Maki” (Book of the Heaven) of the Kitoryu jujitsu says: “Being upright is the yang form, being prone is the yin form. Win by the yang, win by the yin. The feeble seizes the strong, the flexibility seizes the stiffness.”

Being upright stands for power of fire, being prone stands for power of water. The sun is the source of the energies, while water has no form or intent, and obliges the environment. At the same time its might excels that of anything. It enhances growth of all entities, and does not try to gain position higher than its place.
Such are the might as the ultimate morality. Thus the saying goes “superior virtue is like the water”.
The symbol is composed of the function of water and fire, and the whitenis signifies the infinite space.

The Cardinal Directions concept is often compared to an eight point compass with the cardinal directions and the inter-cardinal directions called “corners”.

To make it simple, when we mention Cardinal Directions, the corners are included.

Kuzushi and the Cardinal Directions

Kuzushi is part of the training and the structured process is required to explain the technical details and applications. But sometimes people are too focused on the structured method and forget what kuzushi is all about: preparing for other applications.
Kodokan Judo uses a cardinal direction structure to explain Kuzushi.

Probably one of the most famous pictures on kuzushi. It is used to give a visual idea about kuzushi in Kodokan Judo.

A website for traditonal aikido transformed the Kodokan Judo Kuzushi in an Aikido related kind of kuzushi.

The 8 positions of the elbow

The structure of the cardinal directions of Tomiki Aikido related to the position of the elbow.

Tegatana, a tool for kuzushi

Some historical facts on kuzushi in Tomiki’s Aikido
In about 1958, students practiced mainly the unsoku, tandoku undo, yonhon no kuzushi (chudan and gedan). In around 1960, the roppon no kuzushi/6-hon no kuzushi were created (jodan, chudan and gedan). In the mid-sixties, Koryu no kata was created. There are 6 koryu no kata and especially number 4 is focused on the use of tegatana as a tool for kuzushi.

The JAA (Japan Aikido Association) published in 2009 “Competitive Aikido” an introduction to practices leading from kata to randori.
Kuzushi is explained with the principles of the sword (tegatana dosa).


Main idea of kuzushi is focusing on position of opponent’s elbow – up or down.

On mobility and stability

Mobility -Mobility allows a person to move with no restrictions. It can often be confused with flexibility, but flexibility does not always mean good mobility. Although the person has good flexibility, they may not have the force, coordination or balance to perform the required movement.

Stability – Mobility is linked to motion, while stability is linked to control. Stability may be defined as the ability to remain in control.

We need these two skills to carry out our movements effectively. And as with most skills, we need continuous training to keep our mind and body in the optimal state of mobility with high stability.
Using the mind in your workout, the body will benefit much more than just training on autopilot. Of course, there must be harmony between mind and body and the ability of “stillness” is necessary.

What is “Stillness”?

An absence of motion or sound. That’s what you’ll find if you do a quick search on the Internet. Of course, it goes much further, but in case of martial art practice the concept of “mushin mugamae” comes forward.

“Stillness in Motion” & “Motion in Stillness”

There are 2 kinds of motion:

  • Internal movement – movement centralized around the center of the body
  • External movement – movement expressed by arms or legs

Both movement work together to create whole body movement.

Seichusen or the central human pilar
The concept of “Stillness in Motion” and “Motion in Stillness” means that while the mind is calm, necessary actions are already in motion. This can be demonstrated as an expanding circle, the center of the circle does not move, it only turns. The training partner will move around. The radius of the circle can expand if necessary.

The mind is a crucial factor in the training. If you are angry, your body will show your mind. If your mind cannot let go your anger or frustration, your body will tense up. By releasing all those mental movements, your mind comes into a state of “stillness” or “mushin”.

Mushin Mugamae – your posture reflects your mind
Mushin mugamae is already often discussed in this blog, but without this concept “Stillness in Motion” and “Motion in Stilness” is not possible.

How to gain the skill of Mushin?

I only can speak for myself, ritsuzen is a very effective exercise to create the idea of “stillness” in your mind. During ritsuzen I notice a lot of movements in the body as long I am an observer. The moment that my ego takes over, the feeling of the internal movements will disappear.
Ritsuzen is not a simple exercise and the result comes only after several months of regular exercise.

If you enter the “mushin mugamae” state, your response time becomes much shorter and this is of course beneficial to create “kuzushi.

Kuzushi, the time factor

Kenji Tomiki wrote….

When the equilibrium of the body is lost, the time when the center of gravity is lost is shorter than the time required for the peripheral sensory organ to communicate the loss of the body equilibrium to the nerve center and the latter to order the foot muscles through the foot nerve to put the foot forward; for instance, when the body inclines forward and falls forward because a sudden force is applied from the back, giving the person no time to put the foot forward.

Kuzushi is closely linked with the concept of “Sen” or the timing to move when the opponent decides to make an offensive move. Sen is an extremely complex concept and skill and is built on “Hyoshi”.
Musashi Miyamota wrote about the concept of “hyoshi”. This concept is also discussed many times, but I highly recommend to read “Ma, movement without moving“.

Kenji Tomiki’s time lapse

Benjamin 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.

To create this time lapse, you have fundamentally some options:

  • You wait for the opponent’s attack, use a go-no-sen action and your opponent will be turned back on himself and his attack will suddenly stop.
  • You attack the opponent with a sen-no-sen action, opponent’s reaction depends on his status of allertness. If opponent lost his allertnes you can proceed.

If you create a situation where you can enter into the unconscious mind, your opponent will be turned back on himself and gives you the possibility to control the furhter actions of 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.

Kuzushi – using mind and body

Using the mind is easy, because we have learned how to use the mind. Unfortunately, our ego is in most cases the driving force behind our movements. When the mind acts as an observer, our subconscious with our stored motion capabilities will take over as a leader.

As Kenji Tomiki has already said, there is a certain lapse of time in the mind and the body of the opponent when you control the body of the opponent through a kuzushi skill. This period of time is very small and you should apply waza coming from the subconscious mind. Don’t let the ego interfere with your actions, you’re always going to be late.

If you focus too much on the 8 methods, you are not allowing the subconscious mind take the right action. If the conscious mind act as an encyclopedia, most of your actions will be readed by the opponent.

Beyond fundamental movements

The wrist grip by the training partner is a “starter” to study the possibilities of kuzushi. Most of these basic forms follow a pre-defined scheme.

As said before, follow the rules, but don’t let the rules controlling you.

When your training partner hold the arms in the chudan position, it is easy to grasp according the “kata method”

When your training partner hold the arm higher, you have to adapt the method of grasping. This is different from the kata method.

Follow the rules, but don’t let the rules controlling you

This simple example can be considered an understanding of the rules and how they should be used.

Basically, kuzushi is a skill at controlling the power of an adversary using certain rules. These rules are explained in a situation that is easily understood in a lot of kata. It is the practitioner’s responsibility to know how these rules or katas can be used in a combat or randori environment.

Some training advice

“One of the most important aspects in the practice of any Budo art is the repetition of techniques or combinations. But, these should not be done just anyhow. Thus, when someone often repeats a certain technique or movement, for example, 500, 1000, or 10,000 repetitions of Tsuki (direct blow of the fist), he must look inward and perceive his sensations, because there is no surely had only two or three of the Tsuki which were correct (speed, power, location), in other words effective. And only those two or three repetitions are important, those are the only ones that we have to remember. To do this, you have to be very receptive and feel the moment when the movement has been done well, look within and register this feeling with the mind and body. Then you have to ask yourself: why at this time did I do it better than the other times? It is the leap from quantitative (quantity) to qualitative (quality). This is what is really important in the learning process: how to move from one level to another. The next time you practice this technique or another, you must try to remember these sensations so that these techniques can be performed successively with this sensation. In this way, in perhaps only one hundred repetitions, you will manage to achieve two or three. Thus, you move faster and faster and you can extend the correct and good feelings to a greater number of techniques. This is one of the keys to moving forward. It is not enough to carry out for 30, 40, or 50 years always the same movement, thousands of repetitions without perceiving or without realizing what is happening in our body, without improving the quality of our techniques, and without trusting exclusively in the repetitions. That’s not enough, you have to find out what was the correct technique, what you feel, and work with that feeling.”

– Taiji Kase – Shotokan Karate

Moving the Body or not?

Martial arts use body motions that are not always comparable to normal life movements. Aikido is no exception.
Human movements naturally depend on the physical laws of our environment, for example gravity.
Of course, human movements are actually quite a complex system. Martial arts moves should follow nature’s rules and something more. I’ll try to explain that a bit further.

The motion of a solid object

The motion of an object is described in two modes: the trajectory of its centre of mass and the rotation around an axis in its center of mass.

The motion of the human body

When Jigoro Kano formulated his Kodokan Judo, he tried to explain the stability of the human body as something solid. Unfortunately the human body is not a solid object, only when it stiffens up as a solid object.


The human body is a very complex system, it is a framework of segments linked to each other by flexible bands (muscles, tendons…).

To control the body, many skills are necessary to carry out effective movements.

The human body distinguishes two kinds of motion, comparable to the trajectory and rotation mode of an object.
Both modes operate side by side and due to the frame construction a rotary mode is always present during body movements.

  • Trajectory motion: use a fulcrum to move the body or part of the body (arm, leg…)
  • self-rotation: using the lenght axis of the body or part of the body

Moving without displacement

Looking at the Aikido demonstrations, you will notice many unnecessary displacements. A troubled mind is the cause of such errors and resulting in inefficient body movements or techniques. Of course, if you practise with a too cooperative partner, a beautiful show can be given with a lot of jumping.
Making your Aikido more efficient by using effective movements should be your objective.

An important characteristic of Aikido’s movements is its spiral trajectory. But this is not unique to Aikido, other martial arts make the same human movements less or more because of the structure of human body. An efficient system of connected segments is required and this is needed to control the actions of an opponent, especially if the opponent is very heavy or strong.
The use and control of power is a vital condition for surviving a confrontation.

3 important components with each an independent role has to act as a set to create the full body movement.

  • Using the legs
  • Using the torso
  • Using the arms

The example above deals with the action of the legs. The force generated by the legs, supported by the floor, passes through the torso to the arms and further into the target.
The legs do not only flex and stretch, but use a spiral movement. The koshi (bottom of the back) controls the legs. The torso spins lightly using the waist. The arm movement is based upon the basic arm movements of Tomiki Aikido.

Testing without falling down.

Testing our movements and techniques occurs primarily during randori. But not everybody likes to fight freely. Alternatives may be used to test your movements and techniques without falling, particularly for older practitioners.

No-movement : Mushin Mugamae

Even when you are not moving, you should maintain a strong posture. You are ready to act in a split-second. You can only do that if you have a calm mind.

By adopting the mugamae, it is not your intention to fight. You don’t offer, for instance, your wrist. Your eyes look at someone in front of you, but you don’t see an attacker. You notice his intention and when the intention becomes physical, you move.

Body Skills

Physical skills are required for effective movements or techniques. Of the many areas of body expertise, there are certainly two that are important.
Of course, other skills are also important, but those two skills are fundamental to the moving and non-moving martial arts body.

Dropping the bodyweight

Dropping the bodyweight is performed by bending or folding the “koshi”.
Bending the knees is the result of the koshi folding.

Dropping the bodyweight is needed for using the koshi.

Open and close the koshi area

Open and close of the koshi is a very difficult action. The whole body is following the opening and closing of the koshi.
Don’t activily turn the knees.

Open and close the koshi area is important when you push or pull. The koshi is the key to efficient movements with the “hara”.

Feel the intent

Kenji Tomiki, Goshinjutsu-nyumon

“Is the lack of attack a specific feature of Aikido?”
When explaining the term “Sen”, it often happens that confusion arises in the use of words. This is the case with, among others, “Taking the initiative in Japanese Budo” or “The lack of attack in Japanese Budo.” Confusion often arises between the term SEN and the moral aspect when one applies a technique in Japanese Budo.
Normally, when using a budo technique, there may be a fear of killing or seriously injuring the opponent. Therefore, in a modern rule of law, one should not use this martial art power, except in case of legal self-defense or in a situation that is difficult to avoid. From this sense it is said that SEN (initiative) is the first movement in Budo. However, in case one cannot help but defend oneself, it is allowed to use SEN (sen no sen & sensen no sen) techniques instead of go no sen techniques. Especially when one is attacked by a large number of opponents, it is traditionally said that one may use a self-preservation offensive (SEN) to narrowly escape fatal consequences.
In other words when using Budo techniques one cannot ethically apply SEN, but in principle one cannot stop considering SEN either.

Saya no Uchi

“Saya no Uchi” means to keep Katane inside of sheath, which means dominate the opponent without pulling out Katana from sheath.

Akira Hino

To perform an action you must have the intention to do so. Intent is a concept that sometimes causes confusion in the mind of a beginning practitioner.
Most of the time, a beginner carries out moves with the intention of having victory in a fight. The intention must be to make an efficient movement (technical, waza) and not to lose the struggle.

When you look at how to introduce “intent” into the training, you will find many explanations about the meaning of the “words” defining this concept.
The following are most frequent examples.

  • 意 (I) feelings, thoughts, meaning – mostly used in combination with another kanji (意図 – ito or 意向 – iko
  • 先 (Sen) line, initiative

Unfortunately, the correct methods to practise the concept of intent are seldom explained.
To establish a practical methodology, we need a few tools:

  • Creating an image in the brain
  • A body ready for immediate action through the creation of “Mushin mugamae”
  • Understanding Sen as a strategy

Sen’s main cases

The opponent has the intention to attack you as a basic idea.
Sen is a strategic technique for taking the initiative when you feel the mental image of opponents and see the impact on the opponent’s physical movement. We can discern three significant situations. In the first 2 situations, the opponent can still change their mind and physical action if you don’t have perfect control of the situation.
When an opponent passes a certain line or the case of situation 3, there is no more chance of drastically changing the trajectory of the attack. If you’re not in control, you’ll lose.

Having a “sen” situation does not imply that you will win. A perfect “waza” is the proper addition to any of the sen situations.

先々の先 Sen sen no sen : Controlling the opponents chance. Image in the brain and start of attack.
先 の 先 sen no sen – 対の先 tai no sen : Image in the brain and physical attack.
Make a decisive attack, which impacts faster than their waza.
後 の 先 go no sen or ato no sen : is a ‘strategy/technique, it is best described as ‘the post initiative attack’.

Edo, a time of peace

In Edo epoch when people enjoyed peace it had a serious meaning and consequence to pull out Katana. Because it was strictly prohibited to pull out Katana to use it, and once one did it, it might cause even a death penalty with being taken away all the property.
Accordingly it required a serious preparedness in the mind to pull out Katana.
Understanding what might occur as a consequence in his and also his family’s life, one should have a serious preparedness in his mind to pull out Katana.

Akira Hino

While samurai had privileges in Japanese society, removing the sword without threat was a grave crime. The art of Iaido (Iaijutsu) still has the concept of Saya no Uchi, retaining the sword in the sheath.

No matter how strong or how evil the persons we come across, we must not draw our sword, nor let him draw his. We must not cut him, nor allow him to cut us. We must not kill him nor do we let him kill us. By reason kindly persuade him to change his ways to become a better person. If, at the very last, after all your efforts, he won’t listen to you, then send him to his maker and destroy him completely.

Muso Shinden Jushin Ryu Iaido no Seishin (精神)

A practical way to learn to use intent.

The use of intention has two aspects to take into consideration.

  • The intention of the opponent
  • Your intention

While many important “sensei” speaks of “Mushin mugamae”, a phrase often translated as empty mind and empty posture. Unfortunately, by using the word “empty” the concept becomes more cryptic.
Mushin mugamae is all about how to handle your emotions. The physical aspect is merely the result of mental thoughts.
If you can control your emotions, you can use your energy to build an image of what you will do next. This image with control of your emotions and energy can be referred to as intention.
In some cases, you can even conceal your intention from your opponent and it is called “Mushin mugamae”.

Now the question is how to control your emotions and energy. There are several practical exercises and methods for obtaining “Mushin mugamae”.
My favorite one is “ritsuzen” or standing as a tree. While we are standing, we can visualize moving images, relax our thoughts, relax the physical body…
Another major method is slow motion training. It makes us conscious of the energy and strength needed for our movements.
And lastly, I want to add a breathing system to slow down all the functions of your being. Hachi danken is a system like this.

The basic idea is to silence the conscious mind (ego) and let the unconscious mind overtake your thoughts and body. See “The Science of Training”
The unconscious requires, of course, input and this is the goal of basic training. The basic training must be done properly, otherwise the input will not be effective enough and the use of the unconscious mind will not produce the correct output.

Sense the intent of the opponent.

To understand the concept of “sen” one must sense the intention of an opponent. This is only possible when you have the ability to “Mushin mugamae”. When nothing troubles you, your mind is open to the slightest signs of your opponent’s attack.
Of course, like most skills, you need a lot of training to become effective in feeling the enemy’s intention.

Sen – Bujutsu no gokui
The ultimate in martial art

A victory comes down to carrying out a successful attack without giving the opponent a chance to launch an efficient attack. In kenjutsu one has to fell the opponent without being felled, in judo one has to throw without being thrown. But since both think to be first (SEN), the victory is not an easy thing and hence “the elderly” (our predecessors) studied this aspect very thoroughly.

Because Aikido kata (formal exercises) largely consists of go-no-sen techniques, one might say that Aikido is only a form of self-defence (goshinjutsu), where the concept of go no sen is at the center.
Kenji Tomiki formulated “Kyogi Aikido”, a sparring method with Aikido techniques to easily introduce a practical approach to the concept of sen no sen and sen no sen.

The “randori no kata” is a collection of techniques that can be used in a safe way in free sparring. Here is a sample of the atemi-waza section. Atemi in the Tomiki Aikido syllabus is centered around attacking the weak dynamic parts of the opponent’s body.

Ki Ken Tai Ichi – A gate to Sen no sen

Ki ken tai ichi is an expression often used in Japanese swordsmanship and it means “to synchronize the movements of ki, ken, and tai”.

  • Ki: The energy you need to engage in action. Basically, we can tell that by creating an image in the brain, we are mobilizing energy to perform an action.
  • Ken: The weapon we will use following the creation of an image. It can be a sword, a stick or whatever body part appropriate as a weapon.
  • Tai: The technique expressed through physical action.

In the example below, a soft tanto is used as an offensive tool. Ki ken tai ichi is performed by a strike to the chest. The front foot and soft tanto must be synchronized when hitting the chest. When there is no picture of the strike in the brain, Ki ken tai ichi is not carried out and the strike will be considered inefficient.

Toshu or unarmed defender need to feel the intention (image) of the opponent to perform an effective neutralisation and counter-attack. The synchronization takes the same steps as Ki ken tai ichi.

Go-no-sen

This strategy is often used in Aikido training. This looks very simple when you understand the concept of sen. The challenge of go no sen is the ability to be patient and wait for the opponent to cross the line of no return. If you are unaware of the intent, you will always lose.
Don’t forget, it is a state of mind and it controls the attacker even before he begins to move.

A quest for life


Sometimes people ask me what I like about martial arts. The answer is straightforward: to become better than yesterday.
Of course, aging is a factor to bear in mind and that is “a game breaker”. What you can do when you are under 20 will no longer be the same when you are 50.
Finding a way to become better than yesterday is a path filled with obstacles and the end is for everyone the same.
Becoming better than yesterday?
Maybe the answer is somewhere in the world……. Other questions may come up… Who cares…..
I “feel better” than yesterday.

Eddy Wolput

Seichusen & a column full of power

It is the Earth which allows to generate force with the legs.

Internal Martial Art

Seichusen

In “Aikido-Tradition and the Competitve Edge” written by Fumiaki Shishida and Tetsuro Nariyama the definition of “Seichusen” is as follows:
The human body displays bilateral symmetry. Seichusen is a vertical line through both the nose and the navel down the center of the body that cuts into two exact halves.

Of course, this definition gives us just a 2D image, whereas our body is a 3D object. The idea of bilateral symmetry is right if you see the body of the front face. On the other hand, another point of view does not follow the bilateral symmetry.
A view from any angle at the seichusen can be seen as the center line which divides the body into 2 halves. These 2 halves are not symmetrical, except for the front or back view.

A column full of power

Seichusen or the centerline always stretches in the direction from top to bottom. This creates a line of strength needed for good posture.

A strong position is not only with the vertical line, but in a horizontal plane as well.

The centerline should be viewed as the midline of a column. This column can be very thin, but can also be very broad and full of power generated using the legs.
The column strength lines are oriented in six directions.

  • Up and down
  • Forward and backward
  • Left and right

A column full of power is embedded in the various postures and positions we can adopt during training.

An example of how Seichusen works.

Testing posture with footwork

Footwork is a basic skill to perform effectively while exercising. Maintaining a strong yet flexible stance is a condition for moving when an adversary is involved.

Mu-gamae & Hanmi

Mu-gamae is mostly translated as empty posture or no-posture. In fact, when you just are in a standing position with parallel feet and your arms at the side of the body, we can consider this as “mu-gamae”. There is no intention in this posture.

There are 2 important control centers

  • Kyokotsu – upper center
  • Hara tanden – lower center

By moving a foot forward and turning the body, we create a stance mostly named as “hanmi” (half body turn).
If one thinks about Aikido as Budo, then it is necessary that one considers mugamae, right position (hanmi) and left position (hanmi) as 3 in 1. The 3 basic modes have of course an integrated seichusen and the column of power.

“Hanmi is efficient when you step in from mugamae to the opponent or when you want to apply a technique. But as a starting position, hanmi is not very useful.”

Kenji Tomiki

3 types of hanmi

Using hanmi has 3 modes. Each mode is associated with a type of movement expressed by the bodyweight transfer.

  • Neutral position, bodyweigth in the middle
  • Forward position, bodyweight forward
  • Backward position, bodyweight backward

Generating strength with the legs

Essentially, all of our strength comes from our legs. It is initiated from the lower body and then moved by the hara tanden to kyokotsu and distributed to the hands.

When you push with your legs down, there is a rebound, which is guided with your knees in your hips. They must be flexible and do not brake.
The role of the knees is important, these joints move toward each other during a forward motion. With a motion to the back, they separate. Knee motions are measured in millimetres.
Moving forward, the front leg and knee move downward. As you move backwards, your back leg and knee move downwards.
Don’t forget to fold your hips as if sitting on a high stool.

Hara Tanden and kyokotsu

Tanden and kyokotsu are two centres used as a distribution tool for the force generated in the body through the use of the legs. Find more information in a different article about kyokotsu and hara tanden.

Moving with tegatana.

All power generated by the legs has to be transferred to the hand and/or arm. The tool we use to transmit our power to the target is tegatana.

What is Tegatana?
When the 5 fingers are stretched enough, the base of the hand is stretched overflowing into the little finger. In the small sense this is called tegatana, but in a broader context this becomes the forearm (from wrist to elbow). Tegatana exercises include both hand length and arm length exercises

Tegatana no kamae

This is an extension of mugamae and hanmi (hidari/migi no kamae)

3 types of tegatana no kamae

These are chudan (middle level), jodan (upper level) and gedan (lower level), where chudan is used as a basis where the tegatana is kept in the seichusen (centerline) of the body

3 conditions for movement with tegatana

  1. The use of posture with correct stability.
  2. Positioning the tegatana in relationship with seichusen or correctly on the center line of the body.
  3. To ensure that the use of the tegatana corresponds to the foot movement carried out at the same time.

The “Sensei” Enigma

Author: Eddy Wolput °1948 – 7th dan Aikido (JAA-Tokyo/Japan) – 5th dan Iaido – 5th dan Jodo.
In collaboration with Tim Wolput……as the illustrator and provider of ideas .
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.

Enigma comes via Latin aenigma from ancient Greek ainigma. Hidden in this is the word ainos “narrative, fairy tale”.
Enigma mainly translates as “riddle” but it is also referred to a coding device.

The Enigma machine is a cipher device developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic, and military communication. It was employed extensively by Nazi Germany during World War II, in all branches of the German military. The Enigma machine was considered so secure that it was used to encipher the most top-secret messages.

Wikipedia

The purpose of being a Sensei

Sometimes you will read that a Sensei is a rolemodel. But what rolemodel?
Defining rolemodel is as muddy as the relationship of Sensei-Tori/Uke.

In the past when Japanese martial arts were introduced into Western society, a Sensei was a superhuman. Sensei could beat everyone and had an answer to all the questions.
When Chinese martial arts were imported, the same happened with the equivalent of a Sensei. The Chinese use the word Sifu.

Nowadays, Sensei became more human and is not any more superhuman. Although some groups still rever their Sensei almost in a divine manner.


So, what is a Sensei?

A Sensei is an educator and a motivational role model. This is the starting point.
To become an educator and a motivator, you need to have knowledge and skills of the subjects you like to teach. This is the first item to take into account.

Do you know your subject and do have have skills?

Although in the beginning of this post the definition of Sensei:
“person born before another” or “one who comes before”
As a Sensei you must believe in yourself and you need the knowledge and practical skills of the subject you like to teach.

Teaching Japanese martial arts is mostly done by the “Kata” method.
Knowing and practising the Kata is a lifetime work. The study of a Kata is never finished, you will always find something new .

But what is a “Kata”?
Kata an be seen as “the method” to teach people how to perform a certain task or job. We can distinguis 2 kinds of kata.

  • Kata in a narrow sense
  • Kata in a more broader sense

In Kodokan Judo, 2 kinds of Judo were mentioned by Jigoro Kano.
The cultivation of a strong physical body (through rentai-ho) and the development of contest skills (through shobu-ho) together resulted in kyogi judo, or judo in the narrow sense. Kano intended that judo practitioners were also to go on to achieve a higher level of self-actualization through shushin-ho and thus achieve kogi judo, or judo in the wide sense.

Kano’s ideas are not unique because on other fields we can see the same concepts, the method in a narrow sense and the method in a wider sense.

It is believed that Budo can cultivate both the mind and body. However, if the meaning of Budo is unclear, then it is impossible to know what to train and indeed what method to utilize. In identifying Budo, it is important to understand why Judo (“the way of Yawara/Jujutsu”), Kendo (“the way of the sword”), Kyudo (“the way of the bow”), Aikido (“the way of Aiki”) and the like, are considered to be Budo (“martial ways”). To aid this clarification, the difference between “Michi (way)” and “Jutsu (technique)” should be known. Good guidelines and tuition have become indispensable for this aim, but if each person does not grasp what Budo is individually during practical training, then focus, concentration and discipline in Budo is not achieved.

Meiji Jingu – Tokyo

Relationship Sensei and Tori/Uke

Sensei is literally translated as “person born before another” or “one who comes before”. In general usage, it is used, with proper form, after a person’s name and means “teacher”; the word is also used as a title to refer to or address other professionals or persons of authority.
Tori is the one who performs the technique –
Uke is the one who receives the technique.

Sensei and martial arts

In modern Japanese martial arts, specifically Kodokan Judo or similar systems, tori is the one who performs a technique against the training partner, or uke. Sometimes tori is associated with winning, while uke is associated with losing.
The difference between the two people is very obvious during “Kata” or so-called formal exercises. During “Randori” or sparring, the difference becomes misty because each person may be Tori/Uke as an individual.

When one of the practitioners is also the teacher or the Sensei, the situation becomes more muddled. How the teacher gets to be the loser if the sensei act as Uke?
Such a situation is the perception of someone who don’t understand the classical methods of Japanese martial arts. It is very difficult to compare martial arts seen as a sportive activity (for example aikido-kyogi or sports-aikido) and martial art (Budo/Bujutsu) as a development of your body and mind.
Some martial arts of course, can be practised as a sport activity and as a method for selfdevelopment.

Martial arts with a strong Budo/Bujutsu connection have a different name for Tori and Uke, but from an educational point of view the words have the same meaning when a teacher is involved.

  • Shidachi – someone who performs the technique
  • Uchidachi – someone who receives the technique

Uchidachi is leading shidachi with sincere attack. This allows to learn proper body movement, battle distance, appropriate mindset, and perception of possibilities. In the past, the role of Uchidachi was reserved exclusively to expert practitioners who were able to carry out meticulous techniques and possessed the right spirit and an understanding of their role.
The roles of uchidachi as senior and shidachi as junior are always maintained, though the role of uchidachi is played by someone at a lower level. The mindset of uchidachi is always sincere but humble. Kata is practised so that they can learn to give and receive together. This is what makes possible the improvement of technique and the development of the mind.

Shu-Ha-Ri & Jo-Ha-Kyū

Shu-Ha-Ri roughly translates to “to keep, to fall, to break away”. (From Wikipedia)

Shu (守) “protect”, “obey”—traditional wisdom—learning fundamentals, techniques, heuristics, proverbs
Ha (破) “detach”, “digress”—breaking with tradition—detachment from the illusions of self
Ri (離) “leave”, “separate”—transcendence—there are no techniques or proverbs, all moves are natural, becoming one with spirit alone without clinging to forms; transcending the physical

Shu-Ha-Ri is related to another Japanese phrase -Jo-ha-kyū (序破急)- to define the strategy someone uses during practising his art in his life. This concept has to be seen as a macrocosmic and microcosmic event.

Jo-ha-kyū (序破急) is a concept of modulation and movement applied in a wide variety of traditional Japanese arts. It essentially means that all actions or efforts should begin slowly, speed up, and then end swiftly. This concept is applied to elements of the Japanese tea ceremony, to the samurai sword art of Kenjutsu, to the bamboo sword training art of kendō, and to other martial arts, to dramatic structure in the traditional theatre. (From Wikipedia)

Shomen-ate Kata

When performing kata, there is a structure that we cannot ignore. This structure contains all the basic concepts for performing an effective movement related to an opponent.

Jibun no tsukuri and aite no tsukuri are the building blocks proposed by Kenji Tomiki. Each method of “tsukuri” can also be divided into more distinct parts necessary for an effective technique. These elements have to be integrated in your actions.
The danger exists of giving too much attention to an item with the result of less efficiency due to a lack of fluidity and integration in the overall action.

For instance, the first technique of “Basic 17” in the Aïkido Tomiki system.
When Tomiki wrote “Judo and Aikido”, the first movement with the front hand is just a sweeping action.

A Sensei’s duty, explaining the alternative

Alternative in this case is another view about executing a certain technique. This is a different use of the term ‘alternative’. In another article, the term “alternative” is used in a different sense: The simplification of Ueshiba Aikido.

After striking Uke’s arm, the opponent is destabilized as in the picture. The danger exists of having a too mechanical technique as a result of a tunnel vision.

“Tunnel Vision”, a  metaphorically way of expressing the reluctance to consider alternatives to one’s preferred line of thought.

Original or alternative?

Look at the picture of Tomiki and Ohba when executing sweeping the front arm as explained on the page of Tomiki’s new method of randori (Judo and Aikido). Uke’s balance is directed more forward.
The posture of Uke is different as in the picture with Shishida. Uke’s balance is directed to the side and slightly back.

Hitting the wrist or sweeping the wrist are 2 alternatives of many solutions. A good sensei will insist on one method for beginners. Later on, multiple possibilities can be used for advanced persons.

Senta Yamada is clearly demonstrating a sweeping action.

Practising – The Sensei Way

As said before, a Sensei acts mostly as Uke in the traditional way of martial art training. Unfortunately, many sensei only perform “mouth” waza or embu with a willing partner. In order to be a Sensei, you have responsibilities to your students. You should communicate with them through your mind and body. Teaching your student is a bodily experience and speaking is just an add-on to give some additional guidance.
Many Sensei are older than their students and as a result, the “personal” training program is slightly different from that of the student.

From a western point of view, we have to take into consideration that an older body needs a different physical training program.
From a more holistic perspective, the concept of “Ki” has to be taken into account. We cannot deny the existence of bioelectricity (Ki) and the ability to manipulate Ki in some exercise programs.
Hachi Danken or eight brocade exercises is but one example. Another important training tool for senior and experienced practitioners is the Ritsuzen method, the way to stand like a tree.

And keep in mind, Tomiki’s Tandoku Renshu*. Of course, a deeper understanding is needed to understand and acquire the skills of this unique training method.
Tomiki’s Tandoku Renshu is not performed as college students do. It is practiced according the older methods, for example, taught by Senta Yamada.
And of course, you must take into account your own experience.

*Original Tandoku Renshu

The simplification of Ueshiba’s Aikido

As a practitioner of Aikido Tomiki, I am certainly very proud of the efforts of our Sensei. He examined Morihei Ueshiba’s archaic system and made it accessible to the rational man. His simplification of the many techniques in the so-called “Aiki-randori-no-kata” can be considered a work of art.
Is this simplification one of a kind in the world of Aikido? No!

In 1969, Aikido by Kisshomaru Ueshiba was published and can be seen as a simplification of Aikido as practised by the Ueshiba family and in a broader sense the Aiki-Kai community. The book was based on two previous Japanese books written by Kisshomaru Ueshiba.
Aikido (1958) and Aikido Giho (1962)

Complementary and alternative

Old Waseda dojo

Complementary and alternative are terms used to describe many kinds of practices or methods that are not part of the mainstream system. You may hear them outline methods for improving the method. This is called “complementary” because they are used along with your current method. You can sometimes hear about methods that should be better than the original method. We call these “alternatives” because they are used in place of tried and tested methods. Most of the time, the value of these alternative methods is doubtful because they do not complement the current method. Perhaps there is some value if it is used as a stand-alone method with a different objective to achieve.

There are numerous exercises and techniques to support every aspect of Aikido. But often the forest cannot be seen for the trees. Making choices will thus be a real challenge! Even simple basic exercises are conducted in an infinite number of ways. Some of the elementary exercises are created by Kenji Tomiki and every deviation from the basic model is sometimes regarded as a capital sin. However, Kenji Tomiki committed a capital sin when he tried to create a competitive element in the formation of Aikido. After all, its teacher, Morihei Ueshiba has always emphasized the “impossibility” of having contests in Aikido.
This brings forward a question about “complementary or alternative” in Tomiki’s method.

The impossibility of competitive aikido?

To find an answer, we need to dive into the history of Aikido or also known as “aikibudo”. It was Morihei Ueshiba who popularized Aikido or aikidbudo to a wider public, though he was mostly for influential people in the pre-war period. Kenji Tomiki’s role is described in many biographies by different writers and like everything in the world, the different versions are not exactly the same. But in general, Kenji Tomiki was a major student of Morihei Ueshiba and had his own vision of Ueshiba’s art.
In an article written by prof. Shishida of Waseday University we find some information on the history of competitive aikido and a solution for the “impossibility of competitive aikido”.

A Historical Study of Competitive Aikido : the Developmental Process of Randori Method, The Annual Report of Physical Education 33 : 17-27, 2001

To overcome the problem, his talent (Tomiki) in judo, and a quietly humble personality, and widely cultured background were useful in saving aikibudo from misunderstanding. A former student of Kenkoku University, Mr. Seiichi Saito remembered and said, “It was possible because it was Mr. Tomiki. He used to often compare aikido to sumo, kendo, and judo in class.” (1/26/2000 Telephone conversation) This is an indication that Tomiki was trusted by many students. This probably was the only way he could take away prejudice and give proper understanding of aikibudo to those bright students at Kenkoku University.
At this period, Tomiki was concerned with the problem of how to classify and organize Ueshiba’s various excellent methods of skills to establish an instructional system. Tomiki was incapable of destroying traditional relationship between master and pupil by selfishly manipulating to disturb his teacher’s most important principles of aikibudo, or give presumptuous advice. Therefore, he kept the problem of forming a plan of instructional system to himself deep in his mind. When did Tomiki start moving toward developing aikido into a form of competition?
Sometime in post war period, Tomiki wrote, “I started to research modernization of aikido after I received aikido 8th dan in February of 1940.” It was probably after the official registration of Tomiki’s 8th dan. Tomiki must have been thinking about competitive aikido in his mind by then at the latest. But, considering Tomiki’s cautious personality and difficulties of the method, it might have been only a faint thought. It must have been a dilemma to decide on a fight form.

During a fight with bare hands like judo, if one comes close enough for the opponent to get hold of the neck band or sleeve, he would be thrown by judo technique. If they keep their distance, there will be no fight. There was another problem: interests in sitting technique or techniques against weapons will be lost by developing aikido into a competitive sport.

He must have doubted if aikido could be popularized by developing it into a competition. The process of developing aikido into a competitive sport was not easy.
It seems that around the early part of 1958, Tomiki started his actual research activity to develop aikido into a competitive sport with conscious decision to exclude randori technique. This was directly prompted by a severe criticism given that there was no competition of aikido in existence by the council of physical education department of Waseda University when Tomiki decided to set up an aikido club, at the University where he was teaching, and requested to the department of physical education council. At this stage, Tomiki, of course, was practicing only exercises of kata just like the way his teacher Mr. Morihei Ueshiba’s school was coaching aikido, and he did not have any definite plan to develop aikido into a competitive sport. At the council meeting, however, he explained the history, significance, and future of aikido, and by promising competitive aikido, be was allowed to start aikido club. This marked the beginning of ‘experimental stage’, and he recorded in 1969, “With devoted cooperation of the club members, through 10 years’ trials and errors, we have almost succeeded.”

The question arises, did Tomiki change Ueshiba’s Aikido by introducing a competitive element?
Everything depends on the way we like to practice our Aikido. If our aim is to emphasize “competition”, it is certainly an “alternative method” and it becomes an athletic event without the mystical elements of Morihei Ueshiba.
Practitioners who studied the uncompetitive method of Tomiki’s Aikido, will remember Senta Yamada, Tsunako Miyake or Takeshi Inoue. They taught us the original Tomiki Aikido, a method to improve Aikido by adding some judo elements and can be seen as a “complementary method”.

【Kakunodate Times】 Article of August 12, 1957.

Kenji Tomiki, then president of the All Japan Aikido Association, Hideo Ohba, Keiko Fukuda, and Ayako Miyake gave Aikido lessons to volunteers at Tsuneko-in in Kakudate-cho.

At the left Keiko Fukuda, 9th dan Kodokan Judo awarded in 2006
At the right a young Tsunako Miyake. Pioneer of Tomiki Aikido.

Simplified movements and exercises

What are the additional features of Tomiki’s Aikido? “Simplified movements and exercises”. Kenji Tomiki’s contribution plays an important part in simplifying the numerous techniques and movements in the Aikido repertoire. A small part of the original Ueshiba technique can be discovered in Koryu no Kata. These kata are covering different aspects of Aikido. Simplified techniques can be found under “randori no kata” or “Kihon waza”. As usual, there are several versions of these simplified techniques. By simplifying the movements and techniques, a student will acquire in an early stage a global view of the possibilities with Aikido. It has also occurred in other martial arts, Japanese and Chinese. In Iaido and Jodo, the Kendo Federation responsible for these martial arts created a simple format as an introduction. Modern Kendo itself a simplified version of old systems with a sword. Simplified versions of Iaido and Jodo can create a focus on more complex methods. Even Kodokan Judo can be viewed as a simplified version of old Jujutsu methods. In Chinese martial arts, Taijichuan has a short version of the original lengthier versions. The art of Yiquan has no formal sequences (taolu – kata) to study. The most noteworthy is the basic training of the basic elements. After a while, training is progressing at a freestyle of training similar to a randori style of judo and…… Aikido.

Yiquan posture

Is simplified really simplified?

Although it is said Kenji Tomiki simplified Ueshiba’s Aikido along the lines of the Kodokan Judo doctrine, maybe simplified is a too simplified definition.
Kenji Tomiki saw the fundamental movements in Ueshiba’s Aikido and created exercises for practising the fundamental movements. Unfortunately most of those exercises are nowadays practised in a rigid format and lost the fundamental idea of Japanese martial arts: Jukozo.
In the article – the science of training – you will find some explanation about jukozo principle.
Simplifying has not always been a shortcut to understanding. We cannot deny the fundamental elements or movements, otherwise our martial art becomes a shallow image of the original.

Uchi gaeshi & soto gaeshi

The art of the sword as practiced in Aïkido.

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.

The art of the sword in Tomiki Aikido is mainly practised as a form of kata. Koryu no kata dai san (tachi tai tachi) is a primary source for Tomiki Aikido practitioners.
Unfortunately, most practitioners are very weak in their ability to use the sword. The lack of knowledge in most instructors is the main reason. To solve this problem, an instructor may seek guidance from an authentic swordinstructor.
Tachi tai tachi is an introduction to the use of the sword. This kata includes techniques and strategies.

The 1st “waza”

Strategy is a major component of this technique. Direct penetration of the enemy is a skill that can also be used in a toshu (unarmed) situation.

The 1st technique or Shomen Ate of the Tomiki Aikido Basic Kata is an example. Some information about Shomen Ate can be found in “The Sensei Enigma” article on this blog.

Kata 2 & 3

Avoid cutting must be done when the opponent cannot change direction.
Avoidance is different from moving away. During avoidance, the distance is kept to counterattack. Retreating means increasing the distance and making the counter-attack more difficult.

Tsuki

Tsuki enters at the right moment. Too early and too late will destroy the possibility of “Tsuki”.

Do barai

Do barai is a sweeping action aimed at stopping the impetus of the attacker. Fundamentally, it does not cut the opponent.

Kote uchi

Kote Uchi is a controlling action of the opponent’s wrist after sweeping away the sword.

Nagashi

Nagashi is a skill at using the power of the attack and getting back at the opponent.

The last Kata

Semete or keeping pressure is the basic action in this kata.

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

Hachi Danken (Kiko/Qigong)

Qigong, known as Chinese Breathing Exercise, is a holistic system of coordinated body postures and movements, breathing and meditation used for health, spirituality and martial arts training.
Kiko is the Japanese word for Qigong. Hachi Danken is Badua Jin’s expression from Japan.
The Baduanjin qigong (八段錦) is one of the most common forms of Chinese qigong used as exercise. It was primarily designed to be a form of medical Qigong, to repair injuries and enhance global health. It is also used as part of the training regimen in certain martial arts.

Hachi Danken

The Japanese version of BaduaJin, exercises aimed at enhancing the flow of energy in the body.
Like with Aikido and other martial arts, there are many versions of these millennial exercises. Although most versions taught today are from recent times.
The Chinese government has made great efforts to streamline the old ways of moving the body for martial or health purposes.

Standing

Every session start with a moment of standing.
In martial arts terminology we speak about “shizentai” or natural posture.

Diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles

When learning the exercises, you must be conscious of your diaphragm. When you can localize your diaphragm you can push down it after breathing in, you can relax and breath out. Don’t force the breathing. It must be smooth and no sounds. Try to avoid breathing in with the mouth.
A very difficult part of the exercises is the control of the pelvic floor muscles.
The pelvic floor is a muscular sheet that closes the pelvic cavity and the pelvic organs from below and is curved upward at the edges.
The muscles of the pelvic floor relax during bowel movements and while urinating. This also happens in women during sexual intercourse and when giving birth. The perineum is part of the pelvic floor too. It is located between the scrotum and the anus in men, and between the vagina and the anus in women.

Pelvic muscle control is important for keeping hara-tanden-koshi at the centre of your movements during martial arts training.

Breathing method

The synchronisation of the breathing and the movements will increase the effectiveness of the exercises. Nevertheless the breathing cannot be forced because this is unnatural. Breathing is a basically an unconscious process.

There are 2 fundamental methods of breathing.

  • Abdominal breathing: It involves taking slow, deep breaths in through your nose. The goal is to breathe deep enough to fill your belly with air. This increases how much oxygen you take in, and may help slow down your breathing and heart rate.
  • Reverse breathing: If you take a breath in and your stomach draws in, you’re reverse breathing. Usually, this goes along with a lifted chest and/or shoulders on the inhale. With the exhale, you’ll notice get the opposite: the chest/shoulders sink down and the stomach expands out. This breathing technique relaxes you. It also enables you to become aware of your emotions and increase your meditative focus which is necessary during martial arts training.

Reverse breathing is used for exercises 1 to 6.
Exercise 7 and 8 natural breathing.

Exercise 1 – Shin-kokyu

Taking a low posture

Exercise 2 -Shooting an arrow

Exercise 3 – Heaven and Earth

Exercise 4 – Gazing Backward

Exercise 5 – Bending to the side

Exercise 6 – Touching the Toes – Butterfly

Punching

Body shaking

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 😉

Uki Waza – The Way to Otoshi

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.

Standard Method

Standard methods are methodological approaches to create a baseline for a given category of project activities in order to simplify the development of individual projects.

3 Standard Tomiki Aikido Uki Waza

For randori purposes, Kenji Tomiki selected 3 “otoshi” throws also known as floating throws.
These throws are executed in three zones seen from Tori’s perspective. The throwing power, generated by Koshi mawari (lower back and hip power) and unsoku (footwork) is executed in 1 of the 3 zones.

Uki waza are also included in Koryu no kata, traditional kata techniques in the Tomiki system.
Most Koryu no kata techniques have their roots in the pre-war martial arts studies of Kenji Tomiki and Hideo Ohba. If we compare Koryu no kata with the pre-war techniques of Morihei Ueshiba, there are many similarities.

A Basic Footwork, one of the many

Proper footwork is a key factor for effective floating kuzushi and subsequent throwing. The pictures below give you an indication how doing basic footwork. When basic footwork is well understood, creativity is needed to develop a more convenient footwork.
Always remember the relationship to the training partner or opponent. Some opponents have longer arms than average, or some have short arms……………….

Kodokan Judo Connection

In Kodokan Judo we find similar techniques with a floating (uki) and dropping (otoshi) characteristics.

Uki otoshi (Kodokan Judo) performed by Senta Yamada

Judo throws are executed by using a standard grip on the dogi.
Of course, during Judo randori, many variations will be applied. This is called “grip fighting” or Kumi Kata.

During Tomiki Aikido Randori, Kumi Kata (Judo) must be avoided. For this reason wrist and elbow grabbing is the standardized procedure.

Standarized methods

If you follow only 1 teacher, you will usually find 1 core method. When the teacher is the head of a larger organization, the teacher’s method is the norm. An international organisation obviously needs representatives and this is where the differentiation of methods lies. They have their own interpretation.

Standardised methods cannot be regarded as a fixed method, there will always be interpretations and modifications.
When we understand “form, function and meaning”, the differences in the method of grasping, throwing or other things can be considered a personal approach.
While the basic shape is present, minor differences are the result of mechanical and/or mental images and will have a positive impact on performance.

Uki Waza Grabbing Method

A Living Martial Art is always the subject of change and Aikido is not an exception.
As with most standard methods, there are always some modifications for example in the method to grab uke’s arm.

The demonstration of Kenji Tomiki (1975) and the explanation of Tadayuki Satoh (around 2014) is slightly different.
The concept of “kuzushi” is of course the same and you will find this also in Kodokan Judo.

Kenji Tomiki’s method

Mae otoshi
Sumi otoshi
Hiki otoshi

Sumi otoshi and hiki otoshi have a 2hands grip on Uke’s wrist. Mae otoshi has a hold of one hand on the wrist while the other arm pushes the elbow.

Tadayuki Satoh’s method

Mae otoshi
Sumi otoshi
Hiki otoshi

Mae otoshi is similar to Kenji Tomiki’s approach.
Sumi otoshi and Hiki otoshi have one hand on the wrist, the other hand is at the elbow.

Full coverage of Basic 17 by Tadayuki Satoh

Mae Otoshi Method

A couple more interpretations of “Mae otoshi”by Shogo Yamaguchi, Ryuchi Omori, T.Kobayashi and Konoka.

Sumi Otoshi Method

Sumi otoshi methods by Konoka, Shogo Yamaguchi, Ryuchi Omori and T.Kobayashi

Hiki Otoshi Method

Hiki otoshi methods by Konoka and Shogo Yamaguchi

Uki waza and weapons

Weapon handling uses the same body movements as for unarmed combat. In the Tomiki system the Koryu no kata (classic aikido techniques) introduces basic weapon handling. Bokuto, jo (yari) and tanto are used to teach the basics of these weapons.

The use the Jo is used to explain kuzushi. The example here is the use of the jo (yari) during sumi otoshi kuzushi.

Basic arm movements (tegatana dosa tandoku undo) can be used to introduce basic weapon handling. Using a weapon during tegatana dosa can be very challenging to do the correct body movements.
Tomiki aikido training includes unarmed combat as well as armed combat (softanto). Basic kata, is performed unarmed or with tanto (softanto).
Of course, if you like to go deeper into the science of swordfighting or other weapon system, you need a qualified instructor.

The floating feature – Uki

The feeling of “floating” situation can be felt as standing on an “unstable” surface.

Uke’s arm is lifted up high and is rotated (torsion) inward or outward (hineri/gaeshi). This creates a disconnection between the upperbody and the lower body.
Floating can be created as a defensive action when opponent is grabbing you at the wrist. Some formal “kuzushi” exercises developped in the Tomiki system make often use of this situation (for example 7-hon no kuzushi).
When using an offensive method, the grasping method on Uke’s arm has an important role to fullfill.
In general, basic arm movement will be used to create kuzushi (floating action) and followed by a throw (otoshi)

The features of a fall – Otoshi

Otoshi techniques can be found in different martial arts. The idea brought forward is the image of a waterfall.

Iaido has a Taki Otoshi kata. If you use your imagination, you’ll see the waterfall.

Jodo Maki Otoshi is a fundamental technique for quickly dropping the opponent’s sword with a Jo.

In general, all aikido techniques can be performed as a throw. Even kansetsu waza (hiji waza and tekubi waza) can be a throwing technique.
Uki waza uses the skill of “otoshi”, the quickly dropping down of uke’s body. Tori’s power is generated with correct body movement synchronised with gravity.
If only arm power is used, our technique will fail and the opponent will take over the initiative.
Remember, the origin of our power comes from koshi mawari (lower back and hip movement) and unsoku (footwork).

Stationary and dynamic training of Uki Waza

Before we can use “uki waza” as an application in randori or sparring, we must learn:

Form, function an understanding

First we learn the form in a basic format starting from tegatana awase postures. It is about how to use our body without moving around. Some footwork is included in the performance of Tori.
Uke does’t move or doesn’t resist. Uke is just lending his body and do the appropriate “ukemi”.
Afer some training, the function of the different elements (footwork, grasping skills…) will be understood and the separate body movements are transformed into a basic technique.

The introduction of footwork into the tegatana awase, a dynamic basic format of training creates the next step. The dynamic format gives a extra dimension to the training.
Of course this is not yet “randori”, all the elements of the training are programmed. Uke is using footwork, but still lend his body and uses no resistance.
The form is further investigated, the function of the form gives a broader scope of applications and the understanding will open the door to creativity in the training of randori.

Junanahon no kata, the starting point

There are many version of basic 17, all of them have the same techniques using the same concepts. These concepts are discussed in many articles and posts on this blog.
In the unarmed versions, the physical meeting (tegatana awase) is the starting point of the stationary training method mentioned earlier.

Find here an older version of basic 17 (1989).

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

Chokei, the skill of listening

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.

Tegatana Awase: Training routine with a partner/opponent to study basic “aiki” skills.
Tuishou: a two-person training routine practiced in Chinese martial arts

Kihon – Basic Training

When studying martial arts, basic skills are required to apply effective skills in both combat and martial arts. Asian countries have many methods of self-protection based on martial traditions. Nonetheless, there are significant differences in the training methods used by the traditional Japanese and Chinese exhibitors.

In traditional Japanese arts, one develops from learning kata. These kata are categorized into various categories. The basic movement patterns that form the basis of art, the so-called omote-waza and deeper knowledge via ura-waza. Of course, it’s a simplified explanation of Japan’s traditional martial arts.

Contemporary Japanese martial arts borrowed elements from Chinese martial arts. Western ideas regarding training concepts have also influenced Japanese budo.
The idea behind the basic techniques was explicitly conceptualized by the Chinese martial arts. Basic training consists of exercises designed to develop specific skills, fitness and endurance. Concentrating on the Yao or lower abdomen is in fact an art in itself and must be mastered above all sparring is involved. These important foundation skills are sometimes exported as watered down martial arts to non-Asian countries (America, Europe,…). For example the very popular slowmotion version of Yang-taichichuan versus the dynamic powerfull Chen-taichichuan.

Omote & Ura in Martial Arts

When studying kata, you will certainly notice the words “omote” and “ura”. Sometimes the expression omote-waza is used to name the kata explained to beginners or novices in the art.

Omote techniques are taught to beginner and are techniques considered less effective in combat. The view to the outside world is important, but speaking from a strategy point of view, the efficiency is not so high. Students are learning the basic movements of the art.

Ura techniques are more effective in the sense that they are build on a strong “omote” foundation. Basically ura waza are considered as secret techniques. But in fact, the secret is in the total control of the body movements. Without this control, you will not perform efficiently during randori.

Difference between Japanese & Chinese arts

The fundamental difference lies in the pedagogical approach. Chinese arts promote a strong mind and body before any attempt to enter sparring. Chinese arts include some exercises with a sparring flavor, like tuishou or pushing hands.

Chinese martial arts are much longer in history than Japanese martial arts. Like most martial arts, the origin lies in the techniques and strategy of the military forces. Warrior monks, of course, affect the development of martial methods.
In the late 19th century, martial arts also became popular among civilians and created numerous methods as a sort of self-protection.

The same evolution can be seen from the development of Bujutsu and Japanese Budo. The ancient martial arts, also known as Koryu Bujutsu, were mostly practiced by samurai. When the Samurai class was abolished, certain methods became popular as civilian methods mostly called Jujutsu and Kodokan Judo. A few sword methods have become popular as Kendo. The military government was surely a major sponsor of the Kendo method.

Kenji Tomiki wrote some papers on the evolution of Bujutsu to Budo.

The method of practise traditionally used to ensure the safety of dangerous techniques was the kata system of practise. In ancient bujutsu, 99% of a practise was completed by kata alone. That is to say, in order to cope with an opponent’s unlimited attacks, each response was practised by means of kata. That is the reason for the extreme number of kata in ancient jujutsu. For example in Tenjin Shinyo Ryu jujutsu there were 124 kata techniques, and there were over 10 ranho (literally unstructured captures). To become masterful in the practical applications of the techniques required innumerable months. Then someone would be challenged to go from kata to a violent shiai (literally street fight ) called tsujinage or tsujigiri. This gave life to kata and was the place to try to fit together objectively one’s own real ability.

On jujutsu and his modernisation -Kenji Tomiki

We can see both systems, Japanese and Chinese, promoted methods to build up a strong foundation, but both included some exercises as an introduction to different kinds of sparring.
Some jujutsu methods used “midare geiko” or unstructured training. This training is an introduction to sparring or randori.
Chinese arts promote “tuisho” or pushing hands as an introduction to sparring.

Tuishou or pushing hands

Tuishou (Chinese: 推手), often translated as pushing hands, is a popular two-person exercise among Chinese internal martial art practitioners. It is the essential complement to learning bare-handed sequences and also prepares you for combat without rules.

Although we are talking about pushing hands, tuishou is considered a basic training tool to improve partner/opponent’s body listening. Besides listening to the body (energy), other basic skills like accepting power, using power and correct footwork are studied during tuishou.

Chokei, the skill of listening

If you listen to a piece of music and that music touches you, the world around you is no more, there is only music. The art of listening is a part of you and you must enable this ability to accomplish its task. Your mind is there, but your mind’s not interfering with the music.
You realise that music is a sort of energy, traveling like a sound wave. If you can feel the different vibrations of the music, it must be possible to feel or to listen to the vibrations of opponents energy. You must come into contact with it without interfering with your ego.

When you practice with a partner, the “Chokei” skill is always the first task to complete. Unfortunately, our ego, especially blocks this skill. We believe that we can manage the opponent’s action with actions developed in our mind. 
Chokei gives you the information you need to answer the actions of the partner: the opponent. The art of listening without the interference of the ego is a principal part of the training in addition to the skills of the movements of the martial body.

Tegatana Awase, a tool to improve Chokei

A basic practice method to understand ma-ai “distance” from the opponent. The tegatana of two practitioners are matched in contact and they move freely while maintaining the correct distance.

Toshiya Komatsu and Yoshiomi Inoue, Basic techniques of Sport Aikido (Tomiki Aikido)

Tegatana awase is considered a basic exercise in Tomiki Aikido and promotes basic requirement for efficient aikido practic.
But tegatana awase can be seen in a much broader sense than the classical exercise promoted by the Tomiki Aikido system.
Chokei or the skill of listening to the partner/opponent’ energy is in fact an integral component of tegatana awase.
This is what can be considered as a bridge between aikido and tuishu. Both methods depend on your sensitivity.

How can one develop sensitivity?
During tegatana awase, the two practitioners have another role to play. One is active and the other is passive.
Active role: Move forward, backward or sideways without intent to push or pull. It’s only the energy that comes from the footwork.
Passive role: Move in line with the partner’s energy. No resistance or active role is to be performed. It’s all about feeling the energy.

Sotai Renshu – Paired exercises

Tegatana awase exercises are actually an almost non-aggressive method for studying the concepts and techniques of martial art.
Because the non-aggressive nature of the exercise, the perception of a non-aggressive martial art gives plenty of discussion on the effectiveness of the method.

Moving freely around during tegatana awase can be seen as the start of “randori” or “sparring”. Subsequently wrist grabbing can be introduced while keeping correct distance and efficient power use when grasping.
Next, the introduction of “kuzushi” or balance disturning will add the opportunity to apply techniques or waza.

Study examples

Of course we can start from other situations to perform sotai renshu and study chokei, ma-ai, kuzushi and other important concept of Tomiki Aikido

Uchi/Soto Mawashi

Uchi/Soto Gaeshi