Little House In Ise

There is an ura (浦) and an omote (表) to most techniques. In some cases there are ura and omote variations of the associated pins as well (nikyou comes to mind). Some however, aren’t so obvious. For example, until very recently I had no idea that there are ura and omote variations for the yonkyo pin.

It turns out that for omote, the meaty part inside the forearm is the preferred place to apply the pin. For the ura variation, the pin is set along the radial bone.

My partner, one of the old guys (a 5th dan), is a bit of a joker so I was worried that he might be telling the blind man that his socks were on the wrong feet. However, during the jiyuwaza portion of class, my uke’s teacher (a 7th dan) grabbed me for a few throws and demonstrated the difference between the feeling of yonkyo both ways.

When performing the omote variation, if your grip is firm and your “sword cut” cut is performed as a relaxed shomen strike, the pin will be applied by the cut alone. There is no extra effort needed — just the cut. With uke pined down you should notice that the index finger applying the pin is right in the meaty part of the forearm. Similarly for ura, a relaxed kesa giri (袈裟切り : diagonal cut) to the outside will cause your index finger to apply pressure along uke’s radial bone.

As with almost all Aikido, the key in both cases seems, again, to be relaxed movement with good posture. Now, if it’s so damned simple, how can it be so hard?

Ray and I were on the train at 9:00 Saturday morning and met the Honbu Dojo youth group at the regular spot beside the Budokan. After waiting outside for a while and then waiting inside for a while longer it was time to dress and have lunch. Bento and tea were provided and the kids went a little stir crazy waiting for the program to kick off.

After standing for Kimigayo (the Japanese national anthem), there were several speeches by local, national and organizational dignitaries. I didn’t think this opening ceremony lasted as long as others that I’ve been through but then again, I wasn’t sitting in seiza packed shoulder to shoulder with a zillion others — Ray might have something different to say about the length of the speeches. After the ceremonial opening of the event the younger Suzuki sensei lead the whole mass of kids in slightly abridged set of traditional Aikido warm-up exercises.

The fourth grade through junior high age kids were then shooed off the mat and first through third grade students had a full class including ukemi, shiko and a handful of basic techniques. There were two other similar classes with Wakasensei teaching the fourth through sixth graders (Ray’s group) and Kanazawa sensei teaching the junior high school kids. Energy level and sophistication increased with each age level.

After the classes ended the enbu began. Students came from all over Japan to demonstrate how their schools do Aikido. There were demonstrations with one student and one teacher and others with large numbers of kids executing kata in sync. It was quite impressive and I was please with the overall level, especially that of the older junior high school kids. They did a great job!

I also found the kids-will-be-kids atmosphere in the stands fun. At one point I noticed a group of about ten kids huddled looking as though they were doing some serious plotting and planning. On closer inspection it turned out that one of the kids had brought a DS Lite and everyone was giving him advice on how to play. So much for observing the demos At the end of the kids section Fujimaki Shihan, Sugawara Shihan and Doshu all gave demonstrations. The pictures below should tell the story better than I can describe it…

Fujimaki Shihan says its time to start the next demo!

Wakasensei shows the kids how Ikyo Ura is performed at Honbu.

Fujimaki Shihan controls the centerline…

A dynamic entry into Nikyo ura (ouch!)

Sugawara Shihan demonstrates iriminage.

Staying inside…

Doshu’s kotegaeshi

Doshu setting up kotegaeshi

This one is always a crowd pleaser –especially when the ccrowd is mostly kids!

On Monday, the last of the summer rank tests were completed. Doshu called an end to class at what would normally have been the halfway point. We bowed out and Doshu left. Seki, Kobayashi and Irie Shihan came in and the doors were closed. Irie Sensei called the names of those taking tests. They lined up on the mat from lowest rank on the far right to highest on the far left. The rest of us stayed off the mat.

Seki sensei, sat to the left of the Shomen and Kobayashi and Irie sensei sat to the right. When each group of students testing were called up, they sat to the right of and perpendicular to shomen, facing Seki sensei. Uke lined up on the left side of shomen. There were three people testing for 4th kyu, two testing for 2nd kyu, one testing for shodan (初段), two testing for nidan (弐段) and one testing for sandan (三段). One of the sensei to the right called, “Shomen rei” (正面礼 : bow to the front), “otagai rei” (お互い礼: bow to each other) and the tests began.

The shodan test was very basic. Standard techniques (ikyou to yonkyou, shihonage, kotegaeshi, kaetennage, tenchinage, etc) and attacks were called and most were standing variations with only a little hanmi handachi (半身半立ち) thrown in. Three tanto tori variations were requested and jiyuwaza was called for katate-tori and shomen uchi. There was no randori for the shodan and no koshinage required.

The student testing for shodan was the second foreigner that day and he seemed to understand the Japanese that was being spoken around him. For people who do not speak Japanese but are still interested in testing at Honbu, the sensei were calling techniques using terminology that is familiar to anyone who has been studying Aikido long enough to be interested in testing at Honbu.

For the nidan tests, two uke were called (I volunteered). One uke ran through the same paces as the shodan student though with a lot more hanmi handachi and longer jiyu-waza sections. When the uke were breathing hard the seconds were called in and we attacked with knives. The tanto-tori portion was also pretty short with only three variations requested. At that point, we switched to two-person randori starting with the both uke holding the the nidan candidate’s arms in _firm_ morote tori. It was fun!

This was the sandan candidate’s second attempt at this test. For his test, three uke were called and the presiding teachers called every standard technique in the book — all from hanmi handachi. The guy looked as though he was about 40 and was quite stout as well. He was blowing hard by the time the first uke was discarded as being warn-out. The second was told to strike and whole lot of jiyu-waza followed. The third uke was finally called in for sword and staff take-away (standing). They then did randori starting with two uke holding his arms and the third in a light choke (collar grab really) from behind. The main comment that the teachers made was that breath is such an essential part of the martial arts that even when exhausted and blowing wind, the tester should try to hide it.

Tech Note:
This may be standard and I have just been missing it. Hanmi handachi katatetori shihonage (半身半立ち片手取り四方投げ) was performed on the knees at all times but hanmi handachi ryotetori shihonage (半身半立ち両手取り四方投げ) ended with nage in a standing position.

Kokoro has been complaining about not being able to do rolls properly. She has been doing what we used to call “egg rolls” — going over from side to side rather than shoulder to opposite butt-cheek. I was proud that she knew it was wrong and even more pleased that in her frustration she came to me for help. As an aiki-geek papa, any opportunity to share my geekiness with the kids makes me super happy. They can sense my enthusiasm and we have a lot of fun.

My plan was to go to Cosmic Center (a public gym) and use their mats but heavy rain dampened that idea… So, when Kokoro brought up rolling again we went up to her room and arranged the interlinking, soft, ABC pads on her floor and did very small rolls. The Squirt favors one side but other than that was actually looking pretty good. I decided that we needed to do a bit more so we tried some forward flat falls. I emphasized the forearm to floor contact for preventing wrist injuries since it seems to be a detail often skipped in kids ukemi training. She caught on quickly and soon we were both making horrible thumping noises banging on the floor.

The noise brought Ray in and he immediately said, “Papa, do yokomen uchi!” Silly me, I did. It turns out that yokomen uchi shihonage is his favorite technique and he has really been wanting to show it off. So he did it hard — it’s a small room and if there had not been a nice friendly wall to keep me up I would have gone down for real. Training at Honbu has really added some oomph to my little boy’s Aikido!

Fourth graders are the youngest kids in that class and so there are a lot of bigger kids. Given his almost five years of Aikido, Ray outranks a lot of them and is the only fourth grader that lines up with the junior-high and high-school kids. That seems to bother some of them — so they resist. Resistance training isn’t always bad for the partner with more advanced skills. For the bigger, less skilled partner, their own resistance may cause trouble but I haven’t heard any complaints if it has. Anyway, Ray has learned how to move and has picked up a trick or two. When I resisted (lightly) his second attempt at shihonage, The Big Guy stuck his foot behind my heel and downed me AGAIN!

Kokoro of course wanted to show off too and she requested that I strike shomen. She did a lovely little ikyo omote. Since she chose that one, I assumed it was her favorite but she corrected me. Her favorite technique is irimi nage and the variation she is comfortable with is a very Steven Segal-esque direct entry irimi nage that just does not match the image of a pretty-in-pink, gap-toothed, six-year-old having trouble with rolls.

I am definitely going to be more careful the next time I give these kids a time-out…

LOVE and PRIDE!

I have spent today re-playing in my mind three bits of wisdom from one of the little old wizards of Honbu Dojo. His other tips and corrections, however, have faded like the last remnants of a pleasant dream — leaving behind a familiar frustration. So, I have been clinging firmly to what I have been able to and these notes are a part of that.

Shomen uchi iriminage (正面打ち入り身投げ) is all about appropriate distances, entering, blending and connection. For me, it is the epitome of Aikido. When iriminage is light as wind, it is at its best. However, hidden within that lightness, there is a heavy shaleighli and an abrupt introduction to the ground. The iriminage related tip was about blending and entering. I have been cutting uke’s arm too far to the outside. When cutting down, bring uke’s striking arm into your own center, they will be drawn in. As they are drawn in, you enter too. Together, the two motions puts nage in ideal position to gently (or less gently) guide uke into the ground. I have been playing this cut and blend over and over in my mind.

For many years, I have performed ikyou （一教) by alternately “drawing a circle around uke’s ear with their elbow” or pushing their elbow through their head. My partner’s tip was far more elegant and subtle. Instead of “pushing”* around or through, my partner suggested that urging uke’s elbow UP was best. Up seems to create a softer connection that unbalances uke without them being as aware of it. I may have been taught this a half dozen times in the last twenty years but today it clicked. Soft is good!

The tip on Morote tori kokyunage (諸手取り呼吸投げ) was more of a really well timed reminder. The arm that uke takes should project outwards and curve gently up. Maintaining upright posture, nage performs an irimi tenkan (入り身転換) and meets uke shoulder to shoulder. Nage ’s arms should be extending out and up similar to those of the statue of OSensei. At this point, if nage rotates their hips, uke will fall.

I hope this makes sense to others. To me, it is just my way of hanging on to what was being taught. I hope my muscles remember some of the rest because my brain certainly doesn’t.

*”Pushing” is the wrong word but it’s what I’ve got. If you’ve done this before you know what I mean. If you haven’t done it before, “push” will do.

Kokoro trained with Wakasensei the other day. This is a picture of the two of them after class — Ray was in his class and so isn’t in the pic. The yellow strap around her neck holds her Dojo membership card. Most of the kids put their cards on straps so they don’t lose them. I can pretty much guaranty that we’ll lose one or two in the next couple of years anyway but it is a good idea.

Two days ago we realized that the kids were expected to participate in the Aikido demonstration at the Budokan. We hadn’t really paid any attention to the leaflet that came from the dojo. We knew the kids weren’t eligible to test so didn’t read further than that. It turns out that we missed a quite a bit… Oops. So, the kids had their debut at the Nippon Budokan today. It turned out well. Ray knew the techniques and just did what was asked. Kokoro didn’t know what was going on so she just did ukemi the whole time. Her partner was confused at first but didn’t seem to mind once she caught on. Here are a few pics.

Ray, front row left, doing Shihonage from yokmenuchi.

Kokoro was on left side of the middle of the little kids mat.

There were other people demonstrating too…

I like this one of Doshu and his son.

The technique that I first learned to call jujinage (十字投げ) has long been a source of confusion for me even though the technique itself is pretty straight forward. Uke’s arms are crossed in front of their chest and the lower arm is used as a lever with the other (upper) arm as a fulcrum. The upper arm cuts forward like a sword strike as the two hands are stretched apart. The name comes from the cross formed by the arms which vaguely resembles the kanji character ju (十) and it is from the name that I have been confused.

In an Aikido context, I have also heard what I think of as hijikime nage (肘決め投げ) called jujinage.  I have heard what I think of as jujinage called udegarami (腕絡み) and recently, Doshu called it jujigarami (十字絡み).

This sort of confusion leads to a lot of head scratching on the part of students and teachers in many schools. So, what is right? As usual, my answer is whatever your sensei says is “right”. However, there has to be an element of what you think of as “right” too. In my mind this technique will always be jujinage and when communicating with compatriots from my former schools I will call it that. I still need to be aware that my current teacher calls it something else and I must remember that as well.

The real problem is that most of the things we think of as names are more accurately descriptions. “Crossed arm tangle”, “decided by the elbow”, “wrist return” are the way these things sound in Japanese. Rather than thinking of them as names Japanese instructors described movements or positions and some of these descriptions have been codified as names. Others seem to be more fluid. As an example, ryote tori (両手取り) and morote tori (諸手取り) both basically mean the same thing and some schools use ryoute tori to mean both.

The real take-away from all this is not Doshu says X and Sensei says Y (Waaaa!) but rather that understanding Aikido is not about knowing the name for a thing whether that is a concept or a technique. Knowing the names is important on tests and when chatting with others but real understanding of Aikido is in the body.

After reading item #17 on autrelle’s list of 20 ways to enjoy your Aikido more (it really got me thinking) I have decided to focus my upcoming training on making my worst into my best. My worst is not a specific technique but rather my handling of techniques in general from ushiro ryou te dori (後ろ両手取り : both hands grabbed from behind).

Ushiro waza have been a weakness of mine. It stems from the period earlier in my Aikido career in which “martial integrity” was my most important criteria for judging techniques and principals. I could never really justify the way the ushiro techniques were practiced. So, I neglected them. Also, like the surgeons in the Far Side cartoon standing around a patient saying “I didn’t study spleens”, ushiro waza hasn’t been emphasized in some of the dojo where I’ve trained.

So, with all that in mind, I was delighted to see that Doshu was focusing on ushiro ryote tori this morning. Since I am still sidelined I had to sit and watch. There was a pair of young men of similar height and build and of excellent technical proficiency upon whom I focused. Both were extremely clean in their movements and it was easy to see that one was concetrating on keeping his elbows in until some moment, clear only to him, when he could extend and unbalance the other. The other fellow was all about continuous fluid motion. Up and out, down and around, he was a wonderful example of movement and flow. I made mental notes of things I wanted to try the next time I get an opportunity. That will have to do for now…

What is you weakest technique or area? How will you improve it?

I try not to proselytize about Aikido. Really, if my first thought is, “Wow, that person should try Aikido” I try to morph it into, “maybe they should try bujutsu” or even more generically “a little exercise would probably help their xxxx”. I do my best not to let those thoughts out lest I sound like a snob and an ass. The fact is though, I often think that people could help their bad backs (or bad whatevers) by making a habit of better posture and doing stretches… A little Aikido perhaps?

Even though I actively try not to sell the gospel of Aikido, it seems that I do talk about it quite a bit — possibly too much. Everyone and their cat knows that I am an Aikidoka. At home, having a pile of wooden training swords and staffs by the door is normal. In the neighborhood, nobody gawks when I pedal up the street in my dogi. At the office, people regularly ask if I am going to practice tonight and laugh when I tell them, “No I trained before work already”. Damn! I must be a boring conversationalist!

Anyway, the office jokes took an extreme turn today when I was attacked by a dude from Sales. The attacker was “BD”, an ex-Bosozoku (motorcycle gang member) and kendo yudansha. All in all, BD is a fun guy who is amongst the most willing to tease me about the silliness of my hobby — usually whilst pretending to swing a golf club. I was chatting with another Sales guy when I noticed a weird motion out of the corner of my eye. It was BD doing that weird Kendo gallop and swinging shomen at the left side of my head. I quickly but, I hope, casually, stuck my fist out to where his face would be if his course completed. My timing was on and as his downward swing started to accelerate, his head started snapping back out of the way of my fist. Before reaching his target BD was already stumbling backwards. We all got a good laugh out of that.

It’s the closest thing to Aikido that I’ve done in two weeks now. My recovery from appendix surgery is going well though I’ve another two weeks before I’m allowed to train. Just watching practice is frustrating!

* Dave Barry