Articles

By P Gaw

I’m not good at memorizing things. Never have been. After twenty-five years of aikido, I don’t remember complex techniques and still mix up technique names, especially shihonage vs kotegaeshi 😉  Instead, I’ve figured out a few simple rules that work for me.

Just to put it in context, I’m a woman who doesn’t do aikido for martial arts. I have to actively think to act in a martial way. I’m not into samurai fantasies or MMA culture. I’m currently doing aikido because I’m curious about the relationship between how people move and their personalities. This shapes how I approach everything on the mat.

When I’m the One Attacking

How much force do I put in when grabbing or attacking as the uke?  My rule is simple: give “enough” energy without losing my center WHILE still being able to connect and feel my partner. That’s it. I don’t overthink it.  Of course, “enough” is different for each person.  Generally speaking, with senior aikidokas, I aim to match their energy. With beginners, I set the energy level for them to match.

As uke, my objective is to attack their center cleanly. I let them take my balance. Then I try to get my balance back as fast as I can so I can attack again. Simple rules for me to remember.

When I’m Getting Thrown

When nage fully takes my center, I don’t think about how to take the fall. I’ve been injured in the past because I decided to go a different way instead of how I was thrown. So now, I don’t anticipate, I don’t stiffen up. I listen to where my partner is sending me, go with the flow, keep my body relaxed and trust that after years of being thrown, my body will know what to do.

I’m not taking ukemi to make my partner look good. I’m also not going to move on my own. I’m taking ukemi to allow my partner to practice.  If they’re open to it, maybe we’ll have an aikido conversation and have a bit of fun. Simple enough.

When I’m the One Throwing

I try to follow these three basic rules:

• Keep my posture. Don’t lean, don’t hunch. Be centered, stay relaxed.
• Don’t decide what’s going to happen ahead of time. Just respond to what they give me.
• If it doesn’t feel natural, something’s wrong. Trust that feeling.

Here’s what I’ve learned when uke is “attacking” me: they’re trying to take my center. So I should listen to what they’re doing and move with it. Don’t fight them. Don’t force them to do what I want. Just work with their energy and guide it to some sort of “resolution”.

To allow for all this to happen, the laws of physics apply (e.g. for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction; an object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon by a force), as well as the principles of body mechanics (e.g. keep your center of gravity over your base of support; efficient use of bones, joints and muscles as levers, pivot points and forces). Sometimes these are harder to remember.  But hopefully over time with lots more practice, my body will remember them.

That’s Really It

These aren’t complicated rules. They’re not fancy techniques. They’re just simple ideas that make sense to me after doing this for a long time.

The funny thing is, these simple rules work everywhere, not just in aikido. Stay balanced. Don’t decide everything ahead of time. Listen to what’s happening. Work with what you get instead of fighting it.

Simple works.