Aikido and pain

One thing I love about aikido is how strikingly it describes how your body works and how that is, in fact, how life also works.

In aikido, intertia signifies blockage of your chi energy. When there's inertia, you won't feel pain but, suddenly your arm could break or your neck could snap *gulp*. Aikido tries to unravel these blockages so that the chi would flow smoothly, as a result... you feel pain, tremendous pain sometimes. But that's a good sign. The sign of something in you actually flows correctly.

How life is very much similar to that. Sometimes, we don't feel pain... and suddenly, things start breaking, start snapping left and right. This is due to inertia within us, we "refuse" to see the pain.

There are times when pain is grabbing us by the throat. We can bearly breath just thinking how painful things are. Unbearable, unsurmountable... but be sure, the pain is merely there to show how things are actually flowing correctly.... If you ever feel such pain, be patient. It will soon be your turn to be a nage :)

Azrul

Aikido techniques and attacks

Attacks

• Front-of-the-head strike (正面打ち, shōmen'uchi^?) a vertical knifehand strike to the head.
• Side-of-the-head strike (横面打ち, yokomen'uchi^?) a diagonal knifehand strike to the side of the head or neck.
• Chest thrust (胸突き, mune-tsuki^?) a punch to the torso. Specific targets include the chest, abdomen, and solar plexus. Same as "middle-level thrust" (中段突き, chūdan-tsuki^?), and "direct thrust" (直突き, choku-tsuki^?).
• Face thrust (顔面突き, ganmen-tsuki^?) a punch to the face. Same as "upper-level thrust" (上段突き, jōdan-tsuki^?).

• Single-hand grab (片手取り, katate-dori^?) one hand grabs one wrist.
• Both-hands grab (諸手取り, morote-dori^?) both hands grab one wrist.
• Both-hands grab (両手取り, ryōte-dori^?) both hands grab both wrists. Same as "double single-handed grab" (両片手取り, ryōkatate-dori^?).
• Shoulder grab (肩取り, kata-dori^?) a shoulder grab. "Both-shoulders-grab" is ryōkata-dori (両肩取り^?)
• Chest grab (胸取り, mune-dori^?) grabbing the (clothing of the) chest. Same as "collar grab" (襟

Techniques

• First technique (一教, ikkyō^?) a control using one hand on the elbow and one hand near the wrist which leverages uke to the ground.^[26] This grip also applies pressure into the ulnar nerve at the wrist.
• Second technique (二教, nikyō^?) a pronating wristlock that torques the arm and applies painful nerve pressure. (There is an adductive wristlock or Z-lock in ura version.)
• Third technique (三教, sankyō^?) a rotational wristlock that directs upward-spiraling tension throughout the arm, elbow and shoulder.
• Fourth technique (四教, yonkyō^?) a shoulder control similar to ikkyō, but with both hands gripping the forearm. The knuckles (from the palm side) are applied to the recipient's radial nerve against the periosteum of the forearm bone.^[27]
• Fifth technique (五教, gokyō^?) visually similar to ikkyō, but with an inverted grip of the wrist, medial rotation of the arm and shoulder, and downward pressure on the elbow. Common in knife and other weapon take-aways.
• Four-direction throw (四方投げ, shihōnage^?) The hand is folded back past the shoulder, locking the shoulder joint.
• Forearm return (小手返し, kotegaeshi^?) a supinating wristlock-throw that stretches the extensor digitorum.
• Breath throw (呼吸投げ, kokyūnage^?) a loosely used term for various types of mechanically unrelated techniques, although they generally do not use joint locks like other techniques.^[28]
• Entering throw (入身投げ, iriminage^?) throws in which nage moves through the space occupied by uke. The classic form superficially resembles a "clothesline" technique.
• Heaven-and-earth throw (天地投げ, tenchinage^?) beginning with ryōte-dori; moving forward, nage sweeps one hand low ("earth") and the other high ("heaven"), which unbalances uke so that he or she easily topples over.
• Hip throw (腰投げ, koshinage^?) aikido's version of the hip throw. Nage drops his or her hips lower than those of uke, then flips uke over the resultant fulcrum.
• Figure-ten throw (十字投げ, jūjinage^?) or figure-ten entanglement (十字絡み, jūjigarami^?) a throw that locks the arms against each other (The kanji for "10" is a cross-shape: 十).^[29]
• Rotary throw (回転投げ, kaitennage^?) nage sweeps the arm back until it locks the shoulder joint, then uses forward pressure to throw.^[30]

* Source: wikipedia

Kids upgrading and seminar

Kids upgrading and seminar

More pics from our upgrading the other day

More pics from our upgrading the other day.

Seminar and upgrading

Last weekend's seminar and upgrading sessions were a success. People from other dojos were there too (Thanks for coming, guys) . Congratulation to all "upgradees"! Keep up the good work! [Click the collage above for more pics.]

Upgrading and seminar

MYAIKIDO will be conducting two seminars and upgradings (one for adult, the other for children) on the 27 and 28 of June (respectively).

Forms, fees and schedule can be downloaded below:

Adult upgrade and seminar

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16679326/upnsem0609adults


Children upgrade and seminar

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16679325/upnsem0609child

Best of luck to all upgradees,

Chaiyook!!

Azrul

Aikido violance?

Hafez forwarded me this article from Aikidojournal "The reluctant uke". It's a good read and something that most aikidoka would face (especially those with smaller physique like yours truly).

Anyway, this entry is to add to that article and how violance (either we realise it or not) has sipped into our beloved art.

When I came back from my studies in France (this was back in 2002), I was quite eager to find an aikido dojo here in KL (Malaysia). I finally joined this one dojo (who will stay anonymous to protect the innocent). Unfortunenately for me, my gi was utterly destroyed during transport from France to Malaysia (don't ask how). So, during my first few classes at this new dojo I was wearing a t-shirt and track bottom.

My first class was "interesting" to say the least. First off, our sensei was not there. The class was actually a "revision" class conducted by the students. No problem there. I guess, since I'm not wearing a gi, the students thought that I was brand new to aikido (I was a 3rd kyu). I was lumped with some of the new wide eyed kids (despite my age - of course I consider that as a complement :) ) that just joined in. One of our "senior" (a 5th kyu I think) thought us ikkiyo on suwari-waza and just like any other class ask us to repeate what he did.

Since I was from the Kobayashi school when I was in France my ikkiyo looks really "wierd" to them. I'm ok with them trying to correct me but one incident shock me to the very core.

When I do my ikkiyo on suwari-waza, after I pin my uke to the ground, I quickly release him while guarding him with an aitemi. Of course the aitemi is quickly transformed into a te-katana to receive the uke's next shuimenuchi. My seniors on the other hand insist that I pin the uke to the ground until he begs for merci. (Which in my opinion somewhat breaks the flow, but I just kept quiet). What was shocking was when they told me this:

"You should not just release your uke. If you went to a seminar and work with all the shodans and what not, if you just release him like that, he will get up and he will punch you in the face"

What?

Punch me in the face?

Of course my aitemi would land on his chin long before that, but here's the problem:

What kind of a sick dojo where a shodan punches a 7th kyu in the face?

An aitemi just to shock you a bit once in a while is ok but even then, I won't do it to a 7th kyu.

To cut the long story short, I quit the dojo and for the next 5 years or so hangs my bokken, so to speak. I was wondering if its just that dojo (which is a famous dojo by the way) or is everyone in Malaysia try to "adopt" aikido to the street. The aikido that I learn in France was different. It was full of harmony, philosophy and what not (it also helps that my teacher was a lady) and here it's different.

Luckily enough I found MyAikido. The teaching philosophy here is really close to what I have learnt previously but it took me 5 years to get over that little incident.

I wonder how many other aikidoka gave up because of this street-fight, bang-the-nearest-7th-kyu mentality.


Azrul