AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.
Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the
world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to
over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a
wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history,
humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.
If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced
features available, you will need to register first. Registration is
absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!
The focus in class, was not so much the techniques, but the importance of having an open mind.
When someone reaches out to grab, how do you know they are going to grab, what if they kick, punch, elbow, or bite....Let's be honest with ourselves.
When you are learning the techniques, most of the time, you maybe moving in a way that would not be beneficial if the attack was something else. But you're learning to make the moves. You are focusing on the steps and what is "supposed" to happen to Uke, the one attacking.
It's OK to do this, but always, always, keep in your mind the fact that your uke, attacker, could be doing anything. He could be kicking you, punching you, elbowing you, head butting you, even a bite is pretty effective. (I have a friend that went to the Vietnam war, he told me a personal story of his...one of his Vietnamese friends saved his life by biting and tearing out the throat of the man that was standing behind him about to kill him)
I would call this, Keeping you Mind Open. In the long run, when you start to get better at the techniques, you will truley excell if you always keep this in you mind.