No problem, Jamie. I spent the first couple of years leaning aikido thinking that I was suffering from a major disadvantage due to my size. Then I found out how it could be an advantage. You'll most likely find the same thing. Take care! -Drew

Thanks for the encouragement, Drew. We all definitely struggle in different ways, and it certainly is (at least for me and other folks at my dojo who are on the "extremes" of physiques --- being either smaller than average or larger than average) an ongoing learning experience in adaptation (or compensation, as you say). I like your perspective that we are each struggling to make the Aikido our own. I'm sure that after many years of training, I'll have gained better insight into how to make it all work for me. In the meantime, more patience and more practice! I know that getting frustrated now and then is just part of the process and can be quite a good catalyst for improvement, so long as I don't let it interfere with my focus and concentration on the mats. Thanks again!

Jamie, There is a distinct disadvantage to being smaller than your attacker. There are also distinct advantages. This is especially true when you're in the beginning stages of learning (you know, training for fewer than 20 years. *grin*). But, part of that learning process is making the aikido your own and learning ways to use your body to do the techniques. I'm at the other end of the spectrum as a big guy, bigger than most people I train with. I've had to struggle with learning aikido too, and I've often looked at the small, skinny people and thought how much easier they have it. The truth is that everyone struggles to learn aikido, regardless of their size, weight, ages, etc. It's just that different people struggle with different things. I saw two rather petite women test for nidan two weekends ago. Their tests were fantastic. I noticed that their small size has some advantages, especially during randori, and some disadvantages, like when doing hip throws. Overall, their size did not seem to matter one way or the other. I suspect that when people say size doesn't matter in aikido, they're really saying that size doesn't matter after you've been training for a number of years and you've learned to compensate. Regards, -Drew

Thanks Kelly! I believe that my Sensei recommended that to me in the past as well, only (if I recall correctly) it was in the context of empty-handed attacks --- thankfully it does work well control-wise with one hand (though it still initially seems to require a "hand-exchange" for me, as my small hands don't always wrap around a larger uke's hand well either way). In the context of a tanto attack, however, it seems that the palm grab is initially unavoidable (since uke's hand is grasping the handle of the knife and your first, controlling, hand has no choice but to grab around the palm, as you can't get at the fingers until you pry the knife out with your second hand) --- hope that makes sense. How're things going for you these days?

I'm not sure if this will help Jamie, but it is my understanding that Sankyo is applied and controlled from the fingers. The palm grab is secondary. So maybe you should try and practice Sankyo with one hand controlling the fingers, and see what results you get. Kelly