Randori for the first time!

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[Mike Hamer]

Hi, Ive been practicing Aikido for about 5 and 1/2 months now, and about a week ago I got to try randori for the first time. Obviously in a very controlled limited situation but nonetheless randori! :)

The technique was Shiho Nage, thats what we've been practicing the past few weeks. My uke's were my Sensei, and another senior student. It really kind of made me proud of myself, looking back on how much ive learned over the past 5 months. Aikido is awesome, I look forward to learning more over the years, and I dont see myself ever stopping.

[Roman Kremianski]

Randori is hard shit. :(

Keep at it Mikel.

[Mike Hamer]

I found it to be delightfully fun.


(in no way am I say not challenging!) :ai:

[Roman Kremianski]

I never said it wasn't fun...but everytime I go up there I look like a stuttering rabbit. :D

[Mike Hamer]

hehehe.

[mrfeldmeyer]

I have been practicing for around a year and a half now. I remember starting randori around a year ago. The first thing I had to learn was not to fight back. I always tried to respond to the tori's technique only and keep my balance. I of course never got anywhere with taking their posture from them with that strategy.

Congratulations on beginning randori, it is now one of the most fun things to do at practice for me, and I'm sure as my practice moves on it will only get better.

[RoyK]

I'm doing Aikido for a year and a half now, too, and jyu waza can sometimes be really fun or really hard, inversely depended on how hard i try to make it work :)

My biggest holdback was trying to foresee how the uke is gonna attack me. it's still an issue but i'm getting over it . Someone from my dojo who learned in Yamada's dojo in New york said they were taught to approach the uke when he's getting up, to force an attack on him and keep him constantly off balance. Someone else said i just need to keep a good distance and watch uke's shoulders.

I just try to relax and take whatever comes at me at a reasonable pace.

[James Davis]

I've been training for eight years, and it just keeps getting more fun. Stick with it! :D

The easier it gets, the more I relax and smile.

The more I relax and smile, the easier it gets. ;)

[Joyce Lunas]

We did randori today at my dojo! I've been practising Aikido since September and all i can say is, well once you've "transfered" your "centre" (hara) upwards and you get afraid by your attackers it's... over and done with. They're gonna "get" you, no matter how hard you may try to 'avoid' them. I realise i may be the last person to give an opinion on this, but for what it's worth i'll give it: Sensei told us to RELAX and NOT concentrate on the uke's hand, foot etc. Look at them in the eye, focus inside of you, do NOT make a lot of paces (he said that just an irimi-tenkan should do the trick) and .... practice again and again and again....

Hope this helps, anyway
C u around

[Amir Krause]

Would you mind describing the type of training you call Ranodri ?

It seems to me different people have totally different activities undr the same name. Even if they belong in the same organization.

In Korindo Aikido, Ranodri is normally a full free play action, all attacks and all technichs are allowed (including counters), each of the (normally two) particpents may choose when he wishes to attack and how (which strike or grab) and thus give the other an opportunity to practice being Tori and performing a tchnique on him, the roles can be reversed at any moment (for example, if the other moves in a way that invites the attacker to change his attack in a technique). The practice is NOT comnpetitive and all participents should strive to be soft, harmonous and not to resist nor use force (counter application has to follow those rules too).

What are the rules in your Ranodori?

Amir

[Mike Hamer]

The Randori im talking about has stages, like at my level, I was only practicing one technique from the same hand wrist grab, then at higher levels you might have rules like any technique from a wristgrab, one technique from srikes or grabs, and so on and so forth