Start left or right?

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[arjandevries]

Is there a philosophy about starting with your left hand or with your right in taijutsu?

Arjan

[Ron Tisdale]

If you read some of John Stevens Sensei's books, he talks about that (what foot you enter with, what part of the cosmology that is related to, etc.). He also states that Ueshiba did things backwards from most Japanese martial arts...or something to that affect. This stuff is not my particular forte, so I really don't know.

My own teacher in the yoshinkan specifies certain things as left over right, left side first, and some other things. If I remember correctly it has something to do with the left side usually being a little weaker...since most japanese are right handed.

This can be an interesting area...never really got into it too much.

Best,
Ron

[Roman Kremianski]

It's pretty strange...with bokken, I like to start out with the right forward, but for Aikido it's always my left that's the comfortable side...

[Qatana]

I seem to recall always starting on the left in dance, probably for the same reason, and that has carried over to my aikido. Most of my dojo automatically offer their right wrist, I always start on the left...

[Laurel Seacord]

We always start with ukemi attacking with the right hand first. This is just a convention though, no special meaning attached to it. When everybody starts the same way we save a lot of time looking at our partner's feet to figure out which side first.

Bokken, jo, and tanto are only held "righthanded" in our dojo.

since most japanese are right handed.
In the past, Japanese children who showed tendencies to left-handedness were trained to use the right hand. This seems to be changing a bit recently.

[RoyK]

It's pretty strange...with bokken, I like to start out with the right forward, but for Aikido it's always my left that's the comfortable side...

Since your left hand is holding the bottom of the Bokken, Migi hanmi is naturally more comfortable, isn't it?

[Dazzler]

Is there a philosophy about starting with your left hand or with your right in taijutsu?

Arjan

Never heard this applied to Tai Justu.

With warm up excercise we do left side first. Reason I've been given for this is that its the heart side.

I've never said "so?" ...so can't give any further reasoning behind it.

Bokken suburi we usually perform right foot forward, Jo work is usually done left foot forward.

Again - just the convention I've followed, apart from being told this covers both sides through equal use of both weapons - I've never thought to question it any deeper in the last 15 years.

I must be sooo trusting ... :crazy:

I look forward to some enlightenment via this thread.

Regards

D

[Beholder]

Starting left or right presupposes you can tell your left from your right in the first place. :straightf

Fudebakudo on ambiperplexity (http://www.fudebakudo.com/en/ambi.html)

:)

[odudog]

....In the past, Japanese children who showed tendencies to left-handedness were trained to use the right hand. This seems to be changing a bit recently.

Not trained but forced to be right handed. They would literally take the stuff out of your left hand and place it in the right. For some reason Japanese think that it is bad to be left handed. My wife might have told me the reason but I forget. She was totally relieved when our kids became right handed. One of them was actually favoring the left but switched to right for who knows why.

[Bruce CB]

We trained always using the left side first to trigger the right-side development of the brain that is responsible for "art" since aikido is a martial "art". While right side trigger the left-side of the brain responsible for "logic"... Although we always practice both side to equally enhance them. Otherwise only one side is progressing.

[Dirk Hanss]

We use a simple philosophy: nage chooses the side for the first technique, uke follows.
So you avoid discussions and you can start quickly.

It is very common, that uke prefers to attack with his strong hand (mostly right, right?). So nage would do the opening as offer, what nage prefers. Then the side depends on the technique. But anyway, uke can only accept, what nage offers.


Dirk

[Michael Varin]

In Saito's old book series he said when facing a sword start with your right side forward, empty-handed start left side forward. I don't remember any explanation.

Personally, I don't think it matters.

Michael