Aikido Demo Advice

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[danielab1924]

Hello again!
A friend and I are going to be doing an aikido demo for our school's multicultural week. We got it approved to do whatever techniques we want and so far we've decided to incorporate both weapons and hands on techniques. For the weapons we've decided to do the 31 jo kata and 5 of the bokken kumitachi both partnered up. But, we're stuck on 2 things: one being what techniques we should do for the hands on part and two what would be some good music to incorporate with these techniques. my partner is at a 3rd kyu level and im at 5th kyu level and we've got about 7-10 mins for the entire performance.

any advice? thanks!

-Daniela:eek:
:ai: :ki: :do:

[phitruong]

KISS principle apply. you are not there to prove anything. show what you know. have fun.

[roman naly]

stick to what you know and don't try anything too fancy.

[lbb]

There's the aikido piece, then there's the presentation piece, which should not be overlooked. Some basic rules of presentation:

- Plan, then rehearse, then rehearse again. And again. And again. Know your stuff cold before you stand up in front of an audience.
- Get someone to watch your performance and offer commentary. No chitchat, run through it like it was the real thing, then discuss afterwards.
- I can't advise you on music, but -- unless you normally play music while training in your dojo -- I can advise you to use the music in all rehearsals if you intend to use it for the demo. As with anything else, never introduce an element into the performance that you haven't rehearsed.
- If your demo will not be narrated, make sure it can stand on its own, without explanation. If it will be narrated by someone other than you, make sure that person rehearses with you. If you will be narrating, keep your narration brief, to the point, and well-timed.

[Mary Eastland]

If you have room to roll and are comfortable rolling you could do a simple kokyu nage into a big front roll. Alternate being uke and nage so you swtich rolls after each throw. It makes for a nice, simple, active interchange that is interesting to watch.

Good luck.
Mary