Aikido & turning
 

hlo.

Wondered what the 'theory' behind turning in tachi waza was, like, how to move without damaging knees. Worrit about it a bit, as my knees have been acting up lately.

Thanks lots,

Toms

Keep your knee in line with your toe. This allows the knee to work in the two directions it is supposed to work (forward and back) and not in a twisting motion. Theres a lot about moving your body as one unit in the book _Cheng Hsin : The Principles of Effortless Power_ by Peter Ralston.

Excellent point about keeping the toes in line with the knee. There is an exercise that may help with this movement.

Stand in a neutral stance.
Turn the right foot out as far as it is comfortable by opening your hip and turning your center to the right. Keep your toes in line with your knee.
Plant the right foot.
Continue rotating your hips in that direction and step around with the left foot.
Turn the left foot in (like you are pigeon toed) as far as possible so that it is lined up opposite the right foot (toe to toe).
Continue turning to the right by opening the hips and moving from your center.
Plant the left foot.
Move the right foot. This time the goal is to line it up again with the left but heel to heel this time.

This is obviously easier to describe when demonstrated. But it was worth a shot.

Re: Aikido & turning
 

Always be on the balls of your feet. This is harder than it sounds. You can put pellets on your heals like my sensei makes us...or you can just check yourself throughout the day. Kicks help, if you do them safely and right.

Re: Re: Aikido & turning
 

Although people are often told to keep on the balls of their feet it will definately not help keep you knee from twisting - in fact it is likely to produce the opposite effect. For example, stand on the ball of your foot and put your weight on it, then move the rest of your body around your planted foot. Then try this with the heel. You will notice that when you place your heel down your knee can't twist in the wrong direction.

The ideal is to do the motion slowly and develop hip movement (as in previously mentioned exercise). An alternative is to step using your heel initially (although this reduces your balance, so it is preferable to develop good hip turning using this method, and then slowly put your weight more evenly over the foot).

Ian

Stand with both feet parallel, approximately shoulder width apart. Turn both feet outwards between 30 and 45 degrees. Rotate your body to the left, slowly, keeping your spine straight. Keep your weight evenly distributed over the foot at all times.

When you can no longer rotate without compromising your spine or shifting to the outside edge of the foot, rotate slowly back to the right side. Repeat this for 2-3 minutes before every class, in place of the uncoordinated flailing that most Aikido schools teach as a "warmup".

This exercise will teach you exactly when you need to pick up your feet in a turn, thereby saving your knees from unnecessary strain.

Re: Re: Re: Aikido & turning
 

I'm not sure if I'm understanding what you wrote but the whole point of being on the ball of your foot is that your foot is not planted. It serves as a pivot for your body to rotate on. When you plant your feet, that's when you get in danger of damaging the knee, I believe. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'm no doctor.
To help your knees when your just standing still, try releasing the tension in them. Throughout the day check to make sure your knees are slightly bent. 50/50 weight distribution. Good ground connection. Relaxed. At first, it may be tiring and you won't be able to do it all day. Over time though, your knees will get stronger.

Thanks lots for all the advice.

:)

Do have a nice day,

Tomsk