Quote:
Originally posted by Robyn Johnson
Hello everyone!
Can someone please describe to me what a "no touch" throw is. What is it about them that some people would think it's fake and some real? Thanks a lot! 
Robyn 
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It is possible to connect, lead, blend, misdirect someone into a throw. Then there is the "O'Shit, he's gonna take my head off" version or, "the duck, move under uke and uke flies or has a bad knee day." There's a bazillion variations. I suppose you could even argue that kiai could fit into this realm. No touch, has a lot of variations which are quite legitimate.
However, sensei might be doing "no-touch" up the wazzo and if all they are doing it with is 5th kyu's one might look at it with a bit of suspicion. Or, if someone has sufficient awe-power, they can engender even higher ranking students into this mystical no-touch realm. Pretty soon, no one knows what is real.
I'm a lot less militant than some in that I don't mind aiki-dance, I've seen an awful lot of good stuff in that realm, as long as you know it is what you are doing. The problem that I've seen with no-touch is that it can become aiki-dance without anyone realizing it. Then what is fake and what is real starts getting even more blurry than it usually is.