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Hiroaki Izumi wrote:
I often do an atemi on people who don't resist strongly enough and fall too easily. If they are so easy to throw, why do a technique at all? Just hit them and get it over with. No need for Aikido.
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If that's what they're doing, I just brush them off.
As for atemi to facilitate technique, I never hit anyone with any force of contact, but with a lot of force of intent. Having a long karate history, I can stop with that hair's breadth of contact, but it's enough to make uke move.
And along that line, I have experienced a good bit of the toughening effect of being struck, but in general in aikido, I think it's bad to actually hit the partner. Especially if he is training sincerely and not fighting the technique.
For instance, I once attended a big mainstream aikido seminar where the nonresisting peaceful soft style was emphasized. One guy from just such a group was practicing with me and when I allowed him to do what we call tembin nage (uke's arm twisted outward, nage's inside arm passing under uke's elbow), he snapped hard up under my elbow. For no reason. One thing kept me from being injured: ukemi developed in resistant training.
This is part of what I mean, also, by "punishing" uke. Either taking out failure on him or taking advantage of his non-resistance to gratuitously hurt him.
Another example: I used to know a fellow who would do techniques twice. Sankyo, for instance. He would apply the technique and let off when uke tapped out. Then when uke was relaxing, he would do the technique again, gratuitously, when they had let down their guard after tapping. I saw some people get really angry at him about this. He was always smug. Several people could have returned the favor, but everyone was always too polite. Sometimes, people like that, you just have to stop associating with them at all.
Aikido really is a pretty good model of karma. We will get out of life as we do unto others.
Thanks for the reply.
David