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Re: Aiki-Boxing
I like the sentiment but...
There is little or no "aiki" here. The ideal in Aikido is to have katsuhayabi or "instant victory". You need to own the space you both are in at the moment of entry... no, actually you need to own it before you enter. This largely has to do with the aspect of kimusubi. What you are doing here is entirely physical and is largely about evasion. A nominally better boxer would have his way with you because your mind is on escape.
Ushiro Sensei, the karate teacher who was introduced to the US at the Aiki Expos talks about the proper irimi leaving no room for the second attack. It is over on the entry. Because this is not happening, there is no kuzushi on the entry which leaves the opponent space and time for follow up strikes. It also leaves him with a solid structure. Consequently, the take downs you are able to execute are very physical and demand a lot of strength and tension.
The opponent should either not feel he is able to throw the second strike or he throws it but you are already inside it. Either way he shouldn't have a viable second strike if you understand "irimi".
As I said, I am sympathetic to the thought behind the exercise but it won't imprint the proper mental aspect to the practice. Remember, "offense and defense are one" is one of the fundamental tenets of not just Aikido but Japanese martial arts in general. In your exercises you are training the nage to think and react defensively. This can work against an incompetent or uncommitted attacker but it won't work against someone who knows what he is doing and is willing to go straight at you and keep going.
If I were the attacker and you reacted in such an evasive manner i would keep going straight at you and back you right in to the wall and then tool off on you. There cannot be even an instant in the martial interaction in which you are not capable of moving forward, even if you are zoning out (increasing distance). Your mind must be forward and your body orientation must allow instant forward movement all of the time.
Before you start freestyling, just tell the attacker to go at you with a full speed jab and cross combo. Practice entering such that no matter how he tries he never gets the cross off with any power or fast enough that you aren't already in. Once you can do this, then try some freestyle, it'll be totally different.
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