Don

I would like to suggest one thing that I started trying with some of the students at our school. GET YOUR ARMS UP! I have always worried about the boxing issue. A while back, when George Leydard was writing Aiki columns (REALLY miss your contributions Leydard sensei....) one time he wrote about the maai that different arts/styles use. Kickboxers have one, muay tai has another, boxers have a closer one, aikido has a large one....etc. Leydard sensei pointed out that if you as the aikidoka are standing there with your arms down against someone like a boxer, the range he/she will close to will be much closer than you are used to. Further, beyond a certain point, no matter how fast you are, if the boxer is fast and within HIS range, you won't be able to respond in an aiki-like manner.

So, I experimented with this and dog-gone, Leydard sensei was right, and what I ended up doing was ducking and dodging, like on the video.

THEN I read and saw some video of the Yoshinkan guys and some Muay Tai video, and it dawned on me that, rather than starting with my arms down like we mostly practice aikido, if I put my arms up in a "holding a sword" position, I could very effectively execute aikido techniques against the boxer, or for that matter anyone. Why?

The boxer is trying to close in. If you are holding your arms up like you are holding a sword, except a little higher, (which by the way is like some muay tai guys do it) you can effectively make the boxer extend his distance and frustrate him by being able to block. If he tries to bull in he still has to get past your arms. That is okay because now you have contact and a connection with which to work. This greatly "makes practical many aikido techniques in "modern" situations. So, now I tell students at our school in classes that I teach, "If you stand there with your arms down and you get punched, its your fault....GET YOUR ARMS UP" Give it a try...it makes aikido a lot more useful against so called "modern attacks"