aikilouis

Atemi is not about swinging fists or arms.

In accord with the aiki/kokyu/whole body power principle expressed with insistance elsewhere, training in aikido includes structuring your body in order to take control of the encounter, take a positional advantage, finally applying this power according to the situation.

I read somewhere else that O Sensei once said "Aikido is Irimi Atemi". While I would really like to trace this quote back into its original context (if you have any hint, please help us), I suggest that Irimi and Atemi are not separate concepts as it is often interpreted. If we combine Irimi-Atemi, we understand that the whole body is behind atemi, and atemi itself is not the setup for technique, it is the form tori takes at the point of contact with uke.

It is displayed brilliantly by O Sensei in his films, where we see very often see that his attacker's body structure simply disintegrates in an instant and falls to pieces as if O Sensei switched him off, so to speak. This description also seems to converge with what the people say about their experience of trying to attack him with the most serious intent and feeling immediately helpless.