Thread: Reversals
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Old 01-28-2006, 02:14 PM   #12
George S. Ledyard
 
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Dojo: Aikido Eastside
Location: Bellevue, WA
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 2,670
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Re: Reversals

An understanding of kaeshiwaza is fundamental to understanding ukemi. Ukemi is not about initiating and then taking whatever the nage dishes out. It might be that at the beginning level in order to teach proper falling technique but without an additional understanding of the point of uke's cooperation you end up with either a) uke's who are overly responsive and practitioners who can't do their stuff in a martial context or b) folks who think that resistance makes the practice more martial and no one ever discovers the "aiki" inside of Aikido.

It's kaeshiwaza that puts everything into proper perspective. When you have people training who understand kaeshiwaza, then both people in the interaction are doing Aikido; not one guy doing Aikido and the other guy acting stupid which is how much Aikido is practiecd, as if only one of the two practitioners knew anything. The uke / nage distinction is totally artificial. It is created for training purposes. No one goes into a fight thinking he's the "uke"... The Uke is simply the person who initiates the attack. Once the interaction starts, either one can throw depending on who gets the center first. If one attempts a throw without having kuzushi, a reversal or karshiwaza will be the result. The only way to do this well is to be so connected with the partner that when he leaves the smallest opening, the technique becomes the partner's in the instant.

This is why our ukemi is so cooperative... it is training you to stay connected so that if the opponent makes an error, you can instantly take his center. When done well you don't even feel it coming... everything seemed fine and then suddenly you are flying... This is why resistance is stupid and ultimately not martially effective.If I let you know your technique isn't working you will switch to something else before I can do my own, usually there wull be an atemi when they realize they don't have you yet. You want them to think they have you right up until the instant when they find they don't and you are throwing them.

I think kaeshiwaza should be taught very early rather than later just because it makes it clear why we should move with the parner's technique and not sumply stop it.

George S. Ledyard
Aikido Eastside
Bellevue, WA
Aikido Eastside
AikidoDvds.Com
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