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Old 02-09-2016, 06:41 PM   #3
Scott Harrington
Location: Wilmington, De
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 86
United_States
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Re: Ukemi skills and Counters

In the words of Saito sensei:

There is a Kaeshi-waza for every technique. But Kaeshi-waza is too dangerous for the beginner. Perfect command of authentic basics and constant harmony with your partner's movements are the indispensable prerequisites to untrammeled Kaeshi-waza performance. In other words, Kaeshi-waza is a sophisticated art by itself.

In olden days, Founder Morihei Uyeshiba used to initiate his leading disciples into the art of Kaeshi-waza in strict secrecy as a "manual for martial competition" prior to sending them out in the world as undefeatable instructors. These instructors, armed with Kaeshi-waza, were thus able to gain leadership always in their training sessions even when they were in a defensive position.

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While not a partuclar fan of Saito's Iwama system, I do hold him in high regard as the "Encyclopedia of Aikido" and his writings are superb in dissecting O'sensei's techniques. I only wish he had trained with other Daito ryu practitioners to say, "Oh, now I see why Ueshiba sensei does it that way!"

I had the luxury of training once with him and it was an honor and a learning experience.

Scott Harrington
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