View Single Post
Old 12-06-2011, 10:05 AM   #26
graham christian
Dojo: golden center aikido-highgate
Location: london
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,697
England
Offline
Re: "Irimi" by Ellis Amdur

Quote:
Carsten Möllering wrote: View Post
Would this movement be irimi in your eyes?

入る - i ru: It means to go in/into, to get in, to enter, to break into
身 - mi: body, one's place, one's position

Yes true, we always use irimi to describe "going into" aite. Even when leaving the line and letting aite pass through not this is called irimi but maybe tori nuke or something like that. irimi is the coming back, the stepping in onto aite or his place.

Irimi nage (at us!) is called this way because for throwing we step into and through aite. (As shown in the video.) It is not called irimi nage because of the iniating steps. If we throw directly it maybe called irimi nage omote. If we let aite pass through and turn around it maybe called irimi nage ura.

Here examples of tori nuke, letting aite pass through. Even if sensei sometimes gets behind aite I wouldn't call this or think of this as irimi.
Hi again. That second video. I love it. Just by viewing I can say in my opinion that ther is a man who understands irimi in it's fullness. I say this because from my view there is one other part of irimi as a natural motion which I haven't mentioned and which I see he knows. I can but smile in appreciation.

When the person enters in the first part and stops and thus can be hit I would say Endo Sensei was showing how just entering off line is not the whole of irimi.

He then proceeds to do two very good examples or irimi motion, excellent.

The rest of the video shows more, albeit I can see the basic principle of irmi in most of the moves there is also much more to admire. But sticking to lines and moving off lines then we would have to go into the awareness of and use of eight directions in this video. He seems to be a master of it.

So yes I would say that shows irimi motion in it's fullness and now I will have to explain why I say this. Oh dear, well allow me to try.

First I will ask you to look at something if you will have the patience to bare with me. I ask you to look at a ship moving along in a calm sea. The front of the ship, the bough, cutting through the water.

Notice the energy patterns of the water displacement. 'V' shaped. Now whether it's a crocodile swimming along or whatever this shows the natural path of energy. This is irmi motion.

Now notice that the thing moving foreward draws energy in behind it also. Thus we have irimi in it's fullness which means if you follow this path you will in fact be doing more of a zig zag and that is what I call complete irimi.

Now if I am approaching a lamp post standing there in my path then I can take one step off line to pass it (zig) and the second step back to the original path (zag) and carry on walking on my path. Irimi. Or as I say complete irimi. In this way I have passed behind, like a skier does going down the mountain weaving in and out through those poles. Irimi.

I noticed Endo Senseis energy was not only passing but was then entering behind as if joining with the ship. Excellent.

Now in my Aikido I could demonstrate what I call a short cut iriminage and that looks like basically I'm doing a clothes line like you may see in wrestling or something.

That is not one for the beginner to focus on in my mind for it looks like I am going straight for the opponent and thus others would see it as such and copy it from that view. However, energy wise it is no different from a complete irimi motion and that cannot be seen so until someone is used to and good at and understands that energy motion then I defer them from trying it.

That's how I see it and use it. Thanks for the comparisons.

Regards.G.
  Reply With Quote