Thread: both sides
View Single Post
Old 07-15-2003, 07:22 AM   #25
jxa127
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 420
Offline
Hi all,

Something I read about the koryu arts really helped put ukemi into perspective for me. In the koryu arts, the instructor would usually take the "losing" side of a kata, and the student would "win."

I'm not necessarily sure why that works so well, but it's a great psychological boost to the student. Think about the first couple of times you sucessfully threw your instructor.

It is most beneficial for a student as nage to have a more experienced uke. Uke is nage's teacher. Uke need not overtly teach, but by offering good, centered attacks and being sensitive to nage's openings, uke can show nage where there are problems in the technique.

It follows that the instructor should have the best ukemi and be the best person to teach through ukemi.

Regards,

-Drew

----
-Drew Ames
  Reply With Quote