Thread: Aikido attacks.
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Old 02-06-2012, 03:50 PM   #51
Walter Martindale
Location: Edmonton, AB
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 802
Canada
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Re: Aikido attacks.

I'd understood ma-ai to mean 'proper distance' moreso than 'safe distance'.. i.e., ma-ai to deliver a blow is different from ma-ai to avoid a blow. Ma-ai with swords is different from that with tanto. Ma-ai for iriminage is VERY close to uke. Ma-ai for kotegaeshi is farther away... But gaijin desu and I don't speak Nihongo so good...

An example - a friend of mine described a ma-ai exercise with swords - cutting apples in half from a quick draw in seiza - with the apple held between the chin and the sternum... Ya gotta know your distance for that one or it's your last practice - ever.
W

Last edited by Walter Martindale : 02-06-2012 at 03:54 PM.
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