Dan Hover

The article fails to mention what i think is one of the more obvious flaws in Aikido training. Ledyard Sensei goes on at great length about the importance of Uke's role, and yet I am willing to go out on a limb and say that in the overwhelming majority of dojo in the US. The primary Uke for taijutsu waza is the junior of the pair. Contrast that to Koryu arts, where the senior is the Uke. This is a mentality that we need to shift back into.

Allowing the lead Uke to be the sempai in the relationship in order to provide the context that allows the kohai the advantage of learning with a committed "true" attack, and all the benefits that Ledyard Sensei mentioned. This to me, allows a greater sacrifice of the sempai's time and energy, but fosters a more caring attitude towards the learning process, vs. Sempai throws kohai around, and kohai still struggles with their repetitions. That relationship that one sees in Koryu arts, to me should be re imported back into Aikido training.