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Old 06-07-2010, 08:41 AM   #6
ruthmc
Dojo: Wokingham Aikido
Location: Reading, UK
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 393
United Kingdom
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Re: Yonkyo is unbearable

Hi Daniel,

Quote:
Daniel Coutts-Smith wrote: View Post
Do you think i will begin to build up a tolerance to it?
Yes you will. As with building up tolerance to nikyo, it's just a case of a) Practise and b) Knowing when to fall - if it's really sore then dive to the mat and tap asap

Quote:
Daniel Coutts-Smith wrote: View Post
Was it this bad for everyone when they first started to take ukemi for it, or am i just very susceptible?
People vary in their susceptibility to this technique, depending upon their nerve development and position. Some folk don't have the nerve in an acessible place so you can't apply yonkyo to them using pain, you have to break their balance and sword cut the arm instead (which you should always do anyway, pain or not, as Abasan says). Some people have the nerve in a place where they will be seeing stars as soon as it's barely touched.

The best thing to do is to fall and tap early, as you don't want to risk damage to a prominent nerve. Later on you can learn to push the pain away back into tori, but this takes a certain degree of sheer bloody-mindedness and a lot of practise

Good luck,

Ruth
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