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Old 04-29-2012, 06:56 PM   #12
lbb
Location: Massachusetts
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,202
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Re: My aikido is at the crossroads

Quote:
Anonymous User wrote: View Post
Here are some training examples that I deal with in class daily :ukes trying to spin out of shionage in turn I go into kotegaeshi second turning there body out of ikkyo transferring into sankyo or yonkyo and lastly trying to put on nikkyo and before I can apply it there tapping out and the instructor sees this and tells me not to transfer into another technique and he demonstrates on them they try to spin out he takes them down to the Matt but when I do I,m being to rough WTH.
Hey, do you think you could maybe break up your narrative a little? That whole thing was one big run-on sentence!

Kidding aside, here are my thoughts:
  • I doubt that your ukes are "trying to spin out of shionage". Spinning out of shihonage is a good way to get hurt, so why would someone ever do it unless they didn't know any better? In fact, from what I've observed, most newbies "spin out", as you put it, or try to turn the opposite way from the way they should. I did it as a newbie. Anyone else? Show of hands? I see it so often that I have to believe that the right way is simply counterintuitive. So, performing shihonage on a newbie is challenging; you should expect that, and be prepared for them to do the wrong thing. It just goes with the territory.
  • Doing henkawaza (changing techniques) with beginners is not a good idea, certainly not in the free-form way that you're doing it. Their ukemi just isn't developed enough to respond to it safely. So, you're taking a situation where uke failed to do the proper ukemi for the set technique...so you respond by changing to another technique...for which they're even less ready to do the proper ukemi. My, my, this will end well.
  • To your earlier comment: "I can take the ukemi fine but I just don,t see how I,m going to get better training this way" -- well, I guess it depends what you mean by "getting better". One of the standard bits of aikido PR is that it allows you to respond to an attack non-violently, controlling and not harming your attacker, etc. For many people, this is an important part of why they chose aikido. Maybe it isn't for you, but if it is, have you considered that dealing with these less-than-ideal ukes is an important part of your training? If you can't handle a well-intentioned 6th kyu who doesn't want to hurt or be hurt, what do you think you're going to do when faced with a real attacker?

It's not easy always working with juniors -- but remember, part of the reason why it's hard is because it requires you to get your own stuff squared away. And working with juniors is how juniors become seniors -- or they will, if their seniors (and that means you) put the work in on them.
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