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Old 05-11-2014, 08:40 PM   #28
Mario Tobias
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 261
Philippines
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Re: Ikkyo with Small Hands

You need to ask yourself what is your objective in ikkyo.

IMHO, for ikkyo you need to remove the slack of the arm that connects to the shoulder and side of the body. If there is slack in the shoulder (ie there's still room to move it up, down or sideways), then uke will be strong (there is no connection to the arm and hara) and it will be difficult to do ikkyo.

Your objective in ikkyo is to make the line from the elbow to the shoulder to the hara to the opposite foot one "taut" line. that is why I think for ikkyo omote, you enter early either once uke "cocks" his arm for somenuchi or nage initiates the attack to attain the desired effect initially. You need to remove any slack in uke's body Just Enough otherwise you will push uke too much. Removing slack initiates the connection from uke's arm to his center therefore controlling him.

Once this line above is taut you only need to topple uke by redirecting to the side twisting your hara and dropping your hands. You can do ikkyo with tegatana or open palm without grabbing. This is because uke's body is taut and he has nowhere to go. Here gravity will also help you. All throughout the the technique you need to maintain this tautness with uke whether in omote or ura. If the tautness is released any part of the technique then you will have the feeling of "pulling" uke. Grabbing at the top is actually bad habit because the tendency is to elevate the elbow to push uke's arm down therefore weakening nage's technique.

Ikkyo therefore is not about grabbing but more on entry timing and precision, entering uke's space to make his body Taut just enough initially and redirecting his line to accomplish ikkyo. Uke's elbow basically acts as the lever to "topple" uke. As with levers you only need a much smaller force to control a larger mass. You can accomplish ikkyo without grabbing.

Last edited by Mario Tobias : 05-11-2014 at 08:45 PM.
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