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Old 02-05-2007, 03:41 PM   #40
Jonathan
Dojo: North Winnipeg Aikikai
Location: Winnipeg, Canada
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 265
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Re: Non-cooperative tanto-dori (Discussion)

Hey, Chris:

Quote:
Chris Hein wrote:
The idea of the drill is to train both the grabbing and the knife useing side.
Why train yourself to grab at someone threatening you with a knife? I've mentioned already why this might not be a good idea. Besides, didn't you say the drill starts after you've been grabbed? Did you mean that you train to hold the person with the knife? What other knife drills do you practice?

From what I saw, the "knife using side" of the exchange seemed largely unfamiliar with knife fighting. Do you guys train in how to fight with a knife?

Quote:
Also the drill doesn't start till one person has a secure grab, as this lets us focus on the escapes and techniqual aspects of Aikido instead of the parts you normally see trained in standard jiyu waza.
Yeah, that's what I thought you'd said. You do grab before you start this drill. Anyway, what technical aspects of Aikido were you focusing on in this drill? I didn't see much in the way of relaxation, nor any moving with the attacker's energy and leading it. These things are fundamental to Aikido, so what kind of Aikido are you practicing that neglects these things?

Quote:
I have talked at length on Aikiweb many times of my oppinions of Aikido as a weapons system. I believe the techniques of Aikido are (mostly) designed to deal with a guy who trys to restrain your weapon hand. If you look you can see Mike useing Nikkyo several times to free his knife hand and stab me. We are attempting to train the techniques against resistance, as most Aikidoka will freeze up when the face resistance for the frist time, we are trying to train that out of ourselves.
Interesting...Why do you resort so much to struggling and wrestling with each other? I know from experience that there are other better, more Aikido-like ways to deal with the situation you're training in (I've hinted at those ways a couple of times already).

Quote:
-Christopher Hein
p.s. Jonathan, if you don't worrie about the knife you will be cut much more, if you don't believe me, you should come to our dojo, and we'll go a few minutes and see how you do.
I think I'd do all right,Chris. I'm no expert, but I think if I came to your dojo I'd be able to help you alot with your knife training. Certainly, I could show you a faster, better, and less strenuous way to defend against a knife. Hey, have you practiced against a double-knife attack? If you haven't, give it a try; it's alot of fun!

I suggest not focusing on the knife, but that isn't the same as ignoring it altogether. Generally, when faced with a knife people become preoccupied with the danger it represents. As a consequence, they don't have a mind free to creatively and effectively respond to whatever attack is launched. Really, the knife isn't the threat, is it? It's the person using the knife that you need to deal with. So, I have found that controlling the attacker is more important than trying to control the knife. If I neutralize the attacker, the knife ceases to be a threat. So, rather than focus on the knife and struggle with the hand that holds it, I slip past the knife attack, atemi, and apply a controlling measure to my attacker. Then, I take the knife away. Mind you, this is alot harder than it sounds.

Jon.

Last edited by akiy : 02-05-2007 at 03:46 PM. Reason: Fixed quoting

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