Welcome to AikiWeb Aikido Information
AikiWeb: The Source for Aikido Information
AikiWeb's principal purpose is to serve the Internet community as a repository and dissemination point for aikido information.

Sections
home
aikido articles
columns

Discussions
forums
aikiblogs

Databases
dojo search
seminars
image gallery
supplies
links directory

Reviews
book reviews
video reviews
dvd reviews
equip. reviews

News
submit
archive

Miscellaneous
newsletter
rss feeds
polls
about

Follow us on



Home > AikiWeb Aikido Forums
Go Back   AikiWeb Aikido Forums > Training

Hello and thank you for visiting AikiWeb, the world's most active online Aikido community! This site is home to over 22,000 aikido practitioners from around the world and covers a wide range of aikido topics including techniques, philosophy, history, humor, beginner issues, the marketplace, and more.

If you wish to join in the discussions or use the other advanced features available, you will need to register first. Registration is absolutely free and takes only a few minutes to complete so sign up today!

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 11-12-2015, 12:19 AM   #1
Robby3751
Location: Whittier/CA
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 6
United_States
Offline
New member, question about Ukemi

Hello Everyone it is a pleasure to meet you. I have some questions about Ukemi in Aikido. I started doing aikido about a month ago as recommended by my co-worker which we both are steam engineers for the Disneyland Railroad whom he spent years doing Aikido. Considering I always wanted to do a martial art but Im not a violent person Im glad I took his advice after trying many different ones such as Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I love Aikido and seem to now be getting the concepts especially making sense of what my sempai told me, think of your hand as a sword.
After spending the time training sadly I just cannot get ukemi, I just don't know what to do, it seems to be my battle and the one thing I hate about myself is I just can't get it and Im frustrated. I have tried taking advice from my sensei and watching Sensei Donovan Waite whom he says is the guru of ukemi, I also have tried to read many books for instance "Progressive Aikido" and watch many youtube videos. Quite frankly I don't know what to do, I am feeling upset and wondering now should I even continue? It seems also I have a bit of a learning difficulty, I just cannot imitate what I see demonstrated to me, however I have read the text books and watched many movies and I notice if I take on the role of Uke more often it seems to help me become better familiar with the techniques.

Would any of you kind aikidokas and respected teachers have any advice for someone like myself wanting to learn more, primarily on the aspect of Ukemi which the word itself seems to annoy me now. LOL! I have thought about getting my yoga mats and putting them on the floor and practicing at home, however it seemed to result in me hurting my shoulder and considering I work on live steam equipment it would not be ideal to injure myself as I need my hand on the throttle at all times.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 12:27 AM   #2
robin_jet_alt
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 716
Australia
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

Hi Robert,

Without looking at your ukemi, it is really hard to tell what you are doing wrong. Perhaps you could take a video of yourself.

Have you tried the exercises in this video? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHEm1FVX9mo - Don't try anything beyond the 50 second mark until you are very comfortable, but you shouldn't hurt yourself with the early stuff. Just don't get discouraged that you aren't as flexible as the guy in the video. Very few of us are. For what it's worth, my wife also has real difficulties with ukemi, but she can manage the exercises up to the 50 second mark. It's taking a few years, but she is making progress. I'm sure you will to if you stick with it.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 12:34 AM   #3
Robby3751
Location: Whittier/CA
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 6
United_States
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

Thank you very much, Im surprised I did not find this video, I thank you very much. I also saw what you meant by doing exercises only to the 50 second mark! LOL! Way too advanced for me, and thank you for the encouragement, considering Im stubborn and impatient with myself, Im sure I will stick with it as I can't help but love it. I guess there is something really crucial about aikido, it teaches you how to fall, to me I interpret that as humility, no other martial I have seen teaches such humility, well maybe some but not where Im at. I will try to see if I can get a video, thats a great idea actually.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 01:00 AM   #4
robin_jet_alt
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 716
Australia
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

Hi Robert,

I also just found this video that my teacher produced a while ago to help beginners with their rolls (he's talking and I'm rolling). Once you feel comfortable with the early exercises in the first video, perhaps you could try this as well. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=644781835657990

p.s. I hope the link works
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 06:07 AM   #5
Mary Eastland
 
Mary Eastland's Avatar
Dojo: Berkshire Hills Aikido
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,476
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

Robert...Some patience and compassion for yourself would be my advice.. After a month of aikido most people would still be having issues with ukemi. Relax and enjoy the journey.

Mary Eastland

Dare to Tenkan
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 08:28 AM   #6
Derek
 
Derek's Avatar
Dojo: Roswell Budokan, Kyushinkan (AWA)
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 74
United_States
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

You are hopefully starting a life time of practice. Take it easy! Ukemi takes practice and time. I applaud your search for different methods. Each person has their own way they learn best. Ask your sensei and find what works for you. One further caution.. When you "get it" still be very careful, this is likely the most dangerous time for beginners (ie. when they think they "understand"). Keep striving to improve your ukemi and it will serve you well. Welcome to the art!

Derek Duval
Godan
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 10:54 AM   #7
lbb
Location: Massachusetts
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,202
United_States
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

One whole month of practice and you can't "get" ukemi? You're hopeless. Give up now.

Seriously, you're being silly. Aikido has a steep initial learning curve, and people who think they "get" anything after a month are generally wrong and will probably impede their own progress due to believing they understand/have mastered things they don't/haven't. You need to decide if you're cut out for a practice where the progress is slow and gradual, no matter who you are. Don't set goals of mastering this or achieving that, set the goal of showing up and trying. It's the only one that's worth anything, really.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 11:11 AM   #8
jdm4life
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 54
United_States
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22239
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 12:53 PM   #9
JW
 
JW's Avatar
Location: San Diego CA USA
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 561
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

Here's another thread about this kind of thing:
http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24414

In it I mention a kneeling version of Robin's recommendation. (easy to do at home with yoga mats)

And welcome to aikido! And don't be too hard on yourself... it doesn't mean you have a learning problem, it just comes slowly to everyone. Maybe a bit more slowly to some, but everybody is different! One of my friends felt the same way but she figured things out. Just don't feel pressured to fall/roll faster than you are comfortable with until you start to get it down.

Last edited by JW : 11-12-2015 at 12:58 PM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2015, 01:19 PM   #10
robin_jet_alt
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 716
Australia
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

Quote:
Jonathan Wong wrote: View Post
In it I mention a kneeling version of Robin's recommendation. (easy to do at home with yoga mats)
Yeah, do the kneeling version first, I couldn't find the video we made about that one.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2015, 07:08 AM   #11
jdm4life
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 54
United_States
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

The ground wont come to meet you so the nearer you can get to it the better. Crashing even a few inches down onto a shoulder isnt good.Took me a long time to get ukemi to a point I was satisfied with but I just pushed myself and eventually it clicked. It was rather frustrating for a while and seeing complete beginners turn up and have it in a few weeks didn't help......but that didnt matter... I had my own reasons for struggling with it so I just kept to myself and worked at it. One day I got annoyed and just decided, right, Im going for it and then I started to get somewhere. Im now working on mae yoko kaiten, ushiro yoko kaiten and eventually progress to front rolls/falls with the front arm out of action. 

Get low, go slow, dont jump into it or throw yourself, tip over the balance point and stay relazed....., I was told to try to picture travelling across the mat rather than down towards it because you will crash.... you are travelling across it, not down.I think being 6'3 has its drawbacks when learning this so it took as long as took and thats just the way it is. It takes as long as it takes but steely determination goes a long way.Ive practiced on and off for a couple of years and remain ungraded, no big deal. I may be due to jump a couple of grades but Im pretty dam hard on myself and am rarely satisfied with my practice anyway so a different coloured belt wont make much difference with that. The biggest test for me is inbetween my ears.

I was getting very annoyed and thought Id never get it.....but one day it will click and you will wonder what all the fuss was about. Sometimes after the initial roll I wasnt staying online as the angle wasnt quite right so I didnt feel I was rolling in a controlled manner...but somebody at my dojo said 'your brain will figure that out so dont worry' and it did.

Last edited by jdm4life : 11-13-2015 at 07:13 AM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2015, 11:37 AM   #12
Michael Douglas
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 434
United Kingdom
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

Wouldn't a total thread derail be better?
Quote:
Robert Rodriguez wrote: View Post
... we both are steam engineers for the Disneyland Railroad ...:
Cool!
  Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2015, 05:17 PM   #13
JP3
 
JP3's Avatar
Dojo: Wasabi Dojo
Location: Houston, TX
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 290
United_States
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

I keyed on the "month" in the O/P an sort of went... Uh..... there's the issue. Ukemi takes time for anyone, everyone to learn. Peoople learn it, the different skills/directions/heights/orientations of ukemi are all different in appearance (same in principle) but remain challenging. It can be a years-long practice to gain acceptable competence, to say nothing of comfort, less mastery.

Relax, take it easy, continue to practice under the eyes of your higher ranks and listen to everyone's words on the subject - something will stick and help you "get it."

I find it interesting that the kanji character for kuzushi illustrates a mountain falling on a house.
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-11-2017, 08:19 AM   #14
fatebass21
 
fatebass21's Avatar
Dojo: Westminster Tenshinkai Aikido Dojo
Location: Fountain Valley, CA
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 280
United_States
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

Good thread thanks for starting it. I really like the videos as I had never considered a bridge technique like Robin demonstrated in the video .

Chris Sawyer
Training day is every day
  Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2017, 05:23 PM   #15
GovernorSilver
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 107
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

As a beginner, it has begun to dawn on me that "ukemi" is really the art of working with the nage, with multiple levels of learning.

I thought it was just falling and rolling, like the OP. But it's more a combination of taking care of yourself as uke and helping nage work on technique without being too cooperative or offering free openings. There's also the aspect of preparing for counters - even though that's an advanced topic, they're mentioning that to us, presumably to give us further incentive to work on good ukemi. On my previous attempt to learn Aikido years ago, I never got any hint of how deep an art ukemi can actually be. One dojo was seemingly content to have nage beat the hell out of uke - rolls and falls were taught and that's it - no details about how to set up for counters or otherwise take care of oneself. I didn't see a single yudansha who didn't have taped up feet and other bandages.

I just got Ellis Amdur's DVD on the topic and he starts touching on counters, shortly after introducing front falls - the part where he explains why uke shouldn't commit too early to doing a forward roll out of a particular technique. Haven't watched it all the way yet, though.

Hope the OP is happier with ukemi these days.

Last edited by GovernorSilver : 02-09-2017 at 05:31 PM.
  Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2017, 08:55 PM   #16
Janet Rosen
 
Janet Rosen's Avatar
Location: Left Coast
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 4,339
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

Quote:
Paolo Valladolid wrote: View Post
As a beginner, it has begun to dawn on me that "ukemi" is really the art of working with the nage, with multiple levels of learning.....

I just got Ellis Amdur's DVD on the topic and he starts touching on counters, shortly after introducing front falls - the part where he explains why uke shouldn't commit too early to doing a forward roll out of a particular technique. Haven't watched it all the way yet, though.

Hope the OP is happier with ukemi these days.
1. Ellis Amdur's DVD and method is EXCELLENT.
2. Yes, uke and nage are the same thing: learning to stay relaxed and in the moment with good structure.

Janet Rosen
http://www.zanshinart.com
"peace will enter when hate is gone"--percy mayfield
  Reply With Quote
Old 02-09-2017, 11:10 PM   #17
robin_jet_alt
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 716
Australia
Offline
Re: New member, question about Ukemi

Quote:
Paolo Valladolid wrote: View Post
As a beginner, it has begun to dawn on me that "ukemi" is really the art of working with the nage, with multiple levels of learning.

I thought it was just falling and rolling, like the OP. But it's more a combination of taking care of yourself as uke and helping nage work on technique without being too cooperative or offering free openings. There's also the aspect of preparing for counters - even though that's an advanced topic, they're mentioning that to us, presumably to give us further incentive to work on good ukemi. On my previous attempt to learn Aikido years ago, I never got any hint of how deep an art ukemi can actually be. One dojo was seemingly content to have nage beat the hell out of uke - rolls and falls were taught and that's it - no details about how to set up for counters or otherwise take care of oneself. I didn't see a single yudansha who didn't have taped up feet and other bandages.

I just got Ellis Amdur's DVD on the topic and he starts touching on counters, shortly after introducing front falls - the part where he explains why uke shouldn't commit too early to doing a forward roll out of a particular technique. Haven't watched it all the way yet, though.

Hope the OP is happier with ukemi these days.
Very very good realisation!
  Reply With Quote

Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Ukemi and Dizziness Knighter Training 23 05-13-2010 09:48 PM
Is Ukemi Destroying our bodies? RED Training 68 05-01-2010 03:50 AM
What is good ukemi? Jerb Training 7 01-06-2007 05:29 AM
Ukemi David Humm Language 15 09-03-2004 08:11 AM
High Ukemi with Irimi Nage Walid Sinno Training 4 06-25-2004 02:15 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:36 AM.



vBulletin Copyright © 2000-2024 Jelsoft Enterprises Limited
----------
Copyright 1997-2024 AikiWeb and its Authors, All Rights Reserved.
----------
For questions and comments about this website:
Send E-mail
plainlaid-picaresque outchasing-protistan explicantia-altarage seaford-stellionate