Atemi

I wanted to know if there are any other atemi than Shomen uchi, Mune tsuki, and yokomen uchi. Does anyone know??

Yes ... use your imagination.

That would be use your "head"...literally!

Ate-mi is a strike to a part of the body (usually a vital point, nerve point or soft tissue) using an anatomical part of your body. Any part of your body can be used as a striking surface, from your head to your toes.

A big slurppy kiss before an iriminage is as good as any atemi...

Boon.

Xu Wenfung wrote: A big slurppy kiss before an iriminage is as good as any atemi... Boon.

Speaks the voice of experience....

I find a well timed pun works wonders.

I got alot more than I bargained for! but I think i'll just take Xu Wenfung's word that a kiss works well :P

lol i like the kiss idea , but im a girl and alot of the guys in my dojo play dungeons and dragons, (if u know what i mean) so maybe not such a good idea for me ;-)

But yes there are tons and tons and tons of kinds of atemi. There are punches from different angles , strikes w/different parts of ur hand , elbows , knees , kicks, etc. Maybe not all of these are incorporated in your dojo but all of them can be incorporated into aikido in some fashion.

-paige

If you can, read Ellis Amdur's essay on Atemi in 'Duelling with O Sensei'. He describes a training technique there that can be very beneficial in exploring atemi skills.

Briefly, go through a tecnhique in slow motion and freeze the movement at any point. From anywhere in the movement you should be able to apply an atemi.

My sensei, John Rigg, wrote an article that appeared in Black Belt magazine in May that discussed the lost art of Atemi in akido. Supposedly, O' Sensei said that 90% of aikido is atemi. Aikido is a martial art, and atemi is what aikido the martial edge sepecially in a street situation. Sensei Riggs often shows the atemi opennings when we are practicing. What he demonstraites is the strike to pressure points that can be used to disrupt an attackers momentum.

I like atemi.

There is another thread that is already discussing this...but anyway...

Atemi and/or weapons or the threat of atemi/weapons is important for aikido techniques/principles to work from my experiences.

When I am sparring in MMA and we impose restrictions such as no weapons, no strikes/kicks....and only allow grappling....the strategies employed are judo esque in nature and irmi/tenkan etc....the aikido dynamic is really not there!

Once you add these elements back in...things get more aikido like again, since uke can no longer enter your center without worrying about his health.

The question seems to imply that the common "Attacks" in kihon waza are Atemi.

All the responses are talking about Atemi as done by Nage, unless I'm confusing things.

The standard striking attacks from which kihon waza are the original ones you mentioned, though you will probably encounter and play with more than that over time.

Good point Alfonso. I think in order for the dynamic to work correctly, atemi must be an equal threat from both uke and nage. Atemi is what keeps the relationship between the two "honest".