ukemi on concrete

Hey all,

This is my first post so bear with me. I love ukemi and had to respond to the discussion.
Everyone is discussing the forward roll, but from my own experiences outwith the dojo, I have only had to call upon the forwards flip/no hands breakfall (forgive the lack of Japanese terminology),the yokomen/kote gaeshi/shihonage fall, and the backwards drop.
Whenever I have been thrown outside, the fall has had to be adapted considerably, often because my arms have been trapped (usually unintentionally) by the attacker, leaving me unable to break the fall. It seems to me that breathing is critical, even when form is compromised by the situation.
I believe that the art of ukemi must be practised regularly - if it is to be used practically - on harder surfaces. The extra confidence which familiarity provides is the edge that you need when an aggressor, a stranger out to hurt you, is about to force you into the ground.
You get out what you put in and a couple of years ago my sensei took me aside and told me that the next step in my ukemi practise was to practise regularly without mats. I have found this to be very beneficial, both in and out of the dojo.
However, those are just the thoughts of a yellow belt with a few years practise, so if there are any thoughts...

Cheers
Ross

Ross, just wondering: do you train in Yoshinkan?

No, but from what I've seen there are similarities.
We do train a pretty hard style although my sensei never stops emphasising relaxation, breathing and balance. Both my teacher and his father, Shihan Miller, are also v.high grades in Daito Ryu, which may influence the training.

Ross

I just asked cause I know of no styles or schools other than Yoshinkan that have coloured belts.

Originally posted by IrimiTom I just asked cause I know of no styles or schools other than Yoshinkan that have coloured belts.

AAA does.

So do we at Aikikai Thailand, and also Singapore.

I've found that quite a lot of clubs over here use coloured belts - about half. Belt is deceiving anyway. Being a university club, we have had many high grades come and go. Some dan grades have been tense and technically shamed by the lower grades. I often wonder who grades these people. Has anyone else found these discrepancies? Are there acknowledged differences between stlye or is it simply the instructor.

Originally posted by RossEd Some dan grades have been tense and technically shamed by the lower grades. I often wonder who grades these people. Has anyone else found these discrepancies? Are there acknowledged differences between stlye or is it simply the instructor.

Hi all,

tends to be the instructor most times Ross. Standards tend to vary among schools, even within the same style.

Domo
L.C.