Hot answers tagged aikido
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The first, and biggest, point is that if it hurts don't do it. Be careful with an injured shoulder, possibly focusing more on the opposite side or starting on your injured side significantly more slowly or at a lower height (get the dive roll perfect from the knees first). The other major thing is to make sure you are practicing on good mats. There's no ...
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Imrich Lichtenfeld - the founder of Krav Maga - does not appear to have any formal asian martial arts roots that I can find. His bios state that he learned wrestling and grappling from his father, and later honed his skills fighting on the street. (wikipedia, kravmaga.com). Once he immigrated to Israel he joined the para-military forces and started teaching ...
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This is a fairly common problem on both sides of the equation. We have to continually emphasize the importance of breathing during the techniques with newer students… and the importance of breathing out when having a technique performed on you. So step 1 is to trust that everyone in the room you are practicing has probably had this problem before, either ...
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Sounds like a quote from Kisshomaru Ueshiba in "The Spirit of Aikido" (合氣道のこころ). I don't have the English version to compare, but in the Japanese version it's the first line of the first chapter:
合氣道は、いうまでもなく本質的に武道である。
Kisshomaru expressed the same sentiment many times - his father may have as well, but I don't recall off hand. Morihei more often talked ...
6
Videos don't teach technique
Learning from videos is just not an effective way of learning technique. It can work, but it's wildly inefficient and can produce bad habits. One of the primary reasons to avoid video-based learning is that without an excellent feedback system (e.g. great training partners at home, or near-daily practice where you test the ...
6
Polypropylene works well for shorter stuff, but people complain about longer weapons because of an excess of flexibility (I tend to agree). For example, my Cold Steel Escrima Sticks are pretty great and have held up well, although they've been part-time, and they're short.
They make a number of training swords with the same material.
I'm not sure how ...
6
Although I have not practiced aikido, I have some experience in kendo and can tentatively offer an answer.
In the school I was in, we used to practice a multitude of suburi (sword swings). In most of them, the jodan-no-kamae stance is assumed prior to striking. This sounds a lot like the stance your teacher is using. In this stance, your sword is placed in ...
6
Tenshin is the same as Tenkai
"Tenshin..Pivoting with feet in one position..face other direction.( also called Tenkai )." Aikido Glossary
Tsugi Ashi is the "shuffling" step (the first step in tai sabaki - there is an example at about 0:12 on this video, and some more video here (video good - I don't speak the language in which it is narraged). There is a ...
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Speaking as an aikidoka, Mr. Clements' answer is good. I want to add my emphasis to a few points.
First, look at your belt or your toes. This will prevent the most serious injuries (head and neck injuries). Tucking your head is the most important thing to remember.
Second, breathe. Breathing is the second most important. I'm not aware that you'll do ...
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When I was first instructed on rolling (apart from what has already been mentioned), I was told to imagine being wrapped around a beachball. This can help in keeping the back curved which makes for a smooth roll. This is especially for those whose instinct is to flatten out mid roll and knock the hips into the ground towards the end.
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I haven't been able to find a reference to that direct quote. There are a number of things that mean the same thing. O'Sensei appears to have spoken often about being on a quest to find the perfect Budo, and that Aikido (or Aiki Budo) is the result of that search.
The closest quote I've found is:
"On reflection, Aikido can be seen as the root source of ...
5
I've found videos very helpful when I already knew a particular technique (or especially a form), and very unhelpful when I did not.
On those occasions when I became stuck and couldn't remember the next move in a form, it was great to see a video of someone practicing the form in the exact manner I was taught. I have a video set from one of my sifu's ...
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It doesn't matter what they say about the school. It matters what they do.
I believe, the answer to the question lies in measuring the schools ability to help you find what you are looking for. So go to the school and look for people who you can relate to.
If you can see people that you have something in common with and you can see people making progress ...
5
They receive a letter grade for the class. It is participation based, and they have to demonstrate a few basic things at the end of the semester.
You have a fundamentally simple solution: Use positive and negative reinforcement to encourage change. When they try, recognize it and encourage them. When they slack, ignore them. At the beginning of class, ...
5
There are two questions here, and a couple of assumptions. I'm going to try to answer your question, but I need to tease out the assumptions so that I don't offer a misleading assumption.
(Prologue - for reasons that will become apparent, I suspect that BenCole's answer will be better than mine.)
The first "What are the commonly practiced variations of ...
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Your sensei is correct and it will take patience and practice. That is true of all things in life.
For meditation / breathing.
Sit in seiza.
Either rest your hands in your lap, or hold your hands up, interlock the pinky, ring, and middle fingers. Extend your index fingers up and press your thumbs side by side.
Breathe slowly in through your nose, and ...
5
In my experience it is simply a traditional and formal way of sitting at floor level.
Other than the social aspects of it (everyone is considered to be of equal height when sitting in seiza) it has no special benefits - although it should be noted that it is a position that is both stable when seated and easy to rise from while keeping your balance ...
4
I'm very pleased with Autrelle Holland's Aiki-jo manual, which contains the Suburi and Kihon (I believe those are what you refer to as "small kata".
I've also been impressed with Stanford Aikido's discussion of the Jo Suburi, which contains some very precise, practical advice and a wonderful sense of humor.
Of course for video the Saito Aiki-Ken and ...
4
IMO observing techniques, even if from other styles, is more helpful than harmful.
Of course you should be able to find techniques from whatever style you practice, assuming a reasonably well-known style.
"Should" you practice another style's techniques before "mastering" your own? That's a separate issue, and it depends entirely upon your goals. Would I ...
4
More often than not, it's not worth the trouble (unless you're sentimental about the staff). A white oak jo is not terribly expensive.
@Campbeln is right. Here's one way to straighten a warped jo:
What you'll need:
Three 1x4s longer than the jo
One large wooden clamp for every foot of the jo.
Boiled linseed oil
What to do:
Sand the jo. This will ...
4
You have a problem a lot of us teachers have.
What age are you talking about?
What I tend to do is from the 60 minutes I have, spend the warming up and cooling down with a game they love. Of course this game should actually have some physical contact, for that is what you slowly would like them to get used at. Don't forget that for some kids it's not ...
4
Fenom is one of the most widely recommended womens bjj gi. Not sure if it's judo competition legal, but they aren't too badly covered in flowers and stuff, so depending on your school, they may be acceptable. http://fenomkimonos.com/products.html
atama makes a fairly popular ladies gi as well.
Fuji, which is a long standing brand in Judo and BJJ Gi's ...
4
I think I've been doing aikido for 12 or 15 years now. I'm still waiting for that habit to go away on its own. I still catch myself holding my breath.
Things that work for me:
Kiai - (Not all the time, but there are techniques where it helps. On the other hand, you get some funny looks) (I'm mostly not serious about this one)
Hiss - Particularly when ...
4
Your teachers do not expect you to get it right. They know you will get it wrong. What they expect is that you try. As long as you do that, you will progress. Focus on that.
Go back to basics. There are no advanced techniques: just a way to combine basics in an unexpected way. Take a step back and look for patterns that you know in the technique. Then ...
4
It is said that the first female instructor was Takako Kunigoshi. She was one of the first women to train under Ueshiba Sensei and started in January 1933 at what is now the Hombu Dojo. She trained there with another woman, but I don't know her name. Later she was asked to teach self-defense to other women.
More information can be found here and here
3
I'm a beginner at Aikido as well. Personally I find looking at lots of videos and reading lots of books very enjoyable, and pretty helpful, particularly when it comes to remembering the Japanese names for attacks, techniques, etc. (for our 5th kyu we have to do 9 arts from 2 attacks omote and ura, so that's 36 combinations to nail down). From reading ...
3
There are only so many ways the body can be manipulated, off-balanced, locked, thrown, etc.
Put a bunch of students in a room and they'll argue about systemic differences.
Put a bunch of masters in a room and they know they're the same (but different).
I see an amazing number of similarities in seemingly-disparate arts.
3
YouTube may be a valuable tool in learning how to do something (much like this site), but that will vary depending on the student and the teacher. I don't know much about the variance of aikido styles, but I know that there are hundreds of different kung fu styles. While some fundamental movements may be similar or the same, there are lots of different ...
3
All the above are good and I agree. They seem to emphasize teaching absolute beginners.
Once they are able to fall, a couple of hints that I think are important to (re) emphasize.
1) Breathe. Don't hold your breath. For my own training, I purse my lips and "hiss" the breath out in order to ensure that I don't hold my breath. Every couple of years I ...
3
Look to other sports where heavy contact is common. I play ice hockey and we have wooden, aluminium and "composite" sticks that handle the punishment of other similar implements slashing and crashing into them (not to mention the odd head or leg strike >=).
Of course what is actually available on market is another question entirely! Other then the odd ...
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