10
votes
Accepted
Benefits of training with suwari waza
Self defence comes to mind: Historically, and I guess still now-a-days, people do sit in seiza in Japan. It is not an idea position to defend oneself from and this is by design. Therefore, daito-ryu (...
9
votes
Accepted
Apply Falling Technique in Real Situation
This probably should go without saying, but you will learn to do what you train to do. If you only train your ukemi as "If they use technique A, use breakfall B", you're probably not going to think of ...
- 12.3k
9
votes
Getting more comfortable sitting in 正座 (seiza)
The best thing I found was to try and sit in seiza more often. This helps to get used to the position and will also help you to find your "sweet spot". For me that is with my weight on top of my feet ...
- 385
8
votes
Accepted
Spread-finger tegatana versus Squeezed-together-finger tegatana
I apologize if I'm not exactly answering your question, as I can't speak directly to Yoshinkan or Shodokan: I am not a part of either organization.
However, I am a Hapkido-in, and who practices the ...
- 4,141
7
votes
Accepted
The risk of breaking teeth when executing shomen ate or ai game ate in competition
That photo is an awful aigamae ate which if used in a competition would result in a dangerous technique warning and penalty. The photo pretty much describe everything you should not do while doing ...
7
votes
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Benefits of training in a hakama…
Honestly, it seems to be largely tradition (with said tradition basically stemming back to a fashion trend in the aristocracy), with many practitioners pointing out that it creates a tripping hazard. ...
- 12.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Are there any differences between karategi, judogi, and aikidogi?
tl; dr
Buy what the other people in your club buy.
There are variations from brand to brand and art to art. I've done aikido in an aikidogi, a judogi and a karategi; none of them really affect my ...
- 3,291
6
votes
Spread-finger tegatana versus Squeezed-together-finger tegatana
Yoshinkan
Gozo Shioda describes (in Total Aikido, page 31):
Open up the fingers of the hand. […] The fingers of both hands should be pointing at the base of your partner's throat. Beginners tend ...
6
votes
Did Ueshiba successfully explain his aikido knowledge to his students?
No!
Maybe…
Yes?
無 (mu)2
It depends on what you mean really.
First, Aikido is not a static thing. It evolved over time due to Ueshiba's own interpretation, ageing body, and mysticism evolution. ...
6
votes
Would aikido high feather falls work in judo?
I suppose you mean that one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YPhgdjlYCw
Three aspects to bear in mind:
In Judo there often is full control of the partner straight down to the ground.
You will ...
- 7,865
5
votes
Accepted
Aikido demonstration with master(s) as uke
There are several reasons for this:
Old people are less good at break falling than young people; it is more impressive to have young people break fall.
Tori/Uke are sometimes extensions of a Sempai/...
5
votes
What are the main uses of aikido in self-defense?
I think a lot of people take Aikido out of context.
Aikido is constantly belittled for the "here grab my wrist" thing, which is admittedly ubiquitous, but it is not the style to blame - it's the ...
- 4,141
5
votes
Aikido - working with difficult uke
What I guess I'm saying is, what approaches to people take in aikido to training with bigger, stronger partners who sometimes don't want to cooperate?
There's two separate issues here:
With ...
- 274
5
votes
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Why did Ueshiba name his art Aikido (合気道)?
Ueshiba himself justifies his choice of Aiki/Aikido (Aikido Journal, Aikiweb) as such:
As ai (harmony) is common with ai (love), I decided to name my unique
budo Aikido, although the word "aiki" ...
5
votes
Accepted
What is the negative impact when beginners learn both Yoshinkan aikido and Shodokan aikido at the same time?
None whatsoever with a little pinch of salt.
A lot of the Aikido techniques are the same in all styles, baring all the minor tweaks, emphasis, and focus changes. Ikkyo or Ikajo or oshi-taoshi are all ...
5
votes
How to do Shomen Ate?
Nariyama shihan doing shomen ate against a tanto strike.
There is now a video of Sakai-sensei and Jo-sensei doing the Atemi waza. Shomen ate is the the first technique they do.
Shomen ate is a front ...
5
votes
Getting more comfortable sitting in 正座 (seiza)
The most important part is doing exercises that stretch your quads. One efficient one is this: Sit on your knees, shins against the ground (like in seiza), then lean back, trying to put your shoulders ...
- 796
5
votes
Accepted
How to avoid knee pain/injury during Shikko waza?
Bad knees
If you have bad knees, as in medical professional has told you they are bad, then you should avoid any exercise that damages them further. Your coach/teacher should modify the exercises so ...
5
votes
Accepted
Explanation of the goshin-ho kata…
⚠ Disclaimer: I am still learning about the goshin-ho and thus the below is best seen as a work in progress… Anyone with a more complete answer is welcome to post it. Any errors, confusion, and ...
5
votes
Benefits of training in a hakama…
For me, the hakama simply belongs to the art.
At my dojo, people are encouraged to wear the hakama as soon as they decide that they are going to make Aikido a siginificant part of their life, i.e., ...
- 346
5
votes
Accepted
Shodokan or Tomiki Aikido, which is the proper name for the style and organization?
Style name(s)…
"Tomiki Aikido" is a misnomer. However, keep on reading.
Tomiki started teaching his system of learning/teaching Aikido before naming it. Thus, people (especially in the USA) started ...
5
votes
Japanese Short Sword Kata
First, don't drill anything you haven't been taught in person by a good teacher. You can learn a lot watching videos, but videos don't give you feedback and correction. I'm worried that you'll be ...
- 19.6k
5
votes
I've seen it repeated several times now that both Aikido and Hapkido have many thousands of techniques, is it true?
Aikido is actually quite limited in its scope. There aren't many kinds of strikes, take-downs, and throws.
Hapkido has a lot more striking than Aikido does, and a lot more types of throws. But it, ...
- 19.6k
5
votes
Accepted
I've seen it repeated several times now that both Aikido and Hapkido have many thousands of techniques, is it true?
Large indefinite numbers (a zillion!) are a quirk of language. Ten thousand (myriad) techniques is simply a place holder for all the many techniques. There are not exactly 10,000 techniques as opposed ...
- 14.5k
4
votes
What is the negative impact when beginners learn both Yoshinkan aikido and Shodokan aikido at the same time?
Depends on the teacher. This is ultimately a variation on the gorilla vs shark problem - the variables surrounding the question influence the outcome more than the question does.
I started in ...
- 3,291
4
votes
Getting more comfortable sitting in 正座 (seiza)
If you spend part of your day in front of a laptop, find a low table and spend part of that time sitting on the floor, in seiza, legs crossed, legs streched, whatever. It will give you flexibility and ...
- 207
4
votes
Aikido seiza: Why is the left toe placed over the right toe?
Answer to a previous question:
"Some schools cross the big toes, some don't."
Then there is this discussion on a kendo forum.
And the Wikipedia page on seiza:
"...big toes sometimes are ...
- 239
4
votes
Aikido seiza: Why is the left toe placed over the right toe?
I don't know from personal experience, but I did have the opportunity to ask several high-ranking Aikido-ka. Two admitted never having heard of the practice, three others are aware of the practice ...
- 4,141
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