The term Aikido literally means “the way of harmony with Ki” but many other interpretations are possible. It is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba. He came to this martial art by combining his martial art studies, philosophy and religious thoughts. His goal was to develop a martial art that would not only allow its practitioners to defend themselves but also avoid injuring the attacker. Aikido is the sport of using the attacker's movement to go with the movement rather than against it. This requires little physical energy because the aikidoka uses the attacker's momentum in combination with entry and turning movements. These techniques are supplemented with various throws and clamps. Aikido can be classified under wrestling.
Aikido is largely derived from the martial art Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu, but started to deviate from it around 1920. This was partly due to Ueshiba's commitment to the Omoto-kyo religion. In the first documents, Ueshiba calls the martial art aiki-jujutsu. Many of Ueshiba's older students have different views on Aikido depending on the period in which they studied with him. Today, Aikido can be practiced all over the world. This martial art has many styles, but they are all derived from the techniques developed by Ueshiba.
Aikido training
In Aikido, as in almost all other Japanese martial arts, there is both a physical and a mental aspect to training. The physical training in Aikido is diverse, with attention paid to both the general physical condition and fitness. Because a large part of Aikido consists of throws, the student first learns how to roll and fall properly. The specific techniques for attacking include both grabs and strikes. The techniques for defense consist of throws and clamps. After the student has mastered the basic techniques, lessons in weapons can begin.
Roles of uke and nage
Aikido training is mainly focused on two partners running pre-arranged patterns, the so-called kata. The basic pattern is where the receiver of the technique (uke) makes an attack on the thrower (nage) who then neutralizes this attack by applying an aikido technique. Both parts of the technique are essential for Aikido training. Nage teaches you to bend with the attacker and control the attacking energy, while uke teaches you to be calm and flexible when you are at a disadvantage. This receiving of a technique is called ukemi. Uke is constantly trying to find balance and cover weak spots while nage uses positions and speed to keep uke off balance and vulnerable. In more advanced training, uke can sometimes apply reversal techniques to regain balance.
Initial attacks
Aikido techniques are aimed at repelling an attack. To learn this well, students must also know what a good attack is. Although there is not a lot of training for various attacks, the most common ones are treated well. Many strokes in Aikido are actually supposed to represent a stroke with a sword. Other techniques that resemble punches are reminiscent of a movement made with a stabbing weapon. There is not much kick training because kicks, especially high kicks, were not performed on the battlefield in feudal Japan of the past.
Some basic strokes are:
- Front of the Head Strike: A vertical knife hand strike to the head
- Side of the Head Strike: A diagonal knife hand strike to the side of the head or neck
- Chest thrust: a punch to the chest
- Face Punch: A punch to the face
Beginners mainly practice grips in the beginning so that they can feel the energy of the opponent. Some holds are derived from historical events such as being held down while attempting to draw a weapon. A technique could then be used to break free and subsequently throw the opponent off balance.
The handles below are examples of this.
- One-handed grip: one hand grips a wrist
- Two-handed grip: Both hands grasp a wrist
- Two-handed grip: both hands grip both wrists
- Shoulder grab: a shoulder is grabbed
- Chest grab: grabbing the chest or the clothing around the chest
Basic techniques
The techniques below are commonly used throws and clamps. The precise terminology may differ between different organizations and styles, but the terms below are used by the Aikikai Foundation.
First technique
A movement in which one hand applies pressure to the elbow and another hand to the wrist to move the uke towards the ground
Second technique
A wrist clamp that rotates the arm
Third technique
A rotating wrist lock
Fourth technique
A shoulder check in which both hands grab the forearm
Fifth technique
The wrist is grabbed and then rotated to place downward pressure on the elbow
Four-way throw
The hand is pressed behind the shoulder so that the shoulder joint is secured
Forearm clamp
A clamp where the forearm is clamped
Breath throw
A commonly used term for techniques that do not use a clamp
Incoming pitch
Throws where the nage comes in are run on the uke
Heaven-and-earth throw
Nage takes one hand low and the other hand high, thus unbalancing uke
Hip toss
Nage lowers his hip lower than uke's so that he can be thrown over the hip
Figure ten throw
A throw in which the arms are held together
Spinning throw
Nage takes the arms and brings them behind the shoulder and then presses forward to throw
Weapons
Aikido also trains with weapons. This includes practicing with the short stick, wooden sword and knife. Nowadays, some schools also teach how to deal with a situation where a firearm is drawn. There are also schools that do not train on and with weapons at all because they are completely against this. The opposite of this style is the Iwama style, in which a lot of time and attention is paid to the wooden sword and the short stick.
Multiple attackers
Within Aikido, people also train to defend themselves against multiple attackers, the so-called taninzudori or taninzugake. Sparring with multiple attackers is an important part of many exams and is a mandatory part if you want to obtain a higher degree. It is about the person being able to perform movements intuitively in an unstable environment. Strategic choice of techniques is an important part of the training. For example, a ura technique can be used to neutralize the current attacker, but this allows one to stand with their backs to the next attacker so that he can continue his attack unhindered.
Mental training
Aikido training is both mental and physical with an emphasis on relaxing the body and mind, even when in a dangerous situation. This is necessary to enable the practitioner to respond confidently in a fight. Mirihei Ueshiba once said that “one must be prepared to take 99% of the attack and face death” to perform the technique without question.
