Knowledge Base
"You must hit hard. You must press your partner.
You must force them to falter.
If you don't, you'll never learn. They will never.
It becomes a game, a choreography."
- Hitohira Saito Sensei
Aikido stances
Basic body positions - study these!
Basic staff position
Jo Hanmi
90deg, shoulders parallel to Jo, toes on line
Half stance
Han mi
On line, shoulders and back foot at 45deg
One line (evasive)
Hito E Mi
Feet at 90deg, shoulders parallel to but off the line
Fighting hips
Ken Ka Koshi
Feet at 90deg to each other, lowered into hip20 Jo Suburi
Staff practice forms
“Aikido is generally believed to represent circular movements. Contrary to such beliefs, however, Aikido, in its true ki form, is a fierce art, piercing straight through the center of the opposition.” - Morihiro Saito Shihan
Curriculum
Basic techniques
Levels of practice
Kihon Waza
基本 (kihon)
Basic or fundamental techniques:
- Osae waza (pinning techniques)
- Nage waza (throwing techniques)
- Kime waza (decisive techniques)
Ki no Nagare
気の流れ (ki no nagare)
Flowing techniques:
- Jutai (柔 ju , to give way, to yield)
- Ryutai (流 ryu, flow)
- Kitai (気 ki, energy, mind, or spirit)
Oyo Waza
応用 (oyo)
Applications:
- Go no Sen (後の先, post-initiative) taking the initiative in a fight after the opponent has already started an attack.
- Sen no Sen(先の先, mid-initiative) seizing the initiative earlier; attacking at the same moment your opponent attacks.
- Sen sen no Sen (先々の先, pre-initiative) taking the initiative early, when the assailant has committed to attack, but has not yet physically done so.
Takemusu Aiki
武産合氣 (takemusu aiki)
Unlimited bu of aiki:
This fourth and final concept represents the ideal state of the art in which the practitioner’s ability to defend and subdue their attacker is born from an infinite array of techniques (inspired by aiki), chosen at a moment’s notice.
This is the culmination of O’sensei’s kuden, “Learn and forget!” The state of no form. In Japanese, across many martial disciplines, this is often referred to as kamiwaza, or godly techniques - techniques of divine inspiration.