Category: aikido

Just a note on Aikido. I need to pay a lot more attention to my balance and posture. When I try to execute a technique fast, I often feel off balance — exactly the opposite of what should be happening. I think I need to practice the moves a little bit slower, but try to keep my flow and balance. Kind of like good skateboarding — flow and balance. Smooth. But when I do hit an Aikido technique pretty good, man, it feels good. Amazing actually.

At this point, I think it is hard to keep good posture because I’m thinking about so many other aspects of the techniques. But as I get better with the basic movements — the footwork, direction, grips, etc. — I think I’ll be able to fine tune my posture, and move more powerfully from my center.

 I suppose most aikidoists know about these books, but I’m going to say a few things about them anyway. These are “Best Aikido” parts one and two, by Moriteru Ueshiba, the current Doshu of Aikido. I purchased these books when I began Aikido, and they’ve been very helpful. Each contains many techniques, all with pretty good sequential photographs and some instructions to help guide you through the moves. 

Best Aikido: the Fundamentals covers “the fundamentals”. I think it covers everything that is on most 5th Kyu tests.  The Aikido Master Course: Best Aikido 2 covers some more advanced techniques, including some weapon taking. It also gets into responses to the Yokomenuchi (side strike to the head) attack, which we worked on this week and seem a little more difficult.

The author suggests that you use these as a reference — something to review after you practice a technique in class. I have done just that, and it has been helpful. These books contain all the basic moves, omote and ura versions and other variations. There have been many times I’ve worked on a technique at practice but still felt a little confused about it. These books have cleared up a lot of questions.

Just a short post.

I just realized this morning that a normal 1.5 hour Aikido practice isn’t making me sore anymore. I’m not sure, but I think that is progress.

Moriteru Ueshiba is the grandson of the founder or Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. He is the 3rd Doshu — essentially the worldwide leader or Aikido.

I found these video clips on YouTube.com. I’m going to try to find out where to purchase these.

Moriteru Ueshiba 1 
Moriteru Ueshiba 2
Moriteru Ueshiba 3

And here is Moriteru Ueshiba 20 years ago — very smooth!

I haven’t been writing that much about Aikido lately, but I’ve been going to class regularly. In fact, I just hit my 3 month mark. It is going pretty well. I feel like the techniques I’ll need to know for the 5th kyu are coming along pretty well.  At least well enough that in a few months I’ll be ready for 5th kyu. It is my understanding that it takes years to really, really master even the simple techniques, and I believe it. There are subtleties in Aikido techniques that you just can’t grasp quickly. And to actually use them in a flowing way, well, that is a long-term goal.

Last night was the first time I’ve been in a practice where we used weapons. We used the Jo last night — the wooden staff. Shiba Sensei began by teaching us how to do a proper attack with the weapon. Having never touched the Jo before, even this was not easy to get right, but I think I did OK. Then we moved into some techniques for disarming/throwing someone attacking with the Jo. Pretty cool stuff. I didn’t do too bad. A few times I actually felt like I hit the move really well — to where I could feel a little power in the throw without using a lot of muscle. The rest of the time, well, I got through the techniques, which I’m happy about. Like everything else, practice is required.

Before this session I wasn’t really that interested in the weapons techniques, but now I’m kind of excited about them. Looking forward to learning more.