JEM618

I don't have my own school, but I have a club at the K-12 school I work for. I love aikido and the culture and history that surrounds it. Besides, I get a kick out teaching aikido to Japanese in Japan.

Aikido: 1) Katatekosadori Kokyunage 2) Katatedori Tenkan Kokyunage 3) Katadori Ikkyo 4) Munatsuki Koteoroshi 5) Yokomenuchi Shihonage 6) Shomenuchi Kokyunage 7) Katadori Nikyo 8 ) Katatori Sankyo 9) Katatori Yonkyo 10) Yokomenushi Zenpounage 11) Ryotedori Zenpounage 12) Ushirotekubidori Zenpounage 13) Ushirotekubidori Kubijime Sankyonage 14) Ryotedori Tenchinage 15) Ushirodori Kokyunage Zenpou 16) Ryotemochi Kokyunage Enundo 18 ) Zagi Handachi Munatsuki Koteoroshi 19) Zagi Handachi Yokomenuchi Zenpounage 20) Munatsuki Zenpounage 21) Munatsuki Sudori 22) Munatsuki Kaitennage 23) Ryotemochi Koteoroshi 24) Ryotemochi Kokyunage Hachi-no-Ji 25) Yokomenuchi Koteoroshi 26) Yokomenuchi Kokyunage Hachi-no-Ji 27) Shomenuchi Koteoroshi 28 ) Shomenuchi Ikkyo 29) Ushirotekubidori Koteoroshi 30) Ushirotekubidori Ikkyo Most have entering or turning variations, and are performed on the left and right side, so about 100 techniques - along with a few taigi - which are sets of 5-7 defenses to a paticular attack. Also included in the test, ken and jo forms, and a four man attack. All in all a two day affair.

A dangerous weapon can be considered anything from a gun, a knife, a moving car or other vehicle, down to a baby bottle, or even a shod foot! Kicking someone while wearing shoes increases the charges if you are arrested. You can sometimes get the charges lowered to assault, but steel toed shoes? I don't know.... Google and read for yourself.....

Good advice above. Been a while since I've done it... Every move is a form in itself, as with all forms, the final part of each move sets you up for the next... Are you looking where you are kicking? So many times you see someone throw a sidekick to the left or right and they're looking straight ahead, or at the floor, etc. Is you heel higher than your toes when throwing the sidekick? Is your supporting heel facing the target? Are you looking where you are punching? Are you looking before kicking? Just because the next move is a left sidekick doesn't mean you just throw your leg out, look, chamber, kick... Remember, during any form you are reacting to an opponent.... albeit an imaginary one... Are you looking before turning, just a split second, look, turn.... kick, block, punch etc. It's the details... timing, pause, explosiveness, etc., that separates the men from the boys... Good luck.

It does not require state of the art technology to speed up one part of a video. You film the trees moving for the correct amount of time with nobody there, then film a guy in front of a green screen and use the trees as a background. Really easy to do, I've done it for school projects.

footwork.

I'm busy now, at a conference. I will reply in detail later.

In order of preference: Finger - not really on the list, for me wrist is #1, but you can almost guarantee the fight ending if you grab someones finger and bend in in any direction it's not supposed to go until you hear the loud snap of a bone, the pop of a tendon, followed by a loud scream. A good defense for a rear choke, if you have presence of mind and tuck your chin before your opponent's arm lands in exactly the righ position, grab a finger and go crazy before it's too late. [i know there are drug crazed maniacs out there and pros that can ge the choke the first time...] Wrist - easier than an arm bar, doesn't require position in the ju-ji-katame position, doesn't require the hyperextension of the elbow to work - a plus if your opponent is strong and not in the mood to give you the lock. Most wrist locks go in the direction that the wrist bends and work because the wrist is 'over extended' rather than hyper-extended. Elbow - but not ju-ji-katame Shoulder - but only if the opportunity presented itself. Throat - but only if the opportunity presented itself. In any case, I would just go for what was there, I wouldn't have my mind set on any one thing, like, 'OK, I'm gonna choke this guy out!' because on the way to the choke I might have to pass up a few other viable techniques.

I don't know what a 'guard sweep' is so I can't answer that with any certainty. Yes, there are reversals, I mentioned them in an earlier post in this thread. As another poster mentioned, many of the techniques could be applied easily, and perhaps effectively, from either the mount or guard as body and hand position are similar to while standing. I would have to say the some might be more difficult to apply due to the space, or lack thereof, between nage and uke. And there are plenty of techniques for rear attack, I guess they would be considered escapes with finishing locks or throws. 1/3 of the 2nd dan test is comprised of rear attacks. E.g., chokes, 'bear hugs', 'full-nelson', etc.

Those techniques are called 'zagi-waza' when both start from seiza, and 'zagi-hantachi' when nage is seated and uke is standing.

At our dojo we are taught escapes or roll-outs from locks or pins but there are really no techniques like the guard or mount. Along with that, how to position yourself to prevent a roll out or escape. When we practice we are told to roll out or escape if possible which adds a bit of realism to practice, rather than just laying on the ground like a fish while your partner applies a shoulder lock. I imagine some of the techniques could be adapted for the ground. I guess there are a couple of reasons that there aren't specific ground techniques. Aikido is primarily defensive, but goes one step further for lack of a better term - 'preemptive defense of impending attack'. Your opponent attacks and he is stopped in mid-attack. Imagine a country fires a missile at your country. The goal is to shoot down the enemy's missile before it hits the ground, not wait 'till it hits, does damage, and then counter attack by firing your missiles. In judo, it's common to lock up and grab each others lapel and then start looking for a opening for a throw. In aikido, as your opponent goes for your lapel, you step slightly out of range and take his wrist before he gets a hold of you, then apply a technique. It's believed that someone getting a hold of you is not a good thing, especially if they're bigger and stronger than you are. So you should avoid getting grabbed and control the attacker before it's 'too late'.

No problem!

When you practice practice with all your heart. Practice until it's not practice anymore. Practice until it's only natural to move the way you should with out thinking. That is, practice until your whole body 'moves by itself' when your opponent approaches, the same way you blink when something approaches your eye. Good luck!

I'll generalize for the sake of a quick reply: In every MA body position relative to the opponent, space between you and your opponent, and timing are three key factors in applying proper technique. Because it's what I have the most experience in, I'll use aikido as an example: The finishing move for over 100 attacks boil down to just five basic joint locks; ikkyo, nikkyo, sankyo, yonkyo, and kotegaeshi. In about 30 minutes, I could show you how to apply all of them from a static standing position. However, to apply them correctly, you have to be able to set up the finishing move from over 100 different positions. So learning how to position your body before the attack, maintaining proper distance; moving in, out, or away from your opponent, and doing so with good timing is what really make them work. I've seen alot of jujitsu videos and seminars and many of them show mostly what to do on the ground - so most would imagine that jujitsu is 'ground-fighting'. Principally, it is. However, fights start from standing, and then winds up on the ground. So getting to the ground if half the battle. Are you going to wind up mounted or in the guard? Which is your forte? How can you position your self to get your opponent in the position you want him in? Footwork! A lot of people, after watching Gracie, just fell in love with the mount and guard-position. But by the time you get there, it's almost over. With what experinece I have practicing jujitsu, in the dojo, I prefer the guard, but in the street, God forbid the day ever come, I'd much rather be in the mount. In UFC, or in the dojo, there are rules and codes of conduct, so in the guard you are relatively safe. But just imagine being in the guard on the street and the other guy grabs you by the collar or stands up a bit and starts bashing the back of your head of the concrete.

Rhetorically: punching, how important is it to the study of boxing? You have to learn the footwork; how to move in and out of the circle, unbalancing your opponent, etc. Doesn't matter how good your hands are if your footwork isn't there...

After a while it gets easier... http://www.karateforums.com/album_pic.php?pic_id=316 http://www.karateforums.com/album_pic.php?pic_id=319

The mechanics for front and back rolls are exactly the same; they mirror each other. If you can master one, the other will fall closely behind. Usually when people start out they can’t do either, or they can do one fairly well. It's not set in stone that one is learnt or mastered before the other. They're hard to explain in a post, so I suggest you watch someone who does ukemi well, try to mimic their technique, and ask for some pointers, etc. You mention that you chicken out a bit and you could stand to lose a few pounds. Personally, I don't think weight is an issue. 50% confidence - 50% technique! I have a boy in my club that is 40 pounds over weight and he rolls like a tumbleweed. I've also seen some 'mini-sumo-wrestlers' at aikido camps that can do fantastic ukemi. I imagine you practice on some type of wrestling mats or tatami but probably not in a judo dojo with a suspended floor. So practicing rolls, especially if you lack confidence is a little tough. Here are some tips... they are tied together so you should work on all of them 1. You need to practice someplace soft. Does you dojo have thicker mats that they keep off to the side? Can you use them before or after class? If not, your yard; a king size bed, etc. 2. You need to practice someplace you feel no pressure. In our dojos after we do taiso, we do ukemi; everyone lines up and we do ukemi around the perimeter of the dojo, one after another, forward - right-left, backward – right-left, 10x for a total of 40. I can sympathize with you; there’s nothing like that pressure of being next in line, holding up the line, or having your mates watch you ‘barrel-roll’ instead of doing proper ukemi. I mentioned in #1 using mats before or after class. When I run into situations where students can roll do ukemi well, after one or two barrel rolls, I excuse them off the mat and have them practice after class. 3. Momentum! Momentum is directly tied to confidence. If you lack confident you won’t use enough momentum to keep the roll going, and you’ll barrel-roll. The more impetus you use in your rolls, the smoother they’ll become, especially if you are a bit heavy. But you have to have confidence about not getting hurt. It’s one of those ‘chicken or the egg’ things, I guess… Anyway, good luck and happy rolling!

1.25 hrs by car, 2.0 hrs by train. 50.00 a month

No sweat Enviroman, I live, work, and practice in Japan. I teach English at a private K-12 school, and I have my own aikido club. The following is the English translation of an article that appeared (in Japanese) in the school's quarterly magazine: You might find this of interest.... When I tell people I practice aikido I’m asked many questions about it. So, before I talk about our club, I’d like to answer the most common questions. Is aikido Japanese? Aikido is most certainly Japanese; the techniques of aikido are derived mainly from the diato-ryu aikijujutsu of Sokaku Takeda. And the roots of daito-ryu can be traced back over 1000 years to its founder Minamoto Yoshimitsu when it was first know as diato-ryu bujutsu or diato-ryu jujutsu. Is aikido a sport? No, aikido is not a sport. There are no tournaments, contests or ‘sparring’. There are a few reasons for this. First, in aikido, there is no attack, so it would be impossible to have a match. [Although there are some strikes (atemi) they are used defensively.] Second, in aikido, many techniques would have to be excluded from competition because of their potential to cause serious injury. And third, and most importantly, according to the founder, the essence of aikido is not the defeat of others, but primarily a way to achieve self-mastery. Is aikido a martial art? This is difficult to answer; I’d have to say, ‘Yes and no’. Over the course of its development, to match his philosophical beliefs, the founder changed the name a few times, from aikibujutsu to aikinomichi, and finally settled on aikido. Since aikido’s roots lie in martial arts and all the techniques derived from fighting, we’d have to consider it a martial art. However, the philosophy of aikido, being ‘do’ not ‘jutsu’ tells us that it is much more than just a martial art. Some points about aikido: Instead of relying solely on strikes, practitioners of aikido train extensively in evasive movements, joint locks to the wrist, elbow, and shoulder as well as various throws and pinning techniques. Because of this strategy, those who practice aikido are able to exercise greater control in response to aggression by choosing a level of force appropriate for the situation. Do to the particular method of body movement used, aikido enables practitioners to control others much larger than themselves and does not require great size of physical strength. In addition the practice of aikido helps students develop strategies to deal with conflict and aggression in their daily lives not just in self defense situations. Our club: We practice three days a week. In each class we start with by reading from Tohei’s ki sayings, and then do basic warm up exercises. These exercises are a combination of stretching exercises and movements taken from different techniques to help us develop our ki. After that, we practice ukemi which is essential, because in class uke may be thrown 100 times or more. Once the warm up and ukemi practice is finished, we start practicing waza. For any given attack, [shomen yokomen, tsuki] there are several possible defenses. First we learn the basic body movements or mechanics of these techniques. Then we try to apply the principals of ki to improve the technique to make it more effective. A note about ki. Our particular style of aikido is called shishin toitsu aikido and was developed by one of ueshiba’s students, tohei koichi. Tohei believes that ki development is a vital aspect of good technique as well as developing one’s self. But to explain ki and shishin toitsu is very difficult, and cannot be done within this article. I believe ueshiba put it best. aikido – (its mysteries)can never be encompassed by the brush or mouth attain enlightenment through practice． So, if you want to learn more about aikido, please join us!

With that I must agree in part but along with that I'll add the following. As far as being 'superman', no most people are not able to throw people around like that on their own, but when your stuck in sankyo and you can feel your elbow about to pop, or you've been manipulated into a reversal with your arm in a full extension, to the point of hyperextension, you'd be surprised what your do to avoid a dislocation or tendon tear. A lot of training we do is to increase awareness or the attack or possibility of attack. It's believed that you should be fully aware of your surroundings and avoid conflict at all costs. I.E. If you are walking down a dark street in a bad part of town, you should notice the silhouette of three men standing on the street corner two blocks away. At that point you should take evasive action; cross the street, turn back, go into a shop and wait, etc. You should never needlessly put yourself into a situation where you must use decisive force. If you should happen to walk head first into that situation, then you must control it from the start. This is done by positioning yourself to bait* the attackers in a way that is conducive to a favorable outcome; diffuse the situation with no harm done, surviving that attack with the least possible harm to both you and the attacker, and finally, if necessary, subduing the attacker to the point they no longer want to continue. * baiting the attacker is often referred ‘michi-biku’ or leading the attacker, in more colloquial terms we often say ‘esa-o-ageru’. (col. offering food to an animal, a worm on a hook, a dog biscuit, etc) And finally, I guess aikido is an art that needs adaptation. I will generalize here for the sake of making a quick point, one you may have heard before. All techniques in aikido are based on disarming an attacker, that is, you have no weapon, and the attacker does. In the old days, there were three; the sword, the knife, staff of course in various sizes, shapes and lengths. And there were three basic angles of attack; over head, from the side, usually to the face or throat, and a thrust, usually to the face, throat, chest, abdomen or groin. Since the mechanics of the human body haven’t changed much the principals of attach haven’t changed either. And although we don’t carry swords or staffs and for the most part knives, now the techniques are practiced empty handed. The over head attack, whether it’s with a sword or beer bottle is mechanically the same. The same holds true for a side attack, with no knife or bottle, the mechanics of a ‘hay-maker’ are practically identical. And someone trying to punch you in the stomach is really no different mechanically than someone trying to stab you in the stomach. So, the movements or mechanics of the old techniques should be adapted to their modern day application.

Jedmic, I have to agree with you. If just for a moment, you forget about 'kokyu', 'ura', and some of the more difficult 'tenkan', and 'irrimi' techniques, and focus on the four most basic techiques; 'ikkyo', 'nikkyo', 'sankyo, and 'kotegaeshi', proficiency can be achieved quite rapidly.

Sullivan

You didn't put a choice for home-built machines for guys like me. You should add that. It would be interesting to see how many people have built their own machines and opposed to buying a brand name. For now, hardware of choice: CPU - P4 HT Graphics - ATI HDD - Seagate SATA

If it’s purely for aesthetics, that’s fine. Some confusion always lies in converting the Roman alphabet to its katakana equivalent. It’s not as simple as matching the consonants and vowels to their ‘equivalent’ katakana from a chart. I.e., the first two letters of ‘Sullivan’ are ‘su’ so the katakana must be ‘ス’. If ‘Sullivan’ is pronounced ‘Sa(h)-la-van’ ‘Sa(h)’ is closer to the katana ‘サ’. Unlike English, Japanese is spoken with very defined vowel sounds. To explain, while our letter a can be pronounced ay, ah, or even eh, there is only one sound for it in Japanese. The vowel pronunciations are as follows: a -- "ah" (as in car) i -- "ee" (as in machine) u -- "oo" (as in truth) e -- "eh" (as in net) o -- "oh" (as in home) So, ス is pronounced like ‘Sue’. スリバン, when read with ‘Japanese’ pronunciation, is ‘sue-li-ban’. The ‘ban’, pronounced like fan or tan. Omitting the ‘ィ’ between ‘バ’ and ‘ン’ also stiffens the pronunciation. Compare ‘ban’, pronounced like fan or tan, to the softer sound of ‘bahn’ in the word ‘autobahn’. Anyway, if you don’t anticipate anyone ‘reading’ it, i.e., there are no Japanese in you club or you don’t have a visiting instructor, don’t sweat it.

No, not quite. チ = chi Pronunciation is close to the ‘che’ in cheap. チ + " = デ. The " changes the 'c' sound in ‘chi’ to a 'd' sound. The 'h' sound is blended. デ Pronunciation is close to the ‘dee’ in deep. イ = i Pronunciation is not like ‘I’, as you would think, it’s actually close to the ‘ee’ in ‘see’ This ィ is a small イ. When it follows a full syllable, it extends the sound of the preceding syllable and is not pronounced independently. So, it’s closer to this; fu re dee. If you say it fast five times, it starts to sound pretty good.