Ikkyo; First Teaching

[bushido_man96]

I have been working out on the weekends with the Aikido club at our college, and the first technique that I have finally fealt like I have gotten a grip on is Ikkyo.

The way we do it is instead of letting a lapel grab be completed, we step back and intercept the hand before it grabs the lapel (I like this, because I can see some parallels with intercepting a punch, but that would take some time). We make contact to the arm, and slide down in to grab the hand in the Ikkyo position; next, we attack the elbow by pushing it up and somewhat "through" our partner, getting them off balance; then, we step out at a 45 degree angle and circle the arm around and down into a locked straight position, with our partner hopefully below the level of our hips by now. Then we will slide back in and forward at another 45 degrees, pushing our partner down, and then slide forward and to the other 45, and into the Ikkyo pin.

This explanation is probably rather crappy, but it is about the best way I can think to explain it without pictures.

If anyone has any comments, thoughts, or suggestions on this technique, please feel free to let me have it! I look forward to them.

[tallgeese]

That straight armbar can be useful. It's also a good feed to set up a bent armbar in the opposite direction,which is excellent in it's own right. I think you'll find the extra comfot with it very handy in prone cuffing considering your profession.

The other great thing about that particular movment is the stepping and distancing work you get with the reps. I agree with your comparison to the interception of a strike.

[bushido_man96]

Thanks, tallgeese.

That straight armbar can be useful. It's also a good feed to set up a bent armbar in the opposite direction,which is excellent in it's own right.

In the DT training that we do, we cover a wrist lock/arm bar, one of which comes from inside, and the other from the outside, so that no matter how you end up, you should have something to work with. I also see some of the parallels with the Hapkido I do, but the Hapkido tends to be much more direct.

Here is a video clip of Ikkyo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QwNKF3iE8k&feature=related

This is very similar to what we are doing, only we are not letting the grab complete. Also, when we step in and push the elbow up, we then step to 45 degree angle with what would be the right foot in the video, bringing the arm straight and dragging him off balance more. Other than that, it is close.

[bushido_man96]

Ok, after spending some more time with the sempai on Ikkyo, I had a bad spot in it, where I was taking that extra step to push the arm up, and then slide over; I should have been doing it more like in the video, with one smooth motion. So, I have that fixed better.

[JohnC]

A couple of comments:

1) The emphasis should be on the shoulder movement which, as mentioned, uses body weight, rather than arm strength, to move uke's arm to prep position. This implies uke must be allowed to grab so that tori can pin uke's hand against tori's shoulder. Any pure arm strength move implies tori is on par with uke in strength and thus sets up tori to fail against significantly larger / stronger opponents. Besides, if you're ahead of the game enough in timing / ability to be able to 'pick' uke's hand out of the air, why wouldn't you either simply hit him or back off, instead of grappling (loosely used) with him?

2) If you hadn't noticed, the prep position is the same for nikyo, so another response would be to go to prep, take uke down to knees with nikyo and then taisabaki to the outside while switching nikyo to ikkyo and taking uke to the ground face down.

Although I realize this isn't the move you were practicing, from a practical standpoint I prefer this move because:

Uke's line is forward and this move allows me to not go into direct opposition (the direction reversal in the video) with uke.

It takes up less space and is a tad faster in execution, as you don't really step nikyo to ikkyo but rather flow it, using nikyo simply to force uke to start to drop.

I limit the possibility of walking into something if I don't get the hold right or uke gets loose or uke has a high pain tolerance or uke doesn't follow along like he's supposed to or ......

It allows me to see what's behind me (e.g. his buddy) as I execute.

It allows me, if my back's to the wall, to run him into it or his buddy (as mentioned above).

I can always simply disengage once I've peeled uke's hand loose, as I'm always either extending uke or moving off his line.

It's a lot easier to change holds if needed (e.g. ikko, nikyo, kote-gaeshi, hiji-jime), as I am consistently extending uke and have both hands / arms against his one hand / arm.

I offer the above because of you guys being in LE.

[bushido_man96]

John, thank you for the comments. I am still fairly new with a lot of the movement principles of Aikido, so I'll try to consider them as I go along.

I have done Nikkyo as well; I just haven't focused on it as much, as it isn't one of the techniques I'll be tested on. However, with what I have done with it, Nikkyo seems to be easier to apply than Ikkyo does.

I have noticed that when I look for examples on the internet, all the examples that I see show the grab taking place, but the standards for the Aikido Association of America (AAA) seem to be to intercept the grab, as opposed to letting the grab become completed. However, I would like to practice both, because sometimes a grab will get through.

I have also been practicing Kotegaeshi and Kokyunage, both without letting the grab land. It just seems to be the way the AAA does it.

Thoughts on this, John?

[JohnC]

The main issue with the way Aikido is taught is the concept that uke is supposed to 'help' tori do the techniques so that one can have 'harmonius practice'. Similarly there's no 'real' sparring. Bottom line is nothing ever gets stress tested to see if it really works.

That doesn't mean Aikido doesn't work. It does mean you should go through a stress testing cycle to pick out the wheat from the chaff and to learn under what circumstances each technique can be expected to work at least 80% of the time or better. For example, try to grab a jab or cross properly delivered and see what happens. These techinques were developed in the land of Shotokan, where everybody chambers and thrusts. Thus, the operational assumptions don't travel very well.

Nikyo is a bit subtle. Make sure you get all the angles right or it won't work very well and learn the shift to ikkyo or hiji-jime. Guys with high pain tolerance may not buckle and so operationally you should have a mechanical leverage based technique in reserve to take the guy down / break something.

As for practice, take a look at this website:

http://www.aikido3d.com/

I have their DVD and it's very well done. Although I do some of the techniques with variation, for a beginner it's a really good learning tool, in my opinion and well worth the money.

As for me, I use Aikido for proportional, low - medium intensity self-defense responses where the attacker has made physical contact. My moves tend to be very short and sweet (i.e. I don't do any of the whirl the guy around three times before laying him down. In this my moves are closer to Japanese Jiu-Jutsu than Aiki-Jutsu.). Depending on the situation, I sometimes use Aikido moves as lead ins to more violent stuff (think Jason Bourne taking out the guards in the embassy in Bourne Identity).

Hope this helps and hope you and yours are doing well.

[bushido_man96]

Thanks for the pointers, John.

I do have some problems with the methods of teaching in Aikido, but I deal with that stuff on my own time. Otherwise, I go to learn the techniques and different ways of moving. At this point, I'm just sponging stuff up.

I'll keep your advise in mind. Thank you.

[bushido_man96]

After looking at the clip again, I feel that part of my ackwardness may come from the foot that I move after seizing the elbow. In the clip, the instructor moves the same side foot. I have been stepping with the opposite foot. I also tend to feel too far away from uke when doing the technique, like I have to reach for him. I'll ask the instructor about which foot to step with.

1) The emphasis should be on the shoulder movement which, as mentioned, uses body weight, rather than arm strength, to move uke's arm to prep position. This implies uke must be allowed to grab so that tori can pin uke's hand against tori's shoulder. Any pure arm strength move implies tori is on par with uke in strength and thus sets up tori to fail against significantly larger / stronger opponents. Besides, if you're ahead of the game enough in timing / ability to be able to 'pick' uke's hand out of the air, why wouldn't you either simply hit him or back off, instead of grappling (loosely used) with him?

The more I do this technique, the more trouble I seem to have with adjusting to the incoming grab, as opposed to letting the grab happen. Also, our prep stance isn't done with the hands in the typical positioning that I have seen in the Aikido books I have been reading, which really bothers me. I don't like my hands hanging down at my sides, and then having to react from that position to intercept the grab. I may start holding my hands up in a more ready position; not doing so just feels unnatural to me.