I hadn’t thought to look up Kanazawa Sensei in over 2 years. He was a fine teacher at Hombu – stern and serious. He was teaching the beginner’s class on the second floor while I was there. He doesn’t have that many videos so this is a treat to watch.

His shihonage cut-down is very nice. It makes me want to look into mine yet again.

Kanazawa Sensei, yokomenuchi shihonage ura

Shihogiri continued

... continued

I’ve noticed that many shihans cut down at an angle (which I explored in a previous post). Kanazawa Sensei really cuts through Uke’s center of gravity, then sweeps back out. It looks almost like two cuts. I never thought to cut into Uke’s center before, just kuzushi by way of gravity and then sweep out to make him turn as he falls. I’m looking forward to practicing this on Thursday.

Kanazawa Sensei Shihonage

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Tamura Shihan as Uke

Tamura Shihan was great and had a large following of students. However, he started off as a student himself. We all start as students. When I see a shihan as a student, it reminds me that we are only as great as the effort we put into something.

According to the poster:

“This film was produced by André Nocquet, 8th dan Aikido, 4th dan Judo and direct student of masters Kawaishi and Ueshiba. He spent 3 years in Japan between 1955 and 1957 as the first foreign uchi deshi at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo.”

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Updated Sep 02, 2010

I’m going to present a series of kenawase and kumitachi match-ups from different shihans then ask a question afterward.

Kobayashi Sensei and Igarashi Sensei - Kenawase

Saito Sensei circa 1973 - Kenawase

Saito Sensei mid 90's - Kenawase

Here is some kenjustsu.¹

Kenjutusu, ready

My question is: what is the optimal maai for kengeiko? Should we really be so fussy about making sure the ken cross each other by ‘3 centimeters’ so there is a pronounced X shape? Many of the non-Japanese people practicing kenawase and kumitachi in YouTube videos like to have their bokuto overlap by a few centimeters, but the Japanese which I have found seem to prefer to just touch the tips of the bokuto (see above).

If ken are overlapping, doesn’t that limit one’s options for entering into Ukedachi by limiting him to enter to one side or another? If the rebuttal is that it is a blending practice to feel each other, then why make “death blow” movements at all. I don’t know if we can have it both ways.

Then I discovered kenjutsu with the help of my friend Kent. They have some serious, serious skills in their inventory. I am not sure if Aikiken can or should be more than blending practice for Aikidoka because I have not seen that ninja-like surgery of cutting yet in Aikido that I see over and over again in kenjutsu. Then the question becomes: how do we make friends with a guy with a sword who is intent on cutting us, in Aikido?

UPDATE 2010.09.02 – Just to be fair, I found clips of Kobayashi Sensei and Igarashi Sensei performing kumitachi with their ken overlapped. See below.

Kumitachi

When they do kumitachi, they overlap their bokuto, but when they do kenawase they just touch the tips of their ken. Is this a quirk or part of practice?

1. From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVuGDcggm44 [↩]

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These guy make me think “who cares?” to all my kenawase and kumitachi questions because we have nothing on these guys in Aikido – this is awesome kenjutsu – these guys could maim us all.

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This was uploaded by ‘kobayashidojo’ in Sept. 2009. Kobayashi Sensei and Igarashi Sensei are performing kenawase 1 – 7.

Tonight we practiced these and I did exactly what Sensei wanted because he ~loves~ weapons. He was happy with me. But, I still have questions about awase and what exactly we should be trying to work toward by practicing them with a partner.

#1 is extremely fun because my practice now is to tap the wood handle between my partner’s grip and make that tapping sound, but with control and smoothness. This isn’t the actual practice handed down to us, but some shidoin want to see if we (I) can do it.

#2 is a mystery. Could it be 紙一重 practice? Should we wait until the last moment to move? If not, do we step back instead of to the side when when the tsuki comes in? Should we practice #2 like our shihan, or not? We don’t seem to practice like either of them. Here is Kobayashi Sensei and Igrasahi Sensei (our technical director) performing #2:

Kobayashi Sensei and Igarashi Sensei - kenawase #2

Clearly Kobayashi Sensei steps back when Igarashi Sensei does tsuki, and the “No 2″ is present on purpose.

#2 continued

I’m curious as to what #2 should be teaching us when we practice it versus what we think it should be teaching us.

For #3, how close should we come to come to Ukedachi when we point to his neck? Logic tells me not very close because I have been told and experienced in serious ken fighting no one dares lift the ken that high above the head. So, if this is a kind of soft kata practice, should we enter deep and touch Ukedachi’s notch in his throat, or do it more like Kobayashi Sensei below:

Kobayashi Sensei kenawase #3

#4 is extremely fun because it requires sleight of hand and efficient movement to parry with Ukedachi.  It is actually one of my favorite because the relaxed strength needed to maintain control.

#5 is fun too. However, I like the way Igarashi Sensei does the “cut to miss” part in the clip presented here. He actually doesn’t – he cuts but does not cut below Ukedachi’s grip. Why should we even “cut to miss”? If we, for instance, cut and miss Ukedachi’s hand and our ken is lowered, why in Heaven’s name would Ukedachi step back, raise his ken and try to re-cut? That makes zero sense, unless we are not supposed to cut lower than Ukedachi’s wrist. By keeping the ken pointed at Ukedachi’s chest as in the still below, we are threatening Ukedachi and make him want to step back. This makes more sense.

Kenawase #5 - Igarashi Sensei is demonstrating

#6 is fun.

I’ve already looked deeply into #7 before – don’t motion to cut off your partner’s head if you are a caring, decent person (is how I feel). Just stop at the back of his neck and hold is my opinion, and is how both Kobayashi Sensei and Igarashi Sensei demonstrate #7.

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1. Chudan tsuki
2. Jodan block
3. Flip jo above head
4. Kaeshi uchi
5. Tsuki
6. Jodan block
7. Flip jo above head again
8. Kaeshi uchi
9. Gedan retract
10. Hiza uchi
11. Flip jo

Repeat ad infinitum.

This was the first kata that Kobayashi Yasuo Sensei taught us at the Calgary Aikikai seminar on Saturday, August 14th, 2010.

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On the last day of the seminar, Kobayashi Sensei proved to me that teachers do not have to keep their distance from practicing with students. Some teachers like to only watch a class, but Kobayashi Sensei actually does ukemi with the class, and takes ukemi for students too! He even took koshinage for some white-belt students and he is 74-years-young – impressive.

That is the kind of teacher I want to be one day.

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Is this another rule another rule I can throw out and replace with a principle?

Uke presses firmly on Tori's knees

Uke is pressing firmly on Tori as in the still above. There are ways to perform the kokyuho I gleaned from studying Saito and Nishio senseis, but Endo does something simple that I never thought to do because I have been thinking about the rule: don’t move around. This must not be a rule.

Endo Sensei takes a step back

Cuts down, not raises up

... and done

Of course this is not basic waza, but why fuss over it?

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Thinking more about mundadori, I wonder what other techniques I have not practiced (much, or ever), but exist in Aikikai organizations. Here are some that come to mind.

• mundadori (CAF)
• ushiro ryotedori kubishime (CAF)
• jodan tsuki (not the same as chudan tsuki for many techniques)
• mae ryohijidori (AAA)
• ushiro ryohijidori (us)
• ushiro eridori (us)

Just something to think about. If they are not taught in class, is it okay to ask someone who knows them from another organization for help with them? Is it okay to know of Aikido techniques, to know they are not taught, but not actively pursue them?

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Updated Sep 01, 2010

I am encountering techniques from students in another organization not covered by my home organization, probably because they are not on any kyu test (not on mine, anyway). Munadori techniques are one such category. In fact, after 1.5 years of writing in this journal, yesterday was the first time I wrote about any munadori technique. Here is another one – munadori shihonage:

Someone could argue that mundadori techniques are a subset of katadori, but I assure myself they are not after the practice I had on Saturday. Uke is grabbing close to my center of rotation, not some point on its orbit like the shoulder or arm. This makes it different.

UPDATE 2010.08.29 – With practice today, it seems that going deep to the side makes a big difference as I expected versus going back at a 45-degree angle.

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Updated Sep 08, 2010

Both in gyaku hanmi, Tori in hidari hanmi. Uke grabs both lapels of Tori.

As a distraction (not to hurt Uke), Tori presses/hits up on Uke’s elbow with his left palm from underneath while simultaneously performing atemi to Uke’s face with his right hand. Uke should back off a bit or otherwise lock his grabbing arm.

Tori then make a pronounced slide deep to the side of Uke and cuts down on Uke’s arm sliding from his elbow to his wrist. Going deep to the side and not simply at a 45-degree angle is a key feature of this waza. It is also important to extend Uke’s arm this way and remove the slack from his arm so he has no spring left in it.

Uke may hang on to Tori’s mune with a good grip still. After Tori has grasped Uke’s wrist with his right hand in a bid to twist it open, with his left open palm he can again hit or press on Uke’s elbow to lock it and make the twist easier.

Once Uke’s grip is released, Tori can hold Uke’s wrist low to extend Uke downward while simultaneously sliding behind him for the iriminage portion of this technique. Finish with your favorite iriminage footwork and throw.

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I found this link on Aikiweb and it is such a brilliant idea. NHK is so awesome. From their terrestrial broadcast alone there are at least half a dozen theme songs from shows and segments on NHK that I sometimes catch myself humming (my current favorite is ピタゴラ・スイッチ).

Here are Japanese lessons for English speakers who are planning to visit Hombu dojo in Tokyo. They are free and downloadable. The speaking is even real and feels natural (as best as I can remember). Older people talk like older people, shihans talk like shihans, and the girls still talk like girls which guys should never ever try to mimic! haha).

http://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/english/learn/list/

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My Japanese is still pretty terrible, but I have noticed that sometimes when I try to translate an English idea into Japanese, too many words come out of it. Real Japanese can figure it out, but like to shorten it or use cool Japanese words that express the same idea in fewer words, or even just one. Japanese is an efficient language and very little needs to be said for clear understanding sometimes.

Aikido is like that. Both are subtle and efficient and don’t need to be complicated or harsh to achieve their respective goals. I guess I want to know the Japanese language better to help my Aikido, and to get better at Aikido to help my Japanese.

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There are just endless variations of kokyunage from yokomenuchi. There is only one place that I have practiced something like this before… almost forgot about it, but thankfully I stumbled upon this video (please mute the volume first). The key observations are keeping connected with your partner, not with limp sticky hands, but with relaxed tension that comes from matching the inertia of your partner.

The cut-downs in this clip are inline with my philosophy about kuzushi (which can get overlooked in normal practice).

This kind of partner practice is a dream of mine, and I finally got to play like this last seminar. 普通稽古の間ではこんな稽古をやりたいな。

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Tori takes advantage of 受けの首の急所 and moves in tight uchimawari. I was told doing this kind of uchimawari is dangerous, but the only danger is being afraid to try it.

柔らかい急所打ち

Kitaura Sensei has some interesting concepts to bring to 今の私の合気道 (do we have a short phrase for this in English?). I’ll have to research him to in addition to my current backlog.

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月曜は体験のヒトが４人居たので、基本中の基本技が中心でした。

逆半身片手取り呼吸法、片手両手取り呼吸法、両手取り四方切り、とやったあと、横面打ち呼吸法と入り身投げストレッチ、の横面打ちからの技をやりました。

横面打ちを受けてから、逆の手に取って引き寄せるときは、回転して相手の横に並ぶタイミングで腕を真っすぐ下ろすと、腕を受け止めた所から、斜めに弧を描く様な流れで楽に相手を引き寄せる事が出来るのでした。手首にひねりを少し（そんなにひねらなくてもいい様です）入れてから、腕を下げたまま自分が動くと、腕力がなくても相手も動かす事が出来るみたいです。

動きのイメージ的には荒井師範の直立不動の仁王様のような堂々として、最小限の動きを目指して、最後の呼吸法の時には、大先生の銅像にあるような、浅井師範がセミナービデオ（わざジャーナル上のやつです。）でおっしゃっていた感じで、”天に胸を開く”（ヨガ的に言えば）と、カッコ良く決まる気がします。実際の自分の動きは、マダマダほど遠いですが、イメージは理想高くもった方がいいはず。

頑張ります。（＾＾；

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日曜日に引き続き、月曜も正面打ち一教の表が練習出来て嬉しかった。日曜日に、ちょっと変わって練習をしていたお陰か、昨日は正面打ちを自信を持って出来た気がする。

なんせ、大事なセミナー前に右の親指を突き指したのも、正面打ち一教で実を言うと少し怖くなっていたんだと思う。もちろん、普段の練習ではゆっくりやっているから怪我をする事も無いのだけれど。とはいえ、どんな相手でも、どんな状況でもスピードでも、正面打ちがとれなければ、その後の技もないわけだから、”相手の攻撃を受け止める”ことが出来るのは、技を知っているより重要なはず。

日曜日、どうしても腰が引けて、入り身が出来ず，タイミングのあわない私に木刀を取り出して来たKさん。。。よけいに怖いんですけど。

でも、何回か練習していて判った事。いつも自分が真正面、真下から腕を受け止めていた為に、力負けして突き指したり、受け止めても動かせなかったのである。

確かに動きとしては、一教運動だから真上に腕を上げるのだけど、その前にナナメ横に入り身していれば、自分の手刀と受けの腕がコンタクトする場所は、真下じゃなくって、”横”になる。

そして、再び斜め横に一歩踏み込む事で、受けの腕を上じゃなくって、横に振ることになる。受けの腕は上から下に振り下ろされてくるのを横に動かすだけだから、チカラ対チカラのぶつかり合いではなくなる。

そんなこと、何回も言われていたし、頭では判っていたつもりだったのに、痛い目にあったり木刀で怖い目に遭わないと、バカみたいに正面からぶつかっていたのにも気がつかなかった。実際木刀で来られると、怖いので反射的によこに逃げるのが丁度良かったようです。（笑）

何度やってもこんな簡単な事すら完璧には出来ず、落ち込む事もあるけれど、きちんと出来たときは自分でも驚く程に楽に全てが動く事に気がつく時、合気道の本領を又一つ体験できた喜びで一杯になる。そんな時に、やっぱりこれだから合気道の魅力から逃れられないんだろうなと思って、笑ってしまうのでした。

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Updated Aug 24, 2010

We were working on this kind of kokyunage tonight. This isn’t quite what I was looking for in a video clip, but I like how the tori in this clip keeps his vertical axis close to his uke’s vertical axis for a clean rotation.

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K, another K and I got together on Sunday for hours of open practice. It was the most fun all week – Sunday is the day we look forward to the most. We have been working closely with my review notes from the seminar barely a week over now so we don’t forget, but rather internalize the seeds of knowledge given to us by the eight shihans who kindly came to our city. 猫に小判って言うことはいやっ。

Our goal was to pick a single principle and try to reevaluate 5th kyu techniques to see how they can be leveled-up. So, one principle reintroduced by Shirakawa Sensei was that of 紙一重. We worked on shomenuchi ikkyo ~ yonkyo, kotegaeshi etc. with this idea in mind. It makes for a different technique for sure.

Our next principle was that of 崩し by way of vectoring into 相手の身軸 as efficiently as possible. This makes a world of difference with is comes to any omote technique. My humble friend K was even having fun exploring it. This ikkyo omote then becomes quite different because we are not pushing on Uke’s elbow anymore as I explained (to myself) in one of my earlier writings. Upon close watching of several shihans doing ikkyo it seems they have a similar idea in mind which makes me think I am on the right path – it also feels smoother and cleaner.

One of the final themes for today was relaxed tension and moving from hara. Sometimes we talk about moving from the hara, but do it and saying it are two very different things. We practiced hara work from zagi kokyuho with prolonged tension, but not 腕力, so we could only use hara to move aite. It is so beautiful a concept that it makes people smile when they start to get it.

Your dojo is wherever you are and with the friends you have by your side.

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“When it comes to exploring Aikido, only fish should be in the fish bowl, never people.”

- E.D.

意味は「井の中の蛙大海を知らず」と同じようです。

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