On Randori . . .
At USAF Summer Camp, Penny Bernath Sensei taught a class on randori (multiple people mixed attacks). Randori is considered a more advanced aspect in Aikido traininng because: 1/ it involves more than one attacker. Nage has to juggle multiple attackers and has to move constantly to avoid being enclosed by them. 2/ The attackers decide what attacks to launch. This introduces a factor of uncertainty and complexity for nages . Since most of our students who came to camp were on the mat, I decided to sit and observe how they do. At their levels, I think our students are doing okay. As always, there is plenty of room for improvement. As I looked across the mat, most of the people on the mat, regardless of rank, make very similar mistakes. Before the memory from summer camp fades from our minds, I think I would do a review of what I saw and make some suggestions on how we can improve. On Nage 's side . . . Standing in a very square sta...
