The Shackle And The Spear
At Capitol Hill Aikikai, we make sure every student knows what the two basic jobs of an uke are: 1/ Kill your partner; 2/ Don't die. Of course, this is only a shorthand to remind people of their role as ukes. Do not take things literally. No student has ever been harmed during the process.
Aikido practice always require two parties -- just like a yin-yang sign which cannot exist in only one color. I vividly remember Endo Sensei said during a seminar, "I didn't do ikkyo. We [he and his uke] did." Without an attack, there is no need of a technique.
"Give your partner an attack." It sounds simple, but it is not. Most people have never engaged in a physical fight. Not only are they afraid to hit, but they are very inexperienced on how to hit. Hitting is not an innate skill. Even that requires training. "Attack is NOT Aikido!" Many Aikido students do not invest time in honing their attacks. As such, they do not know how to align their bodies or to use their body effectively to generate power. There is little precision. They are not good ukes. In turn, it is hard for them to become good nages.
Bad ukes tend to grasp their partners like a dead weight. There is no energy, no momentum, no intention; just abundant stiffness in both their mind and body. They are like dungeon shackles. All shackles do is to hold someone in place. Whatever the nage does, a bad uke refuses to go along. They push; they pull. Since everybody watches the demo, they have an idea what the nage's next move is, and they are determined to not let it happen. How often do you hear in the news that a person dies from someone resisting their movements? Resistance should not be confused with attack.
If the uke does not give an attack, it is hard for the nage to practice alone. Recently I had a conversation with a former student who has relocated. "Why is it the responsibility of the nage to try to make a technique even if the uke is not doing his job in giving an attack?" He is really frustrated that instructors he encountered only keep telling him to do things to manipulate the uke in order to make a technique happen. On that, I agree that instructors could be working more with the uke on their attacks and ukemi. It should not be the nage's responsibility to move a shackle.
The shackle is not a weapon. The spear is. Ukes: Stop acting like shackles. Be like a spear to give nages a clear, good, solid attack. We need to have serious attackers to train good, strong techniques. We do it for each other to push each other up. There will be more meaningful and enjoyable practice for all if we can commit to the practice.
Aikido practice always require two parties -- just like a yin-yang sign which cannot exist in only one color. I vividly remember Endo Sensei said during a seminar, "I didn't do ikkyo. We [he and his uke] did." Without an attack, there is no need of a technique.
"Give your partner an attack." It sounds simple, but it is not. Most people have never engaged in a physical fight. Not only are they afraid to hit, but they are very inexperienced on how to hit. Hitting is not an innate skill. Even that requires training. "Attack is NOT Aikido!" Many Aikido students do not invest time in honing their attacks. As such, they do not know how to align their bodies or to use their body effectively to generate power. There is little precision. They are not good ukes. In turn, it is hard for them to become good nages.
Bad ukes tend to grasp their partners like a dead weight. There is no energy, no momentum, no intention; just abundant stiffness in both their mind and body. They are like dungeon shackles. All shackles do is to hold someone in place. Whatever the nage does, a bad uke refuses to go along. They push; they pull. Since everybody watches the demo, they have an idea what the nage's next move is, and they are determined to not let it happen. How often do you hear in the news that a person dies from someone resisting their movements? Resistance should not be confused with attack.
If the uke does not give an attack, it is hard for the nage to practice alone. Recently I had a conversation with a former student who has relocated. "Why is it the responsibility of the nage to try to make a technique even if the uke is not doing his job in giving an attack?" He is really frustrated that instructors he encountered only keep telling him to do things to manipulate the uke in order to make a technique happen. On that, I agree that instructors could be working more with the uke on their attacks and ukemi. It should not be the nage's responsibility to move a shackle.
The shackle is not a weapon. The spear is. Ukes: Stop acting like shackles. Be like a spear to give nages a clear, good, solid attack. We need to have serious attackers to train good, strong techniques. We do it for each other to push each other up. There will be more meaningful and enjoyable practice for all if we can commit to the practice.
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