Seesaw, Compass And Figure 8

It is once again Aikido mechanics time.  This is a really important one.  So, get ready and buckle up . . . 

Most Aikido students have heard of the Figure 8.  

The imagery that comes to mind, for most, is the spinning jo scribing ∞ -- the metaphorical symbol of Aikido.  But what really is its significance?

Figure 8 is actually a combination of a Seesaw and a Compass.  While the two components can work in conjunction with each other, they can also be taken apart and applied individually.  

Figure 8 has a noeud in the middle where the two sides -- Yin and Yang -- joint.  The Seesaw and the Compass also have a point in the middle where the two forces meet.  Good Aikido techniques are clever utilization of these leverage mechanisms so that the nage always has the long end of the stick.

To help students understand these concepts, for weeks, I have been using various techniques to demonstrate the point.

Figure 8

One basic jo-tori technique I used is to have uke grab the end of nage's jo with both hands in aihanmi, and then nage performs ikkyo.  

The common mistake tends to be that nage holds on tight to the jo at his end, but attempts to manipulate uke's end of the jo.  

If you examine the shape that such a jo scribes: it is ONE single cone with the tip pointing at nage.  What usually accompanies this situation is a nage who overuses the front hand to move the jo forcefully.

It is the same dynamics when a nage tries to do shomenuchi ikkyo by focusing overly on his hands and effect the forearm movements by using the elbow as the center of rotation.   Once again, the movement of nage's front forearm scribes ONE single cone.  

These two techniques are variations of the jo Figure 8, and they share the same basic body movements.  Jo Figure 8 scribes the symbol of infinity ∞ in 3D and there are TWO cones.  Given that, shouldn't these other two techniques have TWO cones, too?

So, how do people lose the other cone along the way?  

Seesaw

The game of seesaw works by having two players taking turns to bounce and drop -- A bounces B up as A descend, and vice versa.  To move B's side, the action is done at A's side.  In case, A is a heavier person, B may get hung in the air.  There is not much B can do.  The only way for B to take control of the situation is if he can change where the fulcrum of the seesaw is.

Mathematically, the concept of "Moment" is summarized by the formula: Moment = Force x Perpendicular Distance.  Applying the formula to a seesaw game, because both sides of a seesaw are the same length, the heavier player generates a stronger moment, and, thus, gets to control the seesaw.

Half way through the technique of ikkyo, many nages have a hard time bringing uke down to the mat.  Very often, it is because they have reversed the relative positions of uke's wrist and shoulder.

Imagine the uke's body from the head to the wrist on the ikkyo arm as a seesaw: For uke's head to go down, shouldn't it be in a relatively lower position than the wrist?  Most struggling students hold the uke's arm horizontally (or in worse case, have uke's head higher than the wrist) and shove it forward.  Very promptly, their effort is met with resistance from uke because any person with survival instinct, naturally, fights the prospect of falling down flat on the ground face first.  

Little does the nage know that only a simple adjustment is needed to resolve the standoff.  First, nage should imagine that uke's head and wrist are the two ends of a seesaw.  Second, pick an imaginary point along uke's upper arm as the fulcrum.  Then, by shifting weight and a slight hip turn, nage helps uke's head to move to a relatively lower position than the wrist.  In a flash, uke goes from being in hanmi to a "front hand, back foot" stance.  Being disconnected to the ground, uke is incapable of pushing back.  All resistance will vanish in a heart beat.  Down he goes, uke, onto the mat.  

Why is the fulcrum on the upper arm?

People have a strong tendency to assign the fulcrum to distinct points -- most oftenly joints, like the wrist, elbow and the shoulder .  Unfortunately, joints are really bad candidates for being fulcrums.  

Let's use ikkyo as an example again, and apply the concept of a seesaw:  Because uke's wrist is so much smaller than the rest of uke's body,  if the elbow were to be the fulcrum, nage will have to yank hard on the uke's wrist to perform an arm bar to cause the uke's body to move.  Instead, assign the fulcrum somewhere along the upper arm towards the head.  This way, the moment generated by the nage's move will be significantly increased.  The technique becomes effortless and effective.  It is really all about leverage.

Compass

The Compass is akin to a Seesaw, except for its needle moves horizontally.  It can spin either direction around the fulcrum, and there is no top or bottom to limit its movement.  The same leveraging mechanics that apply to a seesaw apply to a compass.  However, because of its orientation, the Compass has implications that are different than in the Seesaw.

One example for the concept of compass is iriminage.  All too often, nages stick their arm out and move around to reach for the uke's neck.  If you can imagine a nage and an uke being positioned opposite to each other like the two ends of a compass needle: as soon as the nage reaches around, he effectively turns the needle around the center point of the compass.   Given their relative positions, nage can never reach uke by moving around.  The harder nage chases after uke along the circumference of the circle, the faster the needle spins . . .

I suspect that nages who do iriminage in this manner must be used to practicing with very stagnant, not connected partners.  As a result, they expect ukes to stand still to let them come around to grab them by the neck.  When they finally encounter a responsive ukes who moves with them, they get angry and blame their partners for "refusing to take ukemi".  They cannot see that the reality is the exact opposite.

Instead of moving around the periphery, to reach for uke, a good nage should move straight through the center along the compass needle.  Not only is it because this is the shortest path, but also this movement does not turn the needle on the compass.  Uke will stay put for the taking, even though they can see the nage approaching . . . 

Another place where one can apply the concept of compass is blocking.  As Takeguchi Sensei says all the time, "The block is for protecting yourself.  It is not for stopping your partner's movement."  Yet, when facing a strike, most people tend to push their partner's striking hand to the side.  

Let's not forget that most attackers have two arms and they are attached to the two sides of their bodies.  Any attempt to block a strike, like tsuki, by pushing uke's left arm back and away will cause the uke's body to rotate, causing his right arm to swing forward.  It can come really fast.  Even if you manage to evade the hit by the left hand, there is a good chance the right hand will come flying to smack you from the other side.  

When this happens in class, I often tease students, "Don't blame your partner for hitting you.  The truth is: you are hitting yourself."

Conclusion 

Going back to my question at the end of Figure 8 about jo-tori aihanmi ikkyo, if you understand the Seesaw and the Compass, it is not hard to resolve the "single cone" vs "double cone" problem.  

Instead of using his front hand as the fulcrum, the nage should pick a point between his two hands on the jo and make it the fulcrum.  Then, move the two hands up and down in circles in cycles 180 degrees out of sync, meaning, when one hand is up, the other hand is down.  The jo will be scribing two cones that nage is looking for!

Using the same exact movements, your shomenuchi ikkyo will be swift, smooth and effortless.

Once you have developed the awareness and understanding of the Seesaw, the Compass and Figure 8, you will notice that they are everywhere!

Take katatetori kaiten as an example, if nage uses his arm like a 2D seesaw, he will find uke's hand extremely heavy.  It is impossible for nage to raise his hand straight up to enter.  Yet, making the fulcrum a point along the forearm, and then control the elbow to scribe two 3D cones between the wrist and the elbow.  The kaiten entrance becomes a piece of cake.

To my eyes, the up hand in tenchinage (haso) is the ultimate Figure 8 movement because, with one single arm, we are scribing a DOUBLE Figure 8! 

The next time you get stuck in the middle of a technique, or find the flow of certain movement awkward, examine what you are doing.  Are you scribing one cone or two cones?  Find ways of restoring the two-cone pattern.  Do Figure 8.

Remember: Although the Seesaw and Compass are very useful concepts describing relationship between two objects, they involve only 2D movements.  We are 3D people living in a 3D world.  To practice 3D Aikido, we should be using Figure 8 -- a 3D movement.