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 stance to wait for ukes to come to attack

Aikido is about controlling one's space.  Hanmi  -- the triangular stance clearly defines the front vs the back, the open vs the closed side of the Nage, with a sharp point at the front.  It also makes Nage's one hand/ shoulder closer to the attacker than the other.  Ukes are, therefore, forced to pick a side to approach because they cannot come through the point in the center front.  To stand there without a clear hanmi is essentially allowing ukes to freely attack from any direction in any way they want.

Hanmi is the foundation for Aikido techniques.  Without a clean, crisp basic form, it is extremely hard to move efficiently and effectively.  The chance for Nage to pull off a solid technique is low.  

In addition, when faced with multiple attackers, Nage should not leave it to the attackers to decide which one(s) of them are to attack first.  The simple act by Nage to move towards one attacker reduces the chance of having to deal with two or more attacks simultaneously.  

During the class, some nages did pick an attacker.  Yet, as they got somewhat close to the chosen uke, they stopped again to wait to be attacked.  

Remember:  Every attack has a rhythm to its process.  The key to gaining control is to disrupt the rhythm and, thus, upend the process.  A good attacker structures their movements so that they end up at the correct ma-ai to deliver the strongest blow to the nage.  If the nage stands still passively, he is letting a solid attack come to fruition.  A clever nage, instead, would make a surprise move towards the uke's center and disrupt the ending of the attack by destroying the ma-ai.  As such, not only can Nage disable the attack, but he can also take advantage of the recovery of the now weakened Uke and lead him to a different place where Nage can perform a technique easily.  

Keep moving back and shrink

In Aikido, Nage prevails by controlling his space.  The Aiki-sphere is like a Yin Yang sign -- no space is left unfilled.  If Nage is not controlling a space, the Uke will fill it and take control.  Unfortunately, many students keep backing up and cede their space.  Moreover, their presence shrink because of the way they carry themselves.  Nage's loss of control of their space helps Uke's attack to be stronger and more settled.  Nage needs to keep their minds forward and keep moving forward to prevent it from happening  

Lack of rhythm, ambiguous footwork

During randori, as Nages are stressed, they can easily become outwardly focused.  They lose their hanmi, they lose their forms, including footwork.  Many nages mince around with frantic, random steps.  Before long, they start panting and find it hard to focus to think clearly.  It is the usual progression for things to fall apart.

Aikido movements are about the unification of the mind, the body and the breathing.  Naturally, the three are tightly tied together.  Students of Aikido just come to learn not to break them apart.  

Understanding the connection among these elements, students need to learn to set and move with a comfortable, clear rhythm.  A good place to start is for the Nage to use his own breathing as the metronome.  The footwork follows this tempo like a clean bassline.  The rhythm helps all the different body parts to move as one.  When the body and the breathing are settled, the mind would stay calm and relaxed.  Reflexes and movements are much more efficient and precise when the body is in this state.  

Uke has to observe Nage's rhythm in order to look for an opening to attack.  Since this is his own rythm, Nage can choose to syncopate whenever he wants to break Uke's pattern and disrupt Uke's breathing.  In no time, Uke's attack crumbles into dust  . . .

Hesitate and stay at the same spot

Many Nages tend to stay at the same spot as if they are stalling.  A stationary target is an easy target.  Knowing exactly where Nage is, within a very short time, all the ukes could closed in and have Nage surrounded.  

Faced with threats from multiple directions, a hesitant Nage cannot decide which way to turn to, which uke to handle first.  The more Nage tries to figure out what to do by thinking in place, the more the factors above will kick in -- ambiguous stance, shrinking, mincing footwork, disrupted breathing . . .   The inevitable outcome?  Nage gets run over by an army of attackers!

One of the major strength of Aikido moves is the unpredictability.  An Aikido body keeps changing position, and the movements continuously change directions.  It is critical for Aikido students to get into the habit of keep moving their steps.  Never stay in the same spot to wave their arms.  

One common question students ask is:  "I know I should move, but how do I know where to move to?"

In a randori situation, the worst place to be is in the middle, surrounded by attackers.  Think of Ukes as a swarm of bees:  You want to stay on the outskirts of the swarm to look in towards the swarm.  Never stop at a spot where any attacker is behind you and you cannot see them.  That is how you get yourself stung on the back!

An easy concept to employ when Nage is dealing with a swarm of ukes is to keep traversing the swarm back and forth.  The paths Nage makes are similar to the lines for drawing a star ☆-- from one corner to another corner on the other side, and then cut through the swarm again to another corner, again and again.  As Nage is throwing one uke, he has to scout out a new spot where he wants to go next.  Ideally, Nage moves himself to an uncrowded corner where there is one uke for him to deal with.   Once he cuts through the swarm to get there, he should be able to turn around and keep all ukes within his sight again.

Make your path unpredictable.  Some students do move to the outside of the swarm.  But then, they start working through the ukes one at a time along the perimeter like running a circular production line.  Usually, before Nage gets to throw the third time, an uke would have figured out the pattern, and surprises the Nage by attacking him from a different direction.

Losing control of the pace

Many people find juggling hard.  The act is difficult is not because people cannot catch the balls.  Instead, it is because people hold on to the balls for too long.  Randori is the Aikido version of juggling.  The secret of good randori is to let go promptly.  Keep the interaction with ukes short and sweet.  Do not stop to admire your handy work (i.e. watching your uke fall).  Leave them to take their ukemi.  Move on to the next person.

Some students get themselves swarmed because they do long techniques like shihonage or use fancy entrances.  Do short techniques --omote version, irimi entrance.  Touch and go.  Never spend more than enough time with one uke because while you are dealing with one attacker, the rest of them are all coming towards you.  If you lose time on one person, it translates into "The next uke is this much closer to you now".  It cuts back on the amount of time, and thus distance, that you have for the next encounter.

Because people do make mistakes and lose time, a lot of nages try to make up the lost time by backing up to create space and ramping up their pace.  

People who choose to back up are very likely the same ones who stand in place to wait for ukes to come attack.  Both of these tendencies can be disasterous.  In a counterintuitive way, Nage should walk directly towards Ukes' center to close their distance and break their rhythm.  As the saying goes: Evasion is futile.  Control the center line to control the situation.  Move your feet, rather than your hands, to protect yourself.

For nages who pick up the pace to play catch up, sure enough, their ukes always go even faster to keep up.  There is only one nage, but there are numerous ukes.  Nage can never outpace his ukes.  It is not sustainable for Nage.  As Nage gets winded, his mind starts to waver.  His thinking loses clarity.  His response time slows down.  Everything collapses like a house of cards. 

Seek to control the hard way

Facing a stressful situation like randori, many nages become forceful and aggressive.  The forces they direct towards ukes turn into resistance that work against the nages themselves.  Sometimes it can cause ukes to become excessively clingy.  It slows nages down, tired them out, and puts them in a more vulnerable situation.

Some people like to plan ahead -- sometimes too far ahead.  Randori situations are very fluid.  Even though there can be discernable flows, things can flip and switch in a split second.  Notions and anticipations can set up oneself for surprises.  Instead of spending brain power in doing complex real time analyses, free your mind, which, in turn, frees your body.  Be in the moment.  Do what is presented in front of you.  Be spontaneous and swift.

Some students mistakenly think that nages only gets to passively wait for ukes to launch whatever attacks they want.  Because of this misconception, people feel desperate and helpless.  They just do not know that there are simple things they can do to exert control over the choice of attacks.

To begin with, always present yourself in a clear hanmi.  The definition of your shape already directs ukes to approach you in certain ways and limits their options.

Instead of standing there with your arms down, signaling ukes may choose whatever attack they feel like, take the initiative to make suggestive offers to your ukes:  Shift your weight forward, and stick your head out to invite a shomenuchi.  You may also modify this by turning your body a little, so as to offer the side of your face to entice the uke to strike yokomenuchi.  If you offer two hands, more than likely, the uke will grab ryotetori.  There is no way he only take one wrist, right?  By the same token, if you offer only one hand, uke may grab katatetori or morotetori.  What are the chances that he insists on grabbing ryotetori when the other wrist is not available?

The Aikido way is to control without controlling.  There is no need to fight your attackers.  Instead of resisting, as nage, we even offer for them to grab us, blend with their movements and go with the flow.  How much more relaxed and agreeable can one be?  

By definition, ukes attack.  That is their eternal role, the purpose of their existence.  Nothing can change that.  Nages' task is to neutralize the attack in order to defend themselves.  It is not about stopping or changing uke.  If nages can simply focus on their own movements, keep breathing, and stay calm, they do not ever have to worry about getting hit by anybody.

During my testing days, my favorite part of grading tests was randori because it requires no preparation.  To me, it is a test of what you have already internalized.  Cramming just weeks before a test did not help  my randori at all.  If years of practice was not good enough, how can a few hours of extra practice I tried it once and happily quit preparing for tests altogether for good.  🙌 🙌 🙌

The most difficult test assignment for me was when Takeguchi Sensei sent me three ukes:  They would come with three different attacks or weapons, and I was supposed to do different kinds of techniques on each of them.  "Which technique am I supposed to do wth this guy again?"  Argh.  I could never keep it straight!  Having to think and do prescribed techniques drives me crazy . . . 

So, yeah, Aikido is freedom.  Don't think so hard, don't think so much.  Free your mind and, thus, free your body.  

On the next post, we will examine ukes' issues during randori . . .