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AIKIDO TECHNIQUES

Aikido describes a Japanese martial art which was developed by a Japanese martial arts expert named Ueshiba Morihei. The name Aikido is derived from the Japanese words ai meaning unity or harmony, ki meaning vital breath or energy and do meaning way. This form of martial arts evolves around controlling vital energy (ki) in the stomach of the body in order to overthow the opponent.

The art of aikido emphasizes attacking an opponent by way of special nerves which when pressed can beat the challenger without the danger of causing fatality. Aikido is based mainly around two categories of movements: movements of control (katame-waza) and movements in which the opponent is thrown (nage-waza). These two classifications include over seven hundred various moves most of which are derived from kata. Kata refers to movements to release oneself from an opponent’s clutch, exerting pressure on the limbs to throw the enemy on the ground and to stop the opponent from moving. These movements are the foundation movements that make up the self defense strategies of aikido.

Aikido concentrates on attaining harmony between ki and tai (the body). To achieve this, an exercise is done to extend the ki. Attention is placed on the stomach in an attempt to feel the energy breath of the body coming out via the arms. The aim is to discover energy between movements and breath while learning to preserve it. Training is very essential in aikido and so too is attentiveness.

Aikido can be pleasurable and demand a lot of discipline but one must understand to use the various techniques. In fact, the differentiation between victory and failure most times is determined by the accurate execution of the techniques. The success of the techniques depends on a calm and relaxed body, clear mind and accurate positioning.

The basic movements in aikido techniques are proper footwork, rolling, falling and basic exercises. Pertaining to techniques, there are four main areas of focus: Stances, Footworks, Attacks and Throws.

1. Stances

A stance describes position with or without a weapon. A strong physical stance works along with a strong spiritual attitude. The key posture is the Mutual Stance where the uke (individual who gets hit or thrown) and the nage (individual who hits or throws) both have the exact foot forward. Next is the middle position where the fighter’s hands or weapon is positioned with the person’s body. Another position is the lower position stance where the hands or the weapon is lowered.

2. Footworks

The first is the ‘Entering Footwork’ where the fighter enters the space of the enemy’s body. The fighter must place himself in such a way that opponent is forced to stop attacking. Physically it refers to entering in a way to prevent attack. Mentally it refers to penetrating a violent attack.

3. Attacks

Grabs and holds are the primary attacks. Grabs are categorized as collar grabs, shoulder grab, elbow grab, cross-hand grab and strike to the head. Also in this category are neck strangle, hits to the chest, stomach or to the top of the head. Straight punch, rear choke and striking the side of the head also falls under attacks.

4. Throws

Throws are not simple calls for a lot of effort from the nuke and the sage. The primary throws are bending drop throw, entering throw, arm-entwining throw, rotary throw, breath throw, hip throw, writ turn-out throw as well as others.

There are a lot other techniques to utilize to offer total protection and are based on these primary techniques. The aikido movements were utilized by American actor Steven Segal in his movies Above the law and Hard to Kill.

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