We've even gone as far as dropping shomenuchi and yokomenuchi replacing them with jab, cross roundhouse in an effort to increase the relevance of how we train
Fully agree with you. I am practicing shotokan karate for more than 35 years and started aikido this year as I think aikido has a lot to teach us for hand techniques, throwing techniques and learning how to fall. Well I enjoy a lot aikido, and „play the game“ as I am a beginner in all these techniques, but can tell you that nobody in my aikido dojo (will all respect) could do anything if I was doing a real attack. In shotokan karate (traditional style, as such we do not do any competition), we practice attacks to penetrate the opponent with intention to destroy him (but obviously with full control as we are in a friendly environment with our fellow karatekas) as he is supposed to threaten our life. Again I practice martial arts with shoshin attitude (the beginner’s mind) and so enjoy and combine both practices now.
Firstly, what a great atitude, and one that will stnad you in good stead. Secondly, I have a few pieces of 'advice' from expereince in cross training, that are probably better made outside of the comments section. Drop me an email Andreas, it would be good to connect.
Uke's role should be to facilitate tori/nage improving their technique. A realistic attack from uke requires of them the ability to receive the execution of a technique back, without necessarily thinking of protecting themselves. It's extremely difficult for uke to do this unless there are constraints on what tori/nage can respond with. I focus on intent and build intensity upon that framework, which keeps the margin of safety tolerable (the wearing of PPE can be appropriate but may also hinder), jiyu waza or freeform techniques are bounded prior to contesting.
An interesting thing to consider is that, forgoing a pre-emptive entry, tori/nage has to become the aggressor and counter attack to gain the upper hand. Having initiation by one partner and termination by the other is a very much over-simplified violent encounter that has minimal exchange of energy.
@ddturnerphd agree, the tori/uke relationships is pivotal in making training be both efficient and have real meaning, and this can take many shapes, but unless there is at least correct distance and some modicum of emotional content for me it negates the entire point of training a martial art.
unfortunately there are many dojos and teachers who seem to do Aiki dance rather than real martial arts. i In my opinion Traditional Aikido of Iwama by Hitohira Saito is one of the few really serious schools where they teach how to really attack, we also have atemi and kiae that the other styles have deleted from their repertoire
Agree - the Yoshinkan schools too often focus more on committed attacks, but for me there seems to now be a 'fashion' for almost symbolic slow motion "attacks" which offer zero threat and quite frankly make kata into a cooperative blending routine, but never more. Again, i have no problem with that but those practitioners should not be selling themselves as martial artists, nor should any art that does not formally train effective striking, kicking etc. Appreciate the comment.
If they truly did that then 90% of Aikido techniques would either not work properly would have to be so severely altered that it would no longer be Aikido at all. And would be more so BJJ and MMA at that point.
@AIKIDOSILVERDALE I don't understand the point of all that swordplay sh#t. No one uses words pre Apocalypse in 2024. They use body, knifes, guns and improvised weapons.
@@SherrickDuncan originally, all the core techniques came from either trying to take a weapon off someone or defending someone trying to take yours. In later years instructors like Saito sensei make the bokken and jo more about training core principles (timing, distance, balance, blending etc) rather than them being trained as actual 'weapons' per se. Unfortunately you do still see the 'weekend samurai' attitude in some dojos (not just aikido dojos i might add) and when i see people with zero skill talking about how to use a 'sword" it is saddening. Our group mainly uses the Aikiken and Aikijo as a self monitoring and movement training system, in the same way we use the old traditional kata to develop the underlying core skills, but we believe they then have to be applied to real life situational pressures. hence this being a cross-training channel! ALL martial arts should be learning from one another...
@AIKIDOSILVERDALE I like you. I believe I could take some knowledge from your Aikido and apply it to My own self made system I got from many other systems that erased the nonsense.
And there's a fine line between that and being heavy handed. Developed control whilst still providing a committed attack with some emotional content is a hard skill to attain
