Yoshinkan Aikido in Romania

Training technique

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When executing a techinque, the initial impuls is created by a short and intense muscular contraction. Decontraction intervenes immediately after that, the hand or foot continuing the inertial movement, without any significant muscular involvement or effort.

Every action naturally consists of two phases: contraction and decontraction. The decontraction facilitates speed and the contraction transforms it into power. The dynamic alternation of the two phases must be fully harminized with the rhythm of the assault.

Another very important issue is the connetion between position and stability. An incorrect, unballanced positioning affects the mobility and the efficiency of the technique. The strength results from the way one applys the technique, positioning the feet in a way they can enable the evergy to flow in one direction only.

In Yoshinkan the positions are low, with feet way apart for enlarging the base of support: bended knees, always with a slight tension. The low positioning of the body facilitates ballance and full body contraction. Bending the knee on the rear foot maintains an energetic reserve for cushioning the shocks.

Ballance is the one that insures stability, as well as mobility of the body, also facilitating its coordination.

The precursory positions are higher, enabling the usage of the force resulting from the lowering of the center - Seika tanden - while in action. During defence one must assume o lower position, in order to use efficiently the static force, without concentrating too much on the stability of the position during action.

The body must rest on the whole sole, pressing towards the exterior, with the knees neither blocked, nor bended, the body is firmly in place and a tight abdomen. The back is streight in order to allow the abdominal muscles contraction and to ensure a better blood and energy circulation. The force is kept between the thighs and abdomen, the sholders are relaxed, in their natural posture, for not causing interruptions in the force flow trasmitted by the legs and hips. The low positioning of the "tanden" offers great potential speed for moving in any direction. The action of moving offers the opponent numerous chaces for succesfull attacks. The constant changing of body weight distribution, the tranzitory positions, the decontraction necessary for speed are all vulnerable moments, which must be taken into account during a fight.

Any change in position will pass through a point where the ballance becomes very fragile, because of the reduced sustaining base (caused by nearing the feet, then distancing them and performing the actual movment). Taking advantage of these moments, a skilled opponent may retort promptly, making it difficult for you to respond with the proper defence technique.

While in a combat situation, one must remember to stay calm, to have a relaxed look, without aiming at any part of the opponent's body. The visual field should be as wide as possible, globaly observing the situation. This way, any gesture will be perceived from the very first moment, intuitively, before it will actually be seen. At this point it is very important to develop the peripherical view, through worm up exercises of the eyes.

The constant training is ment to offer a good positioning and movement control, that will reduce the chances for success of the opponent, no matter how surprising his actions might be.

For any techinique, hara offers the unity of the movements, playing the role of the energy center developed by the body, efficiently directing it into action. During an attack or defence, the body works as a whole, hara ensuring the ballance through the correct positioning and the discharge of the accumulated force of Ki into its center, Seika-Tanden.

During combat, the sence of distance - Ma-ai - is very important, always working as a fine ballance. This will position you correctly towards the opponent, thus placing you far enough, in order to be safe, but close enough to apply your technique efficiently.

A good training of the position Kamae, of replacing yourself - Tai sabaki - and of optimal distance - Ma-ai - should be practiced on rough terrain, outdoors, allowing you to exercise your ballance.

A Tai sabaki (dodging) is quite dangerous to perform in from of a quick, determined and skillful opponent. If your intuition does not "read" his intentions fast enough, there will be a delay between the start of the attack and the start of the dodging. A well trained aikidoka will master the relation between speed of perception and of reaction, the optimal distance syncronized with a good technique.

Being faced with a successfull tai sabaki (dodging), the opponent who was determined to attack, remains confused, with a decontrated body, offering the opportunity to execute any throwing or immobilizing technique. In order to do this, one must have a good control over the stability. It is necessary to get out of the attacker's way fast and without losing ballance. Dodging (tai sabaki) is based on circular movements of the hips, either in the same location or by replacing your body through steps and turns. In order to remain "ancored" and well placed for action, tai sabaki should be executed no more then 45 degrees from the main attack axis. Always try to locate your body at the exterior of the attacker's guard position. This way he will not have the ability to counter in time because he would have to change his position in order to accomplish that. That gives the aikidoka enough time to apply a proper technique for throwing or immobilizing the opponent.

The breathing - Kokyu - is the force that fuels and guides the inner energy - Ki. In martial arts there are different breathing technics. Generaly it is said that a fighter breathes down from the groin (inguinal region). It is actually the abdominal breathing (fuckushiki kokyu), primordial, slow and profound/deep. That is the breathing that directly fuels Seika-tanden (the energy center of the body). The gas exchange is complete, in contrast with the intercostal breathing, which is very different, taking place at the upper level of the lungs, where there is always some aer left unused.

Concentrating on the abdominal breathing gives energy into the Tanden and for the spine cord. This offers the fighter a feeling of strength and self-confidence, relaxing body and mind.

During a fight one should inhale quickly, allowing a short decontraction of the muscles, while preparing the technique. Also short is the exhaling, making it easy to contract the muscles and perform the action (movement).

While executing a technique, the muscular contraction is accompanied by a fast, concentrated and violent exhaling, followed by a light retention. One must always keep a small quantity of aer that will be exhaled slowly at the end of the technique. This last breath of air exhaled, combined with an extreme mental concentration, reprezents the last flow (discharge) of energy - Ki-no-nagare.

The inhaling is activated by a profound abdominal extesion, always calm and discret, not to offer the opponent the chance to attack at that moment, when muscular decontraction intervines.

The coordination of the breathing rhythm is very important in order to maintain a fluent speed and strength. Passing through the breathing phases in complete harmony with the rhythm of the fight, without any disruption, helps the fighter to remain relaxed with a minimum waste of energy. That is the key to survive in a combat situation.

Purpose of training

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The training in the Dojo is based on three main components: shin - spirit, waza - technique, thai - body, whose forming and development are directed by two principles that establish the martial arts: development of a state of consciousness and the spontaneous and efficient use of the natural laws.

The succession in which they are mentioned also ilustrates the importance of the components. The body means nothing without the technique, and both are inefficient without the power of the spirit. Throughout the training, though, the order is changed the other way around, starting with exercising the body and the technique.

The persistence of the fizical and technical training will profundly involve the mind, the inner strength and energy, developing and lifting the spirit of a fighter on a higher quality level. The spirit becomes a real fighter, that the body will follow promtly. This way the outcome will be natural and the solution, found in every circumstance, intuitive and efficient.

When entering a Dojo one must eliminate all negative thoughts, in order to be able to work to the limit of exhaustion and be fully involved in the training - Hanpuku-no-kazen. The human body is known to have sufficient resources of energy for obtaining good results. Persistence in training frees the body of the enclosing consciousness, unleashing the fundamental forces.

The individual carries within, mostly in the subconscious, a high level of energy is revealed in special circumstances, like a nervous breakdown or danger of death. Discharging this powerfull inner force, willingly and under control, is one of the main features of the efficiency in martial arts.

Achieving a perfect union between spirit, body and mind, following a harsh and long training, allows the fighter to turn to this supreme energy source and use it in every one of his actions.

During the training or in the everyday life, the constant awareness of this energy and its accumulation in the place called hara, through strong concentration, is an endless source of energy, a fresh fizical and mental strength. In the training hall, during the usual fighting, a tension must be created, closely resembling a real crisis situation. Every move should have a profound significance, being able to decide the fighter's life or death.

AIKIDO illustates the fundamental priciple of the spiritual training in the Dojo, clearly expressing the fully defensive character of this art.

The years of training give the fighter a just, fair and obliging stand and attitude based on the awareness of one's self value. Only when facing a selfconfident opponent - Aite - with a good technique and a strong will for winning, the fighter can achieve a real union between body and spirit.

Every resource of the body is used totally and precisely in defence, like in a duel in which the spirit, representing the tip of the sword, exploits, whithout any restrain, every opportunity. "Here and now" is the syntagm of the original martial arts' spirit, to which Aikido belongs.

The body, lacking in psychic control becomes easily manuverable by a skillfull opponent. This one can use numerous tricks to disguise the atack, and an action based on a reflex may lead us in the wrong direction. Later, while realizing the mistake, that action will leave us with no alternative defence, quick enough to comply with the real atack.

A well trained spirit will initiate a just retort with the same speed of an instinctive reflex. Therefore, during a fight, the reflex - hen-o - is a matter of speed of perception and reaction under the mind control. When you fight, you leave all your mental forces free. All takes place instantly without any thinking. The spirit and the body are fully used, intuitively, according to the situation.

You should be relaxed, calm and have ordered gestures, saving your energy for moments when you need to gather, in a fraction of a second, the whole spirit and afterwords setting it free. This instant approach of fizical and mental forces represents the value of an aikidoka. The mental attitude resembles the surface of a still water (mizu-no-kokoro), which reflects the images without destorting or deforming them. The spirit is vigilent (zanshin) in order to perceive instantly and correctly every opponent's intention.

Every fight has a diffrent dynamic, thus making the opponents taking into account the following variables: tactical and technical level, speed, reach and force. All these aspects range from fighter to fighter, but the main advantage is held by the one having the strongest mind. The spirit prevails over technique and strength. When confrunting redoubtable adversaries, you learn how to know yourself better in action, realising your potential accumulated through training.

In combat, power comes out of Seika Tanden and the spirit becoms the true fighter. Before stepping into action, the fighter must be relaxed, with a light adbominal tension.

The most important rule for achieving a real progress in Aikido is given by the expression: "shingi ichinyo" - this represents the crucial union of the technical value, gi, with the spirit, shin. During the training in the Dojo, these two elements must work together, ichinyo, developing one through the other, the body being the main element of expression. This unitary concept gathers a good mastering of the technique, together with an assebly of valuable and strong mental forces. This is the only way towards a supreme union between body and spirit.

Aikido training

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Anyone can learn the Aikido practice, regardless of the age, sex, height, weight or stregth. As strong as one might be, there will always be somebody stronger. Therefore, in order to really learn Aikido, one must understand its spirit and respect its principles. This means that you don't fight to win, but you defend yourself in order to protect and save your life.

The Aikido training consists of the following sections:

1. Phisical training - includes a series of exercises meant to develope stamina, fizical endurance and speed. These exercises are done exclusively using your own bodyweight or the weight of your partner's body (pushups, genuflexions, exercises for the abdomen, running etc);

2. Breathing training - includes breathing technics specific to Aikido, designed for a better understanding of the breathing action as source of energy and life. These exercises are typical to the technics of Zen training.

3. Harmony training - includes technics exercised together with one or more partners, in order to achieve the dexterity and skills to move efficiently during a multiple atac situation and to lead the aggressors and determine them to react the way you want them to. This type of training allows the student to develop a sence of optimal placement during a fighting situation, in a "neutral" space, where the risk of being hit is minimum and the opportunity to control the others is maximum.

4. Energy training - includes technics for controlling and using the aggressor's energy.

5. Mental training - has the goal of achieving the awareness for coordonating the whole body, in order to be tolerant, understanding, but at the same time firm towards the aggressors. The student must also realize that every life is important, including the aggressor's.

6. Tactical training - how to apply the principles of a fighting technique in general, and especially of a fight in Aikido style and spirit. The student is taught to determine a series of favourable events, as well as exploiting weaknesses or other situations during the fight.

7. Phychic training - has the goal of making the student understand what is his purpose and how he can live by the priciples of Aikido

TYPES OF TRAINING

1. Pasive training (contemplative training) - the student looks from the side at the others training, trying to see the mistakes and correct them in his mind.

2. Individual training - has three components:

- Suburi - striking the air with the boken (wooden sword) sitted (in Zarei) and standing (in Ritsurei).

- Taren - uchi - using a jo (wooden stick) or a boken (wooden sword), stike a foreign object, like a wattle, twig, branch or other similar objects.

- Fighting with the shadow - fighting with a virtual partner, blindfolded or in the dark.

3. Training with a partner (in the DOJO).

4. Training with more then one partner.

5. SHIAI Training or RANDORI - real fight simulation (free fighting/freestyle).

Introduction - About the training.

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In Yoshinkan Aikido, the movements require accuracy and precision. Natural movements and harmony appear once the time passes and experience is accumulated. All the technics you learn are based on simple movements embeded in the main forms (kihon waza), which is part of every training programme, no matter the experience or belt.

Rigour is good for beginners as well as for advanced students. For a beginner it offers a reference point that helps him to constantly correct and improve the movements. For an advanced student, rigour means being able to correctly and efficiently apply the technique, whichever the circumstances of the fighting situation.

In time, one can achieve a complete harmony between body and mind, between the defender's and the agressor's movements. The awareness of the movenemts allow them to intervene precisely and rapidly, exactly wahen it is needed. Instead of inborn reflexes, self-control takes over, and that leads to harmony. This is the final purpose of the continuous training (keiko) - the harmony with all that surrounds us.

The true purpose of practising Aikido is far more complex. Lots of people long for it, but very few really accomplish it. This becomes visible the moment Aikido goes beyond the training hall and reaches in the personal life style of the matial artist. In words, O-Sensei had explained this supreme experience with the expression: "to be one with the Universe", to be aware that we are part of the universal energy, thus allowing us to use this inexhaustible source of energy.

But, as I was saying, a very few reach this level of understanding. However, not always the puprose is the one that matters, but the way one follows to get there... Especially in Aikido, the Way followed by the student and the experiences acummulated on this way, will lift his spiritual level, profoundly changing his vision upon the world.

Nevertheless, no man will come to learn Aikido saying he would want "to be one with the universe"... It's easy to understand. In order to fly, one must first stand and walk. All starts from the bottom, from the simplest things, tightly connected with everyday life, to which you can always associate a practical side. In Aikido this practical side is reached through phisical exercises, closely followed by self-defence technics, all being elements which appear from the person's social need for safety and self-confidence.