Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar Day Two

This morning's first class was taught by Troy Farrow Sensei from Boulder and after a good warm-up, he called me up to be uke for tenkan practice both from katatetori and from kosadori. During his class we focused on keeping your posture while stepping around and moving uke while doing the technique.

The second class was taught by Ikeda Sensei who continued his instruction from last night, talking about how uke and nage keep the alignment of their center before moving. Nage needs to break uke's balance when the point of contact is made, even if uke is coming at full speed and power. Ikeda Sensei showed how this starts from the brain with a vivid live demonstration by having his uke run at him at full speed push him across the mat. Ikeda Sensei then said ukemi practice is not just learning the basic front, back, and break-falls but learning how to protect yourself from any attack and not getting harmed. He then had his uke do the same attack and easily redirected and threw his uke or performed an ikkyo pin.

Tissier Sensei taught the third class of the morning and we started off with shomenuchi ikkyo. Tissier Sensei spent some time showing and demonstrating how at any point an experienced uke can stop nage's technique if nage does not anticipate and move onto to the next step in the technique before uke can set or prepare for the counter. We then moved onto and worked on a couple of shihonage variations where I think Tissier Sensei could explain this concept of anticipation and step and follow through.

Doran Sensei taught the 3:00 class and following up from his comments from last night, he started us off with doing aiki movements to warm-up without doing the full throws. He emphasized that we should be looking for three things when doing our Aikido; aiki, kosushi or breaking balance, and shisei or posture when doing techniques. We then started from a high jodan tsuki to the face opening where nage slides in and brings up the inside hand and rests it on top of uke's bicep followed up with a quick atemi to uke's face. From there, when uke block's the atemi, we worked on a number of different ikkyo techniques moves towards a nikkyo and sankyo. We finished with switching feet and having nage use a different hand to move into the technique.

The final class of the was taught by Greg O'Connor Sensei from New Jersey. His emphasis from a multiple different attacks was a variation of diagonal sword cut across uke's center-line while nage keeps loose and balanced. For some reason (likely because I was tired, stupid or both :-) I felt very much a beginner and sometimes couldn't even accomplish the most basic movement of the demonstrated movement.