Aikido Technique Videos and Self Defense Training

There's a very good blog about aikido that discusses the basic attacks, movements and principles of aikido but, unfortunately, it's not in English. However, if you want to read technical descriptions as detailed as a work of a mechanical engineer it is worth finding a Hungarian friend and ask him/her to translate a couple of posts for you although I'll try to use the knowledge I acquire from there in my posts.

The point of this new post is that on that blog there was a description of shomen(uchi) and we commenters started to compare shomenuchi with chopping wood. Indeed, they are quite similar and one can be used to get better at the other. Both are supposed to be straight vertical cuts with an instrument that is about a meter long (katana vs. axe) and both cuts are intended to separate the left and right sides of something that was a whole just before the cuts.

There are some differences, however, and I'd like to discuss them as well as pointing out whenever connection between the two cuts can still be made .

To start with, the katana should be balanced in weight whereas the axe is heavier at its cutting end. The axe is stopped by the stand the block is on if your cut is too strong and since the point of stopping does not really matter as long as the block is cut into halves it is much more useful to have some weight at the end of the axe and make the rest of it from wood so you can cut hundreds. You should also be able to cut hundreds with a katana but all your cuts must be as perfect as possible otherwise you may end up in two parts on the battlefield. It is important to finish the shomen cut at around waist level for which there are several reasons. Firstly, if you have already cut someone from head to waist it is unlikely he will fight back. Secondly, as the blade goes deeper down in your test object :) its momentum will dramatically decrease and eventually it can get stuck in the object's bone structure and you, unable to get it out quickly enough, will end up being cut into two parts on the battlefield. So try to cut until waist level because then you can pull the sword out the easiest way as you just move (your hip) away from the target horizontally (which way you can use our strength most effectively). Then you will be able to take on the next attacking dummy quickly. Thirdly, if the dummy is quick enough and moves away from your straight shomen and your cut goes all the way until the ground your katana will get dirty :). On top of this, you will become unstable and might just stumble or fall ahead which is when the back of your neck becomes open and you end up in two parts, this way head separated from body, on the battlefield.

Another difference can be that you always raise your sword, and hand if it is shomenuchi, in front of you because this is the way when your face, and basically all your front armor, doesn't become open to a straight attack, e.g. tsuki (forward thrust), from your enemy. In contrast to this, you can raise your axe at your side, the wood won't attack you. This way you might manage the weight of the head of the axe more efficiently, too.

Chopping wood can show you how to keep your instrument straight. If the head of your axe is a bit sideways you will surely see and feel that it's not the correct way of holding it. A slight difference in angle from vertical can result in very low efficiency and we surely don't want that.

Chopping wood also teaches us to keep proper distance. As it's only the tip part, say the last 15cm, of the katana that is very sharp and extremely tough you have to reach your target with that part. If you are too far you will miss the target, if you are too close your cut won't be efficient enough and unnecessary short distances in combat are very dangerous, anyway. In parallel, if you have an axe and you are too far from the block your legs (/front leg) will be in danger, if you are too close you will get a good 'shaky' indication for not doing it properly not even mentioning that you can eventually lose the head of the axe or break the handle.

Chopping wood can improve your ballance, strength and if you do it long enough your shoulders should become more relaxed because if they are stiff you will get tired very soon.

One other advantage of chopping wood is that it also produces something useful (firewood) which shomen cuts with a katana don't (apart from improving skills).

Please note that I'm not saying you shouldn't practice shomen or shomenuchi often, it is still important, just that there is this chopping exercise that shows you different aspects of a straight cut, and to quote from Calvin's dad "it builds character" :).

An almost-real-world example for the usefulness of wood chopping is that of Heihachi Hayashida from Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai). He is the one who is from the "Wood-Chop School of Swordsmanship," cutting up kindling in exchange for his meals. If he did it then it should surely be useful ;).

And finally, videos:

A katana cut (shomen. I couldn't find a proper shomen with a sword):



How not to chop...



Mixing the two ideas... (don't try this at home because it destroys your sword; never mix up two ways of cutting; don't do anything stupid :))



Please let me know if anything is missing, incorrect or, by any chance, very good :).

By Jeff Albright Sensei and Sean Hannon

"The key to good technique is to keep your hands, feet and hips straight and centered. If you are centered, you can move freely. The physical center is your belly; if your mind is set there as well, you are assured of victory in any endeavor."
- Morihei Ueshiba

Aikido teaches us to move, feel and, to some extent, think from our center or what the Japanese call our "hara." It is the place that we are strongest. It is the origin of our power. Our core is where we are eternally abundant. Physiologically, our core is our viscera our gut and it is where our real strength comes from. Many think big muscles are where strength comes from. However, big muscles don't work if the lungs and heart aren't strong enough to pump blood to those big muscles.

Fear produces a neurological response in the body call "fight or flight." This is also known as a sympathetic response. During a fight or flight response blood is shunted away from the internal organs - the hara – and, instead, goes to the muscles of the arms and legs for fighting. Therefore, the body actually loses core body strength. But ironically, a fight or flight response produces only a very short-term bout of strength. In the long run, flight or fight responses exhausts the body faster and actually weakens one’s core strength considerably.

In Aikido, we train to create the very opposite of a fight or flight response. Our goal is to create a relaxation response – or a parasympathetic response. The power of all Aikido techniques derives from one’s ability to relax (expansion), not to tense up (contraction). Physiologically, relaxation responses produce the exact opposite of a fight or flight response. In a relaxation response, blood shunts away from the muscles of the arms and legs and brings it back to our hara. This is exactly what happens when one takes a nap or eats food. A state of warmth, comfort and relaxation is produced. Warmth is an attribute of expansion, while cold is an attribute of contraction. Contrary to what most people think, the key to strength in Aikido is a product of relaxation responses like those produced while meditating. That is also why, for many people, Aikido is a moving meditation. Aikido, when practiced dynamically, produces the same physiologic responses and mental, emotional and spiritual benefits as meditation and meditation-like practices such as yoga and tai chi.

This expansive, relaxation response may seem counter-intuitive to many. However it is essential that the Aikido student embrace his or her surroundings and circumstances (a form of expansion) in order to practice effectively. Through training, one can learn to look at attacks, such as shomenuchi or even a tsuki, not merely as an attack against us but rather an opportunity to create a new expansive experience. If we perceive an attack as an opportunity to create and to reconnect, we can relax and become one with our environment which would include the incoming attack. From this expansive, relaxed state we can create a physical connection with our Aikido partner/attacker, which ultimately holds the potential to alter their intent of aggression. It provides for the opportunity for oneness… even friendship.

On the other hand, if we perceive our Aikido partner/attacker as something separate from us, we tend to contract. When we dissociate from our environment in both a psychological and physiological way, our muscles grow tighter and we either over-breathe or under-breathe. This causes constricted blood vessels in the brain. This, of course, changes blood and other fluid pressures in the body and ultimately does not allow for oxygen or glucose to be adequately fed to the brain. In short, we don’t think straight lose control of ourselves and, of course, our technique suffers.

Aikido is always challenging to describe in writing because the experience of Aikido transcends the written word. Aikido is meant to be experienced firsthand, not read about. The practice of Aikido represents an opportunity for transcendence on physical, mental and even spiritual levels of existence. Come discover how Aikido can serve as a catalyst for tremendous growth and expansion in your life. We invite you to come try a class at our Aikido school in Castle Rock, Colorado for free.