shoji nishio. aikido-

8/13/2019 Shoji Nishio. Aikido-

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Shoji Nishio


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A number of people have suggested over the years that I publish abook. So far I have always refrained from doing so for several reasons.First, I have always considered myself simply another follower on thepath, in a position neither to serve as a model for others nor to assertmy views on budo technique.

However, having grown older, and having already mourned thepassing of such teachers as Seigo Yamaguchi, who held my highest re-spect from the very beginning of my aikido career, and Morihiro Saito,

who worked so tirelessly to transmit the Founder’s aikido in its purestpossible form, I began to consider what will happen to aikido fromthis point on.

Aikido is a “budo,” a “martial way,” and therefore inextricably root-ed in “bujutsu” or “martial technique.” Yet when I look at the aikido

world today, I see very little “budo-ness” being expressed in technique,and I wonder if people haven’t begun to forget these important roots.

While people often say things like, “Aikido is sword technique...” and“throws and pins are actually strikes....,” there is rarely any explanationof such ideas. There are even some who claim that aikido has no needfor things like striking and weapons techniques. In many settings thesedays, aikido is becoming little more than a kind of health exercise pur-

sued by the elderly and women and children.It was in light of these considerations that Aiki News Editor Stan-ley Pranin once again approached me to publish a book, and I nallyagreed with the caveat that I would simply be expressing my ownthoughts on training.

I often tell people who come to train with me my view that the value of a budo is determined through comparison with other budo;even if you’ve supercially mastered techniques like ikkyo and nikyo,these are pointless unless you can make them work in the context ofother budo. Judo, kendo and karate all have their own stong pointsand we must study these too. Budo techniques are not permanent and

Foreword

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Shoji Nishio with Founder MoriheiUeshiba outside Aikikai HombuDojo in February 1969


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unchanging; if other things change, then naturally budo change in re-sponse. What does not change, of course, is the spirit of aikido as it

was taught to us by the Founder.

As the goal of my training I have always strived to realize even oneof the Founder’s teachings. He taught, for example, about a certainuniversality inherent in aikido: “With a sword this technique becomes asword technique; with a jo it becomes a jo technique; it can become allthings.” He also said, “The conict is nished even before rst contactis made.” Such teachings are the kinds of things I have strived to studyin the course of my daily training.

The result, while still imperfect and incomplete, is that I am nowable to express my everyday empty-handed aikido training using thesword (ken) and staff (jo).

Before starting aikido I had dabbled in both karate and judo. WhenI later heard it said that “aikido is the sword,” I took up studyingswordsmanship as well. My subsequent practice has confirmed thatidea, to the extent that I now doubt it is possible to understand aikidofully without some understanding of swordsmanship.

The sword in Japan has an undeniably bloody history. The sword

of aikido, however, steps back from that use of the Japanese sword asan implement of death and attempts instead to restore it to its true,original nature: namely, as an ideal tool for rectifying that which is

wrong in the world, for cutting a path by which humanity can live, andfor perfecting the self.

Nowadays, I strive to use my aiki sword and jo to control my op-ponent from the moment just before contact would have been madebetween our weapons, attempting from there to embody forms in

which cutting is superseded by mutual coexistence. In this sense, Iconsider aikido a morally principled “Yurusu Budo,” that is, a “budoof acceptance,” and a manifestation of what the Founder meant


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when he said that “aikido is a path of loving and protecting, gen-erating and forming, and bearing and cultivating everything in theuniverse.”

Before the Founder passed away thirty-four years ago he told us,“This old man has brought [aikido] this far; all of you must take itfrom here.” In light of these words, I think it is insufcient—unfor-givable, in fact— for us to simply maintain the status quo.

I don’t think budo is something that can really be understoodby reading books or watching videos; true comprehension can onlycome through actual experience. Accordingly, putting it all into

words here will undoubtedly make for difcult reading. Nonethe-

less, I offer this publication in hopes that subsequent generations ofaikidoists may nd it of some small use, both as a genuine view ofbudo and as a pointer toward some of the worthwhile forms thataikido training might take.

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Nishio Sensei and students ank the

Founder at Aikikai Hombu Dojo.February 1969


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CONTENTS

1. Overview13 Yurusu Budo - Budo of Acceptance15 Basic Technique - Irimi-Issoku

17 Irimi Facing your opponent correctly / Posture for yokomen and shomen/ Irimi body-shifting using the sword and staff

23 Striking knowledge Strikes commonly used in aikido / Basic elbow movements & striking

applications / Examples of striking within a technique

27 The sword of purication29 Aikido training systems introduced in this book

2. Techniques Gyakuhanmi

32 Kaitennage Empty-handed technique / Technique while wielding a sword 38 Katatedori nikyo Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 48 Zenpo shitakuzushi nikyo Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 56 Te o torasezu sankyo Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 64 Katatedori kotegaeshi Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staf f

Aihanmi katatedori 72 Shihonage Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 80 Kotegaeshi Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 88 Sankyo Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff

Two sodedori techniques 96 Kotegaeshi Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 104 Ryosodedori Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff

Katadori menuchi 110 Shihonage Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 122 Nikyo Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 126 Sankyo Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff

Shomenuchi 134 Sokumen iriminage Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 140 Shihonage (omote) Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 148 Ikkyo (omote) Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 156 Nikyo (ura) Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 164 Sankyo (uraosae) Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 172 Shimewaza Empty-handed technique

Yokomenuchi 174 Iriminage Empty-handed technique178 Shihonage Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 186 Gokyo Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff

194 Nikyo Empty-handed technique / Technique with two swords / Technique with sword & staff 202 Kotegaeshi Empty-handed technique


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Translated by Derek Steel

Collaboration by Ichiro Shishiya

Design by Akemi Yokoyama


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Yurusu Budo - Budo of Acceptance

Acknowledgement

Aikido is not simply the cultivation of skills for defeatingopponents; rather, it is training in how to become one withthose opposing you and, in that unity, find paths of mutualcoexistence. Therefore, as your technique takes effect, youshould already be in a state of oneness with your opponent.

In the past, Japanese budo followed a creed of “taking,” ul-

timately including taking the lives of others. This creed did notacknowledge, afrm, allow, or forgive the “other,” that is, theopponent, and thus allowed that he be cut down.

Aikido, in contrast, has always been based on mutual ac-knowledgement. Mutual acknowledgement, mutual allowance,and mutual giving are at the heart of aikido, and this approachis quite different from that which advocates simply downing the opponent in aninstant and nishing him off.

Any aikido technique offers you at least four or ve opportunities to downyour opponent. The ideal of aikido, however, is to avoid each of these oppor-tunities, moving on to the next stages and ultimately to a form that “asks” youropponent, “How about this? Is this what we want?”, and brings him to a new un-derstanding of the situation. In this sense, aikido offers an ideal that we can call a“yurusu budo” or “budo of accepatance.”

Aikido is designed to allow this way of living—valuing mutual acknowledge-ment, acceptance, forgiveness, and giving to be recreated clearly in the context ofeach technique. Without these, the spirit of Founder Morihei Ueshiba can nevercome alive.

Giving While we often practice against wrist-grabs and the like in our aikido training,

in fact such “attacks” are usually not found in budo training. In fact, the very ideaof attempting to grab your opponent’s wrist would be more or less unthinkable inactual combat. What such “attacks” represent in aikido, however, is not an “I havebeen grabbed” scenario, but rather an “I offer” scenario. The idea is that by thisstage the outcome of the conict is already determined. You’re not offering your

wrist for the opponent to come and take it; rather, you’re offering an invitationakin to saying "Please...." This kind of offering and leading—of saying “Please, goahead...”—is at the heart of aikido and must come alive in all of the aikido tech-


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niques you practice. After this initial offering, all that follows is what Ueshiba Sensei called “leading”

(michibiki), that is to say, drawing out and maintaining the connection betweenyour two hands throughout the technique, nding a single direction for both ofyou to go. This—and never “opposition”—is aikido.

Taking No Stance

“Taking a stance” becomes a foundation upon which conict can be built.Consequently, aikido has no stances as such. Ueshiba Sensei himself alwaysstood naturally and easily, his feet straight and his hands straight, regardless of

whether the technique was shomen or yokomen. Such a posture is correct andacknowledges your opponent, and allows you to face him directly. This lack ofstance is a very natural way to stand, no different than the way you stand in otheraspects of everyday life. Of course, since you are doing budo you must take a“mental” stance, but you don’t show this on the surface. When practicing aikido

with a sword or staff, too, your posture is natural and without a stance; you simply

hold your weapon as it is, taking no stance at all. At the moment of contact youhave already entered.

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Embodying aikido as a budo of acceptance involves three important elements:entering (irimi), striking (ate), and the purifying sword (misogi no ken). I don’t believeit is possible to express aikido as a budo without having sufciently understood andmastered these three elements. These elements are all essential and interrelated in aperfectly natural way.

Irimi is a “half-step.” The principle of determining the outcome of a conicteven before the rst contact is in this half-step. In that instant of contact, you

must put yourself in a position to strike, but also in such a position that you neverreceive the opponent’s attack at all. Creating this kind of set-up (tsukuri) is a mat-ter of kokyu [literally “breath,” but also pertaining to rhythm and timing], and inparticular, the use of a striking rhythm. Such set-up and striking can be difcult toembody in empty-handed technique, so it is helpful to explore the possibilities usingthe sword and staff instead. Integrating such weapons into our training helps toclarify things, because the more denitive ramications of cuts with the sword andstrikes with the staff are easier to see and make it easier to inculcate the body withthe proper ow. In the following sections I will explain these three elements—irimi,ate, and misogi no ken—in more detail.

Basic Technique - Irimi-Issoku One-Step Enterin


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This foot position lets you face your opponentdirectly and acknowledge him.

This foot position ignores the opponent and willresult in a collision with him.

Do not stand with your toes facing outwardlike this.

′Your feet should beturned in slightly orparallel.


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30Opponent

You

Irimi

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Opening about 30 degrees in relation to youropponent, shift your body off the centerline and

into a position where you need not receiveattacks by either of his hands.

Irimi in budo has to do with nding how to enterinto your opponent’s dead angle. By “dead angle” Imean that position from which you can effectivelyreach and control your opponent, but from whichhe is entirely unable to touch you. Aikido technique

only comes into being when you are able to enterthis position so naturally and smoothly that youropponent does not even realize what you’ve done.Irimi means already having moved into this positionas the conict takes form.

The basic posture used in aikido is to standfacing your opponent directly, in other words, facing hiscenter. Your feet should be spaced apart just enough toform about a 30-degree arc so that you can move to

where you need to be simply by shifting that angle(see diagram above). This allows you to move out-side of your opponent’s range where you can avoidhis attacks. This is very important. Entering (irimi)correctly means first teaching your body how tostand correctly from a budo perspective. If you’renot aware of how you’re standing, and if you’re notstanding as you need to be, then you’re not doingbudo.

Aikido’s basic posture is to face directly towardyour opponent, as shown in photo A, a position

that allows you to acknowledge him. In contrast, thestance shown in photo B ignores your opponent and

will result in collision. To explain this more concretely with reference to

a particular technique, let us consider yokomenuchi

iriminage (photos on page 18). People often do thistechnique by receiving the opponent’s strike andthen reversing it. They open their foot to the outside,shifting away from engaging the opponent directlyfrom the front and leaving themselves in range ofthe opponent’s next punch.

The correct way is to shift into a position thatkeeps you facing your opponent directly, that is tosay, a position that lets you acknowledge him while

staying out of range of his next st.One of the differences between shomenuchi and

yokomenuchi, in terms of footwork, is that shomenuchiuses aihanmi—a stance where both have same footforward, whereas for yokomenuchi the feet are ingyakuhanmi—a stance where both have the oppo-site foot forward. You need to understand how irimi works in these two different situations (see page 19).Using the correct footwork for shomen irimi andyokomen irimi will keep you in position to controlyour opponent as necessary. This is correct irimi.

Basic Technique - Irimi-Issoku


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Facing your opponent correctly Using yokomen irimi as an example

With correct irimi, you are in a position to acknowl-edge your opponent, that is, facing him directly butout of range of his punch. A diagram of this footworkis on page 17.

However, turning the right foot to the outside inthis way prevents you from engaging your oppo-nent directly and puts you in range of his left st.

Often people try to block or sweep away theattack.

→


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Whether in shomen and yokomen,you are always in a position to control

your opponent.

Yokomen (from gyakuhanmi) Shomen (from aihanmi)

The difference between yokomenand shomen has to do with foot posi-tion. For yokomen, you move yourrear foot to the side, whereas forshomen, you move your foot from thefront to the side. Your entering handsare both straight as is the positioningof your feet. Expressing this in termsof the aikido spirit, this posture allowsyou to correctly acknowledge your

opponent. You are always facing himdirectly. In contrast, if you allow yourfeet to open outwards, your positionignores the opponent, leading to aclash and conict. When you are posi-tioned correctly, the opponent cannotdeliver effective punches or kicks.

Move your rear foot forward toface your opponent straight on.

Move your front foot back toface your opponent straight on.opponent.

Posture for Yokomen and Shomen



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The body movement for the ken and jo are

contained in the gesture of offering your hand.

Irimi body-shifting using a sword


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Learning the sword and staff is a great help inunderstanding the deeper aspects of empty-handedtraining. The way you extend your hand, for example,in fact contains the same hand movements you woulduse to control your sword or jo. Holding a sword,you can very well understand O-Sensei’s words, “Atthe moment of contact, the technique is alreadycomplete; at the moment your hand is grabbed, thetechnique is already complete.” Once you are at thisstage, you can cut or thrust your opponent at will.Being in a position to down your opponent at anytime in this way is aikido.

You can use the jo similarly. Being simply a pieceof wood, the jo can only thrust and strike instead ofcut, but aside from certain additional targets suchas the shins and knees, its basic use is similar to thesword in the circular way you move it while entering.In these ways, the empty-handed gesture of invitationtranslates into a sword movement if you have a sword,or this circular entering movement if you have a staff.

This sort of correspondence, though very character-istic of aikido, can be difcult to understand throughempty-handed practice alone.

Irimi body-shifting using a staff

Irimi body-shifting using the sword and staff

Sword and staff movement when entering from gyakuhanmi



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S HOTEI

Used to thrust to the underside

of the jaw

N UKITE

H AITO

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Shotei (Palm-heel Strike)

Haito (Ridge-hand)

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Nukite (Spear-hand Thrust)

Strikes commonly used in aikido


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Shuto (Knife-hand)

Uraken(Backst)

Seiken (Straight punch)

Hira Nukite (Flat Spear-hand thrust)

Hiraken (Fore-knuckle st)

Nakadate Ipponken(Single-knuckle sStrike)

Empty-handed techniques without strikes are dan-gerous. There is a story about a certain jujutsu practi-tioner in the early Meiji period who became involved,along with one of his students, in an altercation in the

Asakusa district of Tokyo against about thir ty op-ponents. The two are said to have dispatched the rstand last attackers with throws, but they controlled allthe rest with strikes. Badly outnumbered, had they at-tempted to throw each attacker one by one, they sure-ly would have been stabbed and nished off quickly.

As this example illustrates, empty-handed techniquecannot serve as a budo unless it includes striking.Such striking techniques can be used in connection with the body-shifting movements inherent in swords-manship. Consequently, both the sword and staff areinevitably necessary. Holding the sword, you realizethe meaning of O-Sensei’s teaching that “the swordin aikido is not for cutting, it is for purication.” Inother words, the sword is used to remove the impuri-

ties of both opponents, not simply as a means of cut-ting people.

As for str iking, there are at least ten dif ferenttypes of strikes using the hands. Hand strikes include:seiken (straight punch), nukite (spear-hand thrust),

shuto (knife-hand strike), haito (ridge-hand strike),urate (back hand), shotei (palm-heel strike), ipponnukite (single-nger thrust), nihon nukite (double-n-ger thrust), ipponken (raised middle-knuckle strike),hiraken (fore-knuckle st), uraken (backst), and oth-ers. There are also about ve types of strikes usingthe elbows, and two or three basic patterns used forlinking several strikes together in succession.

Above and beyond knowing that striking is neces-sary and what strikes are available, you also need to

know specically when, where, and how to use them.Unlike other arts such as karate, striking in aikido

is not used to win the conict with a single devastat-ing blow, but rather to divert the opponent’s attentionmomentarily and to upset his posture and equilib-rium. Consequently, the most useful strikes are thosesuch as spear-hand thrusts and palm-heel strikes,

which can be used to attack the neck, eyes, armpits,and other vital points generally difcult or impossibleto reinforce.

If you are serious about your aikido training,then I very much urge you to acquire at least a mini-mum knowledge of striking. The following severalpages introduce some of the various types of strikesand how they might be used.

Striking knowledge



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Basic elbow movements & striking applications

Examples of striking within a technique


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Examples of strikes while executing yonkyo against a

gyakuhanmi wrist grab

The photos at rightshow how striking canbe applied within thegyakuhanmi tedor iyonkyo technique.

Thrust to the face using your ngertips or the heel of your hand.

Strike to the eyes with the backs of your knuckles.

Strike to the solar plexus with your elbow.

Strike to the groin with a backst.

Strike the chin from below with your palm or palm-heel.

Strike the back of the opponent’s neck with a knife-hand.


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The aikido sword takes no stance at all. Hold thesword in your right hand so that the tip of it alignswith your centerline ( in front of your right big toe ) .

Standing with the

Sword

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The staff also takes no stance. Hold the jo sothat a line extending from the end of it wouldintersect your opponent’s eyes.

The Sword of Purication

Standing with theJo

The sword of aikido is not for cutting. You canalways cut. But to cut is to commit a sin. The swordof aikido is not used for such wrongdoing, but forhelping one another to remove the impurities thatare within us. It is enough if we can avoid using ourswords for conict and instead come to realize theabsurdity of ghting.

The sword of aikido makes no sound.If your sword makes a sound, it means that you

have received your opponent’s attack. In aikido weaim to control the opponent from the instant beforehis attack, always a step ahead of him, so that in factthere is never any attack to receive, and thereforeno sound. With the ken and jo alike, not taking astance makes you faster than if you did take a stance.

Without a stance, in the time it takes your opponentto raise his sword and bring it down again, simplyby raising your own sword you can easily reach him

in half the time. As your opponent cuts downwardon one line, you can take another line and enter to

his side. While you can cut your opponent into twoif you wish, you control him by stepping forward

without touching his sword with yours. You cancontrol your opponent at will. Such sword and stafftechniques are very characteristic of aikido. In ai-kido you bring the situation to this state, time andtime again, nally leaving behind conict and clash-ing as you seek a unied direction.

The photos show the basic ways to stand whenholding the sword and staff.

Just as empty-handed aikido uses no stances, we don’t adopt a stance when using the ken and joeither. However, while you may not take a stance,you do still need to create a “set-up” (tsukuri) that

will elicit your opponent’s action. In some cases, forexample, you might open the line of your sword

with a small, quick, dropping motion to create anopening and a give yourself a slight “build-up,” then

wait for your opponent’s responding attack and en-ter when it comes. How you work with such set-ups

will vary from moment to moment depending onhow you intend to meet and draw your opponent in.

Throughout history, the most famous exponents ofarts such as karate and judo have typically employedset-ups well matched to their own bodies, takingadvantage of their particular physical characteristics.

Anyone who does budo, aikidoka included, needs to

think about how to work with such set-ups.

There are certain differences in the ways theken and jo are used. The sword is primarily forcutting, and so relies heavily on centripetal force.

To cut, you draw your extended sword inwardtoward your own front. Generally your targetsinclude softer areas of the body, such as the neckand sides. The jo, on the other hand, is primarily

for striking and thrusting, and thus relies more oncentrifugal force. Typically, you are pushing the



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Iai

Sword arts

Judo

Karate

Understanding deepens

Ken vs. Ken

vs. Sword vs. Jo Weapon-taking

Aikido training systems introduced in this book

The training process diagrammed above will help youdeepen your understanding of empty-handed aikido.Begin with empty-handed training, then pursue empty-handed sword-taking (tebiki) skills, then ken vs. ken, thenken vs. jo, and finally return with new understanding toempty-handed aikido. For lack of space, in this book I will

limit examples of empty-handed weapon-taking training togyakuhanmi kaitennage.

Ken vs. Jo Ken Jo

Throws

Pins

Strikes

Kicks

Empty-handed aikido

Empty-handed aikido


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II

Techniques


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Gyakuhanmi kaitennage

In general, kaitennage is among the techniqueslearned early on in aikido training, and we tend topractice this technique in order to learn ukemi.

It is also important for the way it symbolizes the very essence of aikido, namely by helping you culti- vate an ability to move into your opponent’s dead-angle space no matter what his movement.

Kaitennage sometimes looks as if you’ve let theopponent grab your wrist and you are turning inresponse; but it only appears this way if the palm ofyour extended hand is facing down. Done correctly,as your wrist is taken, your body must be facing youropponent’s center and your palm facing up. Enter-ing in this way, palm up (shown at right), puts you inunity with your opponent, creating a foundation for

movement in any direction you wish. Centering yourown body toward your opponent’s center puts youin such a position that you don’t receive his attack,yet you can still reach him.

For these reasons, kaitennage is an importanttechnique. Though it is a basic technique, you mustnot forget that it has this deeper meaning, a prin-ciple that can be applied throughout the rest of youraikido training.


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■ Empty-handed technique

Irimi footwork

As shown in the photographs, stepping withyour foot and extending your hand changes yourbody orientation and movement. This is the truetai no tenkan movement and is irimi. It keeps yououtside your opponent's striking range, while at thesame time putting you in his dead angle, meaningthat position from which you both avoid his attack,but are able to down him at any time. It is not bya single step, but by half steps that the conict is

decided. This is one of the difcult aspects of budo,but is very characteristic of aikido.

Turn your right palm up and step to your opponent'sleft side with your right foot. This makes it possible toalready be in your opponent's dead angle even as hetakes your wrist.

Pivot on your right foot to the left rear.


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Striking to uke’s chin with your palmprevents you from having to receivehis attack.

Step with your right foot so that you come to stand atuke’s left side. Keep your right arm down and closedwhile striking uke’s chin with a left palm-heel (shownbelow).

Cut upward with your right hand, step forward withyour left foot, and enter from your hips.


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Slip past uke, moving underneath his outstretched arm. From this position you can strike uke’s face with yourright hand or his midsection with your right elbow.

Always be in a position where you can down your op-ponent at any time.

Cut downward with your right hand while at the sametime using your left palm-heel to strike uke’s chin then

behind his head with a knife-hand.

Push uke from behind with your right hand to throwhim.



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■ Technique while wielding a sword

Step with your right foot to uke’s leftside, while at the same time facingthe edge of your sword outward infront of him.

Pivot on your right foot to the leftrear.

Slip underneath uke’s left arm, entering from yourhips and turning to your right rear.

Step forward with your right foot, cutting down withyour sword so that it passes through the space betweenyou and uke.


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Strike to uke’s chin with your left palm-heel while steppingto the right with your right foot and slipping your swordthrough the space between you and uke. End up standingto uke’s left side as he comes around to face you.

Cut upward with your right hand, step forward withyour left foot, and enter starting from your hips.

As with step 8 in the previous technique, strike to uke’schin with your left palm-heel, then behind his head withyour knife-hand.

Push uke from behind with your right hand to throwhim, and nish the tecnique by quickly pulling yoursword to a ready position.


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Gyakuhanmi katatedori nikyo

In introducing nikyo, it is important to note thatthe irimi movement used differs from that used inikkyo. In ikkyo, you turn to the inside of your op-ponent’s body, bring your body close, and drop yourhips as you enter. This movement contains move-ments similar to those used with a spear.

For nikyo, however, you turn to the outside, andas you enter you raise your hips upward. This ac-tion contains movements similar to those used witha sword. Ikkyo and nikyo therefore show oppositetypes of movement. Many people tend to think thatnikyo is about taking the opponent’s arm or wrist injoint-lock and worrying whether it can be made tohurt or not. But from a bujutsu perspective that sortof thing alone has little value. The real value in nikyo

is found in the importance of the process of gettinginto position to apply the joint-lock. Practicing withthe sword can help you understand this, particularlyin the way it shows how you have already enteredfrom the moment you’ve made contact.


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Opposite view of 2

Step with your right foot to uke’s left side, turningyour right palm up as you extend your right hand.

Pivot on your right foot to uke’s left rear, drawing himout.


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■

Place the back of uke’s hand against your chest. Lock uke’s wrist and elbow.

Drop your right hand down as you shift into a horse-riding stance. Strike to uke’s face with a left back-stto prevent him from attacking.

Pivoting on your right foot, bring uke’s wrist up to yourright shoulder.

!


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Step toward uke’s side with your right foot while youcontrol his wrist.

Briefly bring your right foot back to your left, thenstep toward uke’s side once again. Control his elbowwith your right hand, bring his arm over his head, andpivot around to his left rear.

Pin uke’s shoulder firmly between your knees andtwist your body to your left to control his arm.

!


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■ Technique with two swords

Photos 2 through 5 As uke raises his sword overhead, step to the right with your right foot.Move your sword tip around from uke’s left underarm to his right underarm

and shift your body to the right.

As uke completes his downward cut, shift your weightonto your right foot, bring your left foot up to meetit, shift your body, and cut to the left side of uke’ sneck. Movements 7 and 8 correspond to step 4 in theempty-handed version.


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As uke raises his sword, bring your left foot to yourright foot and cut to his left underarm. Movements 10and 11 correspond to step 5 in the empty-handed ver-sion.

Step to the right with your right foot and cut acrossfrom uke’s right underarm to his left underarm.

As uke brings his sword down, shift your body to theright and cut to the left side of his neck.

Draw your left hand back and nish with your swordtip pointing at uke’s chest.

10 11

12 13

■


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■ Technique with sword & staff

▼

Holding the jo in your right hand,circle it clockwise over uke’s headwhile shifting your body to the rightside.

Draw your left hand back with the jo pointed at uke’s throat.

Keeping the jo pointing at uke’s un-derarm, slide your right hand backalong the jo until it meets your lefthand and step to the right with yourright foot.

Change your left hand to a reversegrip and let the jo move off target.

When you open the jo, uke raiseshis sword again.

As uke raises his sword, strike be-low his right armpit.

Jo movement between steps 1 and 2

10


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Strike uke’s knee using the rearend of the jo. Draw your right hand up over yourhead.

Keeping the jo pointed at uke'sthroat, lift your right hand and stepto the right with your right foot.

As uke cuts downward, shift yourbody to the right and strike straightdown to his head.

As uke cuts downward, shift yourbody to the right and strike diago-nally to the left side of his head.

Draw your left hand back and nishwith the jo pointing at uke’s throat.

12 13

11


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When the opponent punches, entering as ifextending a palm-heel strike prevents his punchfrom extending and keeps him from kicking. Youthen have created an advantageous situationwhich you can use to step in at any time.

●

Move your right foot in front ofyour left as you deliver a palm-strike. This puts you inside theopponent’s dead angle.

Gyakuhanmi zenpo shitakuzushi nikyo

Because nikyo typically demonstrates the applica-tion of a joint-lock to the opponent’s wrist, it usuallyisn’t thought to have much to do with punches andother thrusting attacks. In fact, however, it is verymuch suited to dealing with such attacks. As youenter, you must already be positioned to avoid uke’spunches and kicks. It also contains opportunities forcounterattacks such as palm-strikes to the opponent’sface and ngerstrikes to his eyes.

Irimi Footwork

→


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In real application, meet the op-ponent’s punch with...

a palm-heel strike to his face... followed instantly by a finger-strike to his eyes.

As uke steps in with gyakuhanmi to grab your wrist,cross-step in front of him with your right foot whilebringing your right hand up toward the center of hisface. See photos on the previous page regardingthese foot and hand movements.

Drop your right hand down in a large movement infront of uke and step to the right with your right foot.

In application, you meet the opponent's thrust

with a double attack that includes a palm-heel striketo his face and a ngerstrike to his eyes.

→ →


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Step toward uke’s rear with your right foot whilecontrolling his elbow and wrist.

Briey draw your right foot back, then step forwardagain, bringing his arm over his head and turning.

Pin uke’s shoulder firmly between your knees andtwist your body to your left as you control his arm.


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As uke thrusts to your throat, step to the left with your left foot and

forward with your right foot.

Cut to uke’s wrist.

As uke cuts downward, shift to the right side and cutto his head.

As you move your sword past off target and ukeraises his sword again, cut to his underarm.


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10

11


As uke cuts downward, step to the right with yourright foot and cut across from uke’s right underarm tohis left underarm.

As you move your swordtip off target, uke lifts his

sword up. Step to the right with your right foot and cutdownward from uke’s right underarm.

As uke raises his sword, your body is shifting to the

right side.

As uk e co mp le te shis downward cut,cut the left side ofhis neck.

Draw your left handback and nish withyour swordtip point-ing at uke’s throat.


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Setting up the movement.

Your jo movement is similar to yoursword movement in the previoussection. As uke thrusts at your throat,step to the left with your left foot.

As uke cuts downward, shift your body to the rightand strike to his head.

As you move the jo away from uke's head, he raiseshis sword again.

Bring the jo up and around fromyour left while drawing your rightfoot up close to your left foot.

Strike uke’s wrist.


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10

11


Draw your right hand above your head.

As uke raises his sword again, step to the right withyour right foot and change your left hand to a reverse

grip.

Bring the end of the joup to uke’s chin.

As uke cuts down-ward, strike diago-nally to his head.

As uke raises his sword again, step to the right withyour right foot, switch your left hand into a reversegrip, and strike his knee.


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Extending your hand far enough allows you

enough room to draw uke out sufciently.

Turn your palm up and draw uke forward.

Gyakuhanmi te o torasezu sankyo

Aikido training usually begins by practicing tech-niques against wrist-grabbing type attacks (tedori).But knowing how to reverse such grabs to controland down your opponent is not aikido, namelybecause no true budoka ever allows an attacker tosimply take hold of his wrist. Rather, he takes theinitiative in striking (ate) before his opponent actu-ally arrives with his attack. This is the rhythm, or"breath" (kokyu) of striking.

→ →


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Check uke’s attack with your left hand whilecontinuing to twist your right hand into a cockedposition in preparation for a knife-hand strike.

Control uke’s left arm with your left hand andstrike to his face with a knife-hand.

As uke approaches in gyakuhanmi to grab your wrist, step to his outside

with your right foot and extend your right hand in front of him.

Be sure to draw uke out sufciently.

→


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■

10

Reverse the direction of your right hand, turning itover and extending it to strike to uke’s face with aknife-hand.

Twist uke’s wrist to unseat his balance upward. Strike with a left knife-hand from below to uke’s chin,then move the same hand over his head and strikeagain to the back of his head.

Pivoting on your right foot, swing your left foot aroundbehind while controlling uke’s left elbow with yourright hand.


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11 12


Step to the right with your right foot, holding uke’s lefthand with both of your hands and bringing it aroundwith you.

Step forward with your left foot and turn under uke’sarm past his left side.

Shift your left hand to the inside of uke’s left elbowand move into a pinning position.


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10

As uke thrusts with his sword, stepto the right with your right foot andbring your sword tip to his throat.

Turn your sword so that its edge isup, its side ridge is parallel with theside of uke’s sword, and the tip ispointed at his throat.


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12

Cut to uke’s neckfrom the right.

14

13

As uke raises his sword, step for-ward with your left foot and cutacross his mid-section starting fromthe left.

As uk e ra is es his swo rd aga in ,complete the circular motion of

your sword and cut to his right un-derarm.

As uke raises his sword, step tothe right with your right foot and

shift your body to the right.Draw your left hand back and nish withyour sword pointing at uke’s throat.

Step to the right with your right foot,shifting your swordtip off target.Uke raises his sword again.

11


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As uke thrusts with his sword, stepto the right with your right foot,shifting your body and striking touke’s chin with the end of the jo.

As uke completes his downwardcut, you should already have shift-

ed out of the way.

Lift your right hand up and changeit from a reverse grip to a straight

grip.

As uke raises his sword again, stepto the right with your right foot and

strike to uke’s side beneath his rightunderarm.

Continue moving the jo in a circu-lar motion over uke’s sword.


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Slide your right hand up the jo sothat the jo is on a vertical plane in

front of you.

Bring the jo down to control uke’ssword, keeping the tip of it pointingat uke’s solar plexus.

Step to the right with your rightfoot, changing your left hand to areverse grip and moving the end ofthe jo away from uke’s solar plexus.

Proceed as in steps 7 through 9 onthe previous pages, but since the

jo cannot cut, use it to strike uke’s knee instead of cutting across his

mid-section. As uke raises his sword,step forward with your left foot andstrike uke’s knee from the left.

As uke cuts downward, shift yourbody to the right and strike diago-

nally to the left side of his head.

Finish with the jo pointed at uke’sthroat.

11 12

10


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Cutting the attackinghand away with theedge of your hand isunlikely to be effec-tive.

Standing in this posi-tion leaves you vulner-able to the opponent’s strikes but unable toreach him with yours.

Gyakuhanmi katatedori kotegaeshi

If you try to perform gyakuhanmi kotegaeshisimply by raising your hand with the palm down totry to release it, or by attempting to cut the attacker’shand away with the edge of your other hand, neitherof these will work very well. They also take too longand give your opponent a chance to continue withhis next attack.

The important thing is always to be in a positionto strike (ate), while at the same time staying out ofrange of potential strikes and kicks. This is irimi. Asthe movement begins, you should already be shiftinginto such a position.

C ommon M istake

→


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■

In this position, your at-tack can reach him.

Turning your hand and scrap-ing across uke’s grip away

releases your wrist quickly.

In this position, uke’spunches cannot reach you,but you can still attack him.

Strike to the side of uke’s headwith your left knife-hand.

Bring your right hand up so thatyour palm faces toward you, thenbring your left hand up to the spacebetween the back of your hand anduke’s inner wrist.

Step forward with your right footand, as if cutting across uke’s mid-section with the blade of your lefthand, turn around to uke’s left rear.

!

!

→


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10

Keeping a grip on uke’s left wrist,pivot on your right foot to the leftrear.

Pivoting on your left foot, bring yourright foot around behind and useyour left hand to turn uke’s wristover.

Control uke’s elbow with your lefthand and turn him over.

Control with your right knee.

1112

13


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strike to uke’s temple with the back of your sword. As uke thrusts with his sword, shift your body with astep to the left.

As uke raises his sword, move your sword tip in aclockwise fashion from his right underarm, throughhis upper gate, and around to his left underarm.

While stepping to the left with your left foot, cutacross uke's trunk from his left underarm to his rightunderarm.


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10

Having struck to uke’s temple, bring your sword downto control uke’s sword with the back of your sword.

As you move your sword away to release your con-trol, uke raises his sword again.

Bring your right foot up and shift your body to theleft, cutting to the right side of uke’s neck as he cutsdownward.

Keeping your swordagainst uke’s neck,draw i t back wi th

your right hand.

Finish with your swordtip pointing at uke’sthroat.


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As uke thrusts with his sword, shift your body to theleft while striking to his right temple with the end ofthe jo.

Step to the left with your left foot and draw your lefthand down.

As uke cuts downward, step to the left with your leftfoot and strike across his knees with the jo from right

to left.


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Turn your palm up and open your body to the right.

Aihanmi katatedori shihonage is one of aikido'smost representative throwing techniques. With ai-hanmi you open both your hand and body. This typeof irimi is important because you face your opponentdirectly, which is particularly characteristic of aikido.By opening in this way, your opponent's attack missesits mark, but you remain in a position to control him.I often see people trying to do this movment simplyby shifting their feet and bodies to the side, but this isnot a true opening movement, and in fact puts you inrange of your opponent’s attack.

Aikido training begins with acknowledging youropponent, so it is important to adopt a posture that

welcomes him. Of course, at that point you havealready begun to control him as well. This is even

easier to understand if you learn the sword and jo. The Founder often said: “Aikido does not beginthe moment your hand is grabbed; the technique isalready over the instant your hand is grabbed.”

Aihanmi katatedori shihonage

Think of your opponent’s grab as if it were astraight punch or thrust. By opening your bodyand extending your hand, you put your opponentin a position from which he can no longer attack.The way you extend your hand is important,namely with your palm facing up, so that youavoid having to receive your opponent’s attack.

Aikido is based not on rejection of the opponent,

but rather on accepting and inviting him in.

→


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Footwork

Open your front (right) footto the right.

As uke comes to grab your wrist from aihanmi, openyour body to the side and extend your hand, palm up.This is irimi.

Pivot to the left rear with your weight on your right foot.


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■

Make a large turn to the left rear and take hold of uke’s wrist with both hands.

Open your right hand and right foot to the side. Ukewill come around half a turn.

After turning, bring uke’s hand behind his shoulder. Throw uke by cutting downward with his wrist as ifcutting with a sword.


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10

Step forward with your left foot so that you are stand-ing parallel with uke.

Continuing to grip uke’s wrist, step through with yourleft foot and execute a half-turn to his side.


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Draw your left foot up and shift your body to the right. As uke has raised his sword, point your swordtip touke’s left underarm so that the blade is facing up.

Point your sword tip at uke’s throat and step to theright side with your right foot.

As uke raises his sword again, spin around and cut tohis front.

Draw your left hand back and finish with yourswordtip pointing at uke's face.


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10

Keeping the jo pointed at uke’s underarm, step to the

right side with your right foot and change your lefthand to a reverse grip while assuming gyakuhanmi.

As uke cuts downward, strike across his knees with

the jo (since it cannot cut), stepping forward with yourleft foot and out of range.

While uke’s arms are raised, strike to his head. Finish with the jo pointed at uke’s throat.


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Aihanmi katatedori kotegaeshi

Turn your hand over in a way that cuts across your opponent’s midsection.

You will find it difficult to perform aihanmikotegaeshi successfully unless you rst create an ef-fective set-up. The instant your opponent grabs your

wrist, turn your palm up so that the back of your handis against his arm and he is prevented from kicking.

This movement deals with your opponent's punch orthrust. From the moment of contact, he should be inan entirely controlled and vulnerable position, and un-able to kick or punch.

This is irimi. Extend your hand as shownin the photo in order to extend the opponent’sarm. Turning his hand over as shown preventshim from kicking or punching. This is a controlagainst thrusting attacks, in other words, you

cause your opponent’s thrusts ow past you.

!


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→

If you enter with yourpalm facing down,

you run the risk of allow-ing uke to reach you witha punch.

As uke grabs your wrist, turn your palm up, prevent-ing uke from punching or kicking.

Step to the left with your left foot, turn your palm overand around to the left side.

C ommon

M istake

!


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■

Step to the left with your left foot, extending yourarms in front of you as if cutting across uke’s rightside, and grip his wrist with your left hand.

Maintaining your grip on uke’s wrist, pivot on your leftfoot around to the right rear.

When your turning motion draws uke around, pivoton your right foot to draw your left foot around to yourleft rear as you turn his hand over into kotegaeshi.


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Grip uke’s right elbow and turn him over. Finish by controlling uke’s left hand.


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As uke comes to thrust,

Step to the right with your right foot and cut acrossuke’s midsection from left to right.

step with your left foot and use the back ridge of yoursword to parry his sword so that it ows past.

As uke cuts downward, draw your right foot forwardand shift your body to your right while cutting hisbody from his right to the left.


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Receive uke’s thrust and allow it to ow past, steppingto the left with your left foot and shifting to the left.

As uke raises his sword again, change your lefthand to a reverse grip and thrust to uke’s throat withthe end of the jo.

Keeping the jo pointed at uke’s throat, draw your righthand back.


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Finish with the jop o i n t e d a t u k e ’sthroat.

10

Draw your right foot up, shift your body to the left,and strike uke’s wrist with the jo. Shift the jo off uke’s wrist and step to the right withyour right foot.

As uke cuts downward, draw your left foot up andshift your body to the right.

As uke completes hisdownward cut, strikediagonally to his head.


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Striking

By doing this you can raise your opponent up. Inaikido, however, we attack his elbow to control

his movement.

In actuality, you could strike the opponent’sside with a spear-hand thrust here.

Aihanmi katatedori sankyo

Sankyo can involve either an inside turn, in whichyou pass inside your opponent’s arm, or an outsideturn. Here we show the rst technique involving aninside turn.

The edge of your hand should not clash withyour opponent’s force, as this will allow him to strikeyou. Rather, you should practice bringing your op-ponent in front of you.

!


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Cut across uke’s body from left to right with your righthand, at the same time striking to his right side with aleft spear-hand thrust.

As uke comes to take your right wrist, step to the leftwith your left foot.

!


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■

Draw your right hand in a large motion out in front ofuke.

Grip uke's right wrist with your left hand.

Bring your left hand to uke's right elbow.

Continue moving out from beneath uke's arm, twist-ing his right palm as you go.


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Use your left hand to extend uke's left elbow andpush it forward.

Strike to uke's face with a rightknife-hand.

Step forward with your right foot, then turn to the left,passing beneath uke's arm.

Use your right hand to controluke's right elbow.

Bring your left knee up againstuke's right elbow and twist his armto the right.

11 1210


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As uke raises his sword, step with your left foot to cut straight across from

his right underarm to his left underarm.

As uke cuts downward, shift your

body to the left.

As uke raises his sword again, cutacross his body from his left andcontinue turning to the left.

As uke cuts downward , pivot onyour left foot around to the left.

As uk e ra is es hi s sw or d ag ai n,step with your left foot and cut tohis left arm.

10


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11 12

As uke completes his downward

cut, cut to the left side of his neck.

Bring your swordtip down to control

uke's wrist and step outward withyour left foot.

Free your swordtip and raise your

sword upward.

As uke cuts downward, shift to theleft and cut to his neck.

Finish by bringing your swordtipdown from uke’s neck to his throat.


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11 12

As uke cuts downward, turn the jo

over and use the rear end to strikediagonally to the right side of uke’shead.

Keeping the jo pointed at uke’s

throat, step with your left foot anddraw your left hand back.

step in with your right foot andstrike to his left arm.

As you move the jo away from uke’

s throat into a vertical position, ukeraises his sword.

Shift your body to the left and nishby striking to the side of uke.


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→

As shown here, the movement of your right hand is actually astrike. This hand controls your opponent so that his attack cannotreach you. If you move back, you put yourself dangerously within youropponent’s striking range. Your footwork should involve drawing yourfoot up as you move into kotegaeshi. Make sure your opponent grabsthe front of your sleeve and not the side or back, since allowing himto reach any deeper leaves you in his striking range. As he takes yoursleeve, draw your one hand back fully while at the same time closingyour other arm so that the energy of your movement is balanced.

Two Sodedori techniques: Sodedori kotegaeshi / Ryosodedori nikyo

In sodedori you release your opponent’s grip fromyour sleeve using a striking rhythm. Here I introducesodedori kotegaeshi and ryosodedori nikyo. Handlingryosodedori (double-sleeve grab) is no differentfrom handling katasodedori (single-sleeve grab),since if you are able to release one sleeve then youcan release two in the same way. I sometimes seepeople try to enter by bringing the edge of theirhand against their opponent’s arm as he takeshold of their sleeve, but in fact this puts them ina vulnerable position. Instead, you must release yoursleeve using a striking rhythm, so that at the point ofrelease you are already in a place where your opponent’sattack cannot reach you.

Quickly slip your hand onto your opponent’s arm.

Avoid lowering the angle of your arm at this point,

as doing so may bring you into a vulnerable

position.

●

●

!


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→

C ommon M istake

If you use the edge ofyour hand to releaseyour sleeve from uke’s

grip...

...you become vul-nerable to his attack.

Uke comes to take hold of your sleeve. Bring the back of your right hand sharply against theinside of uke’s elbow.

!


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Sodedori kotegaeshi kirihanashi

10

Take hold of uke’s right hand with your left hand andpivot on your left foot around to his right rear.

As uke follows around, shift your weight to your rightfoot and begin to turn around to your left rear.

As uke falls, turn around, placing your right hand on hiselbow to move him.

With uke prone, nish by controlling his wrist.


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As you move your sword tip away, uke raises hissword again. Step with your left foot and position yoursword at your left side.

As uke cuts downward, cut from the right to the leftside of his neck.

Draw your left hand back and finish with yourswordtip pointing at uke’s throat.


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As you move the end of the jo away, uke raises hissword again. Step to the left and shift your body. Release your left hand and change it to a reversegrip.

As uke cuts downward, shift your body to the rightand bring the rear end of the jo around to strike di-agonally to his head.

Draw your left hand back and nish with the jo point-ing at uke’s throat.


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■ ■

1

As uke comes to take hold of your two sleeves, in a single motion bring theback of your right hand sharply against the inside of uke’s elbow and, whilestriking with the edge of your right hand, draw your left elbow and arm back

fully out of range. Once the release is achieved, the rest is the same as forkotegaeshi.

Step to uke’s rear with your rightfoot while closing your right armtoward your right armpit and con-

trolling his left wrist.

Release your right hand, shift it touke’s elbow, and pivot left on yourright foot.

Empty-handed technique


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Ryosodedori nikyo

12

Continuing to hold uke’s left hand,bring your right hand down to con-trol his shoulder.

Twist your body to the left as youpin uke’s arm.

Step to the right with your right footand drop your right hand down infront of your hips, at the same time

striking uke’s face with a left back-st.

Take hold of uke’s left hand withyour left hand and pivot on yourright leg around to stand beside

him.

Bring uke’s wrist onto your rightarm.

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Ryosodedori nikyo

11

Step to the right with your right foot and bring yoursword down in front of your hips to control uke’ssword with the back of your blade.

With the back of your blade, wrap uke’s sword aroundto the right and up, and shift your center of gravity tothe right.

Step to the right with you right footand cut straight across uke’s body

from his right underarm to his leftunderarm.

As uke cuts downward , cut fromthe left to the back of his neck.

Draw your left hand back and nishwith your swordtip pointing at uke’s

throat.

10


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Draw your left foot up, shift your body to the right,and strike to uke’s upperarm.

Change your right hand to a straight grip and striketo uke’s left wrist.

Change your left hand to a reverse grip and rotatethe end of the jo around from the left to strike to uke’s chin.

As uke thrusts, step to the right with your right footand shift your body and jo so that his sword flowspast you.


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Ryosodedori nikyo

Step to the side with your right foot and change yourleft hand to a reverse grip.

Rotate the jo around from the left, striking uke’ssword, and draw your right hand above your head.

Change your right hand to a straight grip and strikediagonally to the left side of uke’s head.

Draw your left hand back and nish with the jo point-ing at uke’s throat.


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Striking to the opponent’s chin Striking to the opponent’s face

Katadori menuchi shihonage

* While the name of this technique refers to ashoulder grab (katadori), your opponent’s real aim is tograb your sleeve, since holding onto your shoulder with-out controlling your sleeve would have little meaning.Please note that the proper target of “katadori” attacksshown throughout this book is in fact the upper sleeve.

A shoulder grab can in fact be interpreted as apunch or thrust, and more specifically, punching

while at the same time entering with another striketo the face. Your opponent grabs your shoulder and,in the next instant, also strikes to your face with hisother hand. Because of the speed at which these ac-tions take place, you must already be in a position tocontrol and down him before he can complete hisattack. Katadori takes place at a significantly closer

range than tedori (wrist grabs), so naturally striking isthat much more important. This nds an even greaterrange of application in techniques like nikyo.

Use both hands to deal with the opponent’sattacks as you enter, striking to his chin and face,then turning into shihonage. With your rst half

step, you are simultaneously striking.

!

→


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Step to the right side with your right foot while usingyour right hand to parry uke’s striking right hand sothat it ows past, and your left hand to strike to hisface.

Shift your body to the right, guiding uke’s falling righthand down with your left hand in a flowing motionwhile at the same time striking his face with your righthand.

!


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■

Cut downward with both of your hands in unison, alsostepping to the right with your right foot and shiftingyour body.

Raise your hands up as if raising a sword and stepforward with your left foot.


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Pivoting on your left foot, turn around to face the op-posite direction from uke and step behind him withyour right foot.

Step up to uke with your right foot and place itagainst his body.

Finish with your right foot against uke’s body.


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As uke raises his sword to strike forward, step to theright with your right foot and thrust toward his throat,then turn your swordtip to the left.

As uke cuts downward, shift your body to the rightand cut to his head.

As uke raises his sword, step forward with your leftfoot and cut across his body.

As uke cuts downward, pivot on your left foot, nish-ing your cut across his body and turning to the rightout of range and all the way around.


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After cutting to uke’s head, lower your swordtip to hischest. Step to the right with your right foot and turn yoursword over so the blade faces up.

As uke raises his sword again, cut to his front. Draw your left hand back and nish with your swordtippointing at uke’s throat.


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As uke rai ses his sword, step tothe right with your right foot andstrike to his chin with the rear endof the jo.

Shifting your body to the right, ro-tate the jo around from left to right.

As uke cut s downward, str ike tohis head from the right.

As uke raises his sword again, turnto the right and step forward with

your left foot as you strike acrosshis knees.

Turn around and strike to uke’sfront as he raises his sword.

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After striking uke’s head, bring the jo down to his throat.

Keeping the jo pointed at uke’sthroat, slide your right hand back tothe left hand and step to the rightwith your right foot.

Move the jo away from uke’s throatand change your left hand to a re-verse grip.


Zanshin (opposite view)

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Katadori menuchi nikyo

In this technique shift your body in such a waythat your opponent’s power ows past you and youharmonize with his movement. It is important tomeet the attack at a constant and matching speed,for this gives good practice in using a strikingrhythm. You also learn to turn your hands and letthem ow in such a way that any power your oppo-nent exerts complements your own.

Meet the opponent’s attacking hand withyour open hand in such a way that you barelyfeel his power. Turn your hand so that your palmis up. This is a key feature of this technique.Though you let your opponent’s power to flowpast you, in reality, there is an opportunity herefor a series of connected strikes.

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A distracting thrustto the face

An elbo w str ike tothe side

A strike to the groin

As uke takes your sleeve and strikes to your face,step forward with your right foot and lightly meet hisattacking right hand with your right hand. It is impor-tant at this point not to feel a strong clash of energies.

Shift your body to the right and, at the instant youmake contact, turn your hand over so your palmfaces up.

The close range at which this technique isperformed offers many opportunities to strike.If you regard the grab to your sleeve as athrusting attack, you will notice where such aseries of strikes might be used. Using a strikingrhythm, you can strike his face and, as he be-comes distracted, his side with your elbow andhis groin with a backst.

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Pivoting on your right foot, swing your left foot aroundto the rear, shifting your body in relation to uke’sstrike.

Sink your hips down into a strong horse-riding stance.Bring your right hand over to your left hip and striketo uke’s face with a left backst.

Grip uke’s elbow with your right hand, and step to hisleft rear with your right foot.


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10

Pivoting on your right foot, turn around to the left tostand beside uke.

Hold the back of uke’s left hand tightly against yourright shoulder.

Pivoting on your right foot, bring uke’s left elbow overhis head with a large motion and turn around to the

left.

Turn your body to the left as you pin uke’s arm.


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Step to the right with your right foot and control uke’sraised right wrist with the back of your sword.

Stepping to the right with your right foot, cut downwardwith a reverse diagonal cut following the line from uke’sright underarm through and past his left hip.

Step to the right with your right foot and cut straightacross uke’s body starting from his left underarm.


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Matching uke’s timing as he raises his sword, step forward with your rightfoot and bring the jo around and up from the left.

Draw your right hand up over yourhead.

Shift your body to the right andstrike straight down to uke's headas he cuts downward.


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10


Strike uke’s upraised right wrist. Bring your right hand down in frontof you, change your left hand to areverse grip, and step to the rightwith your right foot.

Strike across uke’s knees.

As uk e ra is es hi s sw or d ag ai n,step to the right with your right foot,change your left hand to a reversegrip, and bring the end of the jo up

to his throat.

As uke cuts downward, shift yourbody to the right, change your righthand to a straight grip, and strikehis head with the rear end of the jo.


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Katadori menuchi sankyo

In this technique you use the blade edge of yourhand to deflect your opponent’s attacking hand andlet it ow past, while at the same time changing theorientation of your body. The technique is similar tonikyo to this point, but you then continue bringingyour opponent’s arm down as you enter. You strike hisside, then grasp and straighten his elbow to unsettlehis balance as you turn. Failing to control youropponent in this way makes you vulnerable to attack.Preventing this all depends on your use of striking.

Stepping with your right foot, you rotateyour right hand as it receives your opponent’s attacking hand and draw your left foot overto the right, not stepping but rather switchingthe positions of your feet. Shifting your feetlike this, instead of simply stepping, gives youa striking rhythm Since your intention is notactually to strike, however, you use this footmovement to enter to the side and draw youropponent out. This same footwork is used todeal with a shomenuchi strike.

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Receive uke’s attack with the edgeof your hand and let it ow past asyou change the orientation of yourbody (similar to nikyo).

Bring your right hand down whilestepping with your left foot.

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13

As you bring your right hand down,step to the left with your left footand shift your body to the left.

Draw your right hand out in front ofuke in a large movement.

Bring your left hand to uke’s rightelbow.

Step with your left foot, grippinguke’s right wrist with your right

hand, and slip past his right side.

As you slip past uke, grip the backof his right hand and twist it up to

the left.

Step behind uke with your left footand strike his chin from below with

a knife-hand.

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Extend your right hand in a largemovement, drawing uke’s arm outfrom left to right so that his elbowstraightens.

As you bring uke’s arm around ,control his elbow with your handin order to unsettle his balance.

Keep your palm facing upward asyou would for a spear-hand thrust.

Use your right hand to control theinside of uke’s right elbow.

Pivoting on your left foot, turnaround to the right rear.

Control uke’s arm by twisting it tothe right.

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10

As uke raises his sword, bring your sword up in a wrapping motionso that the back of it comes up to control his right arm.

As uke cuts downward, step to theleft with your left foot and cut to hisright underarm.

As uke raises his sword, step for-ward with your right foot and cut tohis left side.

As uke cuts downward, turn pivoting on your right foot sothat you cut across his midsection from his left to his rightside, and continue this cut until you have slipped out of theway of his descending blade.

As uke raises his sword again...


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12

As uke cuts downward, cut acrosshis body in a straight line from theleft, and shift your own body to theleft.

Step to the left with your left foot andcut straight down from uke’s head tohis chest, so that your blade comesdown to control his right wrist.

Step to the left with your left footand lift your sword tip to releaseuke’s wrist.

...turn around quickly and cut to hisleft wrist.

As uke cuts downward, step to theleft with your left foot, shift yourbody to the left, and cut to the rightside of his neck.

Draw your right hand back and n-ish with your sword tip pointing atuke’s throat.

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10

While opening to the left,

Step forward with your right foot,striking uke’s knee as you slip pasthim.

As uke cuts downward, pivot onyour right foot around to the leftrear and out of the way.

Uke raises his sword again.

bring the end of the jo around in acircular movement to control uke’sright arm,

then strike to his right knee as youstep to his right side.


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13

Shift to the left and strike diago-nally to uke’s head. Keeping the jo pointed at uke’sthroat, draw your right foot and lefthand back.

Uke raises his sword to attack.Slide your right hand up the jo,bringing the jo vertical so that youare concealing your body behind it.

When uke has raised his sword,strike his left wrist.

As uk e cu ts do wn wa rd , st ep tothe left and shift your body as youstrike diagonally to his right side.

Draw your right hand back and n-ish with the end of the jo pointingat uke’s throat.


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Shomenuchi sokumen iriminage

Although we use the term “shomenuchi,” mean-ing “straight frontal strike,” keep in mind that a realsword does not “strike” but rather “cuts.” Properlyspeaking, therefore, we should say “shomengiri,”meaning “straight frontal cut.” Nonetheless, theterm “uchi” has become so widespread that we inev-itably end up using it to refer to this kind of attack.

Against shomenuchi there are two ways to shiftyour body: omote and ura, which refer generally to“front” and “rear,” respectively. Omote movementscan be seen in techniques like shihonage and ikkyo.

To describe ura movements, let’s look at irimi. To deal with a shomenuchi attack, you must not

allow the blade-edge of your hand to clash with theblade-edge of your opponent’s attacking hand. Do

not try to push back or stop him; instead, shift intoa posture that accepts his attack, so that you are al-ready in a position in which you don’t have to receiveit. Even before actual contact between you occurs,the blade-edge of your hand has already entered andcontrolled the space in front of your opponent.

In aikido, whenever you make contact with yourhand or arm, it is never to try to push the opponentback or resist, but rather to use the contact to drawhim out. Training in aikido means carefully cultivat-ing this ability. Once you have drawn your opponentout, your hand is in a position to strike to his chin.

At this point the outcome of the conict is alreadydecided. This type of approach is inherent in all ai-kido forms. As O-Sensei often said, “The point ofcollision is not the starting point for determining theoutcome of the conict; at that moment the conictis already over.”


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Deal with uke’s shomenuchi by entering to his rear. As uke raises his hand to strike, move as if cuttingupward through his underarm and shift around to the

side and behind him. This is the method for enteringto the rear for shomenuchi irimi.

You should already have taken control as you meetuke. You can punch him, but he cannot punch you.

As uke lifts his arm to strike, step forward with yourleft foot and cut upward through his underarm.

Cut upward with your right arm so that it slides alongthe outside of uke’s arm until both are raised up.


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It is dangerous to try to enter after receiving the blade-edge of uke’s attacking hand, or by forcing him to block by attacking him rst.These situations will put you out of range. Instead, it is important toenter and control uke before his st reaches you.

This position pre-v e n t s y o u f r o mreaching uke.

Resisting the urge to grab uke’s arm or wrist, step be-hind uke with your left foot, and turn around so bothof you are facing in the same direction.

Bring uke’s face against your right shoulder, and pivoton your left foot half a turn to the right rear.

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Shomenuchi sokumen iriminage

Keeping uke’s face against your shoulder, raise yourarm as if drawing an arc.


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Instead of trying to avoid the opponent,move into a position from which you cantake control even as he is launching histhrust. You should be in a position fromwhich you can strike him but he cannotstrike you. Enter deeply to unify yourbody with his, and control his attack with-in the natural ow of movement insteadof attempting to grab his arm or wrist.

Attack uke’s side with a spear-hand thrust.

If you imagine that uke’s shomenuchi at-tack is a straight thrust, your movement wouldbe as shown here. Since you have not as-sumed any particular fighting stance, yourhands are always low, making it natural foryou to bring them up from below in sync withuke’s attack, in this case thrusting with yourfingers to uke’s underarm. Since aikido isbased largely on the sword, the proper cuttingtarget is not the trunk but the armpit [wheretraditional armor inevitably left an opening].

Aim for this area when cutting or thrusting.

Movement imagining uke’s attack as a straight thrust.

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On “Receiving” (“Uke”)

“Uke,” or “receiving,” in budo gener-ally refers to considering different ways toreceive an opponent’s attacks, and for thisreason

shoji nishio. aikido-

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