Friday 11 March 2016

In Aikido, Lead rather than Control

One of the core principles of aikido, in my view, is to lead the energy of an attack rather than to control the uke. Don't grip and force; hold lightly and blend. Don't use strength to throw. Lead your partner to the point of balance. These ideas are at the core of the way that I try to do aikido. One of the teachers who really brings out these qualities extremely well is Seishiro Endo. I recommend that you seek out his videos on YouTube. Here is a good example:




By the way, remember that we have a workshop at the Hartland Aikido Dojo (Bucks Cross Village Hall, North Devon) on Saturday 19th March between 1:00 and 5:00. This will be led by Senseis Huw Collingbourne and Richard Small and will concentrate on an examination of fundamental principles common to both weapons and freehand aikido. Sensei Collingbourne has studied principally in the Ki Aikido tradition with (at first) the Ki Federation of Great Britain and (later) the British Ki Aikido Association. Sensei Small has studied mainly in the Iwama tradition with Takemusu Iwama Aikido Europe. If two teachers from such different aikido backgrounds can work together and learn from one another, we hope that people from other styles and organizations may be willing to join us to share in our study of aikido. There are no boundaries to aikido - we can all learn from one another.


The workshop is open to students from all clubs and all styles of aikido. Aikido is about harmony and, in that spirit, we welcome everybody from all styles. Please, come and join us!

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