William Gleason Sensei at De-Ai Aikikai, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA

Hiroshi Ikeda in Nashville, TN

Extending Aikido Off the Mat: 2nd Annual Aiki Extensions Conference

Aikido Seminar with Frank Doran in Switzerland

Hiroshi Ikeda in Nashville, TN

Contributed by Kay Sandacz*

On June 2-4, 2000, Nashville Aikikai hosted an aikido seminar with guest instructor Hiroshi Ikeda shihan of Boulder Aikikai. Classes were held Friday evening, Saturday morning and afternoon, and Sunday morning at the Downtown Athletic Center. Seminar participants arrived from the extreme distances of Wisconsin, Florida, Texas and California to join the more local crowd; rank varied from absolute beginners to the advanced dan ranks. Certainly, aikidoka of such different backgrounds and training levels would experience the seminar differently. Here's what I heard during the weekend.

Perhaps in deference to the intense humidity of Tennessee in June, Ikeda Sensei focused much of the time on the first moment of contact. Before technique, nage must somehow gain some slight advantage over his attacker. Sensei showed how nage can change the way he gives himself to the attacker to make the attacker "lighter" - up on his toes or slightly off balance. A slight adjustment to distance or timing can cause the physical equivalent of a stutter in the attack, giving nage the opening to apply technique.

The small spiral that is a signature of Ikeda Sensei's instruction begins just as nage is being grabbed. The spiral's rotation naturally passes to the attacker, locking wrist, elbow and shoulder joints as nage connects with the attacker's center. (Or it would, that is, if I could execute the spiral with perfect timing and actually engage my own center. As Ikeda sensei notes with a tease, aikido works; sometimes mine doesn't.)

The perfect execution of the spiral movement requires focus. Sensei compared the physical concept to a punch - relaxed through most of the movement, with a concentration of energy at the moment of contact for just an instant, followed by complete relaxation again. Saturday afternoon, working with bokken, we practiced the same spiral and focus with the wooden weapon making our movements easier to see. With the bokken or without, the movement derives its power from use of our whole body. In an opening series of cuts, Ikeda Sensei explained that a yokomen cut is the same arm motion as a shomen cut; the difference comes from moving the hips differently. With both, the power of the cut is from the center rather than the arms.

Once the attacker has been taken off-balance, even for the briefest moment, nage has the opportunity to apply technique. Ikeda Sensei points out the difference between aikido technique and various ways of practicing. Particularly when learning something new, we often practice just movement. With an obliging uke, we grow familiar with where our feet go and coordinate arm motions. Other times, we might be doing an exercise, working on endurance perhaps. In either case, we should be aware of the difference between such practice and actual technique. In technique, the attacker is controlled throughout the encounter, having no choice about staying connected to nage and being moved where nage chooses. Each way of practicing is valid at various times, but Ikeda Sensei emphasizes that we have to think about what we're doing, realizing the differences among these practices and not deluding ourselves about which we're using at any time.

We were also asked to think about the martial aspects of our martial art. In the dojo, we can get sloppy about our technique because we don't usually practice with a partner who will kick or punch when we leave an opening. We can ask our partner to stop the attack and let us try again. These are necessary compromises to making the art safe to practice while we're learning, but we ought not forget the reality we're putting aside.

In fact, Ikeda Sensei repeatedly asks us to think about our aikido. It doesn't matter in the least where we are in our training currently, as long as we keep moving further on. "Please continue training" is his frequent request and it's clear he doesn't mean mindless mat time, but practice in which we're aware of what we're doing and why it works or doesn't work. The combination of accepting each person's training level and encouraging each person to continue developing his own aikido for himself is probably what keeps Ikeda Sensei's teaching accessible to the newest beginners and challenging to the returning yudansha, giving everyone something to take home for more work.

Congratulations to the four new shodan who passed their tests following the Sunday morning class. And many thanks to Ikeda Sensei for his patient instruction and to Chief Instructors Tom and Mary McIntire and the members of Nashville Aikikai, who organized the seminar, kept our training space in good order, housed visitors and threw a great party Saturday evening.