AIKIDO PRACTICE

AIKIDO THEORY

AIKIDO BOOKS



Attacks in Aikido, by Stefan Stenudd.
Attacks in Aikido
How to do kogeki, the attack techniques, by Stefan Stenudd. All the attack techniques in aikido explained, and how to do them correctly.
See the book at Amazon.


Aikido Principles, by Stefan Stenudd.
Aikido Principles
Basic Concepts of the Peaceful Martial Art, by Stefan Stenudd. Aikido principles, philosophy, and basic ideas.
See the book at Amazon.


Aikibatto, by Stefan Stenudd.
Aikibatto
by Stefan Stenudd. The aikibatto sword and staff exercises for aikido students explained, with practical and spiritual aspects of the sword arts, equipment for training, and more.
See the book at Amazon.


QI - increase your life energy, by Stefan Stenudd.
Qi
Increase your life energy, by Stefan Stenudd. The life energy qi (also chi or ki), with exercises on how to awaken, increase, and use it.
See the book at Amazon.




Ikkyo

Tantodori

Ikkyo
on tsuki attack
with tanto.


When taking the knife from the attacker in the ikkyo technique, it is very important firstly to press uke's arm to the floor and hold it firmly. The arm should be straight and at least 90° from uke's body, with the elbow pointing upward or even a bit forward.
     Place one of your knees at uke's side, by the ribs, and the other by uke's wrist. Your one hand should control uke's upper arm, right by the elbow but not on it, pressing it to the floor in a sort of forward rolling movement - a static grip would be much more easy for uke to get out of.
     All of the above is to fix uke's arm at this position and keep it there.
     When this is done satisfactory, not before, use your free hand to adjust the position of uke's knife hand, according to the photo above. Watch the knife carefully - how it is held by uke and in what direction the edge of it is pointing.
     In the case of a tsuki attack the knife should normally be positioned as on these pictures, but it is not certain. If the attack had been done from a knife grip where the edge of it was initially upward, it would be in a reverse position here, and removing it would have to be done slightly differently from what is shown below.
     The knife here is single-edge, which is more easy to handle than a double edge one. This too must be carefully observed before taking it from uke.

Tantodori

     Now it is time to take the knife. Form your hand into a fork shape, like the letter U, as shown on the picture above. Do not bend your fingers, neither the thumb nor the others. This shape of the hand should be kept until the knife is safely removed from uke's grip.

Tantodori

     Move your hand in a semi-circle, allowing the backside of the knife blade to press against the bottom of the U, that is the area between the thumb and the index finger.
     The back of your hand should slide on the floor, not move up the least from it, or the angle will become much less efficient for releasing the knife from uke's grip. The semi-circle should be done with uke's hand as the center - fixed at the same spot all through.

Tantodori

     Never try to pull the knife away, before completing this semi-circle, even if uke's grip seems to be loosening. The knife will surely break free at the end of this movement, if not before, when pointing toward uke's head and the edge almost touching uke's arm.
     Apply a good grip on the knife, before moving away from your position or releasing uke's arm.
     Video clips: In January 2006 I have added some video clips of tantodori ikkyo, which can be found here: tantodori ikkyo
Stefan Stenudd

Sankyo on tsuki
Sankyo on yokomen uchi
Shihonage on yokomen uchi
Shihonage on tsuki
Kotegaeshi
Ikkyo
Ikkyo video clips



email

Stefan Stenudd
Stefan Stenudd
About me
I'm a Swedish aikido instructor, 6 dan Aikikai Shihan, and Vice Chairman of the International Aikido Federation. Now, I've practiced aikido for 40 years. I also teach the sword art iaido. I've written several books about aikido and other Japanese and Chinese traditions.





Tao Te Ching - The Taoism of Lao Tzu Explained, by Stefan Stenudd.
Tao Te Ching
The Taoism of Lao Tzu Explained. The great Chinese classic, translated and extensively commented by Stefan Stenudd.
See the book at Amazon.


Life Energy Encyclopedia, by Stefan Stenudd.
Life Energy Encyclopedia
by Stefan Stenudd. Qi, prana, spirit, and other life forces around the world explained and compared.
See the book at Amazon.


Another great
Aikido website:
AikiWeb: Aikido Information