The technical emphasis in any Dojo changes over time. Over the past year, I think our Aikido has been characterized by an emphasis on...
Ichikata - especially looking at 90- and 180-degree offbalance pairs and automatically flowing around strength and resistance conditions.
Owaza - emphasis on being able to do this set of techniques from very generalized attacks - as in ryotedori - instead of having to have uke flying at you.
We've ramped up the jo and aikijo this year.
The JW Bode seminar certainly gave me a lot to think about wrt decisiveness, control, and very close range Aikido. For years weve been talking more about synchronization and flow and less about control. But lately weve been talking more about irimi, atemi, control, and aiki as "instant victory."
So, now the question is... where are we going with our Aikido in 2012? Stay tuned as I collect my thoughts on that...
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Patrick Parker
www.mokurendojo.com
