Some video of the “breakfall basics” class held at the dojo on 11 July 2015.
Big thanks to our dojo seniors Matt, Neil, Peter and Jeremy for their assistance in teaching and ensuring practice was safe.
Have a great week.
Ian Grant
Head Instructor
Aikido Warrior Dojo
Related posts
“The first of the six pillars of Aikido techniques is shiho nage. This technique represents the gratitude Aikido trainees feel toward life in all four directions and is commonly the first technique learned (but not easily mastered) by students.”
(Master Morihei Ueshiba/John Stevens, The Essence of Aikido, p 115)
Ian Grant
Head Instructor
Aikido Warrior Dojo
Related posts:
Yokomenuchi kokyu nage (Aiki nage) has been part of Aikido since the beginning of the Art. There are numerous recordings of O’Sensei demonstrating the technique dating back to the 1930’s.
The below video is an informal recording of seniors from our dojo experimenting and basically having fun with how atemi (striking) and kiai (yelling when executing a technique) impact on its execution and the person receiving the technique. The recording was made at the end of a Saturday class on 18 July 2015.
A video of Master Koretoshi Maruyama providing formal instruction on Yokomenuchi kokyu nage can be found in the technique library section of this site. For a direct link see here.
All the best
Ian Grant
Head Instructor
Aikido Warior Dojo
Maintaining spatial awareness of your nage and general surrounds when rolling away to escape an attack is a critical skill in Aikido. Like any skill it requires practice and commitment.
Part of the culture of our dojo is to look at new ideas and methods to improve our practice, including ukemi (receiving technique). To help practise spatial awareness when forward rolling, one of our seniors (Jeremy) recently suggested an exercise where a bokken (wooden sword) is used as a training aid to sharpen the uke’s focus.
An informal recording of the exercise can be viewed below. Just to clarify, the sword being used in the exercise is not a real blade!
All the best
Ian Grant
Head Instructor
Aikido Warrior Dojo
Ukemi (falling arts) is something that we give a lot of emphasis at our dojo. Apart from the training insights it gives us into our Art, learning to safely receive technique is critical.
As we progress in our studies and begin to receive techniques in a more fluid training environment, the need to learn more options to receive techniques becomes paramount. In short, we need to be able to safely fall regardless of the technique variation that is applied or the fact that it may not be strictly text book in execution.
By way of example, the below informal video shows seniors at our dojo receiving various forms of ukemi from yokomenuchi shiho nage (4 corners throw), including rolling and breakfalls.
Have a great day.
Ian Grant
Head Instructor
Aikido Warrior Dojo
Aikido Warrior Dojo 
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