“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
See below a short video taken at the dojo where we explored munetsuki irimi nage as illustrated in O’Sensei‘s 1938 text “Budo“.
Although difficult to see in the below photo demonstrations featuring O’Sensei, a key technical aspect of the technique is the placement of the nage’s hand on the upper part of the uke’s shoulder. As the technique is executed, this hand eventually ends up immediately below the nage’s armpit. Relaxed and centred execution of the technique is essential to avoid any clash and achieve the necessary off-balancing of the uke.
For the uke, receiving the technique feels a bit like hitting a “wall of feathers”. As you would have noticed in the video, we also played with adding extra atemi. It makes receiving the ukemi a bit more challenging in terms of uke sensitivity but is well worth the experiment.
Big thanks to dojo senior Peter Marendy for joining me in the demo and to Eden for filming it.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
In the below videos Morihiro Saito Sensei (1928-2002) provides instruction on the traditional version of munetsuki irimi nage as practised by O’Sensei (the Founder of Aikido) in the immediate post-war period of his life. Notably the method of execution is the same as that outlined in the “Budo” text.
Morihiro Saito Sensei’s practice of Aikido spanned 56 years and he is one of the most important teachers in Aikido history. Saito Sensei was a live-in student of O’sensei for more than 20 years at his home dojo in Iwama, Japan.
Saito Sensei spent his teaching life dedicated to preserving the technical style of Aikido as practised and shown to him by O’sensei in the post-war period. Without his commitment to preserving the Aikido of the Founder and extensive efforts to record and document his teachings, much of the Aikido of O’sensei would have been lost.
All the best
Ian Grant
Dojo Cho
Aikido Warrior Dojo
Aikido Warrior Dojo 
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