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
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“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:
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
Otoshi (or drop) techniques feature prominently in a variety of martial arts, including Aikido, Judo and Jujitsu. Otoshi techniques are typically thought of as “hand throws” and when applied correctly generate a surprising amount of power that literally has the effect of dropping (some might say “driving”) the uke straight into the mat.
Sumi otoshi (corner drop) is probably the most common drop technique practised in Aikido. The particularly appealing features of this technique include its directness in execution and the fact that it is able to be used to in response to a wide variety of traditional attack situations.
However, while sumi otoshi looks deceptively simple on its face, in reality it requires considerable skill to apply with any degree of martial integrity. For example skills in kuzushi (i.e. off-balancing), timing, moving off-line and centred movement are essential.
In the below video, Mike Jones Sensei from New York Aikikai provides instruction for sumi otoshi from an attack in the form of a same side hand grab (Katate dori).
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Donovan Waite Sensei (7th Dan Aikikai) in the following video demonstrates and provides training tips for an alternate application of katatedori sumi otoshi, as well as the variation in the featured video.
In every technique ii is important to learn not only how to execute it, but also how to safely receive it (ukemi). In the below video, Waite Sensei demonstrates how the nage can assist the uke in safely learning ukemi for the sumi otoshi.
The demonstration is by Peter Kelly Sensei of Aikido Yuishinkai (Tasmania). The source material was kindly provided courtesy of Bill Hely.
Ian Grant
Dojo Cho
Aikido Warrior Dojo
Aikido Warrior Dojo 
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