Now I’ve reached 10,000 subscribers on my KZfaq aikido channel. To celebrate, I made this video upon several requests: aikido techniques against punches. It is a compilation of such techniques from videos made in 2017 and 2018. I hope you enjoy it.
I made my first upload to this KZfaq channel twelve years ago, on October 13, 2006, with five short videos from a seminar I held in the Czech Republic. They were quite blurry, but still got a surprising amount of views. Here is the first one of them:
kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rMqDo85qrLynZ2g.html
Today it has c. 83,000 views, but most of them were back in the day, when there were not that many aikido videos on KZfaq. That has indeed changed. The record number of views so far is 480,000 for my Ikkyo complete video, also from October 2006:
kzfaq.info/get/bejne/idhxhrGjsc-bpX0.html
The total number of views on all my videos is 5,780,000. The ratio between likes and dislikes of the videos is mostly around 95%, and most comments are encouraging. The ones that are not usually have the same objection - that aikido doesn’t work in the streets or against this or that other martial art. For some reason, such comments are often quite aggressive, and none of them links to a video of their own showing how it should be done. So, I can live with that.
For the most part, though, making aikido videos has been a delight, as has the vast majority of the responses I have gotten. Many thanks for that! I will happily continue.
AIKIDO TECHNIQUES AGAINST PUNCHES
In basic aikido practice, the punches used are from karatedo. Mostly (if not just about always) it is oitsuki, which means that the same foot and arm advance in the punch (right and righ, or left and left). The opposite is gyakutsuki, where the opposing foot advances.
In the case of gyakutsuki, the difference in the attacker’s stance calls for some alterations of the steps in the aikido technique. Mostly they are minor, but enough to be practiced now and then.
Straight punches are most common, although for example hooks should really be practiced as well.
The tsuki is done with two targets: chudan (middle level, towards solar plexus) and jodan (high level, towards the face). Usually this makes little difference to the aikido technique, except for the entry move and its parry, also slightly in how the attacker’s arm is grabbed.
For tori (the defender) learning proper timing and execution of the aikido technique it is important that uke (the attacker) aims to hit if tori does not move out of the way. Of course, it should be done with care and adapted to the skill level of tori. Slow motion training is good to get familiar with the technique, before going full speed.
Be aware also of the timing needed: the aikido technique should begin before the attack is completed. Otherwise, uke may have time to retrieve the arm or follow up with a strike with the other hand.
I have also made a video on how to do the striking attacks, which can be found here:
kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hLaSjbCUrp_FaGw.html
I have written a book about attacks in aikido. See the link to it below.
Uke was Stephan Schröder: www.youtube.com/@stephanschroder7611
My aikido dojo is Enighet in Malmö, Sweden: www.aikidoenighet.se/
For more about aikido, visit my website:
www.stenudd.com/aikido/
My aikido books:
www.amazon.com/Aikido-Principles-Concepts-Peaceful-Martial/dp/1533142378/
www.amazon.com/Attacks-Aikido-Kogeki-Attack-Techniques/dp/1517305349/