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all we can do is try

Hi Yannyahn, we are located in Mount Ephraim, New Jersey. It is near Philadelphia.

Agree, this is not for beginners and please don't try at home or outside a training facility with experienced instructors.

James, it's a good question, really. This is a reversal demo which makes it more complicated but ignoring that for now. Our focus is to neutralize and disarm but not harm or kill so we don't try to use the knife back on the attacker. Sensei could have retained the knife but he discarded it for the demo and by the way retaining keeps the knife in play which is dangerous so throwing away may be safer for everyone. We use a standard and very effective common lock which you'll find in most arts. And, if the moral code of do no harm doesn't resonate, then consider that your defense could turn into manslaughter, attempted murder or worse pretty quickly. I appreciate the question and hopefully this response is something to consider.

Hi Ventura, thanks for the comment. We keep these videos short and sweet so we only focus on one quick situation. We train from lapel grabs too so I'll be sure to incorporate that into one of our upcoming video. I appreciate that perspective. Thanks!

LOL, they have no sense of humor there.....

Exactly, this was a demonstration of principles and techniques which may be helpful.

@@southjerseyaikido And it was done very well. Thank you!

you are correct we need to fix that!

We don't "spar" in the way you mean. I used to do tae kwon do and am used to contact sparring. The combination of the arts takes practice because the goals and philosophies of the arts aren't the same. The evasion movements we do in aikido were very helpful when I was doing tae kwon do because most of the instructors and students I practiced with were more accustomed to linear movements to set up strikes but not used to someone combining linear and circular movements in evasion so I would often being able to get behind them after they attempted to engage. (unfortunately the back of the head isn't a legal target in tae kwon do sparring...lol. but they were fascinated with the movement and we shared a lot concepts back and forth). What we do in aikido is practice randori or "free play" where we provide each other attacks with much greater speed and intent. Keep in mind that aikido is not meant as a sport art, it's meant as a self defense which means RESPONDING to someone ATTACKING you. That distinction is important to understand. Here's link to a short video to show you something more advanced that we do.... th-cam.com/video/MeNIbfW0r7M/w-d-xo.html

I appreciate the question. Hate to say it but it depends….on the attack, timing, training of the defender, etc. We train principles but show demos of some of the possibilities.

Thank you Diane!

No, kokyuho is a seiza (kneeling) exercise. This was an irimi nage backwards or sideways

We show both under and over arm grabs. So why not?

Hi Graeme, more effective often depends on the situation. Irimi is a tricky technique if the attacker has and retains the knife. So you would need to disarm before the throw or you might need to go down with the attacker to keep the arm trapped and switch to a pin. It's a good point and it depends!

I will add, one of the better kotegaeshi I have seen on TH-cam. To the most part aikidoka turn their backs fully on uke and then turn back which creates a motion in uke that invites a hook to the face. It is interesting to go back to the origins of the technique where samurai would locknswords at the wrist armour, the kote, one would let go with one hand, trap their opponents wrist and then drop. Hence kotegaeshi. Thank you. Kind regards.

@@Gking1971 Yes sir and thank you. We focus on conservative footwork and movement on that technique for that exact reason....great minds. and thanks again for your comments!

Haha, yes! We like to have fun!

Yes?

@@dmaturo1 for sure

I would say that I completely agree with you! We are using the bokken as a baseball bat in this case and we wanted to show both sides.

@@dmaturo1 why not use jo instead?

@@vano-559 Because the bokken is more similar in length and thickness to a baseball bat than the jo staff.

@@dmaturo1 the best illustration of technique against baseball bat is... technique against baseball bat :) If you need same size weapon hambo exists however no weapon even close to baseball bat wasn't created in Japan so I'm not sure how to substitute it.

@@vano-559 Exactly. We didn't have a baseball bat handy. But there is baseball in Japan so.... :-)

Would be difficult to do in hanmi handachi. Maybe you mean swari waza (both people on knees)?

@@dmaturo1 nope exactly in hanmi 'cause it's one of my basic techniques.

@@vano-559 hanmi handachi is when the attacker is standing and defender is in seiza, which I think you can do but would be more challenging. If you've done that, please send a video of you doing it. I'd love to see!

@@dmaturo1 can't send it now 'cause I forced to leave my country and have no ability to practice now however you could find this technique in every Daito-ryu school in sankajo set.

Hi Chris, thanks for your note and I'm glad that our videos help you in some way. We actually got another question about the waza here and Sensei Keith explains his thoughts about why this technique can be interpreted as aiki nage - kindly see the comments below. Hope that helps! Dave

Hi Vano, it may be more of a kokyu nage, especially given that it's a static grab. With a moving grab, it could then be more aiki. I appreciate the question and detail.

@@dmaturo1 if moving it's Aiki and if not it's Kokyu? Very interesting. So could be Aiki applied to someone who doesn't move?

@@vano-559 Hi Vano. I'll explain my reasoning on this. Aiki Nage and Kokyu Nage tend to be large "catch alls" for numerous nage waza (throwing technique). There are literally hundreds of different variations that don't have unique names. They can be related to the attack or simply the style of the Nage (one who throws). Aiki Nage is loosely defined as "harmony throw" and Kokyu Nage is "breath throw". The way I classify those two: I think of an Aiki Nage as any throw that extends and attackers energy and Kokyu Nage as any throw that turns the attackers energy back against itself. Other instructors might not agree with this assessment. You can find many conflicting videos on TH-cam where one instructor calls a throw an Aiki Nage and another calls the same the throw Kokyu Nage. For this technique the Uke has reached out to grab my label, his elbow out extended out away from his body and I'm extending his elbow around the circle of my one point as I turn and then draw it finally into me as I drop my weight. If the attacker had drawn me in close in a threatening manner where his elbow was drawn in against his body I wouldn't try this throw. Hope this answers your question.

@@keithkruger7270 I'm quite suspicious when 'Aiki' translated as 'harmony' and 'Kokyu' as 'breathing power' however it's common misunderstanding 'cause to me they have different meaning. Seems you follow common explanations of it but they have common weakness too. We could discuss it if you'd like.

@@vano-559 What are you "suspicious" of? I can only tell you my interpretation in regard to what I teach. That is how I interpret the use of those labels...as I said, other instructors might not agree with my interpretation but that is how I classify them in regards to labelling a technique. Again, hundreds of aikido throws and projections don't have unique names and some of those techniques you might only witness at a particular dojo or with a particular instructor.

Thanks for the note Vano. I see your point. This technique is more applied to the head. If applied to the neck it might not get the same head and body turn effect so we shoot more for the head/jaw area. There are few things going on which is why we used kokyunage, which I know could be general at times. I appreciate the comment! If you are local please stop by!

@@dmaturo1 thanks for invite however can't visit you 'cause of war in my country.

@@vano-559 So sorry to hear. The news has been terrible. My best to you and your family....stay safe sir.

@@dmaturo1 thank you sir, I do my best. We might meet some day. For now I could only propose to check our dojo channel related to Ueshiba Aikido. Look for daitoryuinua TH-cam channel.