Square on Aikido versus Tai sabaki Aikido

I think that as far as I'm concerned there is two types of aikido square on aikido and tai sabaki aikido.  square on is related to Judo.  The tai sabaki aikido assumes you are dealling with an attacker who attacks at a certain distance and wishes to remain at that distance.  Anyway, the thing we call the walking kata had its origins with Tai sabaki, with getting out of the way, and generating ideas from how you got out of the way.  But it got changed to the point where its hard to see what it relates to. 

I came to a conclusion a few months back that Judo had a lot of Influence on my particular branch of Tomiki Aikido.  I can look at a lot of standardized Shodokan and compare back to what I've been taught and its getting crystal clear.  Most of my bitching and complaining comes from my technical frustration with trying to figure out the best way for me to do things,  the rationale behind the things that I've been messing with, and practical applications, and what kind of philosophy or mindset lies behind the techniques as they have been passed down the line. 

Every year because of my job, I have to take a 3 month semi-sabbatical, from Aikido so I do more thinking about it than practice.  What I have to do is a lot of  walking kata in the kitchen to get my physical activity in.  So to get anything out of it I have to do it like Tomiki did it, instead of slower more thoughtful approach you get in class.  It was by doing these movements over and over and essentially posed the question to question to my self, " Why am I doing this, what in the hell is this for?" 

The answers were out there and dipshit obvious.  But because I never practiced the movements in the original intent of the movement they still made little sense to me.  I'd say that the shodokan folks that happen on this particular blog might think I'm an ignorant hick for not knowing this, but I think they are subject to a lot of the same tunnel vision, I gotta do this to make my next rank, meta randori thinking that everybody else does.  Everybody is subject to looking at things so hard that they fail to notice that they've stuck their head up their own ass. 

Here is a clip that I have studied a lot.  Its basically a walk through of the whole Tomiki System.  I have heard stories that folks in my branch had studied Tomiki Aikido for maybe 15 years or more before they even laid eyes on this film.  The main question is where in the hell is the Kuzushi?  And that Tomiki is doing it all wrong.  About 97 percent of the folks in my line of Tomiki dont even recognize this clip as a point of discussion or reference.  It is an apple, and we like oranges. 

Another influence on my suspicions and notions is watching  Classical Jodo.  At the same time, I was wondering what in the hell the walking kata was for, I was seeing the same kinds of footwork principles, and evasion principles in the Shodokan line, and in the Unsoku steps, as I was in  Classical Jodo.  I was beginning to wonder why I didnt move like that in Aikido.  Seeing as I spend four months out of the year doing that in the kitchen or in backyard.

Then I started actually studying what I could about the Japanese Shodokan System.  I bought Nariyamas Aikido Randori, and I spent a chunk getting a copy of Aikido: Tradition and the Competitive Edge By Shishida and Nariyama.  I figured that I'd read a lot of hard headed stuff, this based on the fact that nearly every Nariyama Demostration shows him plowing into a very limber and resilient college kid.  But what you get between the Technical details, is a discussion of principle and rationale behind the system. 

Here's my Friend Nick showing the possibilities on Gyaku gamae ate.

Essentially the difference is in the purpose and original intent of the Unsoku.  The Unsoku is hard wired into principles of maai, evasion, and kuzushi, its tai sabaki based.   My line of Tomiki Aikido assumes a square on relationship between Tori and Uke( a judo mentality), the thing that changes this square on relationship is something Ive written about before is the cross arm offbalance. and the Unsoku steps are kinda, sorta irrelevant. 

This is why I say my line is Judo Influenced, because Japanese Shodokan will use a side step to get offline.  They dont look to change the direction of the attack through an offbalance. 

Here's another guy who seems to be on the same Judo based square on mentality wavelength. You can see his balance breaking ideas as well. 

The Japanese versions are  literally Atemi waza that have been made safe as possible for Randori.  The concept is that you hit a guy and he falls in one blow coming from one direction.  Unlike a hard strike in Karate where all your power is expended.  In Aikido you apply soft atemi with your whole body in order to conserve your energy.  You usually hit a guy with the softer parts of your arm/hand and try to fit in as far as possible for safety. Before Tomiki, Shomenate was seen as a technique that you use when confronted with many opponents.  Watch any Gozo Shioda clip and you will see it. 

The Japanese concept of Kuzushi is different on Atemi Waza.   They see balance breaking as an effect of the motion of applying atemi waza.  That certain folks will either back up, or flinch away from(thereby fitting into) the technique.  They are done with the notion that you are trying to hit the guy regardless of whether you broke his balance, but they depend on a spinelock to get the throw. 

 Here is Nariyama showing this kind of Atemi waza.  But there are Japanese teachers who teach the possibilities of slight balance breaks in these Techniques. But the common thread is vacating space and creating a lane for movement to apply the technique.  These are not done with a square on mentality where you have to veer a persons center away from you. 

My point on this is that the unsoku steps are very connected to opening lanes of movement for the techniques. Aigamae Ate depends on an open lane where you have stepping room outside of his feet.  The side steps are initial evasions that assume a certain timing in the technique but they also open up a lane. 

Heres a gal who has a lot of interesting shodokan clips on the web that shows the lane opening ideas.  Also notice the front and back steps.  Those are maai concepts.  Basically stand far enough away to where you are safe but be able to effect things with one step.  The back step gets safety back but allows a step forward.  Tomiki said you need to have a footspan between your front and back foot.  Basically this is the space you put a foot in to exert maai.  

  

The back step offers a certain type of kuzushi which is Jodan Kuzushi (yon kata 1-2).  The side steps offer the lane of movement that is needed for chudan kuzushi 1st/3rd release.  The turning corner steps offer Gedan kuzushi 2nd/4th release.  They also inform what atemi waza are available. The principle being hit with the nearest hand.

Another thing is that there are 19 basic techniques in the Tomiki Curriculum.  5 Atemi, 6 Hiji, and 8 tekubi.  Uki waza are not covered until randori no kata/ junanahon.   Principle wise everything starts with Atemi because Aikido starts from a separated state. The rationale on joint techniques is restraining an attacking arm from attacking again.  So the primary lesson is basically positioning and footwork that gives you the most leverage for restraint.  Kuzushi is always great, but thats not what is covered in the Kihon. 

The 17 kata has been called kihon, but its really made for randori.  The techniques that couldnt be modified for safety were not put into the 17.  And interesting enough 3 uki waza are included.  The Nariyama book claims that these are adapted Judo techniques,  I always wondered about this because I have seen other Aikido schools do mae and sumi otoshi. 

My basic take on these being classified as techniques from Judo is basically that you can't train Judo out of people.  Once you develop a motor pattern that makes sense and works for you its hard not to go back to it.  In fact it becomes impossible.  I figure this is why my Branch of Tomiki never got into the  competititive Randori side of things.  Because a Judo player is basically going to have to restrain himself from doing what comes naturally.  He's going to be in a constant state of crap I cant do this, and pronounce the whole process as being lame.  These techniques were basically there to allow folks who had a Judo sensitivity to play aikido.  Its my theory so I'm probably wrong.   

The main thread in the Uki waza is that they transiton from a square on position into a throw and like i said, judo is pretty much square on.

Mae otoshi is supposed to be related to  a thing called tai otoshi.  What I see is a guy with his arm extended out. Its almost like mae otoshi is taught from the stand point of: think  Tai Otoshi and then switch hands and step to the outside. When he recovers throw his ass with mae otoshi 

I'm not a judo guy so Im probably catastrophically wrong. 

I'm sure some one will mention something about its related to feet or something, but out the standard 17( not the Geis line 17) these techniques seem to originate square on. Shiho nage starts outside in the standard 17 almost with the feeling of cutting across the center instead of starting square on/

How would you throw a judo player a bone with Aikido Randori?   

sumi otoshi is an easy stretch and you can see the relation to Uki otoshi in combination. But really all these techniques are related to te waza in judo. And Te waza is probably to closest intersection between aikido and judo.

Heres a Hakama dude and his sumi otoshi.  It looks better that I could ever do, but hes probably clueless on what to do if it doesnt work. Thank you Tomiki and Kano. 






anyway, the randori kata does deal with square on ideas from judo.  The nature of competitive randori allows it.  Like everything else, I may be talking out of my ass, but I think the rules on tanto stabs are that your hips have to move through space to be legal.  That is why they sit there and dance around square on so much looking like to judo players with a judo phobia. But There are folks out there looking at taking the judo phobia dance out of Toshu Randori by using a 3 second square on rule.


Anyway, there are pretty much two types of aikido the square on aikido versus Tai sabaki aikido.  Square on wants to veer off and deflect the other guys center, while the other lets the guys center go where it wants and creates a lane of movement to the side.  tai sabaki makes the walking kata make sense so I like it better.