Contact can be initiated, intercepted, or focused on the attacker’s intent. Initiating contact and intercepting the momentum and inertia of any attack— with the empty hand or a wooden weapon—can take place at several different references to space and time. Sen is the initiative taken after an opponent’s position is analyzed. Gono-sen means immediately counterattacking. Sen-nosen is taking the initiative and intercepting or counterattacking the opponent’s attack before the opponent has physically initiated it. Ultimately, this depends on subtle perceptions of minimal physical cues indicating the opponent’s intent, but it appears to happen on its own. The body detects and responds naturally and automatically. Once the intent of the attack is assessed, the action can be intercepted by initiating an attack in defense, as a counterattack to the attack, or simply in response to the intent to attack. Intercepting allows an attack to be redirected away from the intended point of impact. Contact in weapons training is not just weapon on weapon, or wood on wood; contact implies a connection, musubi,that allows intuitive as well as actual communication.
Contact can be initiated mentally and physically. Some will talk about the initial eye contact. Eye contact—the eyes being the window to the heart, mind, and soul of an individual—sets the stage and foretells the outcome for the rest of the encounter. Others suggest that contact can be made by means of an energy or kinesthetic sense, by just feeling the attacker’s presence and intent. Contact may be auditory, by hearing the attacker’s approach. Without contact, there is no attack or defense, and there is no aikido. O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba would instruct students not to focus their eyes on the weapon, for one can then easily be deceived. Rather look through your opponent’s eyes, using your peripheral vision and all the other senses to simply perceive and be aware, rather than focus. This is extremely important due to the extended range and potential danger of weapons training in aikido.
Once contact is established, it should be maintained in one fluid movement, throughout the execution of the technique, and even during the resolution of the encounter or attack. Initially, techniques are practiced in a step-by-step, systematic manner or pattern. This allows the practitioner to focus on the correct form at different stages of the technique’s execution. Eventually, the follow-through of one stage, or phase, naturally and fluidly follows the momentum and inertia into the next. This ongoing flowing execution is characteristic of aikido. The weapon of aikido never stops. Defense flows into offense that flows into defense. Never stopping, all weapons training techniques enter and blend into one motion.
The contours of the body, or weapon, provide a ready-made natural path from the extremity to the center of the body. Follow the contour. Following the contour allows one to stay in contact and maintain sensitivity throughout the execution of the technique. It also prevents one from working against the structural strengths of the body, and allows fluid, direct application of the concepts of aikido. As an attacker extends his arm and weapon, he provides a pathway by sliding his weapon along the contour to hit the target as a strike, atemi, or to provide leverage for a throw, nage, or for take-down and control.
The position that generates the most power is one that allows power to flow from behind and beneath. With the hands and weapon in front of the body, the hips or center moves forward from behind to generate and extend full body power. When stepping and turning tenkan, in a circular step, pull the rear hip back to generate more power than twisting or turning from the front. Rather than pushing a weapon down from above, allowing the weight to rest on the underside of the weapon utilizes the force and natural law of gravity to add power to the striking motion.
One of the unique characteristics of aikido movement and technique is the use of circular motion instead of a linear path. Following the natural laws of circular motion and force facilitates the availability and use of both centrifugal and centripetal force. Centrifugal force moves away from the center, and centripetal force moves toward the center. The circular path of aikido techniques pulls into the center using centripetal force, while those appendages on the circumference of the circle tend to move away from the center. While the center hub of the circle moves slowly, the outer rim or circumference moves faster. Pulling the butt end of the weapon into the center facilitates a faster and more powerful motion on the end of the weapon when it follows a circular path.
Along with circular motion is the range of motion as the circle of power. Every weapon has a specific range of motion and power. The closer to the center of that circular range of motion, the less power there is. Likewise, an attack loses power beyond the circumference of the circular path of power, or beyond the attacking limb’s range of motion.
Movement in aikido makes full use of the natural laws of momentum and inertia. Momentum is the property of a moving body or weapon, a constant force exerted by virtue of its mass weight and velocity, until it comes to rest. The momentum of the weapon allows it to continue its path along the line of attack with optimal force toward a specific point of intended impact and damage. The law of inertia states that something in motion tends to stay in motion, and something at rest tends to stay at rest. This accounts for the dynamic—versus static or stationary—ease with which aikido practitioners move, throw, and even pin larger, more powerful, opponents.
Do only that which adds to, and is necessary for, successful execution of an aikido technique. Minimize any motion. Relaxation minimizes tension and maximizes fluidity of motion and responsiveness. In throwing an individual, it is often enough to break his balance and allow him to fall. In the application of a joint lock, just enough pressure to gain compliance and submission is enough, without the necessity of inflicting pain or doing damage. It is natural initially to feel tense while training with aikido weapons. Eventually, with honest and genuine training, one remains relaxed while being attacked by or attacking with the wooden weapons of aikido.
The technical execution, application, and utilization of leverage and pivot points greatly enhance the power of aikido. Leverage generates more power by using a fulcrum type of pressure to move an object with less effort than if force were applied directly to the object. A slight movement at one end of a weapon can produce a large impact at the other end.
The technical execution and application of the wave motion is to move up-down-up, down-up-down, in-out-in, out-in-out, forward-back-forward, or back-forward-back. The movement takes into account the resistance offered to an initial move, accepts it until the resistance is released, and then immediately reapplies the directional intention to the now emptied and open pathway.
SEQUENTIAL EXECUTION
There are four sequential stages of aikido technique execution: (1) enter and blend, (2) redirect and unbalance, (3) throw or control, and (4) let go and move away.
The first stage, enter and blend, applies to the utilization of weapons. Entering means to move toward, and in synchronization with, another. Blending means to become one and move as a unit rather than as two individuals. When attacked by a weapon, rather than retreat, an aikido practitioner allows the attack to continue on its attack line without resistance, while stepping off the attack line and entering or bridging the distance to the attacker.
The second stage is to redirect the attack and unbalance the attacker. Blending with an attack often includes just not being at the point of intended impact. Extending past the point of intended impact reduces the power and control exerted by the strike. As one blends with the strike, one begins to take control and redirect it. Usually following a circular path, this redirection continues towards a kuzushi, or until the momentum and inertia create unbalance. An unbalanced opponent or attacker is easiest to handle. He will follow the redirection in an attempt to regain balance. The principle of redirect and unbalance applies to facing any opponent, with or without a weapon.
The third stage is to throw or control the attacker. While many people do not immediately think of weapons as instruments for throwing an attacker or applying a control technique, they