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Unless otherwise stated, the author’s views, musings, and opinions do not necessarily reflect the attitude of leadership within any of the various Nihon Goshin Aikido associations, or unaffiliated Nihon Goshin Aikido dojos.
5 January 2017
Inside This Edition:
- New Year’s Resolutions ~ Resolving to Change the Things You Want to Change
- Aikido Applications in the UFC ~ Here’s One!
- Aikido from Scratch to Perfection: The Video
- Real Fight Breakdown ~ Mugger’s Throw Devastation
Greetings Nihon Goshin Aikidokai:
Happy New Year! 2017 ~ What will it bring you? What will you do to make 2017 better than 2016?
My 2017 New Year’s Resolutions
A. Continue pursuing excellence in Nihon Goshin Aikido. This would include several components:
- I want to increase my understanding of Classical Technique, as well as broaden my potential Applications of Technique and deepen my understanding of Aikido Principles of Movement.
- Explore and Ingest New Nihon Goshin Aikido Discoveries. I have had several recent “mind blowing” realizations in my aikido training that have increased my proficiency, and I hope to cement these ideas into my standard operation procedure.
- I want to model better and better ukemi for younger students. My experience has been that newer students “like” to see advanced ukemi when they are nage. It also helps me get better at ukemi.
B. Earn Gracie Combatives Blue Belt. I’ve been on the 12 year plan, but I’m getting closer. Test preparation needs to get serious.
C. Compete in the Crossfit Open. I have no aim or goal other than to compete in the Open Qualifiers and not die in the process.
A few years ago, I wrote an article titled, “How to Make a Really Good New Year’s Resolution.” The link is here if you would like to read it.
Aikido Inside the Octagon
So you always hear people say, “Aikido would never work in the Octagon” The people who say this somehow believe that because the uke does not take “aikido ukemi in MMA or in the street as the technique is applied, that the technique doesn’t work.” This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of ukemi, and the powerful nature of the techniques in Aikido. Here’s an complete breakdown dissecting an aikido joint lock working perfectly well in the Octagon. See Video to the left.
Aikido from Scratch to Perfection: The Video
So, after devouring my copy of the book “Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere” for months in my early training, I became a youtube Aikido junkie.
I would spend hours watching videos, and hours taking notes. Sensei Carter could testify to my numerous sleepless aikido nights ~ as I often sent him extensive emails (typed late into the night) wondering about techniques, training, ukemi, transitions, associations, etc.
In that early period of my training, I distinctly remember coming across Sensei MacEwen’s “Aikido from Scratch to Perfection,” video on youtube and thinking “Hey they’re doing Nihon Goshin Aikido!” The uniform patches are a dead give away! I love them for that reason.
A couple of observations about the video, and why you should make it a point to watch Aikido from Scratch to Perfection” regularly.
Observation #1. The video serves to outline or to highlight some very common applications of Nihon Goshin Aikido Techniques. The covered applications are extremely well documented.
Observation #2. This is one of the few Nihon Goshin Aikido videos on the web that demonstrates transitions between Applications of technique. This is the facet of the video that originally intrigued me.
As a yellow belt, the idea that you could “string” techniques together was a very new concept. I can remember one of the Sho-Dans in the dojo doing the First Wrist Technique to me (causing me to tap), and then immediately transitioning to an Arm Bar Pin. I asked him, “What technique was that?”
He laughed, and said something like, “There were no new techniques, I just put them together to form a series. Think about it like ‘chopping down a tree.’ Sometimes you have to be prepared to hit that tree a few times.” Aikido from Scratch to Perfection highlights that same mentality.
Some of my favorite parts of the video are
1. The Pivot Take Down => Unbendable Arm => Elbow Strike transition at 29:00.
2. Jacket Grab => Reverse Wrist => Front Kick => Front Wrist Throw at 44:44
3. Spin Around at 47:42 (Note how Sensei MacEwen immediately reorients to uke after the technique. Other styles do not do that, or at least as deliberately).
4. Club Techniques: All of them are great , but my favorite is probably the First Wrist Technique => Come Along Throw at 48:30
Real Fight Breakdowns
This momma has had enough foolishness and destroys her 3rd world country man. Dang! She needs a time out!
Actually I “nearly” have some experience with this same throw. When I was a lowly white belt, I was reviewing techniques with my “Aikido Mother” ~ Maxine Henry. Who is a sho-dan in the art, and half my size. I was paired up with her often, and was always mesmerized by her ability to throw my rear end all over the mat ~ at will and without effort.
One one occasion, she did this exact throw to me. As I was going “over the falls,” and seeing the mats approach my head at light speed, I remember thinking “this will not end well.”
Then with the acute precision she often demonstrated, and with my head just inches from the mat, she pulled me through, and I landed safely on my back instead of on my head.
I have told that story to new students working on their Mugger’s Throw often. Please accept my apologies if I have previously told that story in this venue, but it was an awesome throw.
Alright, well, I think that does it for the January edition of the newsletter. Keep in mind that we website is choking with material in addition to the archived newsletters.
I have included a few links to get you going.
Randori Headquarters: A Nihon Goshin Aikido Randori Tutorial
Ukemi Central: Uke Counters and Uke Push Back
Principles of Movement ~ Tenshin: A Whole New Way to Unbalance Uke
Testing for Rank: Sho-Dan Attack Line Examples
Real Fight Breakdowns: Spin Around Smack Down!
Let’s meet together on the mat, and soon!
All the best,
Jonathan Wilson
Ngexperience.com
Inside Nihon Goshin Aikido ~ #46
Sensei MacEwen’s “Aikido from Scratch to Perfection” is an awesome video.
The Classic Lines of the Nihon Goshin Aikido training gi are unmistakable.
- White Gi
- “Ai” patch on the right breast
- “Ki” patch on the left breast
- Association patch on the right shoulder.
- Applicable belt (white, yellow, blue, green, purple, brown, black),
- Black hakama (worn only by those who have achieved a black belt in Nihon Goshin Aikido)
Some things simply never change. The student/ instructor uniform should be one of those things. This uniform marks a connection all the way back to the Chitose dojo, and should be preserved.
These are not the Ki techniques you are
looking for.
Interesting Pull Down From the Rear Application at 44 seconds in this video.
An up and coming student in our dojo (Will Robinson ~ remember the name) has a GoPro. Here are a few attacks with it.
Does anyone recognize this guy?
He cycles through about 5 NGA Joint Locking Applications
Wondering if he trains or was ever trained in our style.
Nihon Goshin Aikido Applications in the Octagon!
(Turn Volume Up)
Enough of the foolishness! Momma needs a time out!
Blistering Muggers Throw Mayhem Here