Video of aikido techniques against full resistance

[Tony Dismukes]

So what you are saying is that to get working aikido take a sumo lesson?

I thought that I had commented in this thread, but it must have been another discussion.

I'd say that Sumo competition is actually an ideal opportunity for testing and applying Aiki principles. The reason is that Sumo incentivizes charging and attacking with 100% commitment. (Including attacks that would be considered overcommitted in other contexts.) This is because you can win a match in seconds by blasting your opponent out of the relatively small ring before they can respond.

This full-body commitment of forward energy gives the other wrestler opportunities to blend with the charge, evade, and send the charging wrestler flying. But only if it's done with perfect awareness, timing, and balance. Otherwise the wrestler who is moving forward can just adjust their trajectory and easily overwhelm the wrestler who is trying to evade.

In most other forms of grappling (Judo, BJJ, wrestling, etc) competitors will not usually give that degree of forward commitment and so will not offer the same opportunities for displaying pure Aiki blending.

 

[O'Malley]

I thought that I had commented in this thread, but it must have been another discussion.

I'd say that Sumo competition is actually an ideal opportunity for testing and applying Aiki principles. The reason is that Sumo incentivizes charging and attacking with 100% commitment. (Including attacks that would be considered overcommitted in other contexts.) This is because you can win a match in seconds by blasting your opponent out of the relatively small ring before they can respond.

This full-body commitment of forward energy gives the other wrestler opportunities to blend with the charge, evade, and send the charging wrestler flying. But only if it's done with perfect awareness, timing, and balance. Otherwise the wrestler who is moving forward can just adjust their trajectory and easily overwhelm the wrestler who is trying to evade.

In most other forms of grappling (Judo, BJJ, wrestling, etc) competitors will not usually give that degree of forward commitment and so will not offer the same opportunities for displaying pure Aiki blending.

I think sumo is indeed suitable, but not for the reason you mention.

Sumo would work to train aikido techniques because a lot of them are already there, and they fit within the ruleset (as opposed to, say, sacrifice throws which would make you lose). Aikido techniques typically keep your hips (therefore your belt) away from your opponent's grubby hands, and let you stand on both feet to move around in a small space while keeping your balance.

That being said, I wouldn't say that it trains "aiki principles" as I understand them. Relying exclusively on overcommitment is not realistic and that's why people can't make their aikido work. Even in sumo, the other guy is not always going full throttle forward, because he's trying to beat you at that game too. That's why judoka work on setting up overcommitments for them to exploit.

The princple of "aiki" is about pivoting the contact point so that the pushing force applied by the opponent goes around it and back into his space. It makes you feel weightless, soft and "sticky".

"Ju" (as in "judo") = when pushed, pull, and when pulled, push.

"Aiki" = when pushed, turn, and when pulled, enter.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

It might be better to look at something similar that people can relate to...

In Taiji, we speak of the Transparent Body. Rickson Gracie speaks of Invisible Jiu-Jitsu.


In the Taiji line of Wang Yongquan, the transparent body is a body so empty, so free of resistance,
that force passes through it as if it isn’t there.

It’s not about disappearing. It’s about becoming undefinable.
There’s nothing to grab. Nothing to clash with. You’re present, but without edges.

Rickson Gracie doesn’t use the same words,
but he uses the same principle in his “invisible Jiu-Jitsu.” He doesn’t fight force, he absorbs it.
He doesn’t oppose your structure, he slips through it.

“If my opponent uses strength, I use relaxation. If he uses speed, I use timing.”
Rickson Gracie

Both arts listen before they move.
Both do more with less.
Both find control not in domination,
but in alignment, sensitivity, and timing.

Taiji empties to neutralize.
BJJ empties to submit.

Aikido's Aiki, and Invisible Jiu-Jitsu share many physical and strategic parallels with Taiji,
they do not operate with the same underlying framework of intent (意 / yì) and qi (氣).

It's different.

This means that while we can see similarities, we cannot really talk about the underlying principles without agreeing on the same theory by which they are employed.

This was a very well articulated post.