January Practice Theme – Uke Awareness

Following are instructor comments about the theme for the month—how uke, the partner who receives the neutralization in the encounter, needs to move. Some points are repeated. This will give you a sense of how important they are for Aikido practice.

• Aikido is a martial art; be aware that when attacking you attack with sincerity and awareness of your body. If you attack and are unaware of how you are moving, then you are not protecting yourself with your ukemi.  Basic principles of hips down, hard attack, soft follow are all about awareness.
• Keep on being the attacker right through the technique, don't just give up at any point, face nage, protect yourself, keep alert.
• Staying connected is a big part of being aware as uke, especially through ukemi. Uke maximizes his/her own safety by following in and constantly entering. Be aware of where atemi can occur: protect yourself as uke and stay connected at the same time.
• Give a good attack.  During the takedown, throw or pin, still stay aware whether tapping out or rolling. Maintain the connection with nage.
• Keep focus: uke maintains control of their own movements all the way through the technique. This provides a safer practice as well as allowing uke to feel openings—places where they can regain their balance, for possible kaeshiwaza.
• Aikido is training both as uke and nage, so as a bare minimum uke being aware allows a better understanding of how the technique is built.
• Uke can learn more about why a technique "works" by being aware of what is going on—many of the techniques we practice only work because uke is continuing to attack.
• Awareness leads to better understanding of henkawaza and kaeshiwaza.
• Awareness means a safer environment for both uke and nage: Being aware will help nage learn the technique as well, since an aware uke will be in the right place at the right time and (for advanced students) be able to communicate where the holes are in nage's technique.