Aikido is a new type of martial art. Its stress lies on the balanced fusion of body and mind with the natural laws of Nature. Aikido focuses on accepting and respecting the energy of life and nature and channeling this harmony onto techniques that expresses this energy in physical forms.
Aikido is commonly viewed as more of a defensive martial art since its methods and teachings are made for you to avoid or get out of difficulty. To the contrary, Aikido's systems are terribly forceful and effective.
Basically, there are four levels of technique in Aikido training. These are the katai which refers to the basic training and is intended to build the foundation of body movements and breathing; the yawarakai trains the defendant to deflect attacks and fuse movements to take control of the attacker or situation; the ki-no-nagare which involves training the defendant to defend or counter attack by merging his movement with the attacker even before the latter makes contact; and the ki which is the downright Aikido strategy and involves building a link of ki or spirit from the defender to the assailant.
When coaching for Aikido, you want a sparring partner. The uke and the nage. The Uke is the initiator of the assault and receives the Aikido methodologies, while the Nage is the defender and the one that neutralises the assault.
Aikido basic techniques include ikky which involves control an attacker by placing one hand on the elbow and one on near the wrist giving an opportunity to throw the attacker to the ground; the niky which draws in the uke using a wristlock and twists the arm while applying painful nerve pressure; sanky which is a revolving method directed at trying an arching stress on the entire arm including the elbow and shoulder; yonky a shoulder control method with both hands gripping the forearm; goky is another alternative of ikky whereby the hand gripping the wrist is reversed and is reasonably handy in weapon take-aways; shihnage or the four-direction throw; kotegaeshi or wrist return which involves a wristlock-throw that stretches the extensor digitorum; kokynage also known as breath throws or timing throws; iriminage or entering-body throws which resembles a â
