​By Dr. Paul Williams, PT, DPT

​I recently taught a 20-minute class on kaeshi-waza (reverse technique) at Takemusu Aikido Association’s Shidoin training course. It’s a difficult topic to teach. Precisely due to the fact that one can’t talk about or teach kaeshi-waza without also teaching proper ukemi. To do so would be like putting your socks on after your shoes.

So, there I was teaching a class on an advanced technique in front of two senseis, Hoa Newens Sensei and Hans Goto Sensei. Who together have over 100 years of aikido experience and everyone else watching is a 4th dan or above. I felt that I had to bring something new to the table.

In my panic, I reached into my physical therapy bag and pulled out my central themes. First, was the importance of constructive resistance from uke and the healing benefits of eccentric contraction. Then I juxtaposed how important this kind of training is when applying reversal techniques. I’ll talk about this in more detail later but for now please humor me on an intro to terminology in the next few paragraphs.

For those that never heard the word, ukemi translated from Japanese is the “receive-body”. (1) In Japanese martial arts, the uke is the one who receives the technique from the nage after attacking them. So, nage, as you might have already gathered, is the person performing the technique.

In aikido there is a very unique relationship between uke and nage. This relationship has many complexities and differing levels of application. What most people are familiar with are aikido demonstrations where nage is throwing uke around a mat effortlessly in a display of impressive acrobatic collaboration. This would be called embu which is strictly translated as “performance-military”. (1) In the context of aikido, embu is really a demonstration which is usually in front of a crowd like the annual All Japan Aikido Demonstration in Tokyo.

However, in some styles of aikido this is only one aspect of training and one form of ukemi. In the above example of ukemi, it is uke’s job to move with nage and respond in a way that allows for the uninterrupted flow of the technique. In day to day training, there is another facet to ukemi that differs from the above example. It involves uke providing nage constructive resistance.

“In this form of training, the attacker is allowed to get a rigid grip on the defender before the defender begins the defensive technique. This is training to the hilt, because the defender must overcome the entire power of the attacker, who knows in advance which technique the defender is going to use.” (2)-David Alexander Sensei

When writing this quote, I am reminded of a story told about Rickson Gracie who is arguably the greatest Gracie of the martial arts family. He would go visit other schools to teach and allow his opponents to get him in an arm bar or rear naked choke. Then the sparring would start. He laid waste to every one of them or so the story goes.
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This training is much like constructive resistance. The uke is allowed to grab hold of you as hard as you can handle and then you must use proper technique with breath power (kokyu ryoku) to execute. (1) The biggest difference is that, in order to maintain harmony, the uke should not stop you. Below is a sign posted by Morihiro Saito Sensei in the Ibaraki Dojo in Iwama, Japan which clearly states the concern he had for this practice getting too out of hand. This was to prevent a sparring situation. Some of his students were even kicked out of the dojo temporarily for not following this important rule.

​Some may say that since you only use a hard grab or attack initially but then allow the nage to do the technique then what is the point? Aren’t you only colluding with your partner after the attack just like we see in aikido demonstrations? This is a good question and it highlights the ignorance of the primary role of ukemi as I see it.

Ukemi is to build the body. If I take ukemi passively this cannot happen. Conversely, if I resist you and stop your technique then this not only feeds my ego but does nothing to strengthen myself and my partner.

“The proper level of resistance is such that a trainee is able to complete a technique with great difficulty. This is also extremely good physical exercise, straining many muscles of the body.” (3)  – David Alexander Sensei

This is my point exactly! In fact, this type of training is incredibly beneficial but more so for the uke than for the person doing the technique. That’s right! Uke gets most of the benefit due to what we know in physical therapy as eccentric contraction (muscle elongation).

You see, when you receive a technique with constructive resistance you are slowly elongating your muscle fibers and tendons against an outside force’s influence on your body’s joints. In physical therapy, we emphasize this contraction a bit more so than concentric contraction (muscle shortening). Reason being that research and decades of clinical knowledge have convincingly shown that eccentric contraction versus concentric contraction is better as a therapeutic exercise. 

​If you are having a difficult time understanding the difference, refer to the above illustration. When you are doing a biceps curl there are two actions being done at the biceps. One is shortening (concentric) which is represented in (b). The other is elongation (eccentric) as shown in (c).

To relate it to an aikido technique, imagine receiving nikkyo. As nage applies the wrist lock, uke slowly receives the energy via stretching the lateral wrist structures. This is a great work out that strengthens the tendons and muscle fibers not just in the wrist but also every joint down the kinetic chain to the feet if that energy is received properly throughout the whole body.

​The term, constructive resistance, has often been the common nomenclature in Iwama style aikido for a long time. It has chiefly been seen as a way to correct nage’s technique. I believe it has an even deeper meaning than previously thought.

This training has been understood to be beneficial primarily for nage to perform the technique correctly. Yet, when we slowly resist techniques by maintaining our bodies structure and keep our bodies alive by absorbing our partners energy, we are doing far more than benefiting our partner. We are benefiting ourselves. We are building and strengthening our bodies in a way that increases resiliency, accelerates healing, and improves flexibility. 

Research has shown that eccentric contraction can reduce rates of injury. In a study that looked at two groups of elite soccer players, one group performed eccentric hamstring exercises and the control group implemented their regular training. After 10 weeks, the eccentric exercise group had significantly fewer hamstring injuries 3/15 compared to the control group 10/15 that did the regular exercises. They also demonstrated statistically significant increases in strength and speed. (4)

Strengthening is another benefit of this exercise. A meta-analysis of eccentric versus concentric exercises showed a number of surprising results. One is that eccentric training is more effective at increasing total strength when compared to concentric training. It is also more efficient at a metabolic level requiring less oxygen in the muscles and tendons. Therefore, eccentric training produces less fatigue with the same work. (5)

If one has a tendon injury and comes to an outpatient physical therapy clinic, you can bet your month’s salary that they’ll be getting a regimen of therapeutic exercises that involve eccentric contraction. It’s not only beneficial for tendon healing but it has also been found to reduce pain, improve range of motion, and reduce stiffness. (6)

In a nutshell, this kind of contraction is good for repairing tendons, building muscle mass, and preventing injuries. Hence, constructive resistance in ukemi is in fact not just for improving nage’s technique. It is a necessary practice to build our bodies for the high demands that aikido training requires.

“Ukemi is, when done properly, always an implicit counter. The best ukemi puts the uke in the position to reverse the ‘attack’ of the nage.” (7) – Ellis Amdur

“There is Kaeshi-waza for every technique. But Kaeshi-waza is too dangerous for the beginner. Perfect command of authentic basics and constant harmony with your partner’s movements are the indispensable prerequisites to untrammeled Kaeshi-waza performance. In other words, Kaeshi-waza is a sophisticated art by itself.” (8) – Morihiro Saito Shihan

Kaeshi-waza is translated as reversal technique. (1)  In my opinion, it is one of the highest levels of training in aikido for uke. Unfortunately, I find that this level of aikido is not being passed on to the next generation as it once was. This may be due to what ukemi has become in many circles.

Instead of using ukemi to build up one’s body, it has become a way of passively taking what nage has to offer. Some even see the definition of ukemi as “falling”, “breakfall”, or just “taking it” versus its efficacious meaning as a “receiving body”. Ukemi becomes purely an aerobic activity and any resistance is shunned. On the flip side, in other aikido circles, ukemi has become a competition of egos to see who is strongest. Again, this is a misunderstanding of what “receiving body” means in its utility.

I don’t believe helpful ukemi exists at either end of this spectrum. To properly practice kaeshi-waza one needs to be in the middle somewhere. Without using constructive resistance to slowly move through a technique, one would have a difficult time understanding where the openings in a technique exist.

From beginning to end, there are minimally three points where one could reverse any technique. Staying connected to your partner through each stage of the technique is a must at this level of training. Always maintaining balance and structure as a technique is being performed on you is the pinnacle of ukemi.

With all that said, I felt it was my obligation when teaching the kaeshi-waza class to make a distinction between receiving versus taking a technique. The reason being that the reversal I taught was at the last opportune moment before the shoulder would be pinned against the ground in shomenuchi ikkyo omote waza. Without emphasizing constructive resistance, uke may well miss the opportunity to reverse the technique at the appropriate time. It was an added bonus and the inspiration for this article to be able to teach the therapeutic benefits of constructive resistance.

I hope that this article helps anyone looking for another tool in their training toolbox. Plus, my intent was to help clarify any misunderstandings of this kind of vital aikido practice. Making value judgements in this context is very difficult not to do. I am aware that not everyone and perhaps most do not train in aikido this way. For some it may even be antithetical to how they’ve been taught ukemi. My aim of this article was to provide another perspective and discuss the inherent benefits to constructive resistance. Receive it as you’d like. Happy training!



Bibliography
1. J. Hacker, Michael. The Language of Aikido:A Practitioners Guide to Japanese Characters and Terminology. 2017.
2. Alexander, David. Offensive Technique in Aikido. Iwama Aikido: As taught in Iwama, Japan. [Online] http://www.iwama-aikido.com/articles/offense.html.
3. Alexander, David Sensei. Constructive and counterproductive use of resistance in aikido training. Traditional Aikido: As taught in Iwama, Japan. [Online] http://www.iwama-aikido.com/articles/resist.html.
4. Hamstring injury occurrence in elite soccer players after preseason strength training with eccentric overload. . Askling, C, Karlsson, J and Thorstensson, A. 2003, Scand J Med Sci Sports, pp. 244-250.
5. The effects of eccentric versus concentric resistance training on muscle strength and mass in healthy adults: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Roig, M, et al. Vancouver : British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2009, British Journal of Sports Medicine, pp. 556-568.
6. The Role and Implementation of Eccenctric Training in Athletic Rehabilitation: Tendinopathy, Hamstring Strains, and ACL Reconstruction. Lorenz, Daniel and Reiman, Michael. 2011, The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, p. 27.
7. Amdur, Ellis. Hidden in Plain Sight: Esoteric Power Training Within Japanese Martial Traditions. Tracing the Roots of Morihei’s Power. . s.l. : Freelance Academy Press, 2018.
8. Saito, Morihiro. Traditional Aikido: Sword, Stick, and Body Arts Volume 4. Tokyo : Minato Research and Publishing Co., LTD., 1974.