Ukemi’s Shadow

By Paul Williams

​It’s a wonderful thing to be back on the mat again attending seminars! Recently, I had my first official seminar since the pandemic turned endemic thanks to the incredible efficacy of the vaccines. Training in seminars again is an amazing thing for an aikidoka. For the last 2’ish years we’ve been restricted to Zoom classes, outdoor weapons training, or, if you were lucky, training with your tiny COVID pod in person.
 
With the reality of more aikido seminars on our schedule, we need to realize we are going to train with different people from different styles on the mat. Meaning, we are going to experience ukemi on a spectrum that I think covers most ukemi. At one end of the spectrum, we have Aiki Accommodation Syndrome (AAS) and at the other end we will experience Hypervigilant Katai Syndrome (HKS).
 
AAS is the form of ukemi on one extreme end of the ukemi spectrum that comes from a long history of aikido where uke over exaggerates nage’s effect on themselves. This term was coined originally by Ellis Amdur Sensei in his book “Dueling with O-Sensei” and was used to describe his experience with taking ukemi in Hombu dojo from Yamaguchi Sensei.
 
“So what was it like, taking ukemi from this man? It was for me, exemplar of what I’ve called ‘aiki accommodation syndrome’. At the moment of contact, you were expected to relax, and then he’d throw you. You were not to clamp down and resist him (he could deal with it – but it angered him), and you definitely were not allowed to attempt to ground or in any way try to absorb or neutralize what he was doing to you.” (1)
 
This was a very frustrating experience for him due to the fact he described his ukemi as not being a “dive bunny”. In other words, he did not leap, twist, or exaggerate for nage but was always there to give an honest attack where his own structure and intent were intact. He deftly covers the shadow of his style’s ukemi lineage in his book and describes what he feels are their common problems.
 
HKS is a term I’m creating to describe the other end of the spectrum and one that I’m more familiar with personally. I come from an ukemi lineage that took katai (rigid) ukemi as the modus operandum. However, this became too rigid at times. So much so that Saito Sensei had to address this issue head on by posting the letter below in the Iwama dojo. HKS is essentially where uke has made the decision not to move unless they “feel” that nage is moving them.

​“What keeps this sensitive responsiveness from becoming a mere slavish flip – flopping at the whim of the thrower, something endemic in many, if not most ‘form based’ martial arts? 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.” (3)
 
In other words, AAS as well as HKS do not provide one with the skills necessary for building up one’s body for qualities like balance, structure, and sensitivity needed to reverse techniques. For AAS, as said above they are in an almost constant state of kazushi. Flailing about for reasons they probably don’t understand themselves. Conversely, in HKS their resistance becomes a kind of competition as stated by Saito Morihiro Shihan. They adopt an attitude of immovability unless nage ‘properly’ takes their balance.
 
This leads me to my recent experience that, honestly, flustered me at a recent seminar and took me a while to figure out after the fact. The technique was kata menuchi ikkyo. We were practicing it in its most basic form, this is where uke grabs the shoulder and nage initiates a low to high shomenuchi strike. This strike draws out uke to respond with a block and pushes back to regain control.
 
Even though these two styles of ukemi couldn’t be more different from each other for obvious reasons, there are striking and damaging similarities between the two. One is that both promote poor structure for uke. For AAS, one does not learn how to absorb energy from nage but moves in collusion with them for the technique to work. They constantly kazushi (imbalance) themselves ahead of nage’s input thus cutting short the training necessary for nage to feel the technique all the way to the end. Consequently, this defeats one primary principle of ukemi which I believe is to build the body from the inside out.
 
With HKS, we conversely see the opposite happening with the same result. Uke stays put, giving nage strong and grounded resistance even to the point where their own structure is compromised. I’m all too familiar with this since I committed this error for almost 20 years and it’s a common shadow of Iwama Ryu aikido. It creates an incredible amount of tension in one’s body thus reducing one’s ability for responsiveness, sensitivity, and ability to protect one’s body from injury. However, I still believe there is a time and place where katai ukemi can have great benefits as I explain in my previous article on constructive resistance.
 
“Properly understood, ukemi is the mastery of force – the act of absorbing and redirecting energy, and even adding it to one’s own power and sending it back to the attacker.” (2)
 
Amdur further states that your first goal in ukemi is to create a base for yourself through your attack. This is so one can understand and learn the aikido curriculum. After years of practice, one gains the sensitivity and responsiveness to then be able to reverse the technique.

AAS

HKS

​
​My uke had a classic case of HKS. They were not satisfied with my level of attack/blend and therefore stood their ground as I moved to the side allowing their blocking arm to drop down. However, they did not step forward to regain proper structure for the next move. Instead, they stood in the same stance but with the head forward beyond their base of support.
 
This was the cause of my frustration which in turn prevented me from understanding their point of view when we later discussed our session after class. To them, it did not matter that they had poor structure. For with HKS, the first order principle is not to move unless moved.
 
I defaulted (and sometimes still do) to HKS for years and it was starring me right in the face, but I couldn’t recognize it. “Why wouldn’t you want to have good structure?”, I asked. How soon I forgot! Only 6 years ago I picked up tai chi and followed that by initiating Takamuraha Shindo Yoshin Ryu. What I’ve learned most from them is that a strong base is most important above all. Therefore, this principle is dependently drilled into you ubiquitously from day one.
 
This leads me to what lies in the middle of the spectrum and what I believe ought to be the first order principle in ukemi. As stated above by Ellis Amdur, one’s ukemi ought to be practiced in a manner where at any moment they can reverse a technique right up to the end. How can this be executed if one is either an immovable rock or a dive bunny? To be blunt, it can’t. In proper ukemi, one must constantly regain their balance to re-establish a solid base of support where the shoulders are supported by the hips and the hips are supported by the feet to create proper alignment and control of one’s body.

​This sounds simple enough but soon we are all going to be back on the mat again. Which means, we are all going to encounter either ends of this spectrum or somewhere in between with our ukes. The somewhere in between is where we can explore how light and how heavy we can be with nage whilst maintaining good structure without stopping the technique. This is where the real conversation between uke and nage can commence. Here we can truly explore the depths of our aikido.
 
If we run into one of the polar extremes, I’m not saying we should stop our practice and correct our uke! What I am saying is that let’s recognize these forms of ukemi for what they are and understand that even though we may not agree with them, this is where our partner is on their path in aikido. Like me, one day they may change for a more structured and responsive ukemi that exists in the middle of the spectrum between these two syndromes. Correcting them will only solidify their approach. They need to feel this ukemi for themselves just as I did from my sensei Hoa Newens Shihan. Hopefully, when it is your turn to be uke try to be the change you want to see in our aikido world.
 
In conclusion, knowing where one’s first order principles lie is the beginning of understanding and accepting uke for where they are in their aikido journey. Some say that aikido techniques are what divide us, but I disagree. I believe our approach to ukemi is what separates us most. We all have different first order principles when it comes to ukemi, but it is our responsibility to blend with our partner and maintain our own structure simultaneously. When we meet on the mat, I hope these first principles will allow all of us to approach closer to the middle of the spectrum and leave our dogma behind. Have fun training and hope to see you on the mat soon!
 


Bibliography1. Amdur, Ellis. Dueling with O-Sensei. s.l. : Edgework Books, 2000.
2. —. Hidden in Plain Sight. s.l. : Edgeworks Books, 2000.
3. —. Hidden in Plain Sight. s.l. : Edgework Books, 2000.