The Martial Art of Aikido

The sphere of Martial Arts is one of the most important gifts of Asia to the world. Who will not remember Bruce Lee and the fact that he was first and foremost a martial arts competitor before being a film star? Martial arts films are a huge hit with the escalating popularity of Asian movies like ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and more recently ‘The House of the Flying Daggers’.

The Chinese are the first nation that come to mind when it you think of such things, but the Japanese are equally as athletic with a rich heritage of body contact sports in their history. Modern Japan still gives honor to the martial arts by holding tournaments and promoting their sports around the world,

One of these is Aikido. It is interesting to take note of the fact that the word comes from three Japanese characters from which one derives the meaning of the one word. Ai means ‘joining’, Ki signifies ’spirit’ and Do signifies ‘way’. From this we can understand why Aikido lies beyond only the physical talents of it students, particularly since its first advocate, Ueshiba, focused on the spiritual and philosophical development of his students.

In Aikido, one is not taught violence as a substitute, one is trained to be in concord with the opponent so that you are able to defeat him more easily. This might seem strange but it actually works. In approaching an opponent, the aim of the Aikido practitioner is to be one with the adversary so as to be able to tackle him where he is weakest and in so doing, deflect or immobilize him, but never to kill him.

This is where Aikido becomes an art form. Art is something delightful to look at and something constructive and Aikido is all that. At least one of the contestants involved in the combat is searching for concord and concord can only be achieved if there is grace in the actions. The moves may be premeditated, but there is an air of finesse in carrying out these movements. Not a feminine grace, but a grace that emanates peace. The ‘art of peace’ is what they call it in Aikido and it is one of the most affirmative influences of Aikido on its students and to everyone else who decides to find out about this Japanese martial art.

Some of the techniques in Aikido include the following techniques.

Ikkyo is the first technique. Using this technique, you manipulate an adversary by using one hand to hold his elbow and one to hold near the wrist. This action is supposed to allow you to pin your opponent down to the ground.

Nikyo, the second technique, is when you perform a wrist lock that allows you to twist the arm of your opponent which will in turn cause nerve pressure.

Sankyo, the third technique, is a technique that creates upward-spiraling tension throughout the arm, elbow and shoulder. There are many other techniques but the first three are enough to give you a basic insight.

When you are studying Aikido, it is important to keep in mind that, along with building physical strength, you will need to improve your mind to be able to overpower your adversary. Just like in any art form, it takes a lot of training and discipline to perfect the art of Aikido. The chief thing to remember is, that anyone who wants to get into the art, must have the determination to give honour to the art by performing it in the best way they can.

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The Arm Moves in Wrestling

The arm moves in wrestling include the arm breakers, arm drags, over the shoulder arm drags, arm swings, etc. The arm bar take down is another of the moves in wrestling. The arm bar attacks by forcing the arm of the opponent downward.

The challenger feels the strain about the shoulder area and the assailant will grip the arms extending the arms length wise. The shoulder is eventually dropped to the mat. This is a pin in most instances unless the wrestler can wriggle his/her way out of the hold.

The arm breakers include slamming of the arms, typically on an area of the opponent’s body where it will hurt. Usually the pin ends with the scissors, where the wrestler’s legs are crossed over the challengers body, holding his/her shoulders down to the mat.

The various moves look painful in the ring, but the fact is that the moves are fakes, i.e. a showy display to grab attention. The actors rehearse the scenes long before they step into the ring and are trained to send ’signs’ to end the bout when they want to.

The wrestling manoeuvres seem real on television, because the cameras and other distractions, including beautiful models, divert the attention of the audience. Wrestling is really quite similar to how magicians work. Magicians rehearse their stage act before they go on the stage. There is always a gimmick or an explanation, yet the magician does his act so professionally and the audience is so distracted, that the magician fools people into believing that he or she is performing the illusion for real.

The ‘arm drags’ involve the assailant getting the opponent in a hook move and then flipping the challenger down onto the mats. Most of the moves are devised by one or the other of the wrestlers and sometimes it may become a popular move and so taken up by others. Two of the older moves are the Gallatin and the Banana Split

The ‘over the shoulder’ move ought to be called the ‘body slam’ since the opponent throws the challenger over his shoulder, slamming him/her down onto the mat. Previously, this wrestling manoeuvre was probably in the group of ’slammers’, but today it is called the shoulder-arm throw manoeuvre.

The ‘wringer; is another of the arm moves in wrestling that is sometimes called the ’spin wrist lock hold’. This manoeuvre is often followed up by the Irish Thrash moves, mallet locks or gouges.

Some other arm moves include the arm stretches, arm breakers, arm wringer, arm locks, arm bar and arm scissors. While the arm moves are very well-known in the ring, there are many moves you may see today that you would never have seen when wrestling first began in ancient days. The Amityville Horror is one of wrestling’s more modern moves. Although, I haven’t worked out what this move is all about, we are about to analyse it together.

From what I can make out the Amityville Horror is just a way to persuade people to rent or buy the film with the same name. The move is listed in the roll of wrestling moves, however, so far, no information is available about what this move entails. Moves are basically marques made up by the wrestlers themselves, so I’m assuming that the wrestler felt he had devised one of the most horrific moves in wrestling and so he called it the Amityville Horror.

Why is it that some moves get loud cheers? Well, it can start when a wrestler in the ring brings in a new manoeuvre and it becomes his trademark, popular final manoeuvre in his fights.

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The Birth of Aikido

The term ‘Aikido’ is created by the grouping of three characters in the Japanese language. ‘Ai’, which signifies ‘joining’; ‘ki’, which means ’spirit’ and ‘do’, which means ‘way’. These three words actually encapsulate the essence of Aikido as a sort of martial art: ‘the joining of the spirit to find the way’. It was only in the period from 1930’s to the 1940’s that the name Aikido was formally accepted as the name of this martial art variety.

Aikido uses ways that do not mortally injure or kill not like other kinds of martial art. The movements and skills being taught are just intended to divert attention or immobilize attackers. This is possibly the explanation why most people prefer Aikido, because of its focus on peace and harmony as opposed to violence and hostility. In deed, Aikido teacher, Morihei Ueshiba, is of the conviction that to control hostility without causing any harm is the art of peace.

Ueshiba, who is also called Osensei, which signifies ‘Great Teacher’, developed Aikido from the principles of Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu. He integrated the ways of the ‘yari’, the spear; the ‘juken’, the bayonet; and the ‘jo’, which is a short quarterstaff. But what finally distinguishes Aikido from other kinds of martial art is the fact that its practitioners can strike while empty-handed. Proponents need no weaponry for their protection.

As a young child, he was greatly into physical fitness and conditioning. This was because of his promise to avenge his father’s enemies. Eventually, his studies and activities led him to the discipline of the various martial arts. He studied a few of them. He even has qualifications for fencing, fighting with spears, etc. He has learned it all. This is perhaps the explanation why Aikido is such a disparate and multi-disciplinary kind of martial art.

Yet in spite of his expertise, he remained unhappy. He sensed that there was still something lacking. It was then that he turned to the religions. He studied under a religious leader, Onisaburo Deguchi of the sect called Omoto-kyo in Ayabe. Deguchi taught him to take care of his spiritual development. He then combined his spiritual beliefs and his mastery of the different martial arts and Aikido was formed.

His relationship with this fascinating spiritual leader Deguchi also smoothed the way for his introduction to the elite political and military people as a martial artist. Because of this connection, he was able to found Aikido and even pass on his teachings to students, who have, in turn, created their own styles and techniques in Aikido.

Aikido is a combination of the different techniques of jujitsu as well as some of the ways of sword and spear fighting, of which Ueshiba was an expert. To get an general picture, Aikido combines the joint locks and throws of jujitsu and the movements of the body necessary when fighting with swords and spears.

Oriental in origin, it was brought to the West by Minoru Mochizuki when he visited France in 1951. He introduced the Aikido methods to students who were learning judo. In 1952, Tadashi Abe came to France as the official Aikikai Honbu representative. Then in 1953, Kenji Tomiki toured throughout the United States while Koichi Tohei stayed in Hawaii for a full year where he set up a dojo. Aikido then spread its influence in the United Kingdom two years after and in 1965, it reached Germany and Australia. At present, Aikido has centres all over the world.

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Reenacted Moves in Wrestling

Wrestling moves are tricky, as if you are not paying close attention, you might believe the acts are real. At the moment I am still a little reluctant to fill you in on the moves, since I am not a wrestling fan, however my son is, and he is going to give us the inside information on wrestling moves to help us see it for what it is, fake.

One of the older moves is the banana splits. However, today, the move is known as the ‘leg splits’. During this move, one starts wrestling with both hands on the legs of the other wrestler and splits the legs apart as far as the legs will stretch. This move will force the wrestler to push his/her own shoulders to the mat. If the wrestling move were for real and the wrestler fails to submit, his/her legs would split some muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc.

The ‘Cobra Clutch’ is yet another of the holds that would in reality cause real agony. The cobra move is universally recognizable as the cross chokes or arm locks. The challenging wrestler will come from the back of the other pugilist and using a one arm in the “Nelson Hold”. The opponent will then use an arm to pull the wrestler’s arm trying to prevent him from pulling across the neckline and choking him as a result. The back clutch, or bombard is a similar move, but the challenging wrestler is on his back under his opponent extending his arms upward from behind.

The ‘Rock Bottom’ moves entail the adversary pulling his opponents arm over his shoulder. The wrestler then places the opponents arm over his/her shoulder and lifts and dives forward onto the mat. During this attack, the challenger is hitting the mat head first, which if actually executed, would break some bones, or else cause some serious pain.

The ‘Choke Slam’ involves the attacking wrestler gripping the opponent’s arm and lifting his arm close by his opponent’s side, over his shoulder. Then he lifts the opponent and throws him to the mat.

The ‘Big Boot’ is a running move. The wrestler kicks up his boot, connecting with the face of his opponent. So, a boot in the face, in other words! This would definitely put a person on his/her backside any time, causing the kicked person to feel severe concussion for a while.

What makes wrestling so enthralling is the shouting, the outfits, the characters and the moves. If you think of the Superman movies, and how he dresses, you will see that without his costume he wouldn’t have any character appeal as Superman. Likewise, the wrestlers wear costumes that make them seem like they are super heroes of the ring, indicting the baddies. Each wrestler has his/her persona in the ring. It is usually quite peaceful, but made to look violent!

Wrestling has rules, as well as restrictions, even though the moves are all phoney. Wrestlers must respect the perimeters of the ring, as well as the colour codes in the ring. There are also styles of wrestling, which include the folk style, freestyle and Greco Romanian styles.

Each of the styles has its own set of rules, although the freestyle and folk style are somewhat similar. Usually, the styles are demonstrated so well that you wouldn’t know which style the wrestlers are using.

As with a script or a dance routine, most of the moves are composed, which means that a director is out of sight using his/her hands to direct the wrestlers in the rings. For the most part, wrestling is nothing more than an act with a few exemptions like when the KAYFABE is broken, when a real fight might break out. The KAYFABE is wrestling’s verbal communication.

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