President's Message: Learning Techniques and Proper Resistance

Often times, Aikido is criticized for the reason that, in a situation when Aikido would need to be used, a person will encounter way more resistance from an attacker than he/she would in the dojo. This is very true. There is a reason for this, however. When we see a technique for the first time, how can we reasonably be expected (or even expect ourselves) to execute that technique perfectly the first time with our uke acting with 100% resistance? Answer: you can't, and shouldn't.

It doesn't matter how much resistance is being given to you when you're being attacked (by an uke, or by someone on the street) if you can't do the technique! When one begins training in Aikido (and I am no exception), we feel hurried because we want to do it right the first time. And if not the first, then the second for sure! If we have this attitude, however, we run the risk of learning to do a technique incorrectly.

Have you ever been driving to work, school, or somewhere else that you frequently drive to, and, on arriving, you don't really remember the drive? A situation where you've done something so many times that you almost do it subconsciously? That is how our brains work! When we respond to a certain situation with a certain action repeatedly, our brain starts to create a sort of path. Every time we are presented with that same situation, our brain already knows how to respond and will respond with the action that we have programmed it to respond with. This is what we want in Aikido. To program our minds with the responses to multiple situations. If we see a shomenuchi coming at us, if we have programmed our minds to respond in a way that doesn't work, we're in trouble! We have to program it correctly first. We must slow down, take our time, and realize that it takes about 10 years to become a shodan (1st degree black belt), not 10 minutes. Our uke, therefore, must understand what level we are on in order to give proper resistance.

By proper, I mean that it is never a good idea to apply 100% resistance to someone in their first session of training. However, at the same time it is not a good idea to offer 0% resistance, often called "giving" the technique. As skill increases, so does resistance. Ideally, we will all reach a level of technical capability that will allow us to deal with someone offering 100% resistance, whether an uke or a real life attacker.

Everything, in the beginning, is static, slow, and broken up. However, with continuous practice, we will all be able to learn the proper way to respond to any amount of resistance.