Aihanmi katatedori shihonage

How not to do... aihanmi katatedori shihonage

The above video demonstrates these common mistakes very well. I know that the demonstrators are beginners themselves but I will try to point out movements and positions which are very important to teach to beginners. Without it these mistakes will be much harder to correct later. I mean no offence to anyone, I just aim to show mistakes and positions which, when known to be incorrect, can help you to develop yourself and move faster in your Aikido Path.

Let’s start the analysis at the beginning of the video. Unfortunately, it is not straightforward whether what we see is an omote or ura version. In case of the omote version, which is when your first move is towards the front of the attacker, you should step inside so that the attacker is moved off-balance. We can’t see this in the video as the defender is pivoting in front of an all stable attacker. This is dangerous because if the attacker can remain stable when the defender shows his back to him, the attacker will easily cut towards the defender’s back irimi point or he can attack the defender with a powerful punch when he faces away from him. In the video, possibly because of the demonstrative nature of the technique execution, the attacker kindly waits until the defender turns and he went down willingly.

The missing step in or, in case of ura version, the missing step behind results in a position which is prerequisite for a proper cut at shihonage. At the demonstrated cut, attacker and defender are close to parallel positions with each other. In such a position it is not possible to cut through the attacker’s head into his irimi point. To be able to cut properly, attacker and defender need to be in a right angled position in which the attacker is in a position where he is bent and stretched backwards. If this position is not there the vertical cut by the defender can easily transform into a twisting motion instead of a cut. It is also due to the shown parallel position that the defender can not stay stable after the cut and he has to step sideways to keep his balance. If we consider this position only, he could have corrected it easily with a 90 degree turn with the hips. However, it is to be remembered that under no circumstances can we stay in front of a stable attacker, and showing our back is as good as suicide.

The next mistake that frequently occurs is that the defender simply ’follows’ the attacker down instead of cutting. Moreover, he bends both of his legs and also, he bends forward. Partly this is the reason for losing his stablily and having to step sideways at end of the technique. Again, I would like to emphasise that the cut should start from a stable position (of the defender) and stability must be kept from the point when the cut is started to when the technique is finished. This is only possible if the defender does not step during or after the cut. And for all these, the defender has to take on a stable position before starting the cut.

I hope you can see from the above that the clarification of the principles is very important even in the first stages of learning, otherwise some errors will be built upon one another and it will take much more and harder work to correct them later.

In case you disagree, you have questions or want to add your view, please do so by posting a comment.

Related instructional videos at OnlineAikido.com

 For explanation of what irimi points and stable positions are, see our Hanmi instructional video.