Pursuit of harmony, or how to practice aikido

In one of my recent trainings, a frequently occurring question/problem has come up. This problem usually occurs with beginner students: when they are practicing, as uke they want to resist the defenders movement, they want to stop them from executing a technique. In many cases, they do this following their partners encouragement to try to stop them from doing a technique properly.

Why does this often happen?

Because, in the beginning, when techniques are being learned in a step-by-step manner we work from static positions. So there is no 'exact' attack. Thus, the attacker has time and opportunity to prepare for the movements of the defender but he can only do so if he knows exactly what the other will try to do.

Real aikido is not like this. In 'real aikido', an attack has energy and momentum: it's dynamic. A static initial position is only the first level of learning. If we skipped this static start it would be hard to understand, and demonstrate, the guard/ready positions (half stance, hanmi), the basic attacks and corresponding various positions. The static positions are some sort of still images of continuous movements.

What is the solution?

Firstly, the practicing of the basic principle of aikido: trying to achieve harmony whether you are attacker or defender. The movements of the two partners should be connected. As attacker, you can help by being conscious about your posture, base positions, attacks. Your attack is not there to stop or counter the defender's technique at all costs but to copy a real attack as realistically as you can - with a slower and more static way of movement.

Why is this attitude necessary?

Becase when there is dynamism, i.e. real attack, the attacker cannot know what (technique) will be used on him, and the attacker can focus on only one thing: attacking. This means that an attacker can't attack and defend at the same time. From this, it follows that he can't just counter a powerful movement. If he does that then it wasn't a real attack.

From the defender's point of view, a defender has to try to connect with the attack when the attack is not fully developed. In this lower energy level state it is relatively easy to connect with the attacker and control him and his attack which then allows an easy execution of a technique.

Achieving harmony, however, should not be interpreted as giving up when the attacker falls to the ground to the first and slightest movement by the defender. Harmony comes from both partners' moving together in harmony.

Giving up attacking is not the way to achieve harmony just as trying to resist tori's technique is not harmonious either.