This Week In Nihon Goshin Aikido ~ #12
June 16, 2014
Greetings Nihon Goshin Aikido Aficionado!
I hope all is well with you at your end of the great blue aikido mat today.
Aikido Thought Of The Week: Nage’s Response to Uke’s Push or Pull Mindset”
When Uke Pushes, Nage Turns. When Uke Pulls, Nage Enters.
If you had to sum up aikido with a more descriptive statement than “using the attacker’s energy against him,” this might be what you’d say instead. When uke pushes, you turn. When uke pulls you towards him, you step into your center, and unbalance him (a fine example might be a Leg Sweep Application where uke executes a 2 hand jacket grab and pulls nage to him. In response, nage steps forward into his center, unbalancing uke in the process by raising his center. With Uke off balance, Nage can then easily sweep the leg.
When Is the Last Time You Conducted or Participated in a Nihon Goshin Aikido Demonstration?
In 2012, I met a German traditional aikidoka at a Jan Nevelius Aikido seminar at the Bond Street Dojo in NYC. He saw the Nihon Goshin Aikido patches on my uniform and rushed up to me and asked, “Do you know Sensei Robert MacEwen?”
It turns out this German national had attended a Nihon Goshin Aikido demonstration conducted by Mr. MacEwen with a friend while he was visiting the US many years earlier. Upon returning to Germany, he decided to take up the study of Aikido ~ but since there were no Nihon Goshin Aikido dojos in Germany, he took up traditional aikido instead.
Why is this important? Well, simply put, a good demonstration goes a long way in growing our art.
For that matter, so does a good video series! Kudos to Mr. MacEwen for his “Dynamic Aikido Series, (which I have found out just this week has turned heads as far away as Bosnia). In fact, we hope to have an announcement about our first international Nihon Goshin Aikido study group opening up in Bosnia soon ~ so stay tuned.
Website Updates
We are constantly adding to the website ~ so you need to check back regularly. We recently added a whole section in the on combative combinations (specifically Nihon Goshin Aikido and Tang Soo Do) ~ which was marvelously done by two dan graded NGA practitioners (Leonard Galli, and Alex Delgado). The combination of a striking art with aiki blending is very intriguing and makes for some powerful applications worthy of our consideration. The link to the first video is to the left, and the entire series can be referenced here:
Nihon Goshin Aikido On Youtube.com
Where ever we find it, we at NGAexperience.com want to link to it.
Along those lines, I have recently found Sensei Alex Delgado’s channel on youtube. His channel is called “2010Aikidoka” which makes it difficult to find when you do an Nihon Goshin Aikido search. All that said, he has a TON of great information up there (mostly detailing the finer points of Applications to our Classical Techniques). He essentially videos and posts his classes ~ so you can follow a month’s worth of classes on in video form if you wanted.
Why Do We Study Aikido?
Would you be surprised if I told you, “To learn how to fall down?” Truth be told, you are many times more likely to injure yourself in an accidental fall than you are ever likely to be involved in a situation that would require you to defend yourself. For this reason alone, good ukemi skills are of vital importance, and need to be encouraged.
Seminars Announcement:
There is one in Greenville, SC June 21st. This one is presented by Joe Beckham. 9am -12 noon. Cost is $20.
Have You Got A Seminar Planned? Send us the information on it and we’ll post it here for you.
Subscribers:
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Let's meet on the mat together soon!
Best,
Jonathan Wilson
ngaexperience.com
Sensei John Carter and me
2014 - 2021 ngaexperience.com
The Possibilities of Movement
In Aikido
Lots of Irimi Tenkan Movement Going On in Multiple Attacker Randori Situations ~ so get the footwork down ASAP!
Sensei Delgado and
Sensei Galli on
Martial Combinations
Mr. MacEwen’s Dynamic Aikido Video Series on the bookshelf in Ragib Karamehmedovic’s home in Bosnia. In his words: “We were shocked seeing something fast and explosive we never know existed in aikido.”