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Technique of the month
Falling from Koshinage
By Bruce Bookman
Koshinage, the hip throw has the stigma of being very difficult to fall from. While not to be practiced by beginners, if you know how to do a break fall, then koshinage is one of the easier throws to fall from because you have the support of the thrower's body until you hit the mat. O.K. here is my disclaimer. Pleased be advised that this and any fall could result in severe injury. Don't try this or any other aikido technique unless you are under the guidance of a qualified aikido instructor. There are risks of serious injury in practicing this fall. Also, consult your doctor before attempting this or any other aikido technique. So now that we got that out of the way, lets learn to fall from Koshinage, step-by-step:
Start by practicing from a wrist grab from gyaku hanmi. If you don't know what gyaku hanmi is then it is too early for you to be practicing falls from koshinage.
1. When nage gets in position to throw, avoid the tendency to bend the knees and hunker down.
Instead, as you feel your balance being taken, lengthen your body, out over your partner's
back. This will feel counterintuitive but believe me, your landing will be much softer.
See images 1 and 2.
2. Use the hand that is not being held to catch hold of your partners gi. Notice how Nirmala takes
hold of my gi as I set her up. See image 3.
3. Relax and go along for the ride. This is where people tend to freak out. Practice very slowly
until you are able to stay soft, relaxed and responsive. See image 4.
4. Keep holding your partners gi for support until after your body hits the mat. See image 5. If you
already know how to breakfall then you know how you will be landing. If you don't know how to
breakfall you should not practice this technique until you do.
    
image 1 image 2 image 3 image 4 image 5
How do you know that you did it correctly? There should be no pain or injury after you hit the mat. There should not even be a little bit of pain. Also there should be a sense on both people's part that the movement was smooth and graceful.
For basic up through more advanced falling instruction please consider my two DVDs, Aikido, The Art of Falling and Advance Ukemi. They've been on the market for many years and have gotten high acclaim. Go to our online shop on the tenzanaikido.com site for more information. Alternatively, if you live in the Seattle area, keep your eyes open for my next ukemi seminar here at the dojo. You will find this method helpful regardless of what style of aikido you do.
Newsletter Archives
December 2007
October 2007
Approaching Nidan
by Melissa Pittman-Fischer
 Melissa Pittman-Fiischer"Sensei," I asked, "what is the difference between shodan and nidan, nidan and sandan?" Nirmala and I were huffing and puffing after a practice session and just starting to think about what to work on for the nidan test. I guess I expected him to say something like better ukemi, smoother knee work, always remembering to step back on kotegaeshi.
"Well," he said "It's like the sound of a car door closing. You know how it sounds when you close the door on an old Honda Civic? The door works; it has hinges, a handle, a latch and it's made of metal. Then you close the door on the BMW and it sounds different, finer somehow. And you close the door on a Cadillac and it sounds different again. They are all doors, they are all doing the same thing but yet the quality shift is undeniable. That's the difference in the black belt ranks. It's pretty much the same components but it's how they fit together. The sound, the feel is somehow very different." His thought provoking comments made me re-evaluate how the pieces of my Aikido fit together. Is the fit getting finer? Are the pieces improving? And how does Aikido itself fit into my life?
When I first met Aikido, I fell in love instantly with the flying around, going barefoot and grabbing of wrists. I think the foreignness appealed to me; the exotic costumes (guys in skirts?), the Japanese-ness, the bowing, the white and black. I liked to escape into Aikido, leaving the world outside. More and more these days it is the ordinary, everyday quality that appeals to me. I am finding the edges blurring between Aikido practice on mat and off. It's like I forget to stop practicing when I change out of my gi and go on about my business in the world.
The beauty of this is that it allows me to do Aikido while waiting in line at the QFC, while talking with students and their parents and even while deciding not to go to the dojo because I am needed at home or across town. I spend my day disarming folks by attempting to join them in their perspective, getting out of the line of attack or leading the energy of an encounter into a more balanced place. Self defense, maai, staying present doesn't need a special costume or place or trained partner. It can be studied anywhere, it turns out.
Of course, I love to go to class. I try to invite that normal self into the physical practice and bring in what I learned from a professor at school or a conversation with my husband. My commitment is to explore my life's intentions and balance along side of the details of the techniques. I can tell you, it is easy to get caught up in the inflated importance of very fun and interesting choreographic minutia when studying things like those 4 variations of morotedori iriminage with 3 levels, continuous and changing directions! I can so easily lose sight of the deeper interactions; like am I all there, am I on balance. How am I treating myself and how I am treating my partner? How are the pieces all fitting together and is there joy underlying all? This is all about "how the door closes" and it begins to feel very complicated and exotic again.
But, Aikido just means individual energies coming into closer harmony through steady practice, not "is your little finger aiming up or down?" So, I remind myself to return to my core spirit and allow Aikido to be simple. Something that can be used everywhere and everyday. Just as ordinary and practical as that car door closing and yet as mysterious as the "how". As I continue to train on and off the mat, I will trust that how my car door closes will reflect that lifelong study.
I am grateful to Bookman Sensei for his encouragement to work deeply in my Aikido and in my life. I am blessed to have a dojo full of warm hearted and committed aikidoka, especially Rachel who teaches me so much about body, mind and spirit. Special thanks to my husband, Tam, and sons Max and Casey; I love you!
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