Lone Pine Ryu, Kyusho Aikido in Guildford, Surrey and Aldershot, Hampshire. UK

Fighting Posture

2012-02-24T17:30:00.003Z

Nikyo

2012-02-24T17:26:00.003Z

Portrait of a Japanese Sword Maker

2011-11-18T09:23:00.001Z

We found this video and it reminds us of a couple of things that are important to training, and maybe life as well:

You are always learning - never an expert - even after 40 years
When you teach people, you should be trying to make them better than you are

New venue - Fitness Junction, Aldershot

2011-11-15T22:36:00.000Z

We've just opened a new class on Tuesday nights in Aldershot - it's a great venue. If you've ever wanted to learn a martial art like ours - come along and say hello.

We kept it simple - a few simple wristlocks and pressure points to give people an idea of what they can learn with us.

We're looking forward to getting settled and meeting some new people

Defending yourself with wrist locks

2011-04-28T16:24:00.000+01:00

This week we looked at kotegaeshi which is a seemingly simple but important wrist lock in Aikido

This is a great technique for beginners because it's not too hard to grasp the basics and give it a go, and you rapidly find why you don't need strength to defend yourself in Aikido.

For people who've been training a little longer, kotegaeshi teaches you about irimi (moving in toward your attacker), taisabaki (body management), using your entire body as one unit, and focus or ki.

Easter training

2011-04-25T11:29:00.002+01:00

No training tonight - hope you're all enjoying the Easter break. See you on Wednesday (27th) as usual

If someone threw a punch or a kick, would you move towards it?

2011-04-14T17:43:00.000+01:00

We would - sometimes. It's call Irimi (which sort of means, moving in directly when attacked).

This week we started looking at how this works, and getting used to the idea that when someone attacks you're often safer if you can move in towards the person and take control.

We looked at a couple of common attacks, including how to protect yourself from a kick if you have been knocked to the ground.

As always, we try not to use our strength which means anyone can use this against anyone else.

Tanto - dealing with knife attacks

2011-04-08T16:35:00.004+01:00

This week we looked as some of the tactics you can use if you're unlucky enough to be attacked by someone holding a knife. We practiced with the wooden tanto - the knife used in traditional Japanese martial arts.

Nikyo, Sankyo, Kotegaeshi

2011-03-31T10:59:00.004+01:00

This week we looked at some of the counters available to us when uke attacks from behind; countering a ushiro attack.

We looked at:

Nikyo - a very effective way of countering a wrist grab by applying pressure to the wrist of the attacker.

Sankyo - clasping the hand of the attacker and twisting it at the wrist to control the attacker and take him/her off-balance.

Kotegaeshi - applying pressure outwardly to the back of the wrist to take down the attacker.

Tai No Henko, Tenchinage

2011-03-17T13:39:00.009Z

Last night we began with Tai No Henko a body movement practice in which uke grabs our wrist and we pivot around the attacker transferring weight downwards through our hands to move uke to a point of non-balance.

We worked through a sequence of movements culminating in tenchinage, which translates, poetically, as 'heaven and earth throw'. One hand moves downwards (earth) and the other upwards (heaven) and into this combination of moves we can incorporate kyusho strikes on the feet, calf and neck.

We continue on the lifelong learning journey.

disaster in Japan

2011-03-11T20:29:00.001Z

Our thoughts and condolences are with everyone affected by the disaster in Japan.

Tai sabaki

2011-03-10T10:16:00.005Z

Last night we looked at Tai sabaki, a 'whole body movement' utilising a circular movement and deft footwork to take the momentum of an attack and redeploy that momentum.

Iriminage

2011-03-08T14:42:00.012Z

This week we began with forward Ukemi practice over the Jo (the traditional Japanese wooden staff) and then looked at iriminage - entering behind an attacker and taking the attacker down. Iriminage is a very fluid movement and the key to the takedown is controlling the head - if you control the head of the attacker you control the body. We looked at some of the kyusho (pressure points) that can be used in combination with irimi nage.

Fighting from the ground

2011-02-22T22:09:00.007Z

This week we looked at what you can do if you find yourself on the ground being attacked by someone who is standing.

The first rule is; don't try to get up - the moment you put your hands on the floor you have no defence. Instead you fight from the ground and look for an opportunity to get up if you can.

Fighting from the ground includes:

Learning to move around on your knees (shikko)
Weak points and other ways of bringing your attacker down (kyusho)
Understanding that you can use all of your standing techniques while kneeling. This week they were two wrist locks (kotegaeshi and nikyo) and one of our core techniques: shihonage - the four directional throw.

Welcome to Lone Pine Ryu - Kyusho Aikido

2011-02-20T22:53:00.010Z

Kyusho Aikido in Guildford, classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Weapons class in Woking on Thursdays. Come and join us, beginners and experienced students welcome.