Aikido Injuries
May 11th, 2007 by Jason
Feeling a little better today, but with a change in the weather to windy and damp earlier this week, my attention was drawn to my various current aches and pains. (Ankle, back and shoulder).
Aikido is great for highlighting minor injuries and making them much worse! It’s also like a drug addiction. After you have been practising for a short time you will become damaged enough that when you are not on the mat your joints will be stiff and painful. The only time there is no pain is when you are on the mat training - so you carry on, seeking the next ‘fix’!
In my experience, I have found this to be true amongst many aikidoka. If this is not the case either you have not been training long enough, you need to get lower and try harder, you are doing a Ki style aikido for health and exercise or you have already grasped the elusive essence of Aikido and are already an aiki god.
I practise KI-Aikido and still occasionally come away with the odd ache and pain. the difference between traditional aikido and ki-aikido is that in traditional the strongest usually win (brute force).where ki-aikido is not just a set of techniques, it trains you to move somebodys mind before you carry out a technique. this means there’s not so much of a clash, which in turn lowers the risk of injury. regardless of which type you practise i agree that it is addictive.
Hi Darren,
I guess I was being deliberately provocative with the Ki Aikido statement, having practised intensively in that style for a few years. There is much to recommend there but I would suggest that the style, by its definition and ‘branding’ attracts many students that are not focused on the martial aspect. (The same as with most tai chi practitioners today).
The difficulty then for the instructors is whether to ‘go with the market forces’ or risk their students leaving.
If you practice at a Ki-style club which also emphasizes the effective martial aspects of the art, you are very lucky.
I agree that there is an element of ’strongest usually wins’ within more ‘budo’ styles of Aikido although, in my opinion, this is more a reflection of the type of people who seek a more martial style than a failing in the art.
Within the budo styles there are many differences. One of Ueshiba’s early disciples Bansen Tanaka of Osaka, emphasises spiral movements. In an aikijournal interview he said:
“…We use many circular movements, especially in my dojo. They’re not just circular but spiral, so the position of one’s hips should not be high. Spiral movements are possible if one’s hips are low. Spiral movements are the most important thing and we emphasize them in my dojo.”
This style emphasises effective technique rather than brute force, and is my current focus of study.
Leading an opponent’s mind is not exclusive to Ki Aikido but is a foundation of budo.
In budo.