It Doesn't Start in the Arms, It Ends There.

When I started Aikido I can remember how much I focussed on the arm movements. Even being told it’s about the whole body, it’s hard not to worry about where your hands are supposed to be and forget the rest.

The arms are weak. Maybe you have big shoulders and can muscle through a weak uke but it’s limiting and a lot of bokken work is going to ache like crazy.

When you add your core and your hips, you realise how much more torque this generates and how it’s where power comes from, and then how your legs give your movement depth to take balance or reposition your body to the optimum place for delivering that power.

This week I’ve been thinking about how backwards my initial way of thinking really was. First your legs get you in the right place, second your core/koshi winds up and delivers the power, and finally your arms guide all that power delivery into the right place.

Of course, all parts of the body are crucial, but it’s interesting to consider what job they each really have in a given technique.