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A New Form of Jiu Waza
by
Gadi Shorr
5th Dan
Yoshinkan Aikido Israel
February 2000
At the Yoshinkan Aikido Israel main dojo I, along with the assistance of a few students, have developed a new form of
Jiu Waza. The idea came to me as an answer to skeptical students who saw that Jiu Waza is always
performed with a single strike technique.
The new form of Jiu Waza was designed to combine all the strikes - Shomen Uchi, Yokomen Uchi, Shomen Tsuki and a Shomen Tsuki
to the face – all being two sided, left and right strikes. Another issue that was dealt with was the inner turn that exposes
Shite's
back while turning.
So how was this accomplished?
First of all, I started by recognizing where the attack is coming from. In order to do this I defined the following points:
| 1. |
If Uke lifts his arm above his head Shite knows he will use a Shomen Uchi or a Yokomen Uchi
strike. |
| 2. |
If Uke pulls his hand near his hip Shite should expect a Shomen Tsuki to the abdomen. |
| 3. |
If Uke pulls his hand near his jaw while the other hand is placed forward, I simplified this to mean that the hand near the jaw is the one that will strike. |
The other issue dealt with is blocks, which I simplified so that two rules can always be
applied:
| 1. |
Never expose your back to Uke. |
| 2. |
Don't allow yourself to be surprised. For example, Shite blocks for Shomen Uchi and Uke then strikes
Yokomen Uchi to the side of Shite's face. |
In order to apply the two points above, another two rules were established:
| 1. |
If Shite is attacked with Shomen Uchi or Yokomen Uchi the strike is always met with the same block as with
Yokomen Uchi. For example, when Uke lifts his right arm to strike, his attack is met with Shite's left arm
while at the same time the right arm delivers Atemi to Uke's face. In this way a combination of blocks is performed
and Shite avoids exposing his back to Uke by performing an inner turn while Uke is busy with his other arm
blocking Shite's Atemi to the face. |
| 2. |
When attacked with Shomen Tsuki, either to the face or the abdomen, Shite always performs an outer turn in order
to prevent exposing his back. This can be simplified further to mean that during Shomen Uchi and Yokomen Uchi attacks
Shite only performs an inner turn. This enables Shite to avoid stopping the flow of the Jiu Waza as with a
Yokomen Uchi outer turn. |
Sounds simple! But it still takes a lot of training by Shite and Uke as eight possible attacks need to be mastered.
The key to learning this form of Jiu Waza is as always the design of a Kihon that enables us to practice it step by step:
| 1. |
First of all, the "pushing hands" technique in Tai Chi is practised. This is not one hundred percent necessary if
you are an orthodox Aikidoka but is highly recommended. Through Tai Chi "pushing hands" we gain experience in
blocking an attack the moment it leaves Uke's centre. Later we replace the pushing hand with the punching hand. |
| 2. |
Blocking practice. Uke and Shite stand infront of each other and Uke strikes in slow motion while
Shite blocks without performing a complete technique. Whereas in Jiu Waza techniques are performed for every strike
with the goal being to gradually elevate the pace, this is not a fight situation where strikes come at a fast pace and return
strikes are demanded. Of course the pace is eventually increased. It has already been explained how to block Shomen Uchi
and Yokomen Uchi. To block against Shomen Tsuki the same techniques are used. For example, with an upper Tsuki
– right hand – Shite blocks with his right hand by lifting it upwards in a circular motion while moving the left hand to the
right side of his face. With a lower Tsuki – right hand – the block is made with the right hand coming from the centre to the
right and at the same time cutting down with the palm while leaving the left hand by the right side of the face. (Just in case!) |
| 3. |
A slow Thai Sabaki is practiced. |
| 4. |
The fun begins: Shite performs Jiu Waza while Uke attacks from any direction he pleases. |
Hopefully you will enjoy trying out this new system. Remember that it is still in its infant stage and will no doubt be improved
upon and become more sophisticated in time. For any ideas, criticism, comments or for more information please contact me at:
gadishorr@hotmail.com
Thank you
Gadi Shorr
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