Katadori can be pretty challenging, no matter what technique you’re doing. When someone grabs our lapel, the natural reaction is to contract or collapse the chest. We then lose our center and are no longer grounded.   In today's video, I had my students do an exercise where they’re simply fallin...

Ikkyo can be tricky—even for seasoned Aikido practitioners. In this video, we continue our series on refining this foundational technique. We start by addressing common pitfalls like collapsing or overextending the lower arm. Using a shoto in the upper hand, we guide students to focus on spatial...

Is Ikkyo a challenge for you or your students? One common issue I see is the collapse of the lower hand during execution. To compensate, many people reach out abruptly and stiffly—which doesn’t work either. If you saw last week’s video, you’ll remember we used a shoto almost like a horse whip—ca...

Do you or your students ever find yourselves fixating on the contact point, trying to force your partner’s arm, but missing their center?  When we miss our partner's center, it becomes difficult to throw them successfully. In today's video, I have students really focus on the space—rather than t...

Do you do any centering or grounding exercises at your dojo? Do you—or your students—ever feel the need to be more centered, more grounded? Today’s video picks up where we left off last week. It’s from last year’s 5-Day Summer Camp here in Los Angeles. If you remember, in last week’s class, we s...

Do you do any centering or grounding exercises at your dojo? Do you—or your students—ever feel the need to be more centered, more grounded? Today’s video comes from last year’s 5-Day Summer Camp here in Los Angeles. You’ll be watching footage from the Friday morning class—which is usually one of...