Post By: Lee Phelan
For the month of September Karate students had the opportunity to switch over and try some Aiki classes. I have also been practicing Aiki a couple nights a week for approximately a year or so. Even though these arts are practiced under the same roof, they are very different, and switching between them is no easy task.
Sensei Kris is the one who pointed out one major difference that tends to perplex karate students. In karate, you can really feel the devastation of a correct technique. For example, if you kick a bag or mitt with a perfectly balanced and executed roundhouse kick, you can see and feel the strength of it. The punching bag swings back with a deep THRUMP and you feel like you could hold your kick in the chamber and deliver yet another technique. Aiki is much more subtle. When done correctly, gravity does more “work” than the practitioner when it comes to throws. Controls are more about alignment than wrenching certain joints one way or another.
It is never easy switching styles. Even similar arts like Karate and Taekwondo or Aikido and Judo have some major and unexpected differences. It takes a bit of effort to put aside familiarity and muscle memory in order to learn something entirely new. It also takes some humility to adjust and take in instruction on concepts or techniques you thought you knew.
So this is a congratulatory post for the karate students who ventured onto the Aiki mat in September, and for the Aiki instructors who patiently shared their knowledge and insight. I also want to commend the Aiki students who have come to sparring classes. Aiki practitioners are excellent sparring partners, despite coming from an art that has little traditional sparring instruction.
Photo by: Ken Smith
excellent post Sensei Lee! I commend the Karate students who put themselves on the mat last month. Any Karate student who would like to learn some Aiki is always welcome in a class or for a private lesson.
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