Whenever I publish videos about Aikido, several questions come up repeatedly. Why are the attack and response decided in advance? Why does uke repeat the same attack and ukemi? And is uke simply cooperating to make the technique work? These are natural questions for anyone seeing Aikido training for the first time. This video addresses those questions by examining the learning structure of kata and the role of uke. In Aikido training, the attack and response are predetermined

In this video presented by Aikido Samsungdang, we explain four fundamental Aikido jo kata—Roku no Jo, Hachi no Jo, Ju-san no Jo, and Sanju-ichi no Jo—along with the use of the lower body in jo practice. Ju-san no Jo and Sanju-ichi no Jo are kata organized by the late Morihiro Saito Sensei based on the jo techniques of O-Sensei Morihei Ueshiba. One of their defining features is that each movement corresponds clearly to a specific count. Roku no Jo consists of movements 12 thro

Does the word “technique” in Aikido really refer to only one thing? After the previous Q&A video, I received several questions in the comments about Aikido techniques and the way we train. This video is one answer to those questions. It explains what people often group together under the word “technique” by separating it into four perspectives: kata, technique, skill, and waza. Kata is the framework of practice. Technique is the concrete method used within that framework. Ski