Open Hand Training

Most of our training is open hand, our aim is to study (do) and blend (ai) with the force (ki) used against us. In it's purest form aikido begins before the attack to defuse the situation and bring about resolution, thus creating a win win situation. So why do we train, to develop discipline, focus, physical fitness, self defence skills and friendships. 

In aikido we always train with one or more partners, these partners may have studied aikido for a few hours or for 50 years. You will always have to adjust to your partners level of experience, understanding, body type and age, if  you are injured you will not be able to train for some time or may give up training altogether so all care is taken to avoid injury.

There are only a small number of basic techniques but when we start doing variations there are thousands, as our understanding of aikido develops the way we practice changes, externally we may appear to be doing the same techniques but the way we perform them has changed.

In Aikido we get out of the way of force, we blend with the force, we take the attackers balance and redirect it either into a lock or a throw. Because we are not using our own force Aikido is good at handling multiple person attacks.

Sometimes weapons will be used to illustrate a point or sometimes as a study in themselves, this depends on the Sensei