That is why I always had the feeling for my friend Kanai Sensei, I could always write to him as a friend, and the same way he could write back to me as a friend, but I didn’t have the same feeling with other people. When we do katate tori tenkan or katate tori irimi, why do we practice katate tori? What is the meaning? Why do we do katate tori this or katate tori that.
If I’m holding you, is it a technique?
If I’m holding a pen is this a technique for me? Is grabbing the technique? If uke were to hold nage could he not do shihonage to him? Why would you do that? Shihonage. If I were to hold him (holding Peter’s wrist) is it that I can’t do shihonage to him?
Yes you could! (laughter)
It is all the same. We always start by learning that the attacker holds you and you do the technique. The attacker does shomenuchi and the defender does a technique. If I were to attack could I do the technique? If uke were to hold could he also do the technique? Isn’t that a possibility? We never practice the uke attacking and then doing the technique as well. People say that in Aikido there is no attack, but who says so? That’s not right.
So why don’t we practice that way?
Today I did that in class. The first day I taught that, and I taught it at the Florida seminar as well. That’s why Kanai Sensei asked me “what did you teach?” Probably David went to him and said “Kurita Sensei did this, that and the other” and Kanai Sensei came to me and asked, “What did you do?”
I never told him! (Laughter)
Somebody told him! Some spy….named David! (Laughter)
Why shouldn’t you be able to attack and do the technique? Many people think there is no attack in Aikido, that Aikido is only defensive. That is not correct. Where did they hear that?
Is there a reason we practice that way?
Two reasons. If you hold me, perhaps if you have a knife you can cut me. I would like to do ikkyo or kotegaeshi. If you had a knife and rather than hold my hand you cut off my hand, could I do shihonage? No I wouldn’t be able to. Normally we think of katate tori shihonage with uke holding nage. But if uke were holding a knife and nage grabs uke’s wrist to keep him from cutting, couldn’t nage do shihonage?
For example one way to arrive at the position where nage is holding the wrist and applying the technique is to evoke an attack of shomen with awase, and then take the wrist and do the technique.
Source: Facebook/Aikido
