VIDEO: AIKIDO: Shihonage - Ashi sabaki illustrated with bokken and wakizashi, Part 1

Do you find that you sometimes get locked down when you’re doing shihonage? That you can’t advance forward under uke’s arm?

Today’s video is the first of the highlights videos from our Aikido Summer Seminar in Los Angeles last month.

The class was right after lunch so I thought it might be the perfect time for some sword work. But rather than kumitachi or just lots of cuts, I thought it might be helpful for the participants to do some sword work, focusing on “ashi sabaki” (footwork) to shed some light on the mechanics and footwork of shihonage. In the video, we use bokken, wakizashi, and then move to empty hand technique.

I hope today’s video will give you some insight, inspiration, and motivation to help you make the most of your training and take your Aikido to the next level.

Let’s check it out.