Ne Waza Classes

After a period of relative dormancy, the ne waza (ground techniques) classes are up and running again. The classes are on Friday nights at 6:00 PM following the 5:00 "Gentle Aikido" class and would typically run about 1.5-2 hours, depending on the pace and number of participants. They are lead by our own Mike "Dokei" Mulvaney, 1st Dan in Aikido and 2nd Dan in Judo.

In Aikido there are three general areas or phases of training: tachi waza, hanmi handachi, and suwari waza. On the other hand, Judo has basically two phases of training: tachi waza and ne waza. Ne waza is seldom emphasized in Aikido training, so it is a real treat to have Dokei-san offer his services and expertise on this subject.

With its chokes and joint locks, ne waza may be viewed by some as brutal, animalistic, and competitive in nature. On the contrary, I personally find it very cerebral, sophisticated and fluid, not to mention fun; one may portray it as kinetic chess. In describing ne waza -- in particular osaekomi waza, an aspect of ne waza that focuses on methods of body control -- the late John Osako Sensei of the Detroit Judo Club offered an analogy. "Visualize a man and a snake," he stated. "The snake is coiled around the man's arm; the man has the snake's head firmly in his closed hand. Neither is in control; both are in danger. If the man releases the snake's head, he will be bitten. If the snake releases the man's arm he can be smashed against a sharp rock, or thrown to the ground and shot. However, if the man can shake the snake loose, still maintaining his grip on the head, he will be in control. The snake's body will be free to writhe and twist in the air, but he cannot escape." Furthermore, under Dokei-san's guidance, we explore the application and fusion of aiki principles to ground/grappling techniques. And so for me, these ne waza classes serve as a facet of and supplement to my budo training.

To give you an idea of what ne waza is like, below is a clip from an instructional video on Judo's ne waza techniques. It is in Japanese and offers no English subtitles, but at least you can appreciate what we go over in class, more or less. So please feel free to check these classes out!

Gassho.

-Andre ("Muketsu")