Attack

Wrist grabbing gives tori the chance to learn bodily marital movement. How the wrist grab is dealt with also provides the key to movement in dealing with other attacks, such as being pushed or punched. The idea is to unify movement across a range of attacks and defences to simplify the process - to make it logical and therefore easy to learn. Tori likes his wrist to be grabbed because uke only has one more hand with which to attack; even if a wrist is grabbed, the smart tori still has two hands.

1. No touch: Avoid the grab; tori moves his hand away just enough to avoid contact. Uke almost catches, and feels that he can almost catch, and so has reason to continue to try. If tori only avoids, uke is in control; if tori avoids and remains aware or leads uke, tori is in control. Tori strives to maintain a mental connection with uke, whether uke is aware of it or not. The mental connection learned here should be applied in every other aspect of practice.
2. From touch to light grasp: Tori avoids, but allows uke to catch with his fingers, yet his grasp is incomplete. Tori is controlling the extent of uke's grip and making it easier for himself to escape or to begin technique.
3. Complete grip, but no strength: Tori allows uke to catch but tori off-balances uke such that the grip contains no threat. The attack is dissipated. However, to uke, his grip feels comfortable thus he maintains his hold longer than he should.
4. Complete grip, with a little strength: Uke's grip is stronger and uke will feel he is gaining control of tori. Tori leads uke's attack in such a way that the slightly-firm grip is maintained. Tori wants uke to keep hold and uses uke's grip to add momentum to uke's attack.
5. Complete grip - firm: As uke's grip becomes stronger, the technical skill of tori becomes more important. Tori may wish to add more momentum to uke's attack but will not be able to unless his technique is sound. Tori must first learn to control his own body before he can begin to control uke's.
6. Solid grip: Static solid single- or two-handed grips. Uke has the time to take complete control of tori's arm. Here, tori has the chance to develop his body skills. He has to learn to melt into uke's grip before leading uke off balance. Here, technical skill is vital. Here, is precisely where the 'technical' skill used in the above five phases is developed. This method is useful for developing understanding of aiki.
7. Grip and strike: More dynamic and realistic. Makes no sense to give uke too much advantage before starting technique.

It is important to develop a tori-leading-uke feeling. When training, it is important to practice at either end of the above continuum ranging from light to solid, technical to realistic. With technical skill, tori can allow uke to maintain a comfortable grip (more harmony), or, can chose to make uke's grip feel uncomfortable (less harmony). It is unlikely that a teacher will ask you to train systematically like this. Usually, the keen uke attacks as strong he can; in his daily practise the keen tori varies his own response according to the above methods - if he is aware of them.

Pushing, here, can be done slowly or quickly and is along the way of logical progression to defence against striking. With a little thought, the skills learned here can be applied to striking. Also, what is learned here will improve body movement and general attack and defence skills. Below, 'touch' can represent a push or a strike.

1. No touch: Uke tries to touch tori but tori avoids. Avoidance can be done in terms of a straight line or a circle. Start by avoiding with a 5" gap and over time, reduce it to 1" or less. Tori feels as though he is a magnet that is being repelled by an approaching magnet of similar polarity.
2. Light touch: Tori allows a light touch against his arms or body (a certain school of thought considers it wrong to allow the body to be touched). Uke feels as though he can push, and so commits, but does not fall over when he fails. It is tori's avoidance that makes the touch feel light, not uke's intention.
3. Firm touch/push: Tori allows a firm touch or push and his avoidance causes disturbance in uke's balance. With time, uke learns to push stronger while maintaining his balance.
4. Solid push: Tori really allows uke to push him halfway across the room. Only after uke has developed a strong attack can tori learn to deal with it. Next, tori's avoidance does not avoid the attack but meets it firmly, yet momentarily redirects uke's energy this way or that to off-balance before entering with technique.

Solid grips allow tori to refine his bodily movement such that it harmonises with what uke is doing. Such practice is the absolute basic requirement for kokyu-ho and kokyu-nage, which contain the basic movements found in Aikido, which in turn must be applied in all the techniques.

After training against grabbing and pushing attacks, much of what has to be learned to deal with striking attacks is already known. Tori understands basic movement, avoidance, and has experience in dealing with uke's power. Striking attacks bring speed, power, and intention together to create danger.

1. Eight directions: Tori practices avoidance against tsuki, shomen-uchi, and yokomen-uchi. Avoidance to the rear, rear corners, and sides is relatively easy; avoidance to the front corners allows for better technique but requires a more concentrated mind. Moving ever more directly forwards to meet the attack head-on requires courage and speed to enter before the attack fully develops.
2. Time: Tori begins early, at the same time, or as late as possible.
3. Counter strike: Tori meets the strike and counter strikes in harmony with the general movement.
4. Contact: Tori makes and maintains contact with uke's centre through his arm or body while dealing with the attack.
5. Off-balancing: Tori meets, makes contact with uke's arm or body, and adds energy to off-balance uke.
6. Technique: Tori makes an appropriate technique, in consideration of uke's momentary state of off-balance.

Uke's attack provides tori with the opportunity to hone his skill. Tori can approach each technique in various ways that comprise some mix of the above ideas. There is no one way to do anything; rather, we have a bunch of variables that need to be trained.