Posture

Aikido posture takes time to 'acquire'. At first, rather than feeling natural, you have to learn to take what seems unnatural and train it until it feels natural. The various schools of Aikido all have their own 'take' on what good posture is and one point of confusion is how to hold out the arms.

1. Firm arms: This method dictates strict posture with arms somewhat forcefully extended. It can be a useful starting point for beginners to get into the shape of Aikido from a mechanical perspective.
2. Sword arms: Imagine holding a sword and stand accordingly to make posture. Naturally, it works a lot better if you actually train with a sword from time to time. Swordwork puts the posture and mind in order and contributes a lot to good Aikido technique. The problem is that some people fail to put enough extension in the arms when holding and too much when striking. However, even an expert swordsman will have problems understanding aiki extension so there is more to 'it' than simple swordwork.
3. Floppy arms: Because Aikido is supposed to take little effort, 'floppy' thinking dictates you should raise your arms into posture with as little effort as possible. Confusing at first, it has merit in making technique. It helps development as people use the weight of their arms combined with speed of movement to make technique. It fails somewhat as people, intent on reducing their strength, tend to swing their arms rather than simply raising them thereby meaning they are sometimes not extended properly. Also, as people come to prefer floppiness so they often begin to ignore #4 below.
4. Heavy arms: Developing 'heavy arms' is thought to be a source of strength or power in technique. This is fine, but some tend to overly concentrate on the arms and forget to apply heaviness to the rest of their body. 'Body rooting' might be a more appropriate 'feeling'.
5. Extended arms: The arms reach forwards (or upwards, or downwards, or sideways), naturally, without becoming absolutely straight or over extended. Correct extension produces an unbendable arm. It can be gentle, to the extent of seeming floppy, or hard, to the extent of appearing stiff (from uke's point of view, but not so). For extension, imagine a short hose crinkled up on the ground. Suddenly turn on the water and it unravels its kinks and extends itself. Correctly extended arms offer a clue to the feel of aiki. Most importantly, all the techniques of Aikido can be done in this manner. Indeed, even the attacking holds and striking techniques use this same extension principle.

To think only one method to be correct is to rob yourself of ideas that might aid your development. Further, it is not only the arms, but the legs and body also need the same treatment, or 'extension'.

Posture is often thought to be the point of readiness before technique begins but this kind of thinking offers only a limited view into the nature of posture. Rather, 'posture' should be apparent at every point thoughout the technique.

The keen student should look for key 'posture' postions within a technique and strive to join them together.