Wednesday Night at the Dojo 6/7

Aikidokas: Sensei Raymond, Sensei Tim, Robert, and Oliver.

Ukemi: Took no forward rolls, just the back falls.

The Walk: as usual.

Releases: Worked with Oliver.

That's what we did all evening. Sensei R. got out on the mat and worked us through releases as the entry to techniques.

We also discussed the whack-a-mole philosophy of aikido. If you try to hit one mole (technique) but miss, another mole (technique) pops up for you to hit, using the incorrect part of the previous technique as the entry for the new one.

We also explored what happens when uke happens to trap you. You, as tori, need to move to your weakest position that does not put you in "the hole". I tried to come up with some sort of way to codify this a little better, but my attempts failed.

My first thought was to put your center in "the hole" instead of putting your foot there, but that's not right.

Aftermath: Back was sore, but it's not hurting this morning. I just need to be careful with it. Maybe forward rolls on Saturday, but I'm probably going to be video man for Jeff and Gail again. I hope forward rolls are in the books for Monday.