Class Size & Uke Teacher
(Extracted from Aikido-L)

Date:    Thu, 9 May 2002 09:02:49 +0000
From:    Mike ?
Subject: Class size & uke teacher was:Re: returning...

>From: Craig
>   I agree that this makes a lot of sense and that the uke role is the
>harder
>one to fulfill. Certainly, in Ki Society, the role of uke in Taigi is
>generally done by the higher ranking student.  However, the larger classes
>being more difficult to teach in this manner doesn't really work as an
>explanation IMO. Certainly many of the classes before WWII and just after
>were not large in Daito-ryu or Aikibudo/Aikido from what I have read.
>There
>are plenty of small aikido schools today.
>

snip

>
>Also, I think it's still possible to teach large classes in a manner
>consistent with the "teacher is uke" approach.  For example, in a
>beginner's
>class the teacher has a senior student throw him to help demonstrate ukemi.

Yeah but my point was basically, what if the teacher doesn't have a senior student, what if all are beginners, like in the dojo I train in. Personally I find it very useful to be uke for the people I'm teaching, but if there were more people I wouldn't really be able to do that as well because my time would have to be spent differently. So in the absense of a student who knows enough to do the technique correctly I would have to be nage for most demonstrations.

>The teacher get's thrown more than throwing the senior student.  When
>making
>rounds during practice, rather than throwing the student to show them the
>technique (see here is nikyo -- wham!), the teacher takes ukemi from the
>student several times helping them do the right movements or at a more
>advanced level helping them close openings and learning to really throw him
>well. In large groups, the senior students would pair off with juniors
>always and insist on being uke first and twice as much. In my experience,
>that generally is the opposite of what happens.  In a large class with an
>odd number, the teacher can pair off with a senior student and be his uke
>till the teacher is satisfied that improvement and understanding have
>occurred.  When he get's to do nage he can asks that his students do not
>hold back and if their attack succeeds or at least presses him in to a
>mistake, he should say "good show" and encourage them to come again to give
>him another chance to practice and improve (but not retaliate).

I don't know that thats true, in my experience when I'm partnered with someone junior to me, I most often act as uke first, unless they specifically ask me not to because they would prefer to see the technique done on them. Dunno, maybe I'm odd or I just like being uke, but I seem to be outside the
normal trend as you describe it, but apparently I'm like that (hmm, I will elaborate in another post).

>
>I also like what you guys do in the role reversing at any point, that I am
>not sure that can't just become an ego-filled pissing contest contrary to
>aikido unless it is kept in some moderation and mostly regulated to
>yudansha
>who presumably understand better how fine the line is.
>
>So if it wasn't a tradition of behavoir, then I don't think class size
>would
>stand in the way of a good teacher.

I don't think it would either unless everyone is a complete newbie as far as aikido is concerned, but thats just the way it is at the moment, you could
always change the trend Brother Craig...

Mike Haft

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Date:    Thu, 9 May 2002 06:24:50 -0400
From:    Craig
Subject: Re: Class size & uke teacher was:Re: returning...

On Thu, 9 May 2002 09:02:49 +0000, Mike ? wrote:

>I don't think it would either unless everyone is a complete newbie as far as
>aikido is concerned, but thats just the way it is at the moment, you could
>always change the trend Brother Craig...
>
>>
>
>Mike Haft


  Oh, believe me, I am changing it.  ;)


When I have taught university aikido intro courses where I had 30-40 complete newbies I always started with techniques that could be done slowly
into a easy  forward fall (like ikkyo) or an easy backfall (like udekirikaeshi) so that I could show and do both roles with students.

one thing I would do is start off by having them all line up and go through the basic movement of nage together like a kata copying what I am doing in
front of them. After they start to get the feel of that, I would take one of the students and have them do the movement slowly from a static hold while I
played the role of uke to show the proper ukemi. Did this several times till it went relatively smoothly and then have them partner up.  Part of our
warmups is backfall practice so that is usually the best bet for the first class.  Then I would wander around taking ukemi where needed. Sometimes nage if someone needs to believe it works or just asks for me to do it.


Craig

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Last updated on 13 Sep 2002