Kokyu Nage: The Secret Foundation

  

You and I, as Westerners, use the term “breath” to mean…well…breath. To us, this means either the act of breathing in and out, or the air that one breathes with that act.

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The Japanese use the term differently, at least in an aikido context. “Breath” can mean timing, movement, power, the development of harmony in movement – the very essence of aikido – or, it can simply mean breath.

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In the Aikikai, there exists a category of vaguely-defined throws called kokyu nage (breath throws). Some of these throws rely on tori (nage) being able to coordinate his movement with his breathing, so that the throw actually happens on the exhale. Set-up movements, such as the initial off-balance or the first redirection, can be exaggerated in order to build up the breath for the final throw. This can add emphasis, power, oomph, to the technique. One such kokyu nage is the throw that we Tomiki stylists call sumi otoshi. We don’t emphasize the breath aspect of the throw much in Tomiki aikido, but try it some time, if you have a patient uke to work with. Build up your breath, inhaling and exhaling, until you’re ready to execute the throw. Throw on the exhale. Don’t make the throw hard, but exhale hard – and see what that does for your technique.

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Other throws in this category rely on timing, with tori moving through his set-up like a comedian, measuring his words and setting up the punch line. It’s all in the timing. Wait for it, wait for it – throw! Gyaku-gamae ate is a good example of this principle, as are some of the double releases.

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What is a kokyu nage?

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A number of Western sensei in recent years have taken to explaining the phenomenon of kokyu nage as “All the techniques that aren’t covered by other names”. This is okay, I guess, for defining the kokyu nage to beginners. But the breath throw is so much more than that. For one thing, the term “breath throw” can be used to refer to more than half of the waza taught in the Tomiki curriculum up through shodan. Counting the 17, the 16 double releases and the big 10, it can be said that 25 of the 43 techniques are classified as kokyu nage by the Aikikai.

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Ten of the seventeen techniques from the ju-nana-hon kata could be called kokyu nage:

Shomen ate*

Aigamae ate*

Gyakugamae ate

Gedan ate*

Ushiro ate

Hiki taoshi

Ude hineri

Mae otoshi

Sumi otoshi

Hiki otoshi

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Eight of the Sixteen Double Releases (Ryote-Mochi Hanasu-no-kata) are kokyu nage:

Ryote Shomen ate*

Shomen ate*

Ritsu Uki Otoshi

Gyaku Sumi Otoshi

Ushiro Ate

Mae Otoshi

Sumi Otoshi

Uki Otoshi (tatehiza)

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And seven of the Big Ten (O-Waza Ju-Pon):

Kata Otoshi

Kubi Guruma

Ude Guruma

HijiGuruma

Ushiro Ate

Ushiro Kubi Gatame

Shizumi Otoshi

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(* = could also be classified as variations of irimi nage, but that's another post)

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All of these throws, when executed in one of the Aikikai styles, would be classified as kokyu nage. Imagine this scenario: a Tomiki guy walks into an Aikikai dojo, anywhere in the world. He carries with him the above repertoire, and executes each of these 25 throws. He demonstrates the differences between an ushiro ate in the ju-nana-hon kata and an ushiro ate in the o-waza ju pon. He does only the 25 techniques listed above. At the end of his demonstration, he asks the Aikikai sensei and students which throws he has done for them. The answer is, “Kokyu nage, 25 times.”

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The development of “Breath Power”

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There are probably hundreds more techniques and variations of techniques that can fall under the same umbrella. Virtually any throw that uses primarily what the Japanese call kokyu ryoku (breath power) is eligible. As one might guess, this is the ability of the aikidoist to use the breath, in part as described above, during the execution of the technique, and is developed through a series of partner-assisted exercises called kokyu-ho (breath exercise), or kokyu-tanden-ho (breath centering exercise). These exercises, usually suwari-waza (techniques done while seated in seiza), generally involve making a good connection between uke and tori. They also involve the ability to move the attacker by use of one’s own center. This is where some schools go into “projecting your ki” and more esoteric ideas, which as it turns out aren’t as farfetched as they sound (mostly). These are simply concepts that deal with the manipulation of the energy introduced into the system by uke – that energy can be connected, built up in the center, and projected outward or toward uke’s weak direction (remember your happo-no-kuzushi).

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Strong arms (sometimes called “unbendable arm”, although that term technically refers to something else entirely) and good awareness of the relationship between the direction of your own energy and that of your attacker are a must. Use the energy in your wrists, in your hands, and in the forward part of your arms to move uke in an upward direction, locking his shoulders and upper spine in a fully-engaged (and therefore helpless) position. It’s by moving your core, your center, that you then take him to the mat, either sideways or backwards. To the untrained eye, this looks like arm strength, but has in reality nothing to do with brute force.

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In his video series, Mitsugi Saotome shihan talks about the power of the kokyu-tanden-ho as being concentrated in the middle and exploding outward in a centrifical motion. He calls this a type of universal harmony with all things. For those of us who aren’t ready for universal harmony, I suggest using a willing uke and a soft mat. I think there’s something similar to this exercise in either san kata or go kata, but I’m not sure (still kinda fuzzy on most of the koryu no kata).

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Conclusion

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It wasn’t very long ago, maybe three months or so, that I first felt what a well-executed kokyu nage can do to a man my size. In this Aikkai dojo where I’m still very new, I ran up and grabbed both the collar tapes on my training partner’s gi. He didn’t move, at least not that I could see. He didn’t make a sound. He just…how can I describe it…he settled in. He entered into a “just be here, just be part of the earth” mode, and made himself solid. So solid, in fact, that I – not having any clue what was going to happen, mind you – flew backward maybe ten feet. I was slapping the mat before I knew what was happening. This is no exaggeration at all; a dojo full of people saw it, and at least one of them will read this and keep me honest. I fell down the way people do in the movies, when they get shot at close range with a 12-guage.

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I’ve experienced kuzushi (off-balance) many times, of course, and really good musugi (blending) maybe slightly fewer. But I’d never felt anything like that first kokyu ryoku (breath power). Far from being some supernatural claim or something to be scoffed at, I’ve found it to be a very serious principle to work with in the development of my aikido. In my opinion, it’s the kokyu principle, more than anything else, that makes aikido what it is.

 

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Blue Update, 19 Sept 09:

As it turns out, kokyu nage is the technique, or category of techniques, that's giving me the most difficulty since moving over to the AikiKai in February - with the possible exception of nikyo and sankyo. One intriguing concept that I'd never thought of is this: It's not uncommon for an experienced aikidoist in this tradition to leave the idea of technique behind, and focus on feeling, movement, timing, etc.

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You see this a lot in jiyu waza, which is what Tomiki folks would call multiple attacker randori. As nage (tori) moves through his attackers, weaving between them so that none cvan get a firm grip on him, he begins throwing them one by one, without using any specific techniques. He doesn't have time for techniques, which require setup and execution. He only has time for movement within the Aiki principle. He may do what I call a shoulder-ate, which may look a bit like a sloppy guruma, but that's not the principle behind what he's doing. The principle is kokyu nage.

Comments

[nick lowry]

yes aiki is not "in" the waza or kata or systems-- those are all just more or less skillful means to allow real aiki to manifest in a spontaneous embodiment -- when we go do practice -- go do aikido-- we are really practicing the stuff that makes aiki possible but it is still a means to an end not the end itself -- easy to confuse that

[אומנויות לחימה]

I was struck on the rug before I knew what was happening. It is no exaggeration at all, a dojo full of people saw it, and at least one of them will read this and keep me honest.