Aikido KAESHI WAZA, counters to aikido techniques, by Stefan Stenudd

This is KAESHIWAZA, counter techniques to basic aikido techniques. I see it as a practice to improve the aikido techniques towards a point when they can no longer be countered. Here are some counters to several basic aikido techniques, mostly shown quite slowly for clarity. In kaeshiwaza, you counter an aikido technique with another (or the same) aikido technique. It should be practiced with care to avoid injuries. Resisting techniques can be harmful if not done correctly. Therefore, it’s a good idea to go slowly and gently at first. There is one simple rule to kaeshiwaza: timing. You can counter an aikido technique at certain moments of it and not at others. Those are moments when the person doing the technique tries to take over control, i.e., when the other’s evasion turns into defensive action, leading you where you didn’t initially intend to go. You can avoid it by applying aikido principles – accepting and then redirecting the force. So, you’re using aikido also when countering aikido techniques. Kaeshiwaza helps to discover flaws in your techniques, and correct them. After practicing kaeshiwaza counters, you should also try to change your technique to withstand the counters – but carefully, or you may get hurt. As with all aikido practice, it should be done in a spirit of cooperation, for the benefit of both participants. In kaeshiwaza training, the initial attack form is of minor importance, since the application of kaeshiwaza sets in after that moment. On this video, a few basic attacks are used, but with little emphasis. Just about any attack would do. How to deal with the response is that matters. Uke was Stephan Schröder: @stephanschroder7611 This is a condensed edit of a 2017 video: My aikido dojo is Enighet in Malmö, Sweden: For more about aikido, visit my website: My aikido books:
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