Aikido Center of Los Angeles

At the crux of Aikido is this ability to remain calm.

When we are calm, we can see all options as well as all sides of the coin.

Aikido is a practice and so is being able to let people go by, especially when they are trying to hurt us.

Letting someone go by is the mark of a truly evolved person and that is why the best Aikidoists let them go by.

From the Aikido Center of Los Angeles’ Aiki Dojo Message - Don’t Just Crank it

Most of the problems in a dojo can be avoided if we follow these two rules: Don’t crank someone else’s wrist if you don’t want your wrist cranked. If you like it when people crank your wrist, don’t assume they like it - at least ask them, first. All of the other problems can possibly be fixed by just substituting the words “wrist crank” with the words for the problem that you are having.

Thinking about this, that means that most of the problems that we encounter in a dojo could possibly be solved with the two Cs: communication and compassion.

Communication. Use your words to convey your needs or desires rather than just assuming that the other person knows. i.e. ask them if they want you to crank their wrist. Good communication is the kind of thing left over from the battlefield where “without unimpeded real-time communication, forces risk fratricide, isolation, and mission failure.” Speak up, don’t assume, and try to understand. Speak up, be honest and be as clear as you can when you do speak up so that you are conveying the right information and also that the person can hear you. Don’t assume that they know. Don’t assume that you know. Also try to understand because there is a possibility that the person wasn’t entirely honest because they might not understand what they want. Therefore, when in doubt ask and if you don’t understand, ask for clarification.

Compassion. Compassion enables us to put into practice the understanding that we gained from the act of communicating. True compassion is the ability to be with a person where they are not where you would like them to be. One of the universal truths is that every person is suffering. So, when we crank their wrist when they aren’t ready to take it, we are just adding to their suffering. When we assume they are just a jerk because they act like, without knowing and just hating on them, we are adding to their suffering. As his holiness the Dalai Lama famously stated, "Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.” It is easy to hurt people with words or fists. Being able to give compassion to a person that we don’t really like or who doesn’t particularly deserve it is a high level skill.

Training in Aikido is done as a partnership where there is supposed to be synergy where two or more people are working together so that each person reaches their highest potential. That is why Reverend Kensho Furuya Sensei used to discourage us from solo training. In Aikido, we are forced to do this. I use the word force because in training, the thing that we avoid is the path. Everyone works well with the people that they like. The extent to which you can work with a person that you don’t particularly like but still create a harmonious outcome dictates your level of Aikido skill.

The goal in Aikido is not to effectively and painfully crank someone’s wrist. Anyone can do that. The goal is to become aware enough to do just enough. That deft touch requires a certain level of communication and compassion. Aikido is about change. We twist the wrist to change the other person’s mind. They can come away from it thinking that we are a jerk or they can come away from thinking that you are an incredible person. However, our true goal is not to change them, our goal is to only change ourselves. The next time you go to crank someone’s wrist, think, ask, and try to understand. The Way is in that which we fear, hate, or try to avoid. Strive to understand, not just to make it hurt.

Today’s goal: Look past what you think is happening or you think is right and ask questions so that you can understand.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog

Aikido Kodokai Salamanca- España AIKIDO DOJO MANZANO Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center

This is the martial arts dirty little secret. 🤫

Discouragement is the martial artist’s only true friend.

Without discouragement, most of us would just quit because we wouldn’t know the value of something.

Discouragement keeps us grounded and teaches us the true value of things or people.

Discouragement tests our will.

The most important thing to remember about discouragement is that it is ok to be discouraged.

It happens to all of us.

The true test of discouragement is if we give in to it or give up.

Discouragement tests us and teaches us.

Discouragement shows us where we need to put in the work. 

It is an integral part of all of our training - so embrace it.

This article originally appeared in the July 2026 issue of El Budoka 2.0 magazine. It was kindly translated by Santiago Garcia Almaraz Sensei.

Technique Sequencing

“Once a fight has started, if you get involved in thinking about what to do, you will be cut down by your opponent with the very next blow.” - Yagyu Munenori

In Aikido, no technique is done singularly or by itself. In the mindset of the trained Aikidoist, every technique is or should be done as part of a sequence of techniques.

The reason for this rationale is because we are supposed to have the mindset that our opponent will be as skilled or greater than us. If that is the case, then they will know where the weaknesses are in the technique and will try and try to exploit it or block us at that opening. To circumvent their attack, we set up our techniques to flow logically from one technique to another so that we can overwhelm our opponent and eventually overtake them.

The flow from one technique to another in Aikido is referred to as henka waza (変化技). Henka means “change” or “transformation” and waza means “technique” or “skill.” Ideally, henka waza is the skill or art of transforming one technique into another. Typically, the nage moves from one technique to another when the uke resists or jams the initial technique.

The change is not arbitrary or predetermined where the choices and the changes are done for no reason. The sequences are linked together based upon where the logical weaknesses or openings are in the technique. Knowing that they know, we think ahead and set up the next logical technique in the place where the opponent plans to attack us.

In chess, it is commonly thought that elite grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen can supposedly calculate three to five moves ahead in complex chess positions. Carlsen has also bragged that he can “see” somewhere between 15–20 moves ahead in forced, tactical, or endgame situations.

This is similar in Judo as Judoka and MMA fighter Ronda Rousey's Judo technique is widely considered to be three to five techniques deep. Her sequence is designed to attack and wear down her opponents as they defend each one of the techniques in her sequence.

Just about any first year Aikido student can muddle their way through a predetermined set of techniques that was put together with no real thought. However, true henka waza is a high level skill that one only truly starts to cultivate around 4th or 5th degree black belt. A good technique sequence should be somewhere around five to six techniques deep. Henka waza is a demonstration of not only the practitioner’s ability to stay calm and be spontaneous but it is also a test of the practitioner’s knowledge of the techniques.

The telltale sign of a good henka waza is that the practitioner looks calm, cool and collected. In Japanese, this is called seichu no do, do chu no sei (靜中動 動中靜) or “movement in calmness, calmness in movement.” It is almost like moving meditation with a calm state of mind but there is also an efficiency to how one moves and uses their bodies. It is as if the body moves with a sense of calm and grace and only utilizes the minimalist amount of movement and energy. We cannot meditate our way here or fake it. This “movement in calmness, calmness in movement” is something that is only attained at the end of tens of thousands of repetitions.

The reason why it is a higher black belt level skill is because the practitioner must know the techniques so well that they have an almost unnatural sense about them. It is only with a precise knowledge of the techniques that the movement becomes almost intuitive. Not intuitive in a supernatural sense but in a subconscious way. Our bodies “know” and act so fast that it seems intuitive. It is said that subconscious thoughts and actions are processed at roughly 11 to 400 million bits per second and can precede conscious awareness by around 300 milliseconds. So it seems intuitive. This technical intelligence is built upon hundreds if not thousands of hours of technique repetition. From here, the practitioner knows the techniques so well that they not only know the mechanism of how the technique works but also the places where it is vulnerable and where the opponent will most likely try to attack it. From this knowledge, they feel not know what would be the next best technique in the sequence.

There are three ways to create the next technique in a henka waza sequence. The first is the most basic way. If we know the technique extensively enough then we should know the mechanism of how it works and we should know where its weaknesses are as well. We then stitch together our sequence because we are ready to move to the next logical technique based upon knowing that the opponent knows where to try to attack the technique. This is the level where we see kata (型) or “a standard form of a movement” in other martial arts.

The second is by set-up or trap. Since we know that they know, we purposefully create a “opening” or suki (隙) and lay a trap for our opponent. After all, Sun Tzu’s core tenet from The Art of War is "All warfare is based on deception.” Our opponent arrogantly sees an opening not knowing we created it and tries to capitalize upon it and thus fall into our trap. We don’t know which technique trap they will fall for and thus we need to make our sequence as deep as possible.

The third is by feel or intuition which is the hardest way. It is hard because we have to know without knowing without conscious thought. At this level, chess grandmasters uses high levels of intuition and pattern recognition and and have a sense or feeling for what is going to happen next. The farther one thinks ahead, the more conscious thought can’t be used. Remember, conscious thought is slow, intentional, and analytical and has been clocked at around 40 bits per second while subconscious thought is fast, automatic, and associative at speeds of up to 400 billion bits per second. So, if you have to think about the next step, it is not intuitive. We are calm and have trained to know the technique. Now we allow the feeling to guide the next technique in the sequence based upon the feedback we get from our opponent’s body language, reaction and movement just to name a few. At this level, it’s as if we kokoro wo yomu (心を読む) or “read” our opponent’s thoughts.

People who follow the Way of Aikido believe in ki no nagare (氣の流れ) or “the flow of ki” energy. This sounds mystical but we can see it physically in our henka waza as our ki flows from one technique to another which makes it look almost supernatural. But this isn’t magical, it is merely the result of years and years of training and thousands upon thousands of repetitions. True skill lies in meeting adversity calmly and with poise and power and we do that with our henka waza and the depths of our technique sequencing.

Terasaki Budokan - Little Tokyo Service Center Aikido Kodokai Salamanca- España AIKIDO DOJO MANZANO

Read Secuencia De La Tecnica in Spanish here:https://www.elbudoka.es/revista/budoka91.pdf =58

Give grace.

The best Aikidoist trains themselves to give grace rather than destruction.

In order to do that we need to see all the potentialities.

So, instead of getting mad and exploding on that person, we can ask ourselves, “How else COULD I react?”

If we can see the other possibilities, then other ways exist and then so does the possibility of change.

The best Aikidoist learns to see rather than to react because they know that the possibilities are endless.

The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Unorthodox Joint Lock Techniques

In this episode of the Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique, David Ito Sensei demonstrates some of the many unorthodox joint locks in Aikido's repertoire. Some you may have seen. Others you may have not. Let us know if you would like Ito Sensei to do an extended video on any of the joint locks you see here.

Unorthodox Joint Lock Techniques -The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique #aikido #aikidocenterla The Aiki Dojo 2 Minute Technique - Unorthodox Joint Lock Technique...

From the Aikido Center of Los Angeles’ Aiki Dojo Message - Don’t Rush

If there is one piece of advice, I could give a student, I think I would encourage them not to rush. Rushing activates our physiological "fight-or-flight" response, which releases adrenaline and causes tunnel vision and decreases our peripheral vision. When this happens, we cannot see the mistakes that we are making because we are too hyper focused on that one thing despite everything around us caving in. In Japanese, they say, isogaba maware (急がば回れ) or “haste makes waste.”

The other day I was reading this article on why rushing feels so exhausting and the author explained this idiom. In his article, Takayuki Togo wrote, “Isogaba maware offers a gentle yet powerful counter-philosophy. Its idiomatic meaning is ‘Haste makes waste.’ More positively, it teaches that ‘The quickest way to reach a goal is by taking the safest, most reliable route, even if it appears to be a detour.’”

I never thought about it like that. If we are in a hurry, we should take the long way and not shoot for the short cut. The reason is that because our fight-or-flight response is activated, we will most likely miss a crucial detail in the short cut which could set us back. Haven’t you ever been late and taken a short cut only to go the wrong way which caused you to be later than if you just took the regular long way?

The same thinking is true in Aikido training. Often times, we think that to improve quicker or learn faster, we should somehow force it. Forcing it means going faster, pushing harder, or using too much strength. This may work in the beginning but, in time, this only leads to frustration for you, the teacher and everyone else in the room who are not on the path of forcing it.

When we train with our partner, we need to create a synergistic balance and harmony with them. I am not advocating for going easy. What I am referring to is that you and your partner need to create this intuitive bond where both are working together to learn and improve. If one person is trying to force it when the other person is not ready to train that way, it only leads to feelings of frustration or bad blood. When working with your partner, you should try to gain an intuitive sense about how much effort, speed, strength, etc is needed and what they can handle, or what they want. If you cannot read your partner and just force it, you are training self-centeredly and this can only lead to disharmony.

Trying to read the person intuitively is hard and takes years of training. Therefore, until you can intuitively read your partner, you should just ask them. This is the easiest way to affirm if you intuited them correctly. This can be hard too if you are shy and not assertive enough, but this is also a part of training. The worst thing to do is to just force yourself upon someone else. Then, when you are not getting your way, the frustration will be shown on your face or in how you treat them. Everyone can tell, even if you think you are hiding it, that you are frustrated or having a bad day. This show of frustration can create hurt feelings and cause that person to resent you or rise up against you.

The people who come to class are not there for us to vent our frustration upon and they are not there to be our throwing dummies. Everyone should train hard, but that doesn’t mean that they should be treated in a dehumanizing or bullying way.

The philosopher Lao Tzu said, "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." One of the hardest things about Aikido training is that it kind of comes when it comes and the more we force it, the more it doesn’t come. Please don’t rush.

Today’s goal: If you find yourself rushing, take a breath, slow down and maybe take the long way around.

This post appears in a slightly different form @ www.aikidocenterla.com/blog