aikido and injuries

7/29/2019 Aikido and Injuries

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Aikido&Injuries


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AlaaHijaziSensei AmmanAikikaiAikido,Aikido&Injuries

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AikidoandInjuriesbyStanleyPraninAikiNews#58(October1983)

There isasubjectofconsiderable importancethatwehavedealtwithonseveraloccasions in

thispublication.Iwouldlike,however,tobroachitagaininamoresystematicmanner.Ireferto

thetopicofaikidotraininginjuries.Whenaikidoistalkedaboutinprint,thefocusseemstobe

more on the aspects of harmony, blending and spiritual matters and some of the more

mundaneareas revolving aroundpractice in thedojoareeasilyneglected.These include the

inevitable muscle strains, body soreness, jammed toes and fingers and the various other

"occupational"hazardsinherenttoourart.Theyareforgotten,thatis,untilthatinevitableday

whenweourselvesbecomethevictimsofaninjuryandmustlivewiththeaccompanyingpain.

CommonTraining

Injuries

Whatarethecommonaikido injuries?Howarethey likelytooccur?I'll listsomeofthosethat

immediatelyspringtomindalongwiththeirusualcausesandreaderscancomparenotes.

Wristinjuries:ikkyopins,nikyo,sankyo,kotegaeshi,shihonage. Elbowinjuries:ikkyopins,shihonage,jujigarami. Shoulderinjuries:shihonage,nikyopins,sankyopins,incorrectorobstructedfalls. Headandneckinjuries:shihonage,incorrectorobstructedfalls. Backinjuries:thesocalled"high"fallsfromshihonageandfromkoshinage. Kneeinjuries:(structural)improperloadingofpartnerinkoshinage,poorpositioningof

feetwhileexecuting techniques, failure to twisthips thereby releasing strainonknee

joints,outside

lateral

impacts;

(surface)

excessive

practice

of

seated

techniques.

Toesandfingers:toescaughtonhakamas,mats(thelittletoeonmyrightfootisabouttwicethesizeoftheoneonmyleftfoot,but,thenagain,myshoesizeiseleven!),etc.,

andnumeroussituationswherefingersbecomejammed.

This list isbynomeans completeanddoesn't includemiscellaneous scratchesandblackand

bluemarkswhichareusuallynotofmuchconsequencealthoughtheycanbeannoying.

DangerinBasicTechniquesAglanceattheabovelistrevealsthatitisthebasictechniquesthataremostoftenimplicated.

Thisis

undoubtedly

due

to

the

frequency

with

which

we

practice

them.

It

is,

of

course,

also

a

reflectionof themartial rootsanddestructivepotentialof the techniques thatconstitute the

fundamentaltoolsofourtrade.


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KillerShihonageParenthetically,oneshouldbearinmindthatshihonageis,inparticular,ahighrisktechnique.It

seemsthatonseveraloccasionsinJapan,traineeshavediedasaresultofinjuriessustainedto

the head and neck after having been slammed backward onto the mat while practicing

shihonage.TheincidentsIamawareofoccurredinuniversityaikidoclubswherethejuniorsare

oftenphysically abusedby their seniorspresumably for their "edification." This is somewhat

akintothe"hazing"whichtakesplaceinthemilitaryacademiesintheU.S.

To continue, it iswellknown that the bujutsu arts fromwhich the techniques of aikido are

derivedevolvedhistoricallyasmeans forsubduinganddefeatingtheenemy. Inasmuchasthe

structureof thehumanbodyhasnotchangedmuchover thecenturies,except forbecoming

largerandbulkier,thesamepotentialfordamagestillexists.

SizingupRitualIntimatelyrelatedtothesubjectofinjuriesisthefactthatinalmostanyaspectoflifeyou'dcare

tomention,

males,

and

I'm

sure

to

agreat

extent

females,

typically

go

through

a"sizing

up

ritual"whenconfrontingoneanotherwherethereissomehowaprimevalunderstandingofthe

superiorityofoneovertheother.Themostobviousfactoratplayindeterminingdominancyis

sheerphysicalsize.(Itisinterestingtonote,however,thatthetablesareturnedifthesmallerof

thetwoshouldhappentopulloutapistolthustippingtheoddsinhisfavor.Rememberhowthe

samuraiofoldfounditveryunsportingofthePortuguesetousefirearmsincombat?)

In aikido, this "sizing up exercise" is usually accomplished after a few throws have been

executed(oftenwithalittlebitofresistancethrowninforspice).Thepeckingorderhavingthus

beenestablished,trainingthenproceeds.

Onemight

argue

based

on

the

fact

that

in

practice

we

alternate

back

and

forth

between

being

thepotential"inflictors"ofinjuryandthepotential"victims"ofinjurythatsomesoberthinking

onthesubjectwouldbecalledfor.Inamoralworld,therewouldexistalevelofimplicittrust,an

unspokencontract,ifyouwill,betweenpracticepartners.Thisisespeciallythecasesincethere

isoftenagreatdisparitybetweenthetechnicalandphysicalabilitiesoftwo"partners"training

together.

TheMachoCruncherWehavenowreachedthecruxoftheissue.Giventherealityofeverydaypracticewhereoneof

the training partners is dominant having demonstrated physical and/or technical superiority,

and

the

indisputable

fact

that

human

beings

are

naturally

competitive,

we

have,

not

surprisingly, a scenariowhere injurieswill occur with greater or lesser frequency.Naturally,

wherecertainindividualsareinvolved,theincidenceofinjuryoccurswith"greaterfrequency."It

seems thatmostdojoshaveat leastone resident"machocruncher."He isusuallya"he"and

eitheraseniorstudent,orsadly,theteacher. Ironically, Idon'tthinkanydojowouldpermita

newcomer who happened to be physically powerful to come in off the street and begin

wreakinghavoc among itsmembers.However, this same reproachable conduct seems tobe

tolerableiftheabuserisanalreadyestablishedmemberofthegroup.


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This epitome of manhood enjoys a deep respect from fellow members a respect based

primarilyonfear.Onewouldnoteventhinkofresistinghistechniquefortodosowouldresult

inaninstantanddevastatingreprisal.

ModusOperandiof"Crunchers"Sinceoneofthepurposesofthisarticleis,asitwere,to"pulldownthegipants"oftheabove

mentioned"crunchers,"letmerevealsomeoftheirclever,thoughnotexactlysubtle,methods.I

suspectthatmanyreaderswillfindthatthefollowingdescriptionsstrikeafamiliarnerve.

One of my alltime favorites is the "windup" nikyo. This involves the cruncher in question

applyingavicelikegriponyourtenderwristandhand,respectively,whilepositioninghiselbow

ontopofyours.Hethencomescrashingdownwithallofhispoweronyour isolatedjoint.(By

theway,hehasasuki,anopening,justatthemomentheraiseshiselbowforhis"windup."He

canbepushedbackwardsoffbalance. It is,however,not recommended thatyouattempt to

takeadvantageof this.) Ifyoushouldthenbe impudentenoughtoslap indicating thatyou've

reachedyourpainthreshold,thisisthesignalforhimtopushfurtheruntilyourunappreciative

memberreaches

astate

of

numbness

(to

be

distinguished

from

satori,

also

acondition

devoid

of

feeling).

Thenexttechnique, Icallthe"shoulderexpander."This isbecausetherangeofmovementof

yourshoulderisexpanded.It isappliedduringtheexecutionofeitherthenikyoorsankyopin.

You are lying on your stomach with your arm stretched backward over your body. Your

opponent,havingpinnedyourarmagainsthisbody,thenleansforwardoveryourhead.Again,

slapping themat isa sign forhim to continueapplyingpressureuntilyour shoulderjointhas

beensufficiently"expanded."Thecontractionperiodusuallyrequirestwotothreemonths.

Anotherclassicwemightrefertoasthe"elbowstraightener."Youmayhavenoticedthatwhen

mostpeople

stand

upright

allowing

their

arms

to

dangle

along

their

sides,

aslight

bend

is

discernible in the elbow joint. This is actually an unnatural condition. Hence, the

appropriatenessofthe"elbowstraightening"therapy.Youarebeingpinned in ikkyowithyour

arm outstretched to the side. However, that impertinent little bend in your elbow is now

blatantlyexposed.Fearnot,thecure is fast,sharpandsimple(and,perhaps,abitpainful,but

after all, you are a man, aren't you?). The selfappointed dojo "chiropractor" proceeds to

immobilizeyourwristwithonehandandjerkssuddenlyandforcefullydownwardonyourelbow

with the other, and crack, it's gone! First right arm, then left. (Caution: eatingmaybe abit

difficultforafewdaysaftertheintervention.)

Anothermethod I regardwithparticular fondness involvesan "embrace."Theobjectof your

disaffection

is

executing

iriminage

and

proceeds

to

lock

your

head

in

a

vigorous

"embrace."

He

stepsthroughpowerfullyandthen lowershisbodyreleasingyourheadaboutsix inchesabove

thetatami.Soon"bellswillberinging"inyourheadandthetonesmaypersistforseveraldays.

Therearemanyothersuchunforgettabletechniquesemployedthatareequallyinventive.Space

prohibitsme from lengthening the list. The rationalizations for this typeofbrutality are also

imaginative in fact you wouldn't believe them: "It was an accident!" "I didn't know your


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shoulderwasalready injured!""Ifyou'renotaman,youshouldn'tbeon themat.""He really

likesyou,otherwisehewouldn'thavegivenyousuchspecialattention!"

ThemostplausibleexcuseIhaveheardofferedgoessomethinglikethis:"Whentwopeopleare

trainingvigorously injuriesdooccasionallyoccurand it isunfortunatelyapartofseriousaikido

practice."Theproblem is,ofcourse,thatoneofthe"twopeople,"theoneresponsibleforthe

injury isconsistently the samepersonand theword"occasionally"wouldbemoreaccurately

replacedby"frequently."

There is another dimension surrounding this controversial topic which I find totally

unfathomable. That is the lack of a feeling of remorse I have seen after our oftalludedto

"residentcruncher"hasnotchedupyetanothervictim.Although Imightbeaccusedof"mind

reading"inthiscase,whatotherconclusionispossiblewhenthisbehaviorisrepeatedoverand

overagain?

Theyareanynumberoftechniquesinaikidowhenonefindshimselfcompletelyatthemercyof

hispartnerwithajointexposedinadefenselessposition.Tointentionallyabusethistacittrust

thatmust

exist

between

training

partners

is

something

Ifind

absolutely

criminal.

Ipersonally

know of several cases where individuals have suffered severe injuries on the mat and

terminatedtheirtrainingcareersprematurelyratherthanruntheriskofsustainingapotentially

disablingsecondinjury.Further,Icannotforthelifeofmeunderstandwhyteachersinchargeof

dojoswherethissortofthinggoesondon'ttakestepstocontrolorexcludethese"crunchers."

It seems that the leadersof theaikidoworldhavebyand large failed to recognize that such

brutalityexistsandhavemadelittleefforttoputastoptosuchconduct.

Ihavemademybesteffortthroughtheabovecommentsto lettheproverbial"catoutofthe

bag" regarding the subjectof injuries in thehope that individualswhomayhavewaivered in

theirthinking,asIoncedid,willhenceforthacceptresponsibilityfortheir

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