Back 2 Basics

Third week of Aikido 2008, and the members' excitement and hunger for more techniques can be felt growing like wild grass. But many complained that after any Aikido lesson their body's muscles and joints ache.

This post emphasizes on the importance of the body warm up and the basic moves of the Aikido Martial Art.
Like any other sports or martial arts, the player is required to warm up from head to toe. This is to loosen the body muscles and joints plus preventing them from unwanted injuries like sprains or cramps.

Aikido's warm up is quite different in a sense that it targets body joints more due to most of the Aikido's techniques involve in limiting the opponent's ability to further attack you through the locking of the body joints at crafted positions.


It is very important to stretch and massage the palms and wrists of the hands.

This is to prepare the wrists to withstand twisting and locking moves of Aikido.

The feet are equally important as well to be massage and flexed.

Our ankle is most vulnerable because it carries our entire body weight and the ankles are the ones receiving all the pressure of our movements be it walking, running or dashing around like a 'monkey'...hehehe =p


ps. the cheeky looking guy in the pictures is Salim.

-The Roots of Aikido-

Sensei Rubben & Sensei Desmond stated that it is very important for a beginner to learn the basic or root movement of Aikido and get use to it for it plays a vital role in the smooth transition in the learning of any Aikido techniques.

-The Samurai Walk-

The two pictures (just above) show Sensei Rubben demonstrating the Samurai Walk. The Samurai Walk trains the movement of the hips. Many of Aikido's defense technique require the sturdiness of the hips to accept and flex against an opponent's attack.

-Fall & Roll-

Sensei Desmond is rotund but when he demonstrates the techniques of Defensive Falling & Rolling he really makes it look easy. He does it with such grace and ease that it really boost the confidence of other "XL" members. He fall & roll so graceful; He makes graceful people look not graceful. Bravo to Sensei Desmond!!!












The proper technique of falling and rolling will benefit both the defender and the attacker. It will reduce the effect of impact of a throw or toppling by an Aikido move.



This is mainly to prevent injuries from occurring during an Aikido lesson.

To everyone that wishes to practice the martial art - Aikido, it is very important to be entwined with the basic moves of Aikido and make sure to warm up!!!

-Or else end up like this...-