Irimi

One of the most fundamental techniques in Aikido is irimi or entering. It is a basic body stance where one moves forward or to the side in response to an attack. It is essentially entering an attack and I am still trying to grasp it because it seems counter-intuitive to actually move towards someone who is attacking you. Irimi is also called blending embodying the idea that when you blend or become one with your opponent's attack you are diffusing the conflict because your opponent is left without a place to strike.

Both Shomen Uchi Irimi Nage and Katate-Dori Shiho Nage require this entering technique and they were both on my 5th kyu test that I took last month. I thought it was painfully obvious during the test that I am not sure what to do with the blend. But the 5th kyu test was unlike any other test I have taken before. It wasn't the academia model of testing that I am more used to, because it seemed to be more about lifting you up rather than beating you down. The test was really useful to me on two fronts: 1) it helped amp up my training for a short period of time and 2) it helped me become more aware of my self deprecating narratives particularly the one about being the most uncoordinated person on the planet and the slowest beginner in the history of Aikido!

I have gotten a lot out of training in Aikido over these past ten months not only because there is such a vibrant sense of community at Aikido of Santa Cruz but also because it has been a platform for me to understand my mother who makes much more sense in the context of Aikido philosophy. 

 

Being completely in the moment, relaxed, centered and aware is central to Aikido and it seems to me this was something my mom had really been working on even before she found out about Aikido. She spent two years studying awareness techniques and the sacred whirling Dervish dances with Jeanne de Salzmann who launched the Gurdjieff Foundation in New York City in 1949 and five years pursuing budo through the Gentle Way (Judo). I am sure all of that training in integrating the spirituality of certain body movements must of helped when she first came to Aikido. I bet she was a great beginner!

 

A very huge thank you to Sensei Eddie Hagihara and Sensei Adam Pilipshen from the Long Island Aikikai for saving, scanning, and sending this photo my way!

According to our friends at the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Enpowerment of Women, women in urban areas are twice as likely as men to experience violence. And just a quick survey of Aikido literature written by women demonstrates that female Aikidoka may be very well aware of this fact. The short story "Hitchhiking" in Secret Histories: Stories of Courage, Risk, and Revelation is Sensei Kimberly Richardson's personal account of averting violence through reason and compassion - a great case of using Aikido without lifting a finger. In Women in Aikido there is an account of Sensei Lorraine DiAnne successfully defending herself when a drunk friend broke into her apartment and tried to assault her. Anyone who doesn't think that Aikido is a legitimate art of self defense probably needs to talk to a woman practitioner.

Part of the reason I am both paralyzed and fascinated with the concept of irimi is because I remember my mom utilizing it once to diffuse a potentially violent situation. When I was seven my mom and I moved to southern California and lived in a old motel in downtown Los Angeles. Late one night, when we were returning to our room an angry man wielding a bat blocked our path and demanded our money. My mom tried to reason with him and offered to share her money. That just seemed to make him angrier and he came at my mom swinging his bat menacingly above him. I remember being frightened the minute my mom moved towards him. I didn't understand irimi then so it didn't make sense to me why she would move towards a man who was about to hit her with a bat.  The actual confrontation lasted only a matter of seconds. The bat never connected with my mom because all of a sudden it was in her hands and then she had the guy's wrist in a painful wrist lock. She leaned down close to him and said, "I am not going to hurt you but you should know that it is unwise to attack a woman especially when her child is present. When I let you go you'll leave peacefully but we will be keeping your bat." When she finally did let go of his wrist her would-be attacker couldn't flee fast enough. Yet that incident wasn't my mom's first experience with having to use Aikido in the real world. Apparently she was also a good friend to have in a riot. (Woman Saved Cop from Riot Mob) I am sure irimi is one of those thirty year techniques I often hear about but if I could just get more comfortable with the blend I am sure the other movements would follow.

Virginia Mayhew demonstrating an aspect of irimi, Hong Kong 1967