Falling From Grace
April 4, 2025
What’s Happenin’
● Test Prep classes on Saturday mornings, at 9:00 am. This class is open to all students, testing or not. If you are considering testing, this is a great resource.
● Kids’ Tests – April 4 at 11:30am
● Sunday April 5, the dojo is closed for Easter
● Wednesday, April 8, 7:00pm - 8:30 pm -- Shihan Lehrman will teach.
● Thursday, April 9, Tai Chi Chuan is cancelled.
● Celebrate Mother’s Day - Saturday May 9: All moms will be treated to bagels, coffee, Mimosas and Bloody Marys all day.
● Kids and Kyu Tests Day and Summer Celebration – Saturday June 6. 12:00 pm Kids’ Tests - Kids and parents are welcome to watch Adult tests and join the party. 1:30 pm - Wheel of Ukemi
3:00 pm - Kyu Tests Summer Celebration - BBQ potluck party to follow.
· Derrell Thomas Sensei Memorial Seminar, June 20th 10am
● Friday, July 17, Camp Riverbend at ASNJ: We need people to help teach the class. Interested? Speak to Jay.
● Seminar with Yoko Okamoto Sensei October 2 - 4 at the NY Aikikai. More info to come.
What a Trip it Was
On the last day of February, we piled into four cars and drove down to take Soviero Sensei’s 10am class to celebrate his new dojo location. Twelve members of ASNJ were privileged to share the mat with the welcoming members of Aikido of Red Bank. Class was amazing, fun and enjoyed by all.
The two dojos then went out to lunch, broke bread (tore tortillas?), laughed, traded stories, and had a day to remember for a long time. We all wanted to send our heartfelt love, appreciation and admiration for an amazing Sensei and a great dojo. We wish Jim and all his great students many years of joy and success in their new location.
Remembering Derrell Thomas Sensei
ASNJ will host a Memorial Seminar for Derrell Thomas Sensei on Saturday, June 20. The seminar will feature classes with Jim Soviero Sensei, Karen De Paola Sensei and Hal Lehrman Shihan. After the classes, we will have an Iaido demonstration by his sword students and a short memorial to share our experience of his wonderful life. We will end with a potluck party featuring Corona beer. There is no charge for this event.
Please see the attached flyer.
Are you an Ukemist?
Literally 50% of your time practicing Aikido is Ukemi. Yes, 50%, Not 50 Cent, the rap artist. Fifty percent; 5-0. Half. This is how math works. This is how we practice Aikido. The instructor demonstrates a technique, you throw four times, get thrown four times, you throw four, get thrown four, throw four, thrown four, four, four, etc. See? 50%. This is math.
So, are you learning half of the time? Are you utilizing the 50% of your time being thrown to maximize your skill? Do you practice ukemi? What are you trying to learn during that time? Ukemi is not only surviving a fall or how you look falling but how you follow nage; how you blend in the technique from before the moment the attack starts until after you hit the mat. You should work on being light and have effortlessly relaxed movements without thought or hesitation. Ukemi!
I saw a video (I think it was shot on VHS, you remember?) of a class at Aikido of Park Slope, three locations ago back on 7th Street up the stairs. You could tell it as Park Slope by the duct tape on the mat. We all fell big and it was not pretty. I started Aikido before the falling part of ukemi developed into a beautiful thing. For us older folks, back then it was about being light and surviving a hard throw. Half or more of every class was breakfalls and I had no idea ukemi could be beautiful. Then Donavan Sensei came to NY Aikikai and ‘falling’ became an Art. He was truly amazing. I could watch him for hours. I am always shocked when someone tells me I have pretty falls. I think I have effective ukemi (I survived all these decades!) but after years, it has gotten smoother. Enough history. For this article, we are referring to ukemi as the movements from the attack to, including all the movements, up to the fall.
From the moment you approach nage, your ukemi has already started. As nage moves, you, the uke, move as well. You, the uke, should be in sync (Bye, Bye, Bye) with the person you are about to attack. Nage, who will be attacked, should feel the same connection to uke as uke feels connected to nage; following each movement by blending, harmonizing with your opponent. Once the attack happens, uke has begun moving, following nage while nage is moving in sync (Is that song an ear worm yet?) with uke. This is ‘blending’. It started before the attack for both uke and nage and continued after the throw. We learn this by paying attention, or more simply awareness. And it is easiest to master during ukemi when you are not burdened by trying to learn the technique.
When doing ukemi, you should be studying nage. When nage, we are learning a technique while studying uke. Nage, in preparation to be attacked, is looking at all of uke.
During ukemi, try to focus on every aspect of your partner. Where is your partner’s weight? Front foot, back foot? Moving outside? Inside? Where are they looking; where is their focus? Try to get an idea of what they are thinking. Looking for their ‘tells’, look for any signs of their thoughts and seeing if they give away information about their technique. Don’t rely on the fact you know the technique, work like the technique is unknown. Once the technique begins, keep your focus on following them. Studying them, become them. Ukemi is when you can really learn to harmonize and blend. We often talk about that when throwing but the real opportunity to learn this is in ukemi.
If half your time on the mat is ukemi, take advantage of every moment. Just don’t fall for it.
An Ukemi Koan
If an uke falls in the forest and no one is there to hear him, do they still slap?
Falling From Grace
What type of ukemi do you do? I assembled a committee of Aikidoka experts to study ukemi. They scrutinized hours of films like a quarterback preparing for the Super Bowl. I wanted them to create a list of every type of ukemi. Attached are the results of their extensive study and many hours of this focus group’s hard work. Not buying this? OK, Hal and I had lunch and made up most of this up. I did the rest after a few bourbons in my office. Either way, for your reading pleasure, the Official list of Ukemi Styles?
The Artist – Every fall is a piece of art. The dojo stops and watches your every ethereal breakfall. Your hakama flows around you while every crease stays perfectly sharp. You move with the grace of a professional dancer. Your ukemi is how Baryshnikov would look if he did Aikido.
The Ninja – Your every moment is silent. Nary a sound can be heard no matter the angle of the fall you take or the height of the breakfall. You can be climbing a giant redwood in the Kings Canyon National Park when a branch breaks and you plummet to the ground. When you collide, whether or not you survived, your fall was completely silent.
The Survivalist – There is nothing pretty about your ukemi. No fancy movements and you never get hurt. Your ukemi is the bare minimum; you just survive. There are no wasted movements, no extra anything but you walk away from any fall as if it never happened. You get thrown out of a speeding car, take two rolls, and walk away. Imagine if Bear Grylls taught ukemi?
The Slap Happy – No matter the technique, you slap. Both hands if you can. Two slaps minimum, sometimes three. You slap as hard as you can every fall. You slap getting out of bed, even getting out of a chair. If you are going to take a fall, it needs to be memorialized with the loudest slap you can generate. Breakfall from koshi? – Huge slap. A simple forward roll? – Two slaps. A simple fall from Ikyo omote slowly onto your stomach? – At least three. Why not? Even kokudosa deserves a slap. Your pillows are always fluffy.
The Masochist – You want every throw to be as hard as possible. Every fall needs to bring you as close to being hurt as possible. There is no throw too violent. You can often be heard whispering to nage, “Please stop holding back.” Pins are a challenge to your nage. There are spots on the mat that still have the impression of your body.
The Performer – You take the largest roll or fall never holding back. Your ukemi emotes. Every fall needs the respect it deserves so you give it this reverence by arms flailing and hair flying behind you. A first-day beginner can be your partner, as long as you are hurling yourself across the mat. If it is worth doing, it is worth over doing.
The Soloist – You like to throw yourself. No nage needed. You can be seen on the mat before class taking self-inflicted high breakfalls. In the autumn, you can be seen flipping into a pile of leaves with a self-inflicted koshi and often posting this on TikTok. After a snowstorm when others finish shoveling, you like to dive into a breakfall out of a 2nd story window into a snowbank. You look like the scene in Fight Club when Jack quits his job.
The Angry Bull – You attack nage with a vengeance. An angry bloodied bull rushing a matador seems tame compared to your attacks. And you get thrown with the same self-abandonment hurling toward any wall or unsuspecting practitioner on the mat. There is no half speed. A ‘realistic’ attack is not good enough. You charge nage with such reckless abandonment, your nage questions why they practice Aikido. You never developed any sense of self-preservation. Evel Knievel is scared to drive with you.
The Anti-Roller – You have been doing Aikido for 8 years and still can’t do a forward roll. Forget about breakfalls, you think a roll is over the top. You are fine with gently sitting down as slow as you can, why take any chances? Maybe one day you will learn to roll. Don’t worry, there is time.
The Professional – Your ukemi is perfect. It is so good, it teaches nage the technique. It does not matter what technique nage is doing, your ukemi is exactly what a Shihan throwing an uke should look like. You don’t say a word but make your partner look amazing. You are everyone’s first ask when they test.
The Sycophant – You start falling before nage even touches you. You may even start falling before they finish standing up. Someone opens the door of the dojo on a windy day, and you fall down. You want everyone to love you so why not fall.
The Yogi – Jello seems stiff compared to you. Not only are you double-jointed, your bones bend in the middle. While you bend, you never fall. Your spine moves like Nadia Komenich (how about Simone Biles for those in this century?) on muscle relaxers. You limbo like an Olympic limbo’ian. When you are thrown, you just back bend until your head touches mat and stand up. No one knows if you can take a back roll.
The Casper – You are a ghost, a friendly one. Your nage has no idea they have an uke, you just disappear. You move like a light breeze on a calm day. Your nage feels nothing, just an empty emptiness flowing around them. They feel alone.
The Acrobat – You don’t just take a fall; you make it exciting. Your ukemi looks like a Cirque du Soleil performer. You cartwheel or flip into a movement that has you land back on your feet. You make a circus performer look mundane. Why fall when you can perform instead?
The A$$ - Nobody’s technique will work on you. Forget that you know what the technique is and what nage is going to do, you feel compelled to stop them and correct their technique. You spend more time talking than doing Aikido. Only your feet ever touch the mat. In the rare event that you are thrown by someone, you get up and correct them anyway.
The Terminator – “I’ll be back’ (I have no idea what to do with this one, I just wanted to write “I’ll be back’). Hasta la vista, Baby.
The Sloth – You move as if you have the entire class to take this one technique. After a throw, you lie on the mat and contemplate life and why you are here. Why should you get up? Maybe just lie there and ponder the universe just only going to be thrown again. Some think you take a quick nap in between falls. You make Cecil the turtle seem motivated.
Aikido and Ego
Practicing Aikido, it is easy to think you are amazing - you are throwing someone who is being very helpful. Our partner’s job is to fall. When some is not helpful, they are an a$$hole. So how do we make our practice real and how do we not fall into the trap that we are amazing since our partner is always falling for us?
This is where we look at every technique as new and a challenge and remind ourselves of the reason we always bow before entering the mat. We leave our ego at the door. Humility is a cornerstone of bushido. As martial artists, we practice ‘beginner’s mind’ and always think of ourselves as students. Keep your practice real and always remember, there is way more that you do not know than you will learn.
If a person ‘stops’ your technique, do not blame them. This is your ego. Figure out how to throw them. It is okay to lose; it is okay to be humbled. You are on the mat to learn, not to win. Don’t shy away from challenges, embrace them as opportunities to learn.
There is a reason you bow on entering and leaving the mat, it should remind you to be humble(d) and that you are only a student, no matter what your rank is or how long you practice. Everyone takes ukemi and (health permitting) falls down.
Confessions of an AikiChuan Addict
Just as ukemi is important in Aikido for learning how to follow, in Tai Chi Chuan, we have Push Hands. A slow and no stepping version of Aikido. You stand in a 70-30 posture; the Tai Chi Chuan version of a front stance and place your hands lightly on your partner’s arm. There is no nage-uke relationship in Tai Chi Chuan. Either can attack and defend at the same time, like Judo. It is not competitive like Judo, you are always aware and focused on what your partner does and if either gets stiff, they get uprooted by their partner’s alignment and their tension.
You defend by redirecting and by yielding. Not back bending, you need to keep your posture. You yield by shifting your weight from leg to leg and by turning your waist. You follow your partner’s movements while they follow yours, like a mime in a mirror.
Push Hands trains the legs and waist. If you move your feet, you lose. While your partner is trying to move you, you are doing the same. Your best defense is to shift into a leg or turn your waist. The slightest attack, a push, you silently shift into your back leg drawing your attack into a similar emptiness we do in Aikido by moving off the line, without any step – no foot movement. Your opponent should feel like they are practicing with empty air.
Ten minutes of this, your legs are screaming from exhaustion. You practice for an hour. Oh, I forgot to mention, you practice with your back two-to-three feet from a brick wall. When you get up-rooted (thrown), you are hurled backwards into the wall…Splat! You are not falling onto a padded mat; no, you slam into mortar.
--Jay Tall
Chief Instructor
Aikido Schools of NJ
"Just rolling and falling is not uke. When we fail to understand the roll of uke, we fail to understand the founder's intention... Learning ukemi is a heart-to-heart transmission. It's a relationship of growth and personal development".
-- Morehei Ueshiba, the Founder of Aikido
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