Basic foot work

Slide forward = slide forward foot forward

Step forward = step forward with rear foot

Slide backwards = slide rear foot to rear

Step backwards = step back with front foot

Pivot = turn 180 degrees in direction, rotating on the balls of your feet; you do not move your feet

Tenkan - slide 6 inches forward with your front foot. Pivot 180 degrees and step backwards with new front foot.

Use both sides of your body ie extend both arms, even if only one is grabbed. Otherwise half of your body is limp versus beiing alive.

Arms move up and down the centerline of your body. They do not move horizontally. In 99% of techniques, your hands are in front of your center.

There is a lot going on in aikido. When you are learning a new technique, you want a rough idea (a rough approximation) of how to do it: where you place your feet and hands. The rest, the nuances, come with constant repetition and practice, paying attention to what works and what doesn't.

Uke should absorb the technique with his whole body, starting with the wrist, moving toward the elbow and shoulder and finally the torso/center of his body. Try this on nikkyo; let the pressure travel from your wrist, up your arm, to your center, as you finally drop to one knee. This way uke learns to absorb power from nage and eventually nage can throw harder.

3 types of throwing motion:

• dropping weight,
• pushing fwd with legs,
• twisting hips.

You can combine these such as katatetori hizatate shihonage - twisting and dropping weight. There is a hierarchy of motion from general to specifics for an individual tecnique.