Aikido: Ground Self Defense Part 4
by Kyle Sloan; Cameron Siemens, Uke; Photography & Video by Rob Goodwill
Well, we messed up somewhere. Uke managed to slip past our legs.
When practicing, uke should come to a kneeling position. This makes the falls much more low impact and safer.
Place two hands together in one spot. You want to grab the first item you can. You can grab at the knees, groin, waist, collar, arms… just about anywhere. To make uke’s life easy, I like to grab the sleeve.
Now, pull both of your hands to your ear. You want to do this on the side opposite of uke.
Keep your elbows together as you pull your hands to your ear. This makes your elbows into a large spike uke can land on. Do this part gently with your partner to avoid injury. Using his right leg as the driver, Cameron bridges with the leg. The line of drive is up over the ear with the fists. The leg action alone will drive uke over. When combined with the elbows which are often lodged in the ribs, it’s quite easy.
Once uke is rolled over, bury your face into his arm. The main objective is to protect your eyes. Uke cannot land a blow with any amount of power from a prone position.
