Brisbane Randori August 2014

Sensei Alan Higgs invited all Australian Shodokan Aikido clubs to Brisbane for a two day training and friendly competition.  The purpose of this event was to raise the skills of participants and referees in preparation for the World Championships to be held in Brisbane next year.

Sensei Alan broke down Tanto countering skills into the fundamentals of understanding:

• Maai – correct distance to launch or evade an attack and then apply a counter technique
• Tai Sabaki – avoiding the technique into a position where you can thereby execute Tsukuri
• Tsukuri – is preparatory action to bring your position and posture into a superior relationship with Uke whereby you can execute kuzushi
• Kuzushi – is the technique whereby an opponent’s balance is broken – so that Kake – the throw or the pin can actually succeed.

Randori is a timed competition where opponents face off with one having a tanto.  This person tries to land a committed strike to his opponent – delivered with a clear step and a straightened arm so that the tanto is firmly bent all the way to the arm holding it.  The target area is above your opponents belt and below their armpits.  To score a blow must land solidly as your move in, with your opponent in front of you.  An opponent scores by evading your attack and using any of the seventeen techniques to throw their attacker.  Once the defender has place both arms on the attacker the attacker is allowed to use any of the first five Atemi waza techniques to throw the defender.  Points are awarded for breaking an opponents’ balance or executing a successful throw.

From our club Peter, Luka and Matthew flew up on Sunday morning to attend the class with clubs from Adelaide, Melbourne and Wellington.  Sensei Higgs ran training classes for the Referees, time keepers and scorers, then it was on to the matches.

Matthew and Luka were invited to participate in the Dan grade competition.  From the men’s Kyu grade Manny Rosete won all his rounds right up to the final. Louise Parkin of Wellington club beat Phuong Doan to win the women’s finals.  Peter Baculak beat Peter Hind to win the men’s finals with a final score of 9 -3 – which was outstanding given Peter Hind defeated all his opponents (Matthew, Binh and Cuong ; leading up to the finals by similar scores)!  This leaves Peter as the Australian champion again following up his 2006 win!

A key take away from this friendly competition was the critical importance correct Maai and committed entering takes.  Sydney is planning to organise the next round of the Nationals in mid-March 2015 and Melbourne or Victoria will likely host a final round mid-year in the lead up to the World Championships.  See you all there.