What is different about our Aikido?

What is different about our Aikido?
 
by Heather Gawlick
 
I've been pondering the question of who we are as Aikidoka.  I've been asked a lot over the years who we are and how we fit in the Aikido world.
 
It's a fair question.
 
We aren't Aikikai, Ki Society, or pure Tomiki style.  We don't belong to those groups.  But, I don't believe we are on the fringes, either. 
 
Those of us who studied under the Karl Geis umbrella while he was alive became a part of a different group with its own merits.  I learned before the Internet took off, so information about other Aikido dojos was limited and I really didn't know anything about what other styles there were.  Now, thanks to YouTube and other resources, I'm starting to open my eyes and mind a bit more.
 
The katas as I originally learned them look almost identical to what I see other Tomiki groups doing.  It is very clear that is where we got our roots.  Over the years since I started, we have slowed the techniques down, softened them, and rounded out the edges a bit.  But, they are still clearly Tomiki techniques.
 
One thing that is very different from the other Tomiki groups is we don't do the competitions they are famous for.  Karl told me he objected to the competitions because when you are trying to score points, that becomes the focus and it changes things.  Karl wanted to keep the self-defense aspects of our Aikido as the focus, which makes it too dangerous to do as a sport with competitions.  When everything you do results in broken bones, no one is going to want to keep coming to class.
 
Instead of competitions, Karl had us focus on randori, or free-style practice.  The goal is to find the off-balance points and the places where one partner is in a terminal position.  Randori done this way involves going so slowly the competition fades away and in its place is a focus on learning where your bodies can end up - spinal lock, arm bar, throw...  It is practiced in the spirit of learning, playing, and safety - not winning.  It is a tool for understanding that kata are your basic dance moves and they can be joined in an infinite number of combinations to make a full ballet.
 
Later, Karl created a set of kata to take the basic moves and chain them together.  I see it as a way to bridge the gap between the scripted set of moves that makes up a kata and the anarchy that is randori.  Some teachers have replaced the Tomiki kata with these chains containing the old techniques.  I like to use all three sets of tools.  They each teach a different lesson as a student progresses in their understanding of Aikido.
 
I think all the masters of Aikido have left their mark on this beautiful and graceful art, each one taking what Ueshiba invented and leaving a piece of themselves imbedded in their interpretation of how the body moves.  Ueshiba passed his Aikido to Tomiki.  Tomiki passed his Aikido to Karl Geis.  Karl Geis passed his Aikido to me.  I've picked up a few ideas of my own over the years and have passed them on to my students.  I hope my students will pass their ideas on down to the next generation.
 
When dealing with an art that involves movement of the body, there is no perfect technique.  Each time it is executed, there is a little bit of a change.  If there wasn't, it would be a dead art.
 
Karl Geis has left quite a legacy for all of us who studied under him.  I'll always be grateful to Karl and all my teachers over the years for everything they have taught me.  I'm honored to walk in their footsteps.  I'll do my best to pass the legacy and love we call Aikido on to others.