Aikido - The walk

Aikido’s Walking Kata

Tegatana no Kata is the most important kata for building a sound structure for all aikido movements. Generally speaking, the walk contains all the fundamental movements that will be applied in later katas and randori. By learning to coordinate the actions of the center, hands, and feet in this distilled and purified form, you will have all the components in place for your aikido practice. Shihan Karl Geis has called the walk the fundamental alphabet and vocabulary out of which the “language” of aikido is constructed. From this simple set of rules and basic elements, the virtually infinite possibilities of aikido become manifest.

The walking kata itself builds from the simplest movements toward the more complex, and it is an excellent kata for solitary study. By simply attempting to apply all the aikido principles consistently, you can find many years worth of work in this single kata. For many years, the author practiced this kata daily on his own; Shihan Caldwell made it his practice to do the walk for up to an hour a day for several years, and Shihan Karl Geis once said that the real secret to his advanced randori skill was that he could walk more efficiently than the other advanced players.

To refine our study, we should practice this kata by constantly paring it down to its most simple form. Try to constantly eliminate unnecessary movements and adjustments. Become acutely aware of the weight distribution on your feet. Learn to control even the smallest of bodily actions. Focus your eyes on a single point at eye level in the distance. Concentrate on the turning actions of the hand, hips, and feet. Keep unbendable arm. Let the center fall into each step. Move your center where you want it, and let the feet line up under it. Try to stay completely level. Learn to completely open and close your hips. Begin and end each step with the weight even on both feet. Keep your weight off your heels. Explore how large you can make each action and how small. Concentrate on breathing actions and how they relate to pushing actions. Try the kata as fast as possible and as slow. When practicing with the class, try to move in perfect synchronicity in time with the person leading the count. Try to end on the exact spot you began.

These are only a few of the points to concentrate on and explore when practicing the walking kata, and over time, you will find just as many for yourself as you study this great kata. Above all, don’t get discouraged; Shihan Caldwell once asked Shihan Tsunako Miyake, who was instrumental in creating the kata, how long it took her to perfect the walking kata, and she replied that she didn’t know because she had only been doing it for thirty years! With that as an learning example, we can rest assured that we will all have alot of work on this “basic” kata ahead of us.

Lowry, Nick. Aikido: Principles of Kata and Randori

Tips:
Start with both feet even, about shoulder width apart. Put most of your weight on the balls of your feet. When moving, be careful not to lean in any direction. Keep the body vertically aligned (good posture is important) and the weight even between the two feet. Eyes should be focused forward, head up, with the chin tucked slightly in.

The basic movements in the Walk are as follows:

Shomen Ashi — forward step
Waki Ashi — side to side step
Tenkan Ashi — turning step
Shomen Te Gatame — straight hand blade (same hand/foot)
Uchi Mawashi — inside sweep hand blade (same hand/foot)
Soto Mawashi — outside sweep hand blade (same hand/foot)
Uchi Soto Gaeshi — forward block & side push (same hand/foot)
Uchi Mawashi Gaeshi — inside sweep & turn (same hand/foot)
Soto Mawashi Gaeshi — outside sweep & turn (opposite hand/foot)
Ude Goshi Gaeshi — arm & hip turn (opposite hand/ foot)
O Mawashi — major circle (opposite hand/foot)
Yoko O Mawashi — side major circle (both hands/feet)

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