Reconstructing Omote and Ura: Going Old School.

One of my longest standing essays was exploring the history in Aikikai of the use of the terms, "Omote" and "Ura."  These are the terms used to distinguish between the two basic variations of most techniques.  

The essay kept growing and getting more complicated as I discovered new information or realized I was just plain wrong on some points.  Then, Blogger had the essay revert to it's original uncorrected format after years of edits leaving the essay in all it's original crappiness.

 Language should be a tool for communication between teachers, students and systems.  Language should be a platform for growth.  Instead, language in Aikido appears to be more about loyalty to a specific teacher.

I was taught to use the terms Omote and Ura to distinguish variations of techniques - Omote being in front and more linear while Ura was behind and more circular.  The ways Omote and Ura are used elsewhere are things I did not associate with Aikido usage.  Omote and Ura are very old terms.  They are broadly applied in many varied ways in Japanese culture and Japanese martial arts.

Omote is the explicit, the public, the obvious.  Ura is the implied, the hidden, the secret.  This level of understanding can be very esoteric.  At times the words seem to be used as an equivalent of Yin and Yang ("Everything has an Omote and an Ura, even Omote and Ura have an Omote and an Ura.").  Other times it is politics:  official channels versus behind the scenes.  In some groups, these two words are used to differentiate types of techniques. 

The Karate Nerd has a good article on Omote and Ura being used to interpret the Bunkai in kata.  Omote is "What You See is What You Get."  For Ura, he says, "Although a kata might look very simplistic in its nature, it could actually have some very advanced application(s) hidden inside it."  

 

So, in Heian Shodan (probably the very first kata a new Shotokan Karate student learns) you walk forward, repeatedly blocking with a rising block and then turn away.  The Omote is a series of blocks; the Ura can be a collection of strikes, locks, and throws.  The implication is that this information is deliberately hidden, and only the worthy students can find it for themselves or are given the "truth."

In Judo's Kito Ryu/Koshinki no Kata these two words are used to differentiate between sets of techniques with Omote having 14 techniques and Ura having 7.  

 

In Aikikai practice, the Omote is not considered "face value" while the Ura is the "real deal."  We don't consider Omote to be more basic with Ura being more advanced.  We don't associate Omote and Ura with personal interactions though of course we always operate on multiple levels in any human interaction.  Ura is not reserved "for the special indoor students."  There is no Omote catalogue, nor is there an Ura set.  Both versions are expected to be learned around same time.

As beginners, Aikido students will gravitate to one type of movement over the other, with big powerful students colliding face to face while smaller less confident students tend to run and hide behind their partner.  Developing a preference or a sense that one type of movement is somehow "superior" or "inferior" to the other is ultimately a disservice to the Aikido student - the whole point is that different relationships and different types of movement are equally correct (circumstances aside.)

In Budo Training In Aikido, there is a line from one of O Sensei's dokka saying that "The Secrets are in the Omote."  The translator goes on to say that this is best translated as, "The Secrets are in the Basics."  So, while I never associated this particular use of the word "Omote" with Aikido as I learned it, it appears O Sensei did use Omote in this fashion.

Eventually I was able to ask a student who arrived in Tokyo Hombu Dojo to train a few months after O Sensei's death.  He stated that the major variations were being distinguished with the terms Irimi and Tenkan at that time.  Possibly dividing Aikido techniques up into catagories of Omote and Ura did not actually happen during O Sensei's lifetime?  Koichi Tohei would continue to teach at the Aikikai Hombu until 1974, and his lineage continues to use Irimi and Tenkan.