Tanto Nage

In the 1950s book Aikido written by Kisshomaru Ueshiba, the second Doshu, he makes mention of three ways that Tanto-Waza is practiced in Aikido.  

1.  The Uke has the knife, and Nage is unarmed.

2.  The Nage has the knife and Uke is unarmed.

3.  Both Uke and Nage are armed.

I have only formally had instruction in the first.  I remember Kawahara Sensei sometimes doing Morote-Dori Kokyu-Ho while holding a Bokken, but Tachi Dori was the far more common practice and the one required for testing.  Only Jo work clearly followed the formula above, with Jo Dori and Jo Nage required for tests and Kumi Jo appearing in training.

There are a number of interesting ideas out there, like this clip of Chiba Sensei doing Shihonage with a Bokken.  I have heard that a large number of our wrist grabs can be applied to Iaido, and an old book by Bill Sosa showed the same movements done for handgun retention but presumably also for radio, baton, taser, handcuffs and other tools.  I've known law enforcement officers to say they appreciated the concept - they can go to the firing range, or they can train empty hand at any dojo but other tools are harder to train with.  Here is a clip that focuses on handgun retention.

This dojo in Mexico has a nice clip online of them doing Tanto Dori and Tanto Nage.  They are wearing hakama, so I assume they are not part of Tomiki lineage which has the most material on Tanto Nage retained in their system.  Shodokan Aikido's Koryu no Kata Roku is a very interesting weapons primer, with a Tanto being used by Nage at 1:25 to 2:00.  Google books also has Aikido the Tomiki Way online, and the same techniques are discussed in pages 278 to 281.  I have to concede that kata is an effective method of retaining knowledge and disseminating it.  Shodokan Aikido's Nariyama Shihan also has this clip of Tanto Kaeshiwaza, so the ideas can also be more broadly applied and expounded upon.

In the Looking Back to Look Forward vein, my wife and I study an Aikido system that often does not have Nage grab.  I found this to be a worthwhile tool for anxious students who desperately need to clutch something - give them something to clutch.  But, some people couldn't bring themselves to use a Tanto in this fashion - they just didn't have the killer instinct, or had the instinct too thoroughly.  Besides, we have the sharpened wooden ones on hand, not the foam competition ones Tomiki students use.

I started to bring a little stuffed teddy bear to class, then an old flip cell phone, then a small diary.  I had students explore basic techniques they had known for years holding items they would use as weapons, and items that they would want to protect.  My wife and I had a young woman looking for self defense classes, and we did similar things with a small backpack - using it as a shield, or protecting the contents.  I started to do demos holding tennis balls, or the ceiling fan remote control.  One young Muslim woman who could not touch a man due to her religion, she was giggling and having a great time throwing me while we both held a baton.  A two year old ran onto a crowded mat during a busy seminar to talk to her daddy, with bodies flying everywhere - I caught her, picked her up, and blocked a few people from reaching her before I got her off the mat.  As a nurse, I am often carrying medications or equipment that I don't want to damage nor do I want to throw something on the ground just to do Aikido.

I made the comment to some Duke students that if they were off on the running trails around campus their car keys are how they get to safety, or get back into their home.  Their cell phones are how they call 911 or their friends.  I imagine this is also how Aikido would make use of pepper spray or other non-lethal weapons.  On the other hand, if all they had was a rock or a stick against someone larger, I wanted them to know that they could do the same Aikido.  The hand that wasn't seizing anyone now had many other uses, and I think this developed some awareness of Atemi as well.

I am not sure why the Tanto practices in Aikikai have become so one-note.  This is a historically valid Aikido practice that offers some great insights and practical information for students of all levels.  

Of course, while training with this for months with a couple of students, I was going to shoot a clip - and I now have a partially torn Achilles, so no clip of me doing anything for a while.  But, give it a go.  Pick something soft, and I'll bet you already know everything you need to.