Aiki Secrets Official Website: Six Precepts

Six Precepts

The ‘Aiki Secrets’ books are for those finding frustration with traditional ‘arts that start with Aiki’ teaching methods

Specifically, for those whose initial reaction to ‘Just do this’ is ‘Why?’

The ‘Aiki Secrets’ books focus primarily upon the physical aspects of Aiki. They share a unique approach to understanding the physics and simple machines that are applied when practicing Aikido

This first book: Aiki Secrets: Six Precepts and the Dynamic COB (Center of Balance), lays the foundation for explaining the higher aspects of the art by sharing the key ‘Precepts’ that underly all Aiki techniques.

These precepts are based on how your body works, and thusly, how it doesn’t; By better understanding the human body’s strengths and weaknesses, we begin to focus on the core aspect of what Aiki is physically: the control of stability and balance

The study of stability and balance is borne of awareness of your Center of Balance (COB).

‘Six Precepts’ explains how this ‘dynamic’ ‘spherical’ aspect of your physical nature behaves under pressure

With this awareness, and clues on how to strengthen or diminish the structure of your body, you begin the path to understanding how to manipulate your and Uke’s COB to your advantage, and better perform Aiki techniques

‘Six Precepts’ begins with ‘Basic Terms’

These are short stories that set up key contexts where Aiki applies, or give base level detail to the true precepts that follow.

We use these terms in class often even now, nearly ten years after their publishing

Basic Terms covers many ideas, but here are a few highlights: [Click them! They are drop downs!]

Basic Terms:

Introduction to the No-Line and 20

Basic placement of the lines where Uke has no ability to being pushed

Connection

“No connection, no Aiki”, learn the first step in every Aiki technique!

Controlling Stability

Technically, this is the introduction to the first of three ways to manage the stability of the human body (the next two are explained in ‘Codex’!)

Front-Wheel Drive

Learn how to ‘step with power’ and avoid being uprooted when moving

Your Sagittal Plane

Opens the discussion on what happens when the dynamic COB moves

‘Six Precepts’ then shows us 'Where Uke is Weak' and 'Where We Are Strong'

The rest of the book reveals the foundation for Aiki practice in three segments.

Each segment holds two precepts, and reveals deep insight to the mechanical elements of controlling stability and balance.

The early precepts are somewhat commonly known and do not require as significant explanation as the latter precepts, but all sections include explanation and drills to make reading and understanding a true body awareness; physical experience

Where Uke is Weak:

Precept 1: The No-Line and the 20

The weaknesses in the human stance, this is a quick explanation to help you find them

Precept 2: Parallelism

Put those lines to work! And learn a bit about locking Uke’s hips!

Where We Are Strong:

Precept 3: The Cam (S and C)

How 'alignment of your spine, shoulders, and hips' affects your ability to drive force forward, backward, up, and down. We also include detail and drills to better understand the ‘drop step’ learned in the Basic Term’s Front Wheel Drive. You can’t move powerfully unless you are using gravity to your advantage!

Precept 4: The Sagittal Plane

This is arguably the most important precept of all of them, as it details how the human body’s Center of Balance (COB) behaves. Yes, it is all the stuff your gym teachers never told you (because they didn’t really have the words either), and if you truly get it, you’ll discover why you were or weren’t able to master aspects of sports. The COB is the primary focus when controlling stability and balance, find out why

‘Connection Builders brings things together'

Knowing the basics of Aiki is great, but we need to find ways to use it if we really want to learn it

Connection Builders:

Precept 5: Daito Hands and Lever Arms

The start of a detailed discussion of the actions used to create Aiki your forearms and hands. Learn to generate ‘synthetic gravity’ and allow Uke to ‘fall’ into it. We then concentrate upon applying vertical pressure to Uke’s COB; as we learn to stress Uke’s frame and ‘bend it like a bow’ to generate instability.

Precept 6: Aiki-Age and Aiki-Sage

Traditional Aiki-Age and Aiki-Sage drills are expressed as wrist grabs, but Aiki is a control of Uke’s COB.

This precept takes a closer look at the effects of these drills as ‘impact upon Uke’s COB’

It substitutes control of Uke’s torso to show the parallels so the Principle expressed in Aiki-Age and Aiki-sage (control of Uke’s COB) can be explored in other techniques.

‘The Secret to Aiki'

As a bonus, the final lesson contained is not actually a precept, but the first secret to using Aiki to make Uke fall. Called ‘Pin and Spin’, this lesson reveals how to initially destabilize Uke, and then truly ‘break’ Uke’s balance (so they fall). The outward expression of ‘Pin and Spin’ is easily understood, but the depth of the understanding is enhanced by the Precepts themselves. This is why it is presented at the end of the book, and at the start of your use of directed precision when practicing the Aiki arts.