New Student Orientation, Part 3: tai no henko

Welcome to Day 3 of your Aikido basics training! Today Sensei Janice Bass will show you how the footwork you've been practicing forms the basis of the techniques you will train with your partners on the mat. You will learn tai no henko, a basic partner technique that we train at the start of each Aikido class. Tai no henko teaches proper spacing between you and a potential attacker, proper timing, and proper alignment in relation to the energy of an attack so that partner's balance is compromised, while your body is stable. Every student, from beginner through black belt, studies this technique at the outset of each class. There is much more to tai no henko than meets the eye, so keep practicing!