Part 1
Disclaimer
As is my custom I will lay a caveat that these are my thoughts and opinions. I have asked around for others’ input as I feel that this is a broad and complex area of inquiry, however it will have all been tied together by my brain so will have my own bias attached to it.
As aikido is my main martial art, this article will also be heavily influenced by that despite the fact that the role of uke and ukemi are present in essentially all arts, even if labelled as something else.
Ukemi-What is it?
Our first hurdle is the question “What is Ukemi?” This is a difficult question in itself to answer, and I feel at its core it goes some way to describe what aikido is and by extension the human condition in general. I think that in this early stage of writing I will struggle to define ukemi but will circle back to this question often, building an answer layer by layer.
To the dictionary!
The kanji for ukemi 受け身 have a few translations into English. I am no language student so I am pulling on the work of others here and our good friend Google Translate. Google translate changes the word ukemi into the English word “passive.” This corresponds with the article Ukemi: Aikido and the art of rolling with the punches(1) in which the word passive is used in context of “in terms of both a passive attitude and the passive verb tense (ex: “He was killed”).” I want to come back to this notion of passivity a bit later as I think that it could be more complex than it first appears.
The article also describes the translation of ukemi as “receiving body.” This seems to align with other sources found online at a quick glance (2) (3). Although this may seem like a better description of what is occurring, I feel that it is too simplistic. It implies the notion that uke is a thing that technique is done on. In truth I think as a definition it encourages passivity more than the word passive but this might just be my own bias on the word and my previous history in education.
Other Sources…
The Sword and the Mind (4) describes uke as the whet stone upon which tori sharpens their technique. I find the term receiving body counter intuitive in this context as something is happening to uke that they need to receive, instead of them being an active player in the exchange.
Ironically I find the word passive to be more active than the term receiving body. To understand my reasoning here we need to dive into Chinese philosophy a bit, and in particular Daoism (A second disclaimer here, I will refer to Daoism a lot, as a philosophy it resonates with me deeply and if forced to pick a religious or philosophical path it would be the one I would choose). In the Tao te Ching (5) there is the concept of wuwei or no action. At first glance this might make us think that it involves doing nothing and sitting quietly meditating but this is in fact far from the truth.
Wuwei
Wuwei is not simply no action but could be understood as no unnatural action instead of an absence of action. It is about the ability to allow things to take their natural course. To do this one needs to cultivate spontaneity and an attitude of noninterference. Whilst this seems easy at first glance, “just go with the flow” it is one of the most difficult and worthy goals that a person can aim for in life. As with most things in modern life it is exceptionally difficult to go with the flow and not get lost by memories or plans or any of the myriad things screaming for our attention. While I write this I currently have the song tell momma by Etta James playing. Am I living wuwei? Am I in the moment of natural action? Quite probably not.
I feel that from the definition of being “passive,” if thought of as wuwei, then opportunity exists in ukemi to be more natural and ultimately more present. I will come back to this in future articles in this series.
Working Definition
So we have a working definition of ukemi. Either receiving body or passive. These are just words however, and we have to ask ourselves do they reach the core of what ukemi is? I don’t believe they do unless really unpacked and examined so that we can find what these words actually represent.
A key aspect of ukemi is yet to be discussed and probably needs to take centre stage in this first article. Ukemi promotes safety. As has been mentioned before many times, learning to fall is a great life skill (In fact it is mentioned in this great article https://www.martialjournal.com/top-5-martial-arts-skills-for-parents/). Not only does this protect our body on the mats but it also protects us very effectively out and about in “the real world.” If your art doesn’t include falling I highly recommend finding a school to learn this skill.
That said, ukemi is more than just falling down and I will discuss my thoughts further in upcoming articles. I don’t pretend that this will cover everything as that is probably beyond the scope of one person, but I hope it will provoke thoughtful discussion. I would love to hear people’s thoughts and views on this.
- Locksleyu (2020) Ukemi: Aikido and the art of rolling with the punches. https://selftaughtjapanese.com/2020/01/07/ukemi-aikido-and-the-art-of-rolling-with-the-punches/ [accessed 20/08/2021]
- Lee, B. (date unknown) Understanding Ukemi (Falling Techniques) https://judoinfo.com/lee/ [accessed 20/08/2021]
- Wikipedia (2021) Uke (martial arts) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uke_(martial_arts) [accessed 20/08/2021]
- Munenori. Y, Sato. H (Translator) (2004) The Sword and the Mind 4th ED. Barnes and Noble publishing, New York
- Lao-Tzu, translated by Bryce, D. and Wieger, L. (1999) Tao te Ching. Samuel Weiser inc, York Beach
He has in the past tried over styles and systems but this is the style that he loves and always comes back to.
Since the start of 2020 and lock down he has begun a journey in Lee style tai chi as well as the kung fu that goes with this.
Although not working in this area Dane has done a degree in oriental medicine and acupuncture and has an interest in the health benefits of martial arts as well as the philosophy behind oriental medicine.
- Ukemi — What is it good for? (Part 2) - October 12, 2021
- Ukemi What is it Good For? - September 29, 2021
- Representation in Martial Arts Media - August 17, 2021
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