The Shape of the Practice
An introduction to aikido's core techniques and the ways we train them
Aikido is learned as a living vocabulary of technique — waza — refined over a lifetime rather than memorized. What follows is a brief map of the foundations: a handful of the pins and throws every student meets early, and the paired terms we use to describe how a technique is practiced. It is an orientation, not a curriculum, and it is far from exhaustive; the depth of any one technique is discovered only on the mat.
A word on partners. Aikido is practiced in pairs: uke, who initiates the attack and receives the technique, and nage (also called tori), who blends with it and resolves it. The two roles trade freely — learning to receive well is as much a part of the art as learning to lead.
Pins — 固め技 · katame-waza
The pins, or immobilizations, control an attacker through the joints of the arm and wrist, ending in a stable hold rather than a throw. They are numbered as “teachings” (kyo), studied in order:
Ikkyo
First teaching
The foundational arm pin (ude-osae) — control of the elbow and shoulder that underlies everything after it.
Nikyo
Second teaching
An inward wrist lock (kote-mawashi) that brings a partner down through the wrist.
Sankyo
Third teaching
A spiraling wrist and forearm twist (kote-hineri) that lifts and turns the whole structure.
Yonkyo
Fourth teaching
A pressure control along the forearm (tekubi-osae) applied through precise contact rather than strength.
The numbered teachings continue beyond these four — gokyo and others follow — and each has many variations. These are simply where the study begins.
Throws — 投げ技 · nage-waza
The throws redirect an attacker's momentum into the ground. Rather than opposing force, each blends with the line of the attack and returns it. A few of the essential forms:
Iriminage
Entering throw
Nage steps directly through the attack, entering behind the partner to unbalance and drop them.
Kokyunage
Breath throw
A family of timing throws driven by kokyu — breath power and connection — more than by leverage.
Shihonage
Four-direction throw
Folding the arm back over the shoulder, nage can turn the partner toward any of four directions.
Kaiten-nage
Rotary throw
A rotational throw that guides the partner's head and arm forward in a wheeling motion.
Koshinage
Hip throw
Nage drops beneath the partner's center and carries them over the hips — aikido's classic hip throw.
Tenchi-nage
Heaven-and-earth throw
One hand rises toward Heaven while the other sinks toward Earth, splitting the partner's balance between the two.
Here too the list is only a beginning. Pins and throws combine, flow into one another, and branch into countless variations as a student matures.
Weapons — 武器技 · buki-waza
Aikido's empty-hand movement grows directly out of the sword and staff, so weapons are not a separate discipline but a lens on the same principles. Working with the buki sharpens posture, distance (ma-ai), timing, and the extension of ki — and reveals where an empty-hand technique comes from. Training is done with wooden practice weapons, and safe, mindful handling is part of the etiquette from the very first day.
Bokken
Wooden sword
The wooden katana. Many empty-hand techniques trace their line and footwork straight from the cut of the sword.
Jō
Short staff
A four-foot staff worked with both thrusting and striking movements, joining the two ends of the body in one line.
Tanto
Knife
A wooden knife used mainly for tanto-dori — disarming defenses against a blade.
Weapons practice takes a few recognizable forms: suburi, the solo repetition of basic cuts and thrusts; paired kumitachi and kumijo, prearranged partner exercises with sword and staff; and the disarming arts — tachi-dori (against the sword), jō-dori (against the staff), and tanto-dori (against the knife) — where empty hands meet a weapon.
Emphasis on weapons varies from teacher to teacher and dojo to dojo; here they remain woven through regular practice rather than set apart from it.
Ways of Training
The same technique can be practiced in many forms. These paired terms describe not which technique is being done, but how — the posture it is done from and the stage of study it belongs to.
Tachi-waza
Techniques performed with both partners standing — the most familiar mode of practice.
Suwari-waza
Techniques performed with both partners kneeling, moving on the knees (shikko). It builds a strong, stable center and hip movement.
A third form, hanmi-handachi-waza, bridges the two: nage kneels while uke attacks from standing.
Kihon-waza
The basic form — techniques practiced precisely and deliberately, often from a stable start, to build correct structure and understanding.
Ōyō-waza
The applied form — variations and adaptations that grow from the basics as a student learns to respond freely to whatever arises.
As facility grows, kihon opens into ki-no-nagare — flowing practice, where technique is met in continuous motion rather than from a pause.
Front and Back
Most techniques have two directions. Omote (表, “front”) enters ahead of the partner, in front of their line; ura (裏, “back”) turns behind them, blending around the attack. Learning both sides of a single technique teaches the same principle from opposite angles — the essence of irimi (entering) and tenkan (turning) that runs through all of aikido.
See It in Motion
None of this replaces a single class. Come watch, or step onto the mat yourself.