Aikido in Portsmouth/Portsmouth Aikido

My name is Steve Arnell and have practiced Aikido in Portsmouth since 1999 Aikido in portsmouth.

            The art of Atemi? to Whack or not to Whack.

We in Aikido are told that Atemi is to distract the Opponent or uke,not always just to strike them.
over the years of training in aikido the use of uke is a great aid,
in training with formal postures and an uke who no's where he is going certainly helps you to complete your techniques in the dojo.

Now you are given a new Student or opponent, who has no idea where to fall or kneel, and is completely lost as the technique is applied, you will find 9 out of 10 times it just does not happen as when you are with a trained student.
Would this be the same as if you were pushed or attacked outside the dojo, ("you bet your zori it would") then all your years of training would not count for diddly, as their counter weight on your techinque would cause you to lose that limb you were holding or locking? Or they put to much weight over your arm before you turn and another kote-gashi lost, So where is all this going, well back to the Atemi, in most of the styles in Aikido i have had the pleasure to train in, the use of Atemi is not well utilised.

We have very strong origins in Daito-ryu Aikijujitsu, here the atemi is used more widely, we in Aikido have many options to use the Atemi with great effect on our opponent, I have also trained in the Art of Ninjitsu with a highly trained sensei,belive me when i say he uses his Atemi to effect? ouch, when training with his students i have found they are very ready for all kinds of techniques, as they blend or go with the lock or throw, but i have noticed that they as well as my own students react differently to the technique when you put in an atemi here or there when not expected,
this makes them put themselves off balance, leave a limb to lock, or drop a nice throw on them.

So the Answer to my question is yes you should use Atemi, with such a great effect it has on the opponent it stops you getting hit and sets up your technique perfectly.

Sensei Antony Day. (3rd Dan)