First Conctact: Ikkyo

First Contact: Ikkyo

4/28/92

Mark J. Norton

In his book on Aikido, Saotome sensei indicates that Ikkyo is one of the fundamental techniques in Aikido and is somewhat underappreciated. This is so (he says) because Ikkyo is not just a name for the first technique (or first grip), but also first contact, or the moment two people begin an exchange. I taught a class that discussed this concept last night.

I demonstrated Ikkyo in response to tsuki, shomenunchi, and yokomenuchi attacks. In each of these exchanges, there is a moment of time in which contact is initiated between the two people involved. This moment is not necessarily the point of contact of the strike. Rather, it has to do with the initiation of the attack and start of defense. Thus, in tsuki, the moment of contact starts when the punch is launched. This can be seen if one imagines a dowel which extends from the fist of the attacker to the intended strike point. Contact happens when the punch is started.

It is at this point in time that Aikido comes into play. The defender begins to harmonize with the attack, blending with the energy directed at him by the uke. By stepping back, the defender blends with the oncoming strike and begins to assert control over the encounter. This control begins long before either touches the other. This is the point I am trying to make. Things happen before there is any physical linkage between the two people engaged. It is important to see this. Here is an example of non-physical interaction between two people which is real and repeatable. This kind of control has been described in mystical terms as the 'magic' of Aikido. It is not magic, but instead, a non-physical interaction between people.

Physics in western science says that there is action and re-action. A force is required to move an object or change its direction (control). In light of these 'laws', how is it possible to control or influence another person in physical combat without touching them. The answer lies not in physics, but in psychology. A person's body (in most cases) requires conscious will to make it move. When you want to walk, think walk, and the body obeys. If something catches your eye, thing reach, and you may grab it. If there was some way in which another person could make you 'think reach', you would grab without realizing it was not your choice.

This is the nature of non-physical control in Aikido. A man wishes to strike a blow to the top of my head (reasons for wanting to do this play a role here, but are set aside for now). He wills his arm to 'strike'. In his mind, he is expecting to reach and hit my head. This belief has some influence in how his body will react to hitting my head. I, having gained some understanding of this matter, move my head slightly away from his attack. He compensates by reaching further. I move back more, etc. His strike misses my head and he stumbles, because his belief in striking me was not prepared to miss. In certain circumstances, this belief and my control of his reaching/thinking process can be sufficiently strong that he will not merely stumble, but fall complete to the ground, leaving him in a good position for physical control.

By moving the goal of his strike, I have exerted a non-physical, psychological force, not on the attacker's body, but on his mind. I have influenced his intent and doing so, I have caused him to move himself in a manner that defeats him. Control without touching.

The moment of first-contact, or Ikkyo as Saotome refers to it, is very important to this form of control. The moment of contact is when harmony begins. This feeling of harmony or blending is important for psychological influence. To lead the mind, you must lead the body. It requires an understanding (or intuition) of the attackers intent. If he wants to grab your wrist, you can move it away from him. Too slow and he will catch you, too fast and his mind will not follow, but will instead move to a different target. This synchronization is needed. It is called blending.

By having the class practice Ikkyo against three attacks, it allowed them to concentrate on getting a feel for different points of first contact. To show that this concept applies to other defences, I had them practice a Nikkyo defence against katatetori (wrist grab) and katatori (lapel grab). To show how it applies in a more static situation, they practiced ryotetori shihonage.

The last technique of the class was an iriminage counter to ryotetori shihonage. I told them there just as there was a point of first contact for the defender, so too was there a point of contact for the attacker should he choose to defend himself against a defensive move (counter technique). This gets a little difficult to see, but at some point in the shihonage, the uke realizes that there is an opening for him to perform an iriminage counter. This is his moment of 'ikkyo'. In this way, we realize that that there might exist other special points in time, perhaps different that 'first contact'. There are moments of weakness, places to counter, and changes in technique (henku waza).

In closing, I would like to re-examine that point of contact. In a physical attack, first contact occurs on impact. In a pyschological attack, first contact occurs when the will to attack occurs. Does it stop here? Is there some earlier point in time which might also be a 'first contact'. Indeed there might, but understanding becomes more difficult. At some point in time, the aggressor comes to realize that there is some reason to attack me. This is another level of contact. It is the moment that leads to the decision to attack. Why should this man attack me? Perhaps I have done him wrong and he wants to harm me in return. Perhaps he is jealous or insecure and feels that violence is a solution. Perhaps there are higher ideals such as patriotism or religion which motivate him to strike at me, though I am a faceless stranger to him.

It is my belief that O-Sensei was capable of exterting force and controlling people at this level. He could see through to the underlying reasons and drives that lead a man to violence. He had insight and perception to see these things and how they might impact him. Finally, he could influence a man even before the thought of attack occurred to him. In this way, he was a master far in advance of my poor understanding. Perhaps you can also see the dangers in knowing how to use these forces and the potential for harm as well.