Mokuyobi Yoru Aikido Club

Ok so here the debate really gets interesting. On one hand there are those who believe that there is no competition in Aikido apart from what you do with yourself. I personally believe that it is very difficult to practice a martial art unless there is some form of free play which enables you to practice techniques that are not coming from a "predefined" attack.

Kenji Tomiki designed a syllabus which enables us to do this with Aikido and over the years this has developed and we now have local, national and international competitions at which we compete.

Competitions normally take the form of tanto or toshu randori, although there are also enbu competitions in which pairs (tori and uke) are judged on their kata . Toshu randori is barehanded, and both aikidoka are expected to perform techniques on one another and attempt to resist and counter each other's techniques. The appearance of this form is heavily influenced by judo randori with a few changes designed to enhance the use of aikido technique (for example, one is not allowed to grasp the opponent's keiko-gi).

In tanto randori, there is a designated attacker ( tanto ) and a designated defender ( toshu ). The attacker attempts to stab the defender with a training knife (usually rubber or stuffed) while the defender attempts, with any of seventeen basic aikido techniques, to throw or perform joint-locks on the attacker. Tanto is expected to resist or counter with the first five techniques. In competition, the roles switch, with competitors having the same amount of time with and without the knife. In both these forms of randori, the traditional separation between the performer of technique (tori) and the receiver of technique (uke) no longer exists as either of the participants may throw their opponent.

Scoring

Tanto tsukiari - 1 point - Awarded for a successful tanto strike. For the strike to count, the tanto must land on the lower half of the torso. The arm must be extended, and the attacker must be moving forward, finished with good balance. Glancing hits do not count. Obviously, this does not apply to toshu randori.

Yuko - 1 point - Awarded for a balance break, or for making your opponent retreat out of the designated area.

Wasa-ari - 2 points - Awarded for a full throw or lock, but losing good posture and balance.

Ippon - 4 points - Awarded for a full throw or lock, keeping good posture and balance