{"id":431,"date":"2015-01-21T07:45:43","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T12:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.searchofpeace.com\/blog\/?p=431"},"modified":"2015-01-18T13:48:33","modified_gmt":"2015-01-18T18:48:33","slug":"its-not-about-the-throw-nage-vs-tori","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.searchofpeace.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/21\/its-not-about-the-throw-nage-vs-tori\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s not about the throw… Nage vs Tori"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NagevsTori\"<\/p>\n

Some teachers use the terms Uke and Nage and some prefer Uke and Tori. Both have different meanings but the different terms remind us of our tendency to focus on throwing our partner. In contrast many of O’sensei’s direct students repeat that “it is not about the throw.” Aikido removes the possibility for an attack while giving an opportunity to “take ukemi” <\/p>\n

The Kanji for “nage” on the left is generically translated to “the one who throws.” Looking closer it has the characters for hand, table, and the action of throwing. This is said to depict the action of throwing a spear in such a way that it lands vertical in the ground upon missing the target. This too focuses on the waza (skilled action) versus an end goal. In the context of aikido it is interesting that the result of “nage” is you have thrown away both your and uke’s ability to harm.<\/p>\n

The Kanji for “tori” is on the right and it is generically translated to “the one who takes” which is preferred by many teachers because you can focus on taking the center, which is far more important then if uke falls over. Oddly the Kanji includes the characters for ear and the throwing away (same as nage). This translates to take because it depicts the action of taking the head by the ear (as a samurai “takes a head”). Not a pretty picture but it clearly implies taking the center of the person as is essential to the technique.<\/p>\n

Saito Sensei speaks in terms of uke and nage. There are many examples where Saito Sensei talks about nage’s responsibility for uke’s safety as part of the technique. For shihonage, which is often too aggressive he says that the technique is “severe” but the throw is soft. “It’s not ukemi practice, it’s aikido practice.”<\/p>\n