The term tsugi-ashi is applied to the foot movement whereby the back foot catches up with the advancing foot so that the feet finish up close together, the toes of the rear foot coming up to the heel of the front foot, before the forward foot finishes the pace. Tsugi comes from the verb tsugu meaning 'to succeed to' while ashi means 'foot/feet' or 'steps'. Both should be distinguished from ayumi-ashi, or normal 'walking steps'.

There is understandably some confusion in these two terms of Aikido movement, since the steps described as tsugi-ashi and as okuri-ashi are very similar. Kaiten means 'rotation', hence kaiten-nage, 'rotary throw'. Tenkan means 'change', 'turn bout and this we can interpret in the Aikido context as changing our direction, turning the body in response to an attack, avoiding it and absorbing the assailant's aggressive force.īoth irimi and tenkan can be combined with ashi ('foot', 'step') to make the terms irimi-ashi ('moving forwards') and tenkan-ashi ('pivoting'). In fact, the principle of irimi (entering) is basic to most movements in Aikido. In his book Aikido Doshu describes it as an 'art' applied during the moment of your opponent's attack, moving out of his line of attack to his 'dead' side. This is a movement perhaps unique to Aikido. So tai-sabaki has the idea of coping with a situation by manoeuvring our body in a finely adjusted manner. Even the last meaning of the word implies - at least in the context of Japanese cuisine - exactitude and a 'just right' feeling. Tai means 'body'Īnd sabaki is derived from the verb sabaku, which has a number of meanings, among them 'to judge', 'to cope with things', 'to manage', 'to set things in order' and (oddly) 'to cut up fish or meat for cooking'. In books on Aikido in English the term tai-sabaki is often translated as 'body movement' but the Japanese term implies more than this. 'With this sabaki you can absorb your partner into the sphere of your movement, or you can act like a spinning top that flings off what has touched it.' Any part of the body cannot move irrespective of the rest of the body. That's to say, when the big toe turns to the left, all parts of the body move in harmony with it. 'When we think about the sabaki of Aikido, we can regard the body as an elaborate machine. No mailer from which side you have been attacked, the movement should be round and smooth. Furthermore, this movement should be made with This means that the movement has its centre, and you sabaku your body by moving your centre. Sabaki is similar to the movement of a spinning top. 'The most characteristic movements of Aikido are irimi and sabaki. In 'An Introduction to Aikido' by the Doshu, Kisshomaru Ueshiba we read:

Tai sabaki