One of the ideas most closely associated with aikido is non-contestation. In aikido we avoid meeting force with force and turning an encounter into a test of strength. At the same time, Morihei Ueshiba and many of his early students placed a great deal of importance on atemi, or striking. At first, those two things can seem hard to reconcile. If aikido is based on harmony and non-resistance, why is striking such an important part of it? The answer depends on what we mean by non-contestation.
Non-contestation does not mean standing there passively while someone attacks. It does not mean refusing to take initiative, and it certainly does not mean that every aikido technique has to be harmless. What it means is that we do not accept the attacker’s invitation to struggle on his terms. If someone grabs your wrist and you immediately begin trying to pry yourself free, while he tightens his grip and resists, the encounter has become a contest. The same thing happens when you try to force an ikkyo against a stiff arm. He resists, you push harder, and before long both people are fighting over the same piece of ground. That is exactly the sort of relationship aikido tries to avoid. Instead of fighting directly against the attack, we change the situation. That is where atemi comes in.
Atemi Was Always Part of Aikido
In modern aikido, atemi is sometimes treated almost like a gesture: a punch toward the face to make uke flinch so that the “real” technique can begin. Historically, it was more important than that.
Morihiro Saito, who trained extensively with Ueshiba in Iwama, repeatedly emphasized that atemi was an essential part of aikido. Ueshiba’s own prewar technical material also shows strikes being used as part of the technique rather than as decorative extras. There is also the famous saying attributed to Ueshiba that aikido is largely atemi. The exact percentage varies depending on the source. Saito gives a version in which aikido is “99 percent atemi.” Gozo Shioda, founder of Yoshinkan Aikido, recalled Ueshiba saying that in a real fight aikido was “70 percent atemi and 30 percent throwing.” The exact number is probably less important than the point being made. Atemi was not a minor addition to early aikido. It was part of the way the techniques worked.
Why Atemi Does Not Contradict Non-Contestation
Atemi can actually help prevent an encounter from turning into a contest. Suppose uke has a strong grip and is resisting the direction you want to move. If you continue pulling on the arm, you are now trying to overpower his structure. But if you enter and give him something else to deal with—an atemi toward the face, ribs, or another opening—his attention and posture change. He may turn his head. His spine may straighten. His weight may shift. His grip may weaken. His original attack is no longer organized in quite the same way. At that point, you are not winning a tug-of-war. You have changed the conditions of the encounter. Atemi in aikido is not simply “hit him first and then do the technique.” It can be used to break posture, create an opening, interrupt intention, affect balance, or force a reaction. In other words, it helps make the technique possible without having to fight directly against the attacker’s strength.
Atemi and Irimi
This becomes even clearer when we look at irimi, or entering. If an attack is coming toward you, one response is to back away from it. Another is to stand your ground and block it. Irimi offers a different solution. You enter to a position where the attack can no longer develop as intended. Atemi often works the same way. The attacker begins with a plan. He intends to grab, strike, or control you. A well-timed entry with atemi interrupts that plan and gives him a new problem to solve. His attention changes from attacking you to dealing with what is suddenly in front of him. That shift is often enough to create the opening for the throw, lock, or control that follows.
Non-Contestation Does Not Mean Nonviolence
There is also a tendency to confuse several different ideas in aikido. Non-resistance is not necessarily the same thing as nonviolence. Non-contestation is not the same thing as refusing to strike. And harmony does not mean allowing someone else to maintain control of the encounter.
Aikido includes strikes, joint controls, throws, pins, entering movements, and techniques derived from weapons practice. Its ideal may be to resolve conflict without unnecessary harm, but that does not make the art passive. The point is to avoid becoming trapped in a struggle. In aikido we do not respond to an attack by overpowering the opponent. Instead, we interrupt the attack by moving off line, entering, taking balance, and using atemi when necessary. Then, when the attacker no longer has the structure or opportunity to continue fighting effectively, we apply the technique.
