Using Rhythm to Create "Lift"

Photo by Doug Heacock

Learning to play the violin has been great for me, because it brings another perspective to things I experience in aikido (and vice versa). One of these is how you can use rhythm to move peoples' bodies.

Using rhythm to create "lift"in music

I play a lot of traditional music - Irish, American, Scottish, English, French Canadian, and more. Much of the traditional music repertoire is written for dancers. Of course, dancers need to know where the beat is. But musicians can also help make the dancing more fun by adding something called "lift." "Lift" makes the music feel lighter and more energetic. Some people do this unconsciously, but sometimes you have to focus on what you're doing or not doing to get it right. It might mean emphasizing the up-beat, or lightening up certain repeated notes, or even by creating spaces or rests. The most important point is that it's dance music and it should make you feel like dancing

Rhythm in self-defense? 

My Aikido Sensei often talks about the importance of rhythm in aikido practice. He says that the rhythm shouldn't be stiff or mechanical. He makes his point by singing like a robot with no variation in speed, tone, or dynamics. Obviously not natural and, according to Sensei, not effective.

We take advantage of our opponent's natural movement in order to make aikido technique easier to apply. If the attacker's body moves a certain way naturally, why fight against that? That's rhythm.

Part of a technique may involve drawing the attacker forward so that their natural reaction will be to right themselves by backing up. When we do this, we have to adjust ourselves to the rhythm of the attacker's movements. A large person may take longer to right himself; a slight person may bend at the waist more easily and therefore go down farther, taking longer to come up; a muscular person may not go very far and may move back quickly. When we match our rhythm to the attacker's natural movement, we don't have to use much energy to move them - we use the rhythm to get the attacker to lift herself.

If you can affect how heavy people feel by scratching a bow across a string, you can certainly create "lift" using rhythm and timing in aikido. The less "muscle" you need, the easier everything will become!