While practicing yesterday i noticed another point of departure from “traditional aikido”. In traditional aikido work is sometimes directed to suppressing your partners freedom of movement – the lock or pin. These are familiar goals in the practice of “control and restraint” as used in psychiatric hospitals and jails.

This element is abscent in freeform aikido. In freeform work is directed towards the mutual liberation of movement into new realms, throwing things open.

The experience is one of expansion in to new possibilities and questions rather than containment, enclosure and control.

I enjoy this as I have a tendency towards clastrophobia, and a passion for seeing things in fresh ways!