Steps¶
Successfully mastering the footwork at the very beginning of your training is an essential prerequisite for your rapid progress. Therefore, it is important to know both the name of each step and how to perform it correctly.
Since Aikido is practiced equally on both the right and left sides, we do not refer to the legs as the “right” and “left” legs, but rather as the “front” and “rear” legs.
The naming is based on which leg initiates the movement. Accordingly, we distinguish three types of movement:
| front leg | rear leg | movement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| irimi | mae ashi irimi | ushiro ashi irimi | forward |
| tenkan | mae ashi tenkan | ushiro ashi tenkan | turn around |
| tenchin | mae ashi tenchin | ushiro ashi tenchin | diagonally backward |
| kaiten | turn in place |
Altogether, we have 3×2 + 1 = 7 basic footwork movements. The special case is “kaiten” (turn in place), since both feet rotate simultaneously.