Research

Quantitative Outcome Studies

Delva-Tauiliili, Jorge
Does brief Aikido training reduce aggression of youth?
Perceptual & Motor Skills, Vol 80(1), Feb 1995. pp. 297-298.
SUMMARY
Teachers completed the Teacher's Self-Control Rating Scale and an instrument designed to measure aggression for 21 9-12 yr old boys before and after they took Aikido training for 21/2 wks. The scales were also completed for 21 students on a waiting list. Results did not show that Ss that received the training exhibited increased self-control and decreased aggression.

CHILDREN

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Edelman, Andrew J.(1994)
The Implementation of a Video-Enhanced Aikido-Based School Violence Prevention Training Program To Reduce Disruptive and Assaultive Behaviors among Severely Emotionally Disturbed Adolescents
Ed.D. Practicum, Nova Southeastern University
SUMMARY
The martial art of Aikido was used as an intervention with 15 middle and high school students with severe emotional disturbances in an alternative educational setting. Students with an extensive history of violently disruptive and assaultive behaviors were trained for 12 weeks in this nonviolent Japanese martial art in order to achieve the following outcomes: reduce disruptive classroom behaviors and verbally abusive and physically assaultive behaviors toward other students and staff members, and decrease the number of school-wide disciplinary referrals for violent behaviors. The training focused on peaceful conflict resolution, nonviolent self-defense, individual and group confrontation management, and autogenic relaxation training. Significant improvements were achieved in reducing violent behaviors during the training sessions, and these positive behaviors transferred into other classrooms. Parents and administrators also noted positive behaviors exhibited by student participants, including enhanced respect for authority and peers, improved conflict de-escalation skills, and enhanced feelings of confidence and self-worth. It was found that Aikido training can be implemented with a minimum of scheduling disruptions and financial expenditure. Appended is a 12-week behavioral summary chart.

ADOLESCENTS

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Foster, Yumi Akuzawa (1997)
Brief Aikido Training Versus Karate and Golf Training and University Students' Scores on Self-esteem, Anxiety, and Expression of Anger.
Perceptual and Motor Skill, 84(2), 609
SUMMARY
69 university students volunteered from 4 physical education courses for beginners: 20 in aikido, 24 in karate, 13 in a golf group with a pretest, and 12 in a golf group without a pretest. All were given a composite questionnaire that included the Self-esteem Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Anger Expression Scales from the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. The aikido group's means did not differ significantly from pretest to posttest on self-esteem, State-Anxiety, Trait-Anxiety, or Anger Expression. Only the karate group showed significantly lower means on Trait-Anxiety.

ADULTS

Gernigon, Christophe
Achievement goals in aikido and judo: A comparative study among beginner and experienced practitioners.
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, Vol 12(2), Sep 2000. pp. 168-179.

ADULTS

Hannon, Gary, EdD (1998)
The relationship between self-actualization and Aikido
Dissertation UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC
SUMMARY
This research was conducted to explore the relationship between self-actualization and the Japanese martial art of Aikido. Time spent in active practice of Aikido served as the predictor variable and the quasi-experimental intervention. The Personal Orientation Dimensions served as the measuring instrument for self-actualization. The 13 scale scores were the dependent variables. Of the most significant results, six scales were chosen to form the basis for the structured interview. The interview was conducted with five practicing Black Belt Aikidoists. The research subjects were all Aikido students from four different schools with a common lineage. Later efforts to expand outside the lineage were not productive. There were three groups in this research. Those who were tested at least once, those who were tested twice, and the five selected Aikido Black Belts for the interview. The first group was the Total Group and consisted of all respondents and the scores of the first sampling of the Test-Retest Group (n = 48, 24 females, 24 males). Sixteen respondents were between 18 and 30 years old, 25 between 31 and 45, and 7 were 46 years old and above. Average months practicing Aikido was 32.95 with an average of 3.58 times per week and 4.6 hours per week. A Multiple Regression showed significant positive changes in four scales at the p<01 level and six scales showed positive directional change at the p<05 level. This gives some support to the hypothesis that the active practice of Aikido may contribute to self-actualization over time. The Analysis of Variance performed on the dependent means of the Test-Retest Group produced one positive direction for one scale p<05, n = 11. This was not considered significant for this study. The interviews focused on the content of six of the most significant scales and confirmed the quantitative findings. Additional information about the effects of Aikido upon students based on the interviews is presented. The study provides additional support for the use of Eastern self-actualization technology with Western students. Possibilities for use include school systems, therapist training, and promoting the general mental health of the population.

ADULTS

Luskin, Frederic M.; Newell, Kathryn A.; Griffith, Michelle; Holmes, Margaret; Telles, Sarah; Marvasti, Farshad F.; Pelletier, Kenneth R.; Haskell, William L. (1998)
A Review of Mind-Body Therapies in the Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease: Part 1; Implications for the Elderly
Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine, Vol. 4 Issue 3, 46-61 :
SUMMARY
A review of research on complementary and alternative treatments, specifically mind-body techniques, was conducted at Stanford University. The goals of the review were to establish a comprehensive literature review and to provide a rationale for future research concerning successful aging.
Methods - Computerized searches were conducted using MED-LINE, PsychInfo, Stanford Library, Dissertation Abstracts, Lexus-Nexus, the Internet, and interviews conducted with practitioners. All studies since 1990 that examined mind-body treatments of cardiovascular disorders in the elderly were included. Mind-body practices evaluated were social support, cognitive-behavioral treatment, meditation, the placebo effect, hope, faith, imagery, spiritual healing, music therapy, hypnosis, yoga, t'ai chi, qigong, and aikido. Studies conducted after 1990 were a priority, but when more recent literature was scarce, other studies using randomized, controlled trials were included.
Results - Mind-body techniques were found to be efficacious primarily as complementary and sometimes as stand-alone alternative treatments for cardiovascular disease-related conditions. Studies provided evidence for treatment efficacy, but the need for further controlled research was evident.
Conclusions - Reviewers found only a handful of randomized, controlled research studies conducted in the United States. As a result, there is a lack of replicated studies with which to determine appropriate treatment dosage and the mechanisms by which many of the practices work. Compelling anecdotal evidence, the presence of some controlled research, overall cost effectiveness, and the lack of side effects resulting from mind-body treatments make further investigation a high priority.

Studies demonstrate that some of the physiological and psychological changes that occur during Yoga and three forms of martial arts -- t'ai chi, qigong, and aikido mimic the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. These changes, which coincide with a general decrease in the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, include decreased oxygen consumption, lowered blood pressure, and decreased heart and respiratory rates.There is a paucity of research on the medical applications of aikido. The work that does exist shows a direct relationship between intensity and duration of practice and a reduction in hostility. Lower aggression, hostility, and depression as well as higher self-esteem and self-confidence have been reported after practice. The literature on reduced hostility and aggressiveness suggests that aikido may lower certain risk factors of CVD and provide an alternative physical activity that is safe for older people.

ADULTS

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Madenlian, Razmig B (1979)
An experimental study of the effect of Aikido training on the self-concept of adolescents with behavioral problems.
Dissertation U Southern California

ADOLSCENTS

REGETS, CHARLES MICHAEL (1990)
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-ACTUALIZATION AND LEVELS OF INVOLVEMENT IN AIKIDO
Dissertation CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF INTEGRAL STUDIES
SUMMARY
A contrasted groups design study investigated the relationship between self-actualization as measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) Time Competence ratio and Support ratio scales and levels of involvement in the practice of Aikido, Karate and exercise. Three hypotheses were tested: (1) Aikido practioners would score significantly in a more self-actualizing direction than Karate practioners or non-martial arts Exercisers. (2) There would be a significant main effect for the type of practice on the POI ratio scales. There would be no significant main effects for gender on the ratio scales. There would be no significant interaction between gender and type of practice activity on the POI Ratio scales. (3) The set of Aikido practice involvement characteristics (frequency, level of achievement, duration, perserverance) would yield a larger multiple regression on the ratio scales for the Aikido group than for either of the comparison groups. The self-selected sample included a total of 71 subjects; 25 Aikido practioners, 21 Karate practioners, and 25 non-martial arts exercisers. A significant difference (p < .01) was found using independent means t-tests, between the Aikido group and the combined contrast groups on the Time Competence ratio and Support ratio scales. The proportion of variance accounted for as a function of the differential treatment of the contrasted groups was.048 for the Time Competence ratio and.055 for the Support Ratio scale. ANOVA indicated that a significant main effect (p < .02) was observed for group on the Support ratio scale. No main effects were observed for gender. A significant interaction was observed between gender and group on the Time Competence scale. No significant correlation was found between Involvement levels and group. However, Aikido respondents were more involved in mindbody activities (meditation, body therapies, new age literature) that philosophically parallel self-actualization theory. The results support the general hypothesis of the study that a relationship exists between measures of self-actualization and the participants of this study who practice Aikido. The findings appear to support the possibility of self-selection into Aikido practice by persons possessing self-actualizing characteristics the possession of which may facilitate becoming or remaining an Aikidoist.

ADULTS

Wagner, Winfried (1980)
Zen-Meditation (Zazen und Aikido): Eine psycho-hygienische und psychotherapeutische Methode?
University of Wƒrzburg Psychologisches Institut (Germany)
SUMMARY
The hypothesis were 1) that aikido and zazen will have positive effects on psychological health, and 2) that the effects of aikido, even being a budo way like judo and karate, are more similiar to those of zazen than to those of judo and karate. So I tested an aikido group (n = 39), a zazen group (n = 61), a judo group (n = 32), and a karate group (n = 35) with the Freiburger Pers¾nlichkeits-Inventar (FPI), a well known personality inventory in psychological diagnosis and scientific research in Germany. The study included also a motivational analysis of the participants to practice aikido and zazen, judo and karate. The statistical analysis showed significant less social dominance and less physical, verbal and fantasy aggression for the aikido and zazen groups in comparison to the judo and karate groups. This was valid for men and women, and independent from their age and school education. The zazen group, but not the aikido group, also differed from the judo and karate groups in extraversion, need for social contact and maskulinity. The aikido group differed from the zazen group in emotional stability (Eysenck«s neurotzism) and maskulinity. These outcomes were valid especially for the male participants from 21 to 30 years. I also compared the test groups with the scores of a reference population (of the same composition of age, sex and school education as the test groups). These comparison showed lower scores in social dominance and higher scores in emotional stability for the aikido and zazen participants. Various possibilities to find out the cause for these differences are discussed, and some are statically proofed (for instance by comparison of beginners to experienced practioners). A theoretical part of this study discusses, whether aikido and zazen have psychotherapeutic effects in themselves, or could be helpful adjuncts to psychotherapy.

ADULTS

Whitehead, J. (1995)
Multiple achievement orientations and participation in youth sport: A cultural and developmental perspective.
International Journal of Sport Psychology, 26, 431-452.
SUMMARY
The purpose of this study was to determine whether achievement goal orientations (task and ego) vary as a function of the type of fighting sport that is practiced (competitive: judo vs non-competitive: aikido), of the level of experience (beginner vs. experienced), and of gender. 80 children (mean age 12.1 yrs)and 84 adult practitioners (mean age 28.5 yrs) of these sports were asked to respond to a French version of the Perception of Success Questionnaire. In the children's group, aikidokas proved to be generally more taskoriented than judokas, experienced aikidokas were less ego-oriented than beginner aikidokas and experienced judokas, and experienced judokas were more ego-oriented than beginner judokas. In the adult group, experienced aikidokas were curiously both less task- and ego-oriented than beginner aikidokas and experienced judokas. No effects involving gender reached significance. These findings stress the compatibility of a competitive context and task orientation.

CHILDREN

Qualitative Studies

Chew P.G.L. (1995), (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
Aikido politics in interview interaction
Linguistics and Education 7, (3), 201-220.
SUMMARY
This study analyzes how less powerful subjects in an unequal encounter, an admission interview in an educational institution, were able to counter the power directed at them by the more powerful subject through aikido strategies. The chief means used to achieve an aikido balance was membershipping, a device to neutralize or bring the power of the more powerful subject under control by unifying with it and leading it off with its own force. Aikido politics is basically the redirection of a potential opponent's energy to the user's advantage and an attainment of power through cooperation rather than confrontation. Although there were many ways of membershipping, the choice was necessarily limited by the context of situation in terms of what was considered appropriate and relevant. In the context of the admission interview, harmonizing with the ideological discursive formation of the institution in question became the most obvious means of membershipping.
ADULTS

CONLICT RESOLUTION

Dykhuizen, C. J.(2000)
Training in culture: the case of aikido education and meaning-making outcomes in Japan and the United States
Dissertation Kent State U, US
SUMMARY
This research project investigated the outcomes of the process of cultural diffusion. Utilizing a Japanese martial art as an example, inquiry was made into the relationship between the manner in which an activity was presented in a culturally-situated educational setting, and the way it was perceived by individuals training in that setting. The meanings which participants training in the sending and receiving cultures assigned to concepts related to the activity were measured and compared. A mixed-methods methodology was used to conduct this investigation. A researcher-generated semantic differential was administered to 128 participants training at nine aikido dojos (training halls) in the mid-Western United States. A Japanese version of the instrument was administered to 120 participants training in 12 dojos in the Japanese research setting. Demographic information for the participants was also collected. Additionally, participant observation was conducted at two aikido dojos in Japan for three months, and at a dojo in the United States for approximately six months. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten Japanese and seven American participants. The interviews with Japanese participants were conducted in Japanese. All interviews were transcribed for analysis. The constant-comparative method was used to direct the inquiry and analyze the data. The physical experience of performing aikido movements reported by participants training in both cultures were consistently similar. There were, however, apparent differences in the manner in which practitioners training in the Japanese and American settings structured and represented their understandings of aikido and aikido-related concepts. Instructors, representing the activity from the cultural setting they were functioning within, were an instrumental force in shaping practitioners' understandings of aikido-related concepts. The results of this investigation indicate that, although the observable form of a cultural activity may diffuse to a culture with relatively little change, the meaning assigned to the activity is changed in the process of diffusion. The findings concerning physical training experiences and mental representations of aikido-related concepts emerged from the analysis in a manner which resulted in the generation of a model which describes the personal development experienced by practitioners.

ADULTS

Epstein, Robert A (1996)
A phenomenological study of the therapist's experience of being centered in therapy based on an understanding of centering in aikido.
Dissertation California School of Professional Psychology, Berkeley
SUMMARY
This phenomenological study investigated the therapist's experience of being centered in therapy. Eight psychotherapists, who were advanced practitioners of aikido--a nonviolent Japanese martial art based on the principle of harmony--were asked to describe, in open-ended interviews that followed a phenomenological approach, their experience of being centered and the way in which they become centered, based on their understanding of centering in aikido. The participants' descriptions were audiotaped and transcribed, then subjected to a multi-step analysis based on the phenomenological method. A comprehensive description of the therapist's experience of being centered was formulated in a General Structure, a broad statement of the phenomenon that sought to integrate the subjects' accounts as well as the present researcher's disciplined reflections. For this sample of clinicians, being centered in therapy was described phenomenologically as a psychophysical experience involving attentional shifts, expansion of awareness, and an augmented sense of unity and balance. Additional aspects of this experience included increased self-acceptance and self-trust, reliance on intuition, present-centered orientation, and a quality of consciousness that the present researcher termed 'compassionate nonattachment,' which was associated with 'centered' as opposed to 'uncentered cognition.' The nature of therapeutic attention is discussed as is the potential utility of distinguishing between centered and uncentered cognition in relation to the notion of countertransference. Directions for future research are outlined regarding the effect of centering training--including sensory awareness--on such therapist variables as empathy, congruence, and locus of control.

ADULTS

Faggianelli, Patrick Victor (1995)
Aikido and psychotherapy: A study of psychotherapists who are aikido practitioners.
Dissertation Saybrook Inst, US
SUMMARY
This research study investigated the affects of aikido practice upon psychotherapy. Aikido is a non-violent Japanese martial art based on the principles of harmony and the peaceful resolution of conflict. Eight psychotherapists who were advanced practitioners of aikido were asked the question, 'In your experience does the practice of aikido inform or affect your practice of psychotherapy? If so, how and in what ways?' Following a semi-structured interview format, which included contextualizing and follow-up questions, research participants were asked to describe aikido's influence upon their practice and understanding of psychotherapy. The participants' descriptions were audiotaped and transcribed, then subjected to a multi-step analysis based upon narrative and phenomenological method, resulting in a thematic analysis of the data. Nine major themes emerged from the interviews: Aikido resulted in a mind-body unification which was described as being physically and psychologically healing; being centered in aikido was essentially the same as being present in therapy; the aikido strategies of 'getting off the line,' blending, and extending were translated and utilized in psychotherapy; takemusu, the ability to spontaneously manifest technique or form in aikido was observed to transfer into therapy practice; as a spiritual practice, aikido was described as ontologically informing psychotherapy practice, as aikido and psychotherapy were both viewed as stemming from the same source, i.e., love; aikido was viewed to be metaphorically and isomorphically related to psychotherapy. These results evoked a discussion of an equalitarian human relationship within the therapeutic framework. Reframing and recontextualizing the concept of resistance from an aikido perspective was undertaken. Directions for future research regarding further study of aikido and psychotherapy were outlined. Implications for utilizing aikido practice in training psychotherapists were discussed.

ADULTS

Spector, Michael (2000)
Moments of awakening in the presence of impending danger: A phenomenological study of police officers in critical situations
Dissertation THE FIELDING INSTITUTE
SUMMARY
This study explored the phenomenon of moments of awakening, a transcendent state of consciousness grounded in mind-body awareness and focused in the present moment, as it occurs in the presence of impending danger. This phenomenon is located within the literature and theoretical framework of eastern spirituality and western psychology, particularly in the work of Abraham Maslow, and is examined in this study through the Zen concept of kensho (Suzuki, 1964), the Aikido concept of Takemusu Aiki (Stevens, 1995), and Maslow's theory of peak and plateau experiences (1970). The presence of impending danger is examined through a phenomenological study of eight police officers in critical situations, and my own autoethnography (Bochner, 2000) framed through the context of a 13 year practice in the Japanese martial art of Aikido. Participants were selected from a group of police officers who had attended a class in mind-body awareness and were chosen based on demonstrated ability to reflect on personal experience and articulate those reflections. Semi-structured phenomenological interviews were conducted based on recollections of their experiences of impending danger in critical situations with an emphasis on mind-body awareness. I also used my own recollections of life experience in the presence of impending danger through autoethnography, a methodology described by Ellis and Bochner (2000);systematic sociological introspection and emotional recall.&rdquo; Interviews were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed first by listening (Anderson, 1998) and then through Nvivo software. Findings revealed 4 themes central to the experience of awakening in the presence of impending danger: the experience of time as timeless moments, a new way of being, a change in worldview, and a cognitive awareness developed through repeated experience. The primary implications of the findings are that a state of expanded consciousness triggered by mind-body awareness increases the survival ability of police in critical situations, that mind-body awareness is a skill that improves with practice, and that the findings relevant to police in critical situations with impending danger would also be relevant to others in situations involving potential personal loss.

ADULTS

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Ueno, Yuji (1995)
EASTERN PHILOSOPHY AND THE RISE OF THE AIKIDO MOVEMENT
Dissertation UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO (CANADA)
SUMMARY
One of the fundamental questions of this thesis concerns the origin and nature of 'religion phenomena.' Are such phenomena related only to emotion, psychology, or society? Can they essentially be explained within the conventional framework of the discipline of anthropology including functional, structural and symbolic analyses? If not, what would be the other possibilities? This study explores these questions, focusing on the rise of the aikido movement, based on a martial art that emerged in modern Japan and spread to North America. The basis of the art is related to the Eastern philosophical/religious idea of ki (ch'i in Chinese, also spelled qi). The research aims to understand the nature of the movement and the idea of ki in such a way one can share a horizon with the people concerned. For this purpose I take seriously the insider's view that the art is based on the actual experience of ki and consider that an experiential approach to the 'reality' in question is a valid one. My interpretive framework is based on Eastern philosophical thought indigenous to the society where aikido originated. This study consists of two parts: a literature survey of the movement providing its historical and social/cultural background, and my fieldwork conducted both in Japan and in Canada. The fieldwork is oriented to investigating the nature of ki both through personal experience and interviewing those who claimed to have an experience of the phenomenon. The other aspect of my fieldwork is oriented to investigating practitioners' motives for joining and remaining in the movement. Findings of my research indicate that the rise and persistence of the movement are related to the social/cultural conditions of the societies in question. At the same time, my research indicates that the rise and persistence of the movement also owe much to the actual experience of ki. 'Suffering,' both physical and emotional, as well as religious methods incorporated into aikido, are important factors predisposing people to experience deeper levels of 'reality.'

ADULTS

Physiological

Asami, T.; Hirai, M.(1998)
Analysis of Basic Standing Posture in Budo - Sway of the center of foot pressure in "Toitsutai" of Mind-body Combined
AIKIDO BULLETIN- INSTITUTE OF HEALTH AND SPORTS SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA, 21, 131-139

ADULTS

Eckert JW; Lee TK (1993)
The anatomy of Nikyo (Aikido's second teaching)
Perceptual and motor skills, 77, 707-15.
SUMMARY
Nikyo is the second teaching of Aikido (ni-two, kyo-teaching, in Japanese). It is a joint-lock technique that results in extreme pain. It allows one to control an opponent by destroying his will to continue fighting. Nikyo is accomplished by flexing and adducting an opponent's wrist producing an instantaneous sharp pain that causes him to fall to his knees involuntarily to alleviate the pressure. The exact etiology of the pain elicited by this technique has been obscure to many practitioners. The usual explanations have been nerve compression, joint capsular stretch, tendon/muscle strain, or partial ligamentous disruption. Studies of a cadaver's wrist have shown that Nikyo forcibly compresses the pisiform bone against the ulna, two bones that do not normally articulate. The intense pain thereby produced results from stimulation of the periosteal nerves in these bony surfaces.

ADULTS

Machi, Y.; Liu, C.; Tohei, K.; Ishizaki, T.; Hamaoka, T.; Kodato, S. (2001)
The Physiological Study of Ki in Ki Aikido (1)
International Society of Life Information Science, 19(1), 100-106
As a way to study Ki in Ki Aikido, an experiment on the unbendable arm was carried out, where physiological measurements were made to confirm that Ki is not a physical power. Through analysis of the data collected , it could be concluded that even in the state of extending Ki, about half of the sympathetic nerve system was activated compared with the state of relying only on the physical power. It was also seen that exhalation was critical when the arm was unbendable, suggesting it relates to Ki strength, which is complementely different from the physical power force in stoppingb respiration.

ADULTS

Machi, Y.; Liu, C.; Tohei, K.; Ishizaki, T.; Hamaoka, T.; Kodato, S. (2001)
The Physiological Study of Ki in Ki Aikido (2)
International Society of Life Information Science, 19(2), 404-410
As a way to study Ki in Ki Aikido, an experiment on the unbendable arm was carried out, where physiological measurements were made to confirm that Ki is not a physical power. Through analysis of the data collected , it could be concluded that even in the state of extending Ki, about half of the sympathetic nerve system was activated compared with the state of relying only on the physical power. It was also seen that exhalation was critical when the arm was unbendable, suggesting it relates to Ki strength, which is complementely different from the physical power force in stoppingb respiration.

ADULTS

Naylor AR, Walsh ME.
"Aikido foot"--a traction injury to the common peroneal nerve.
Br J Sports Med. 1987 Dec;21(4):182

ADULTS

Olson, Gregory D.; Seitz, Frank C.
An anatomical analysis of Aikido's third teaching: An investigation of Sankyo.
Perceptual & Motor Skills, Jun94, Vol. 78 Issue 3, p134753
SUMMARY
Presents an anatomical analysis of Sankyo, one of Aikido's martial arts technique for peacefully subduing an attacker. Investigation of Sankyo's expert application to two anatomists and a male cadaver to identify specific target muscles, tendons and ligaments.

ADULTS

Olson GD; Seitz FC (1990)
An examination of Aikido's Fourth Teaching: an anatomical study of the tissues of the forearm.
Perceptual and motor skills 71, 1059-66.
SUMMARY
One of the basic teachings of Aikido is known as Yonkyo (Fourth Teaching) or Tekubi-Osae (Wrist Securing). According to some Aikido master teachers, Yonkyo is designed to attack the opponent's weak points. This investigation focused on examining this teaching with the purpose of describing the anatomical tissues involved in the etiology of pain when this teaching is applied precisely. Particular focus was placed on the anatomical locations/sources of pain associated with the application of this teaching.

ADULTS

Olson, Gregory D.; Seitz, Frank C.(1996)
An inquiry into application of gokyo (aikido's fifth teaching) on human anatomy.
Perceptual & Motor Skills,Vol. 82 Issue 3, 1299-1304
SUMMARY
In this anatomical analysis the authors examined Gokyo, Aikido's Fifth Teaching. Using their cadaver/anatomist-observer model, the authors observed that tissues manipulated by the technique were primarily on the dorsal side of the wrist, proximal to the second metacarpal. The source of the pain was thought to involve the manipulation of the wrist joints and associated carpometacarpal ligaments. Locations of the manipulated tissue and sources of pain associated with that tissue, and their limited practical application were discussed.

ADULTS

Olson, Gregory D.; Seitz, Frank C.
What's causing the pain?: A re-examination of the Aikido Nikyo technique.
Perceptual & Motor Skills Dec94, Vol. 79 Issue 3, p1585-6

ADULTS

Scholzova, A.; Hlusek, M.(2001)
Physiological characteristics and laterality of athletes practicing aikido
HOMEOSTASIS, 41, 120

ADULTS

Seitz, Frank C,Olson, Gregory D. Stenzel, Thomas E.(1991.)
A martial arts exploration of elbow anatomy: Ikkyo (Aikido's first teaching).
Perceptual & Motor Skills, Vol 73 pp. 1227-1234.
SUMMARY
The Martial Art of Aikido, based on several effective anatomical principles, is used to subdue a training partner. One of these methods is Ikkyo (First Teaching). According to Saotome, the original intent of Ikkyo was to "break the elbow joint" of an enemy. Nowadays the intent is to secure or pin a training partner to the mat. This investigation focused on examining Ikkyo with the purpose of describing the nerves, bones, and muscles involved in receiving this technique. Particular focus was placed on the locations and sources of the reported pain.. Two professors of anatomy, the authors, and an adult male cadaver had Ikkyo applied to them by an expert. The effectiveness of Ikkyo as a martial art technique may be due to 1 of 2 possible mechanisms: (1) the elbow joint pinned to the mat in its fully extended position or (2) the ulnar nerve repeatedly compressed and released, causing the recipient to experience pain and thereby surrender.

ADULTS

This summary of research was compiled by David Lukoff,PhD. You can email Dr. Lukoff with any suggestions for new studies to include. Last updated 11/03.