I know I've posted some vids on here before but this one really is a quality example of Shodokan/Tomiki randori. Really worth a watch if you have a few minutes and are interested in Aikido in a resistant setting:



BTW if you check out the original uploaders youtube channel there are tons of Shodokan randori clips on there.

Where is the aiki? this looks more like MMA with a rubber knife.

Aiki has a way of looking like that when there is actual resistance.

+1 on that Matt.

A lot of Aikido-ka find their structure comes undone under the conditions of Tomoiki/Shodokan Aikido. A lot of Aikido looks good in demonstration and a lot of people can supposedly demonstrate their Aiki ability except when placed under non-cooperative resistance, where many times it duly falls apart.

Whatever these Aikido-ka lack in the above clip, the methods used in Shodokan/Tomiki will give them a clear signal of where they are going wrong. The idea of resitant randori in Aikido, whether in a competition or in class, is IMO the best way to test posture and "aiki" skill. Through such testing a student may further help develop not only their own skill, but also that of the people they train with.

Although this is a competition clip, the core idea of randori has been to test weaknesses in a persons Aikido and help others identify weakness in their own Aikido. So it the primary goal isn't so much "winning", it's learning.

The competitions are just a further part of that development process. It's not everyones cup of tea, but IMHO it is one of the better ways to train in Aikido.

nice clip

just wondering, what are the rules to competition?? Is it only full on thrusts to the body? no slashing? Asking because at some points the guy with the knife was clinching up with the guy instead of jigging and dicing away?

Sorry if it sounds dumb, just don't know much about aikido competition

No no not dumb at all. There are certain conditions that have to be met in order to score a point. Generally scores weren't awarded because uke (attacker in tanto randori) didn't land a clean strike (arm fully extended, moving forward).

In Tanto Randori the only legal tanto strikes involved fully (or near fully) extended arms moving forward. In other words, a basic thrusting motion (though slight variations of this were allowed, see below). Slices wouldn't get you any points. Tanto Randori was a game based on traditional Aikido movements, it wasn't ever meant to replicate a knife fight or anything.

These are from a PDF I had access to (not to sure how up to date they are) regarding more detailed descriptions of criteria for scoring:

1 Specific conditions:
a. The rubber knife must land in the part of the opponent’s body between armpit and belt
levels. This includes the front, back, and both sides of the body, as well as the upper arms.
However, the belt itself is not included in the target area.
b. Tanto must step in and stab with his back straight and his balance stable.
c. The rubber knife must touch the opponent’s body at an approximately 90-degree angle. But
this particular condition does not have to be satisfied when Toshu is either off balance, has
assumed an undesirable posture, or has already fallen on the mat.
d. Rubber-knife stabbing should never endanger the safety of the opponent. Particularly, the
type of stabbing with the fist landing directly on the opponent’s body is subject to
penalization. However, if Toshu comes in without proper taisabaki, it is considered to be his
fault.
2 Tanto is allowed to stab the opponent’s flank by swinging his tanto from the outside
(“Mawashi-tsuki”) as long as all the conditions in #1 are satisfied.
3 Tanto is allowed to stab the fallen opponent once right after the latter has fallen as long as
all the conditions in #1 are satisfied.
4 When Tanto scores a tsukiari point at the same time that Toshu scores a yuko or greater
point in techniques, then the tsukiari point will take precedence over the toshu technique.

B. Inadequate (ineffective) or invalid stabbing
1. Tanto techniques that do not satisfy the above conditions will not be counted as effective
stabs.
2. Tanto techniques will also be regarded as invalid unless the tip of the rubber knife has
clearly touched Toshu’s body and Tanto has stabbed with proper foot movement.