Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1993, 77, 123-131. O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1993

AN ANATOMICAL ANALYSIS O F AIKIDO'S SECOND TEACHING: AN INVESTIGATION OF NIKYO''2'3

GREGORY D. OLSON AND FRANK C. SEITZ

Department of Health and Human WAMl Medical School Program Deuelopment Montana State University

Montana State Uniuersib

Summary.-One of the strongest subduing techniques of the Martial Art Aikido is classified as Nikyo (Second-teaching). This invest~pat~on focused on examining this teaching with the intention of describing the anaromcal tissues involved in the etiol- ogy of pain experienced with the application of this procedure. Particular focus was placed on the examination of a cadaver's arm musculature affected when this maneu- ver was applied precisely.

Aikido ("Way of divine harmony") is a Japanese martial way that has, like the other Japanese budo (martial ways), been considered as a vehicle ". . . for self-improvement, self-discipline, and the enhancement of health, rather than simply as a means of winning fights" (Wolf, 1992, p. 101). The technical syllabus of this art is ' I . . . established on the principles and tech- niques of evasion, securing, and throwing" (Olson & Seitz, 1990, p. 1059) and is defensive in its basic nature. These points not withstanding the phys- ical anatomy affected by this technique is an interesting study in itself.

Projection of a training partner's body through the air and onto the mat with grace and ease makes Aikido a joy to witness for the observer as well as for the performer of the art. Another interesting aspect of the arts of Aikido involves the manipulation of the various joints of the body, particularly the joints of -the arms, as a method of control and of securing a training partner on the mat.

Of particular interest in this study was Aikido's second teaching, known to practitioners of Aikido by different labels such as, Nikyo (Second-teach- ing), Nikajo-Osae (Second-Control/Securing), Kote Mawashi (Wrist In-turn) or in other Japanese martial arts such as Judo ("Way of flexibility") with its Kote-hineri ("Handm-twisting) as shown in Kata of Kodokan Judo Revised (Kotani; Osawa, & Hirose, 1968). The particular technique being studied can also be found in Karate-do (see Oyama, 1965, pp. 257-264) and Chinese Chin-Na (see Lin, 1981, p. 126-155). AIthough this particular technique can

'The authors gratefully a preciate and acknowledge the research support of Dr. Frank Newrnan qf the Montana Office o?~ura l Health, Montma State University. For their anatomical expertise a special thanks to Dr. Dwight Philli s and to Ms. Susan

Gibson, M.S., and for her drawlngs of the forearm a special thanks to d e l e Seitz. For the still hotographs of the Nikyo techn~que 3 s ecial thanks to Wayne Gorski.

'~ddress correspondence to G. D. eon, Department of Health and Human Development, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717.

124 G. D . OLSON & F. C. SEITZ

be found in other martial arts and ways of the Orient, the Nikyo technique has been particularly cultivated and refined as one of Aikido's core tech- niques and is of particular interest to the researchers; see Fig. 1.

FIG. 1. Demonstration of hand and arm positioning for the first phase of the Alikyo tech- nique

Saotome (1989) describes the Nikyo technique as a type of combina- tion-variation technique (renraku-henka waza) from Aikido's Ikkyo (First-teach- ing).' Saotome states that:

Nage [doer of the technique], when executing nikyo, should always begin by sincerely trying for ikkyo. Uke [receiver of the technique] in turn resists the ikkyo and his resistance creates an appropriate occasion for Xage to perform nikyo (p. 68).

Saotome further states that the focus of the technique should be on control of Uke's whole body, not just the wrist or elbow:

. . . note that Nage keeps control of C'ke's body through his hold on Gke's elbow; the rotation of Uke's arm connects the arm with his shoulder and center. If Nage lost control of Uke, he would not be able to transform his ikkyo into nikyo (p. 68).

In his text Traditional Aikido-swordatick$:body arts, Saito (1974) de- scribes the maneuver as ". . . a technique to impart impulses to the joints of your partner's wrists, elbows, and shoulders" (p. 50). Shioda (1977) de- scribes this teaching as one to inflict pain by describing the technique as one ". . . directed at the elbow and the wrist and can be used to inflict much pain if applied skillfully" (p . 74).

'For a detailed and illustrated paper on Ikkyo refer to Seitz, Olson, and Stenzel (1991)

ANATOMICAL ANALYSIS: AIKIDO'S SECOND TEACHING 125

Krestbrook and Ratti (1975) characterize the Nikyo technique for its self- defense as:

. . . one of the most powerful techniques in the aikido repertoire-one which, when correctly executed, can bring even the strongest man to his knees. . . . [It] can be applied to neutralize almost any type of attack swiftly and efficiently (p. 173)

The anatomy of the Nikyo technique consists of the tissues involved when the technique's first and second phases are applied. Pain during the first phase of the maneuver is created when Uke's hand is secured to Nage's chest and the arm is maneuvered into a characteristic "s" shape as shown in Fig. 1. "Twist forcefully and control him" (Ueshiba, 1991, p. 44) with coun- ter-rotational forces applied to the hand and forearm with Uke's hand being torqued in one direction (clockwise) and the forearm in the opposite direc- tion (counterclockwise). While these torques are being executed, Uke's arm and body are drawn towards Nage. See Fig. 2.

FIG. 2. Close-up view of the arm and hand positioning of N a p while counter-rotational torques are being applied to the Uke's hand torqued clocku~ise and his arm which is being torqued counterclockw~se

I n the second phase of the maneuver, which may be referred to as the Nikyo Omote Osae Waza (Second-teaching Forward Securing Technique) Uke is pinned to the mat by pressure to the elbow joint while pain is produced by hyperflexion of the wrist. See Fig. 3. Note that of the two definitive classi- cal methods to complete this particular technique, only one of the methods was examined in this research.

The focus of this study was to locate and describe the mechanism of

126 G. D. OLSON & F. C. SEITZ

FIG. 3. Demonstration of the hand and arm positioning for one of two possible second phases of the Nikyo technique

the effectiveness of Aikido's Nikyo technique in order to understand the basis for effectiveness. The analysis was not meant to be an examination of the nerve processes or to demonstrate the technique with all of its complex- ities or in its full form. Demonstrations and explanations of technique can be found elsewhere (Obata, 1987, pp. 96-98, 126-130; Saotome, 1989, pp. 68, 90-91, 174-175; Stevens, 1985, pp. 156-159; Tohei, 1968, pp. 76-77, 98-99; Ueshiba, 1985, pp. 60-63, 122-125; Villadorato, 1974, pp. 11 1-1 19; Westbrook & Ratti, 1975, pp. 174-179).

METHOD Subjects

Serving as Ukes, anatomists Dr. Dwight Phillips and Ms. Susan Gibson, M.S. experienced the application of this particular technique. The other sub- ject was a flayed adult male cadaver in excellent condition, with sinew, liga- ments, nerves, muscles, and bones exposed for research.

Procedure Reporting the sensations surrounding the application of the Nikyo tech-

nique, the anatomy professors felt directly the pain and sensations of the technique as it was being applied to them by one of the authors, a third de- gree black belt of Aikido and of Judo with more than 27 years of martial arts training and teaching. A discussion among the authors and the anatomy pro- fessors followed each application of the technique to clarify the probable cause of sensations of pain. The technique was then applied to the cadaver

ANATOMICAL ANALYSIS: AIKIDO'S SECOND TEACHING 127

which was examined to identify and clarify which musculature or bodily tis- sues were involved when the maneuver was executed.

RESULTS In the literature reviewed by the authors only a cursory description of

the anatomy or physiology of this technique is mentioned. Westbrook and Ratti (1975) wrote that "[Nikyo] requires more than a passing familiarity with the intricate anatomical structure of a man's arm and the pattern of nervous centers imbedded there" (p. 176). Shioda (1977) observed that "[Nikajo] stretches and softens the sinews . . ." and ". . . stimulates the nerve endings" (p. 74).

Extensor carpi radialis longus muscle

Extensor carpi radialis brevis muscle

Extensor indjcis muscle

Extensor pollicis longus muscle

Extensor pollicis brevis muscle

FIG. 4. Muscles and tendons of the hand and forearm affected by the Nikyo technique

128 G. D. OLSON & F. C. SEITZ

The anatomical analysis of the Nikyo technique was studied in two stages, firstly on two professors of anatomy and secondly on the cadaver. The cadaver, with sinew, ligaments, nerves, muscles, and bones exposed for ex- amination, provided an exceptional opportunity for that observation to as- certain which tissues were affected by the application of the maneuver.

When the arm of the cadaver was placed in the characteristic "s" shape of Phase One (see Fig. 2), and the horizontal pin of Phase Two (see Fig. 3) , the following tissues were involved: (1) extensor carpi radialis brevis tendon and muscle, (2) extensor carpi radialis longus tendon and muscle, (3) exten- sor pollicis brevis tendon and muscle, (4) extensor pollicis longus tendon and muscle, ( 5 ) extensor indicis tendon and muscle, and the (6) lateral and distal styloid process of the radial bone. See Fig. 4.

It was established that the distal and lateral ends of the radius, the sty- loid process, is placed in a position in which it "acts as a pulley" (Dr. Dwight Phillips, personal communication, May, 1991). This pulley effec- tively tightens and stretches the extensor carpi radialis longus and the ex- tensor carpi radialis brevis tendons and muscles as well as the extensor in- dicis tendon and muscle. See Fig. 5 .

Location of scyloid process of radial bone

Extensor indicis

Extensor polhcis longus

Extensor carpi radialis brevis

Extensor carpi radialis longus

Extensor pollicis brevis

FIG. 5 . Extensor tendons and muscles of the wrisr (continued on next page)

ANATOMICAL ANALYSIS: AIKIDO'S SECOND TEACHING 129

I n addition, when the wrist is flexed in the "s" shape (see Fig. I ) , the extensor carpi tendons become taut and "act as a further pulley" (Dr. Dwight Phillips, personal communication, May, 1991) stretching the exten- sor pollicis brevis muscle and tendon and the extensor pollicjs longus tendon and muscle.

Also established was that by forcefully flexing the cadaver's first meta- carpal-phalangeal joint, the thumb joint, the author was "tightening the ex- tensor pollicis brevis and the extensor polticis longus, and both of those ac- tions" [flexion of the wrist and flexion of the first metacarpal-phalangeal joint] coupled with "the rotation of the forearm [were] putting tension on the tendon of the extensor indices" (Dr. Dwight Phillips, personal communi- cation, May, 1991).

Furthermore, when the technique is performed as pictured in Fig. 2, it should be noted that flexion of Uke's index finger on the chest of Nage cre- ates a further stretch of the extensor indicis muscle and tendon. See Fig. 5. One may note that skillful application of the technique puts every particular

Extensor pollicis brevis tendon

Extensor pollicis longus tendon

Extensor carpi radialis longus tendon

Extensor carpi radialis brevis tendon

FIG. 5. (Cont'd) Extensor tendons and muscles of the wrist

130 G. D. OLSON & F. C. SEITZ

segment of Uke's arm, even the index finger, into a position which maxi- mally stretches the tissues involved with minimum effort exerted by Nage.

Nikyo's impressive effectiveness seems to come from a combination of several factors that stretch to the limits certain tendons and muscles in the hand and forearm of Uke; these factors are (1) the precise configuration of Uke's arm during the application phases of the technique and (2) the precise counter-rotational torques applied to Uke's arm. These procedures produce a stretch in the following tissues: (1) extensor carpi radialis brevis tendon and muscle, (2) extensor carpi radialis longus tendon and muscle, (3) extensor pollicis brevis tendon and muscle, (4) extensor pollicis longus tendon and muscle, (5) extensor indicis tendon and muscle.

The Nikyo technique has two phases that were examined, Phase One consisted of Uke's arm placed in the characteristic "s" shape of the tech- nique, and Phase Two the horizontal finishing pin of the technique. The skillful application of the two different phases of the technique stretched the same tendons and muscles with the consideration that Phase One (see Fig. 2) of the technique was more effective than Phase Two (see Fig. 3). This effec- tiveness was based on the "s" configuration of Uke's limb which more ef- ficiently stretched the tissues involved.

Intriguingly, different locations of pain are sometimes reported when the technique is applied to various individuals (Seitz & Olson, 1992). The authors surmise that the various locations of pain are reported when the technique is applied because Uke's perceptions vary as to what section of a particular muscle or attached tendon are stretched. In other words, one Uke might report the sensations of pain in the hand while another may report pain in the upper forearm. I t is surmised that in d cases the same particular muscles and tendons are being stretched, but in each case the pain is felt most intensely along different sections of the particular muscle or tendon by various Ukes.

IVikyo' is one of the most efficient and powerful techniques in the Ai- kido repertoire. In the authors' opinions, variations of this technique could be of great value to law enforcement personnel as well as to classes of self- defense. That not withstanding, when the technique is done in its classical and most efficient form, the authors believe it is too subtle and complex a movement to be learned and performed by unpracticed law enforcement offi- cers or in an abbreviated course of self-defense. In the authors' opinions the beauty of the technique can only be appreciated by those willing to give long and arduous study to it under a qualified Shihan [master].

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ANATOMICAL ANALYSIS: AIKIDO'S SECOND TEACHING 131

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Accepted May 4, 1993.