Up, Down, Turn (Part 1)

Author: Bret Gordon

The three fundamental principles of Aiki serve as the foundation for all movement and application within Aiki Jujutsu. They are:

• Aiki Age 合気上げ – Rising Energy
  This principle involves directing energy upward, creating an effect that lifts, uproots, or unbalances an opponent. It can be seen in techniques that disrupt an attacker’s structure by elevating their center of gravity, making them light and easier to control.
• Aiki Sage 合気下げ – Dropping Energy
  The counterbalance to Aiki Age, this principle directs energy downward, generating an overwhelming pressure that makes it difficult for them to recover or counter.
• Aiki Yoko 合気横 – Rotational Energy
  ​This principle focuses on lateral movement, often using rotation and redirection to control an opponent’s force. Aiki Yoko utilizes the spine as a central axis, allowing for smooth, efficient transitions that guide an opponent’s energy off their intended path.

 
While these principles can be isolated and studied individually, true mastery of Aiki Jujutsu comes from their seamless integration. Every movement, technique, and application should embody a dynamic balance of rising, dropping, and lateral energy. By blending these forces in motion, one creates a natural and effortless flow of technique that embodies the essence of Aiki.

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On an internal level, Aiki Age and Aiki Sage represent manipulations of the body’s connective tissue system, specifically targeting the myofascial networks that link different parts of the body. By consciously redirecting the flow of energy within these lines, we create measurable effects on our partner through the point of contact.
 
This is not just a matter of physical strength or mechanical movement, but a deep, internal understanding of how to utilize the body’s fascial networks for precise control and efficient force transfer.
 
We engage two primary myofascial lines in this process:

• The Deep Front Line (DFL): This myofascial line connects the inner arch of the foot, traveling up through the inner thigh, pelvic floor, deep abdominal muscles, diaphragm, and into the neck and head. The DFL plays a crucial role in how we generate internal stability and transfer energy through the core of the body. By manipulating this line, we can direct force through the lower body and spine to project energy upward (as in Aiki Age), destabilizing our partner’s foundation and causing them to lose their balance.
• The Superficial Back Line (SBL): This fascial plane runs from the plantar fascia (the bottom of the foot) all the way up the back, over the top of the head, and into the cervical spine. The SBL is responsible for maintaining our posture and controlling backward movement. By utilizing this line, we can ground energy downward (as in Aiki Sage), allowing us to compress our partner’s structure, creating a feeling of weight and heaviness that sinks them into themselves.

 
These myofascial lines act like a pulley system within the body, enabling us to manipulate both tanden (the center of gravity below the navel) and meimon (tanden’s corresponding point in the lumbar region) to either project force upward or apply downward, dropping pressure that compresses our partner into themselves.
 
This dynamic ability to alter the flow of energy within our own body, and through contact with our partner, creates a subtle yet powerful interaction that is central to the principles of Aiki. By mastering these internal manipulations, we can control and influence not just the external movement but the very force that moves through our bodies and into our partners.

​Aiki Yoko, on the other hand, is a sophisticated manipulation of the spine that dictates the body’s movement and power distribution. To visualize this concept, picture the swing ride at your local carnival. The central axis rotates, creating a centrifugal force that extends outward, causing the swings to move in a controlled, circular motion.
 
Similarly, in Aiki Yoko, the spine serves as the central axis, while the force generated through rotation transfers outward through the limbs. This movement is not merely a simple twisting of the torso but a refined, whole-body action that engages the deep fascial lines, skeletal alignment, and breath control in a unified and connected manner. Rather than isolating the movement to one segment of the body, Aiki Yoko ensures that power flows seamlessly from the center outward, allowing for effortless redirection of force.
 
Practicing these principles in isolation serves as the foundation of Aiki no Jutsu 合気之術, the “techniques of Aiki.” This stage of training allows practitioners to develop a deep understanding of Aiki Age, Aiki Sage, and Aiki Yoko as internal body mechanics, refining their ability to generate, control, and direct force with minimal effort.
 
However, once these principles are ingrained, they must be seamlessly interwoven into the combative techniques that define Jujutsu. It is through this integration that Aiki no Jutsu evolves into Aiki Jujutsu, a system in which every joint lock, throw, and strike is executed with structural efficiency and internal connectivity.
 
While it is entirely possible to apply effective joint locks and throws through external mechanics alone, these techniques often rely on strength, speed, or leverage. Without the integration of internal structure, the practitioner may find themselves exerting unnecessary force or struggling against resistance. In contrast, the Aiki body, a pre-conditioned state of relaxed connectivity, dramatically shifts the effort-to-effect ratio. Techniques that once required significant exertion become deceptively subtle, yet overwhelmingly powerful.
 
By combining Aiki Age, Aiki Sage, and Aiki Yoko, every Aiki Jujutsu technique incorporates some variation of “up, down, and turn,” a continuous interplay of forces that governs structure, balance, and control. These three principles work together to create movements that are both effortless and overwhelming. The ability to blend these forces seamlessly allows a practitioner to manipulate an opponent’s center with precision, making it nearly impossible for them to resist effectively.

Click here for Part 2