The nage should be the one controlling the speed, but often it is the uke that claims that control. It is up to the nage to keep the ukes at the pace they want. Even if someone throws a fast yokomen at you, as nage you still have the control to blend with that energy at the speed you need to. If the nage is in control from the start (shodo o seisu) he/she can set the pacing of the randori. Usually i feel better in the middle of the randori because for me it takes a bit for me to get the pacing down and start controlling what it going on. I'm barely successful at this most of the time, but it is something I definitely try to work on.

I hope that made some sense!

Faeth

"Be content with what you have. Rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."

The experience last night of taking full-speed randori on with a more calm mind was something I was looking forward to.  My conclusion: randori is difficult.  Why?  It simply feels like there is a ton of stuff going on at the same time.  Even if ukes are attacking a little slower, there is still a lot to notice.  It is a matter of perception and you (as nage) choosing the proper action with the proper timing.  Doesn't help that the proper window of timing is pretty small due to the speed.

Phil's training for randori has been first class.  I felt very well prepared for getting off the line of incoming attacks, and was fairly comfortable there.  Of course, I didn't execute properly a couple of times which was my own damn fault.  I caught a glimpse of just how much more there is to learn with regards to applying aikido in a randori setting.  Wow, lotta work for me to do there.

I do like the realism involved, it really pointed out the difference between our one-on-one practice of individual techniques and full-speed freestyle application.  Huge difference. 

One of the big eye-openers for me were uke's attacks.  They weren't the same as we are used to with technique practice.  This isn't bad, mind you, it's actually the best thing for me to learn.  One of the most credible criticisms other martial artists have of aikido is that in many dojos, the attacks are not realistic which therefore destroy the credibility of the techniques used.  A technique must be applicable to a real attack or it's not martial arts, it's dance.

I noticed that the instant I made contact with uke, he would tense up.  This was probably due to the fact that I was giving energy back to them and not staying relaxed.  I also had trouble taking his balance, probably for the same reason.  As we know, we shouldn't be fighting this tenseness and I felt this was the obstacle that got in my way last night.  I'm therefore wondering about the what happens when you get an attacker that has that same strength and tenseness, are you merely left with just getting off the line?  Sure you can avoid his (or their) attacks, but you have to accept that sooner or later they will corner you or catch up to you.  There's gotta be much more that I am missing.

As uke, I find it difficult to attack with two other ukes than just one for the same reason.  It doesn't seem very possible to be truly attacked by more than two people simultaneously, there just isn't enough room for everyone to jump in there... well, unless nage allowed themselves to be completely encircled, in which case they deserve it.

As far as control of overall speed, I think Uke gets the nod here.  Short of gross intimidation or a questionable atemi, there isn't a whole lot Nage can do to slow uke down.  Uke cannot be forced to attack faster either.  They have the option of setting up camp just outside maia all day long if they really want to.

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Getting off the line went pretty well, although I did get outmaneuvered a few times.  My shodo o seizu was hit and miss.  The difference between success and failure felt like a timing issue.

I wonder, does it seem to more senior aikidoka that achieving kuzushi is the most difficult part of randori?

Randori is slowly teaching me to move and respond without concious thought.  As previously mentioned, predetermined responses are horribly, HORRIBLY ineffective.  For about 10 seconds during my last randori, (alright, maybe 7 seconds) I wasn't thinking about where and how I was going to move.  I just did.

I like that.  I like that A LOT.  Being free from predetermined movements imposed by my own approach to Aikido as a whole is extremely enlightening.

[MANDATORY ANALOGY]
I played percussion for a little over a decade.  I remember the first "real" instructor I studied with.  I had already been playing for five years, one year competitively.  With all his credentials and accolades, I thought for sure I would be a master drummer in two classes.  I was a bit baffled when the entire first MONTH focused purely on how to hold a pair of sticks.

In any event, after much practice with focused drills ranging from basic rudiments (think aiki taiso for drums), ambidextrous patterns and timing exercises, something clicked.  I was playing in the jazz band for my school at the time, and I started realizing after a while that I had no predisposition to how I was going to approach a certain chart, or even a specific measure until I got there.  I no longer knew exactly what I was going to play until I was RIGHT THERE.  Improv truly became improv.  It happened because of the 1-1 time I had with each technique that I was stringing together.

Randori seems to have the same effect.  From studying the most basic of movements (stand up, relax), to complicated patterns (iriminage) comes the ability to select and apply technique as a flowing artform instead of an individual skill.

Man, I can't wait until I figure out how to hold the sticks properly in Aikido...
[/MANDATORY ANALOGY]

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