Throwing and Falling in Aikido

1 Takeda - Ueshiba

In his 1988 interview, French aikido master André Nocquet recounts the first meeting between Ueshiba Morihei and Takeda Sokaku in Hokkaido in 1915. Ueshiba was 32 years old and Takeda already 55. Ueshiba challenged Takeda, as he had allegedly done with many other masters.
The result was that Ueshiba was "thrown through the air 60 times in a few minutes."
This shows that defeating attackers with throws was common practice in martial arts. It also shows that Ueshiba Morihei was quite fit. The question arises whether this skill is also useful in real life.

The interview can be found here in the blog as No. 91, from September 2022, now also with the audio of the conversation and the transcript in French:
Nocquet Interview (en)

2 Falling in real life

To avoid falls in real life, good body coordination is the basic. This generally develops over the course of Aikido practice. The most important effect is that in the event of a fall, the body unconsciously and quickly organizes itself to cushion the impact on the ground.
From my own experience, if you stumble while running and have to fall, a large forward roll helps, even on concrete or asphalt.

3 Careful Sideways Roll

For beginners in Aikido who haven't yet mastered the forward roll, the fall can be modified.
Nage can lower Uke to the ground instead of throwing her. Uke can then bend her legs, carefully lie on her side, and then roll away sideways.
Unfortunately, this technique is not a solution for older Aikido practitioners who can no longer roll.

4 Running away instead of rolling

To finish a technique successfully, running away is a good alternative to rolling. If done with a positive attitude and a cheerful spirit, it can be very beneficial for uke.
In any case, it is better than finishing the technique in a blocking position.

5 Sideways Roll

Yoshigasaki Sensei recommends the sideways roll for real-life rolls, as it is compact and also protects the head. The push exercise is particularly useful in children's training.
Even if Uke is lying on the ground and there is a risk of kicks, you should roll sideways in this form without changing your form.

6 Forward Roll

Many aikidoka really enjoy doing large rolls on the mat. This is sometimes considered excessive. But it trains body coordination much more than just practicing the simple roll.
In this example, the aikidoka first jumps off the ground, but then maintains his form and actually rolls as the teacher recommends.

7 Forgetting

To overcome confrontations you have to change your mind.
It is sometimes claimed that this happens during ukemi.

According to Yoshigasaki Sensei, changing mind does not mean merely changing one's opinion or feelings. He is convinced that a "change of mind" is only achievable through forgetting.