How to Be a good Uke

How do you react when your sensei needs you to assist in demonstrating a technique in front of a class or in a seminar?
Here are some thoughts about being a good uke:

1. Attentive Listening: Pay close attention to your sensei's instructions to accurately replicate the technique.
2. Clarity in Movement: Execute the technique with clear and precise movements, ensuring that observers can easily understand each step. It’s common to go too fast when your sensei is trying to explain a teaching point. Try to gauge what speed your sensei needs you to go at.
3. Consistency: Maintain consistency in your performance, allowing your sensei to showcase the technique without interruptions. Don’t suddenly change pace or lose concentration. Try to follow the flow of how your sensei is showing the technique, and move with your sensei in a cooperative way. See point 2. above.
4. Adaptability: Be ready to adapt your movements based on your sensei's guidance or if adjustments are needed during the demonstration. Sometimes your sensei will want to break things down slowly, but at a certain point your sensei might ask you to do the technique “in real time” and with speed. 
5. Energy and Enthusiasm: Infuse energy and enthusiasm into your demonstration, creating a dynamic and engaging learning experience for others. That said, take the cue from your sensei and only add full energy if the technique calls for some acting and more kime. Use your judgment!

By embodying these qualities, you will hopefully contribute to a more effective and informative demonstration for the entire class. Practice makes perfect so let your sensei know that you would like to be chosen for the uke role whenever he needs assistance.

In this series of photos I’m being asked to help demonstrate a drill from Bassai Dai. In trying to support Richard I realised what points he was looking to illustrate - but let’s say even if you don’t know what your sensei expects of you, look out for his cues and instructions in real time.

Don’t  go off at your own pace - remember it’s your job to help enhance the demonstration. You’re there to assist, and not to decide what comes next. 

As it happened, later in the class I had to do the bunkai for Bassai Dai even though we hadn’t rehearsed it together. I certainly didn’t know it was coming! Richard played the role of the multiple attackers coming from different directions. I didn’t get all the subtleties right but it was excellent practice to be put under pressure that way from the first move to the last. It’s good practice to ask yourself what each technique is doing against a potential attacker.

Written by Sensei Yanti Amos

Photos by Gustavo Lucena @rubenswinkler (Facebook)