PRACTICE
When practising a technique, the student chooses a partner and finds a space on the mats. One student takes on the role of Tori (the person doing the technique) and the other performs the role of Uke (the person receiving the technique). They perform the technique 4 times, bow and swap roles. It is not an active/passive relationship, both participants are gaining experience and practising skills which can make Aikido look very "rehearsed", even balletic. After a short while, Sensei will clap his hand to indicate that everyone must stop and he will then move on to the next technique or redemonstrate the previous one if he feels the students are missing an important aspect of the technique.