OODA in Aikido

While the OODA concept is well known in some circles, it remains relatively obscure overall. Developed by Col. John Boyd as a framework of rapid decision making for USAF fighter pilots, it has far reaching applications that go well beyond the military sphere and is gaining popularity in the business world as well as a number of sports. In the case of Oni Kai, we are using the concept more true to form in it's military construct (adapted directly from DOD/USAF training) as a way to instill a level of repeatable conditioning to help young students learn to look before they leap, as it were, and make decisions that consider their entire environment instead of just themselves and what they intend to do. This is not as such a "combat" tool but a safety tool that conditions students to be aware of themselves and one another so as to avoid being injured as well as inflicting injury. 

In the simplest terms this equates to good old fashioned situational awareness though in this case we need to instill an all important pause at the D(ecide) point so that students have an opportunity to A(ct) in a safe manner. In more broad applications this might be as simple as reminding them to watch where they are running but making sure to do so long before the traditional time to use the phrase; that seeming to happen more often than not, after an ill fated collision, the very thing we strive to prevent. 

As illustrated in the graphic the order is Observe Orient Decide Act. These are usually referred to as "loops" that with practice and awareness, cycle faster and faster. The initial observation loop speeds up with experience as students begin to recognize patterns of movement or even feel them. This then feeds into how they move or orient themselves both physically and mentally before they decide what action to take. This decision is also something that radically speeds up over time as practiced routines become more deeply ingrained and require little to no thought when moving into action. The act then happens very quickly in conjunction with a running observation feeding into the cycles all over again until the entire process seemingly just happens. 

Aikido tends to be very circular and indeed "cyclical" in nature and while, especially at first, it's is useful to keep those circles large and flowing, it is also useful to consider the idea that if you make smaller and smaller circles they eventually come to resemble a point. The faster we run these loops the more agile we become both mentally and physically.