In Aikido, one moves up and down along a vertical axis, regardless of the technique.

One must rise (ageru 挙げる) to reach Heaven; this is Ten. One must descend (sageru 下げる) to reach Earth; this is Chi. The Founder never used names to describe the techniques, nor did he want to, but these two terms, age and sage, recurred constantly in his discourse when he was teaching.

This is because the movement of Aikido must pass through Heaven and Earth; thus, the opponent is in conflict with the Universe itself, and cannot prevail. Otherwise, he is simply facing a man, and in that case he can win.

For tori not to be defeated, his movement must operate along the vertical axis of Heaven and Earth; he must move as the Universe moves. When he is aligned with the higher order of the world in this way, he may repeat after O Sensei:

‘Ware uchuu desu 我宇宙です’ : I myself am the Universe.