There seems to be a lot of throwing. Shouldn’t one try to avoid being thrown?

Not at all. Again, we don’t train to win. We train to resolve conflict. During class, Aikido is about working with a partner, and students take turns applying and receiving technique. We teach students to fall properly and roll out of harm’s way—an important part of our training. Constant training as both attacker (uke) and attacked (nage) enables both partners to learn effectively, and neither role is more important than the other.