Your question about Mai-ai led me to look of its definition and meaning. What I found most relevant was a couple of meanings: 1. The critical combative distance between opponents - the range at which you can attack or be attacked. Mastering Mai-ai means controlling that space tactically. 2. The optimal distance and space between two people - physical, temporal, or psychological - that feels balanced, appropriate, or charged with meaning. When we practice kata in Aikido we set up just outside Mai-ai. And we work to maintain that distance. Being able to control that space does not always mean staying outside of that space. Controlling Mai-ai also includes closing distance or Irima, or moving offline from an opponents attempt to control Mai-ai by closing in on you, Taisabaki, or moving offline. Mai-ai is dynamic and moves continually. And its distance changes in relation to the body of the person. E.G. what is Mai-ai when you are behind your opponent? It is closer in than when facing them. Irimi moves control Mai-ai by moving inside an opponents effective range of an attack, allowing opportunity to counter an attack. I also like the temporal definition (sen-no-sen) as in being being someplace else than in a confrontation space and time, and the psychological as in maintaining emotional control and distance from someone who is confronting you. Anyone who has ever dealt with a bully will know that there is a mind game that plays out between any opponents.

Interesting. When you say practicing technique with little movement is ‘good in practice…’ I am assuming you mean it’s really not good. I’ve also seen a lot of technique demonstrated without any movement at all by either tori or uke. E.g. grab an arm, twist it, throw. The lack of movement means there is no energy involved. An attack is an attempt to aggressively transfer energy from me to you - often with a fist or a foot, thereby destabilizing you. Transferring that energy and defending against it requires movement - i.e. Get out of the way, maintain your stability, then to your point, seeing what becomes possible. Even when demonstrating the details of a grab, a wrist lock, etc, my sensei always started with a move that put me out of harms way, kept me balanced, and off balanced my opponent.

You would think that this would be obvious. But competition sometimes leads to things like trying to rush or grab the knife arm. The practice of exiting/avoiding is a good first thing to learn.