A search of the Internet has yielded the following video clip which may be of interest to Aikido Journal readers.

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The famous Gozo Shioda Sensei was an early student of Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba who began training in 1932. After World War II, Shioda founded Yoshinkan Aikido and was one of the those most responsible for the success of aikido as one of Japan’s newest modern martial arts.

The article below has been selected from the extensive archives of the Online Aikido Journal. We believe that an informed readership with knowledge of the history, techniques and philosophy of aikido is essential to the growth of the art and its adherence to the principles espoused by Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba.

The social climate was such that people rejected martial arts as if they were an enemy of democracy. The food shortage caused a decline in our physical strength making hard training difficult. The sad state of the public transportation system created hardships for those who came for morning training. As a result, there were usually fewer than ten people attending morning practice and the average was only two or three. If the weather appeared threatening, no one would turn up.

The article below has been selected from the extensive archives of the Online Aikido Journal. We believe that an informed readership with knowledge of the history, techniques and philosophy of aikido is essential to the growth of the art and its adherence to the principles espoused by Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba.

In terms of technique and the direction, there’s not really a forward dynamic thinking that I can see that comes out of the organization, so one of the purposes of the expo is to create a situation, of a dynamic mix of people from different kinds of Aikido and other arts who can get together. By just being in proximity with a diverse mix of people like that and being able to see their techniques, feel their techniques, tends to be really stimulating and if you look at O’sensei’s background, he did a lot of cross training to, so those who criticize the expo for venturing into other areas which aren’t related to Aikido should maybe look back at the history and see what O’sensei and his teacher Sokaku Takeda did and their personal training.

We continue to get an excellent response to our World Aikido Dojo Directory and now have over 3,500 listings. Please check the listing under Find a Dojo on the right menu under the “Search for dojo” to see if your dojo has been included. Entering your “city” information is often a quick way to check.

If your dojo is not listed, please enter your data and mention to your teacher the free service that will serve as a wordwide “yellow page” entry for your dojo. Remember this is not just a simple listing of your address details; you can also include a photograph of your dojo or instructor and write a detailed description of your schedule, mission statement, or whatever you like.

The article below has been selected from the extensive archives of the Online Aikido Journal. We believe that an informed readership with knowledge of the history, techniques and philosophy of aikido is essential to the growth of the art and its adherence to the principles espoused by Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba.

Morihei Ueshiba described his enlightenment experiences and spiritual understandings in a book called Takemusu Aiki. This work, based on a series of lectures by the founder of aikido edited and compiled by Hideo Takahashi, is an invaluable document for those seeking an understanding of the deeper meaning of the art. In this interview, Mr. Takahashi talks about takemusu aiki and his spiritual master, Masahisa Goi, the founder of the Byakko Shinko Kai and a close friend of Morihei Ueshiba:

“Recently I was introduced to a gentleman interested in martial arts training. He was not really aware of what I teach or of what constitutes Nihon Koryu Jujutsu. He just assumed that because I taught it, that I must believe it to be “the best”. When I told him I did not believe the art I taught to be “the best”, an uncomfortable silence ensued. I finally broke this taciturn moment by explaining that there is actually no such thing as a “best” martial art. Despite a noble effort to grasp what I was talking about, the gentleman in question eventually regressed, unable to shake the impression that if I was not convinced that what I taught was superior to all other forms of martial arts, that I was somehow unworthy of teaching him. I politely encouraged him to look around, consider what I had said and contact me again if he had any further questions. A few days later I received an e-mail from this gentleman in which he explained that he had indeed found someone convinced that they taught the ultimate style of martial arts. It was called “mixed martial arts” because it embodied only the best of all the styles. I just smiled to myself as I politely responded, congratulating him on his fortuitous discovery. “

The interview below with Moriteru Ueshiba Doshu has been selected from the extensive archives of the Online Aikido Journal. We believe that an informed readership with knowledge of the history, techniques and philosophy of aikido is essential to the growth of the art and its adherence to the principles espoused by Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba.

[F]rom the time I was born I lived together with my grandfather, the founder of aikido, and my father, the previous Doshu, so I’m sure I’ve been influenced by them both in many ways, even if they never spoke to me specifically about such things. I was born and raised in an aikido environment, in all its aspects, technical and otherwise.

This is a principle that works for everything, not just budo.

The word “complex” is a favourite of deceivers why try to manipulate by removing context. Usually a situation is as obvious as it is on first impression. Otherwise, when you pare away the clutter it reduces to the simple key points if real. Or to the ridiculous if fake.

The article below has been selected from the extensive archives of the Online Aikido Journal. We believe that an informed readership with knowledge of the history, techniques and philosophy of aikido is essential to the growth of the art and its adherence to the principles espoused by Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba.

If someone had told me a few years ago that out of a western Christian tradition would come a martial art as deep, sophisticated and evolved as the best of the oriental arts I would not have believed them. Yet there is such an art coming out of the ancient Russian culture with deep roots in the Russian Orthodox monasteries. At its root in the present day is an exceptional man, Mikhail Ryabko.

Firstly, a comment on the article “Perceptions and Deceptions” by Stanley Pranin. Pranin writes “that there is no direct correspondence between reality as it is perceived by the individual and reality as it is.” Continuing Pranin also writes that “the world around us is nothing more than an abstraction based on the sum of our subjective perceptions.”

Allow me to agree and expand on these statements in the context of my experience as a two weeks old Aikidoka.

The article below from the fall of 1991 has been selected from the extensive archives of the Online Aikido Journal. We believe that an informed readership with knowledge of the history, techniques and philosophy of aikido is essential to the growth of the art and its adherence to the principles espoused by Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba.

In our role as chroniclers of aikido and Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu we come into contact with a large number of adherents of different styles and approaches to these martial arts. The emphases of the various groups run the gamut from the physical and self-defense oriented all the way to the “spiritually” inclined styles for whom technique is of secondary importance. Despite these remarkable differences, I have often encountered a common characteristic in the mentality of the practitioners of these diverse persuasions. I will refer to it as the “true believer” syndrome.

“Speaker / Facilitator Tommy Nugent teaches the ‘Aiki’ Way of Conflict Resolution at Spring ‘08 National Conference on Student Leadership”

Brian Kagen is an avid web researcher with a particular interest in martial arts. His training background includes both judo and aikido. He has contributed hundreds of article links over the years for AJ readers.

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