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.

According to the party line in the “soft” martial arts, we lead our opponents in the direction of their intentions and desires; therefore, aikido is nonviolent because we don’t “interfere” with what they are trying to do. Somehow, though, I never quite grasped the idea that my opponent was attacking me with a plea to be wristlocked into nikyo, or flung ass-over-tea-kettle in a kokyunage throw. OK, I’m being flippant; aikido is not so intellectually vulgar. Yeah, yeah, it is instead an embodiment of principle, of the smooth and economical resolution of conflict—of doing, as the Buddhist precept requires, no unnecessary harm.

“From the moment we are born, our feet are covered by socks, bound by shoes and generally desensitised. Furthermore, we walk on unnaturally flat hard featureless surfaces with relatively obstacle-free paths to get from A to B. Comparatively we are using our hands and fingers more and more with jobs involving pens, keyboards and data entry terminals.

With this in mind, I shouldn’t be surprised that we navigate our world as if we have two blocks of wood for feet. The stifling of our feet affects our legs and hips, and as a result much of our vertical movement is derived from our back. Compare the major joints in our legs and hips with the vertebrae in our spine. The joints in the lower halves of our bodies are fashioned as sturdy ball-and-sockets which are designed to provide a large range of motion. Our spines however are made for bearing weight in a single direction and providing some shock absorption and limited movement.”

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“I’m now going to teach you the secret of all martial arts” my sensei said to me. I was relieved; I’d just spent three times per week for the last six weeks learning and practicing my falls and at last I was going to learn “the good stuff.” My sensei then taught me happo no kuzushi (the eight forms of off balance). He very soberly informed me that “all attacks come from one of these directions” and that it was my ability to accept an attack from each of these directions that would determine my martial arts prowess. I’m sure he could tell how disappointed I was, since this was all Eastern philosophy mumbo jumbo to me and couldn’t possibly help me learn jujitsu. I just wanted to learn how to throw someone, and if not that, at least to learn how to break their arm, or something (As you can tell, I was bloodthirsty in those days!) He then told me to keep practicing my happo no kuzushi, and that as I achieved higher rank, it would mean more to me. I didn’t tell him this, but I knew he was wrong; there was no way happo no kuzushi could ever really help me learn jujitsu.

“First of all a school cannot be a member of the Nippon Kobudo Kyokai or the Nippon Kobudo Shinkokai if the headquarters is located outside Japan. So, Shidare Yanagi ryu would not qualify for membership even if it were confirmed to be authentic koryu.

That said, Shidare Yanagi ryu’s status as koryu is similar to Daito ryu’s and unknown since no hard documentation exists to confirm its existence prior to the Meiji Restoration. According to Don Angier, Shidare Yanagi ryu was a small familial budo tradition passed to him by Yoshida Kenji, son of the rather enigmatic Yoshida Kotaro. What is fairly certain is Don Angier studied something under Yoshida Kenji since Don Angier has Yoshida family photos in his possession that no one else has seen before, including aikido/budo historian Stan Pranin. Furthermore, Daito ryu’s Katsuykui Kondo, a student of Yoshida Kotaro, confirmed to me in person that Kotaro did have several densho in his possesion reflecting significant martial study prior to his training under Takeda Sokaku.

After practice one night I started to realize that I was feeling something different when doing several of the techniques. I believe I have progressed recently due to a new understanding of proper movement while doing Suwariwaza. Being able to break down the movement in this fashion has also helped me gain greater sensitivity over the resulting forces that arise after each partner grabs. The key to my latest progress came from getting my whole body to work as one unit, our natural will is to try and power through this exercise with only our arms doing the work. Sensei had us putting our arms out and holding them (with ki extended) in front of our bodies kind of like a frame. A frame that when connected to our hips leads us to not use a portion of our body, but in turn a whole body movement. When this is done it becomes very easy to move your partner off balance then to the resulting throw.

“Koretoshi Maruyama was born in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, on October 5, 1936. He graduated from the Economics Department of Keio University in March of 1956, after which he joined his father’s business, Maruyama Manufacturing. He became interested in the martial arts from his Middle School years, and at his father’s urging he took up Judo and earned a black belt. Again at his father’s urging, in his first year of college, he entered the Rikidozan School of Professional Wrestling, and also trained in weight lifting and boxing, while continuing his training in Judo at the Kodokan.”

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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 other day one of our readers was kind enough to send along a page from an issue of the International Aikido Newsletter published in December 1994. I believe this newsletter is a publication of the European Aikido Federation. It contained answers by a well-known 8th dan shihan, in reply to questions posed by participants at a recent Dutch Summer School that he conducted. One of the questions reads as follows: “Why doesn’t the instruction of aikido include training with weapons?” To this query, the shihan responded…

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 scene is the annual All-Japan Aikido Demonstration held at the Budokan one fine spring day several years ago. A high-ranking shihan commits a slight error of timing during his performance and fails to unbalance or even touch his uke. The uke, obviously at a loss at what to do, looks to the left and then the right, and after an interminably long one or two seconds, falls down.

“[This interview with Clyde Takeguchi was made at the seminar at Palm Beach Aikikai in December 1999. Special thanks to Richard Wagner, and to Bill Bresnihan who made the videotape from which this interview was transcribed.”

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“In February 1961, O-Sensei came to Hawaii. During his visit he said: I have come to Hawaii in order to build a “silver bridge.” Until now, I have remained in Japan, building a “golden bridge” to unite Japan, but henceforward, I wish to build a bridge to bring the different countries of the world together through the harmony and love contained in aikido. I think that aiki, offspring of the martial arts, can unite the people of the world in harmony, in the true spirit of budo, enveloping the world in unchanging love.

“Olivier Gaurin is a scholar of Aikido, author of several books on Aikido as well as historical fictions set in medieval Japan. Concerned about a drift of our art towards the sport, he reminds us about the cultural aspects that are an intrinsic part of Aikido. Having lived in Japan for over 20 years, he has immersed himself into the ancestral culture of his country of adoption and shares his thoughts on how 21st century Aikidoka should apprehend their practice.”

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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.

Those who merely saw the founder in an exhibition or during training in the dojo and, of course, those who were his students and were taught personally during his lifetime are, even now, unanimous in their comments. First, with regard to the awe inspired by the “piercing brilliance of the founder’s eyes” seemingly capable of penetrating an impregnable fortress; and also, the “deep impression of instantly victorious absolute strength” of spirit, mind and body; and finally, in their conclusion that his could only be described as “divine technique.”