“In Japanese use of the word, you cannot call yourself sensei. It’s used only by others when they address you or talk about you, if they feel that it is appropriate. That’s wonderful. You are only a teacher if somebody readily admits to being your student, i.e. turns to you in order to learn something. If you insist on teaching without being asked, you are something else.”

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.

“For more than thirty-nine years, Mary Heiny Sensei has followed a path of physical and spiritual inspiration as a student and teacher of Aikido. She started this journey in 1965 after watching Osensei teach a class at Hombu Dojo in Tokyo, Japan. The effect of this first encounter has inspired her through long hours of training and study”

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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“Whenever subjected to a force or applying a force ourselves, the first thing we notice is the impact that force has on our balance. We become exponentially weaker as our balance is taken, and our structure experiences catastrophic failure eventually leading us to fall or stagger. What is our usual reaction to an unexpected force and how does it lead to our loss of balance.”

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“Dim mak is a popular discussion topic among martial arts enthusiasts. Some instructors claim to have the skill, or believe that it was used to kill Bruce Lee. Others insist that dim mak instructors are frauds and the skill itself is a complete fantasy. Is there any evidence to support the existence of dim mak? Could it possibly work?”

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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“For those unfamiliar with this martial art form, jodo (lit. “the way of the stick”) is a method of non-lethal control of a sword-wielding assailant. Though its antecedents probably go back hundreds of years, jodo became a law enforcement method in the 18th century. To this day, the largest group of practitioners in Japan are policemen, who learn modern jodo tactics in addition to traditional training. In practice jodo involves kata that pits a pole 128cm long by 2.4cm in diameter against a wooden sword. Kaminoda Tsunemori is headmaster of a branch of Shindo Muso Ryu jodo, a very prominent teacher in the most-popular style.”

“Seagal’s movies have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. He is an expert martial artist, with a 7th-degree black belt in aikido. Along with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris, he’s considered one of the film industry’s greatest action stars. But it turns out that Steven Seagal isn’t just an action hero in the movies. For almost 20 years, Seagal has been working as a fully-commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana.”

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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“Speed is the most important factor in an effective Chin Na technique. With many Chin Na techniques (the application) you need to use only one-half or even one-third of the power of your opponent. However, without speed you will not be able to control your opponent before he escapes or reacts against you. There are, however, many other Chin Na techniques which do require considerable power to execute and to maintain control.”

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.

Click here to read entire article.

“Reading it in its entirety, I realized that Taoism according to Lao Tzu is very close to the ideas forming the base of aikido. The Tao Te Ching preaches yielding, and acting minutely instead of bombastically. The ideal of wu-wei, doing nothing, might not be immediately applicable to a martial art, but doing as little as possible is indeed related to the aiki solution.”

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.

“Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, he was a student of Seishiro Okazaki the founder Danzan Ryu from whom he received a Certificate of Mastery on 1948-02-22. He trained under Juan Gomez, and Ken Kawachi (Hawaiian judo champion) in the early 40’s. Through his experience, he developed his own system called Small Circle Jujitsu.”

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.

“Without a first strike whether it be proactive and/or a strictly defensive measure, aikido without proper hard atemi is useless. Now the real question remains; what is atemi? Is it a punch? Is it a distraction, as in the way O-Sensei taught. Or do you really need to give that attacker that first punch to the head to be really effective. In my mind, the answer is yes. This may make aikido a little more than boxing with flourish, but this is the conclusion I’ve come too.”

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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“Once when I asked my teacher how much he practiced a day, he answered, ‘I practice twenty-four hours a day.’ Wanting to only see if my training time was adequate to follow his example of skill in the art, I was not wholly ready for his answer. Much of it escaped me at the time. I could not totally see the fusion of life and practice that he was attempting to point me toward. The practice for me was still a matter of doing something while not doing something else.”

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.

Click here to read entire article.

“I began training Freeform Aikido in February of this year, since joining I have been surprised by the number of unexpected benefits to be found in this discipline. Aside from the obvious benefits of training to improve physical fitness and co-ordination I have also found that the practice has given me a space to explore ideas that have been of great interest to me in my creative practice as a designer, in particular the notion of reading intent.”