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.

Seigo Yamaguchi Sensei (1924-1996) was one of the most prominent of the postwar generation of aikido instructors of the Aikikai Hombu Dojo. Yamaguchi Sensei’s aikido was totally unique and he had many followers the world over and was especially popular in France. Unfortunately, he did not leave any books or commercial videotapes so little information is available about him. A viewing of the video clips on this website will give you an idea of how his aikido looked and why he was so highly regarded by all who had an opportunity to train with him.

Seigo Yamaguchi at 1993 All-Japan Aikido Demonstration
Seigo Yamaguchi at 1983 All-Japan Aikido Demonstration
Seigo Yamaguchi at Aikikai Hombu Dojo, 1973 - Part 1
Seigo Yamaguchi at Aikikai Hombu Dojo, 1973 - Part 2

Among the video clips in the Aikido Journal archives is one of Second Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba performing at the 1986 All-Japan Aikido Demonstration at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Doshu gave an especially energetic demonstration on this occasion and the three ukemi—Tsuruzo Miyamoto, Hayato Osawa, and Yoshiaki Yokota—are nothing short of phenomenal!

The Aikido Journal archives now include more than 800 articles in twenty different languages and numerous video clips. We are constantly adding new articles and translations in our effort to document aikido and related disciplines past and present. If you would like to support us in this effort by taking out a subscription to the Online Aikido Journal we welcome you to do so by clicking this link.

“There are many things in life that we perceive, consciously or unconsciously, as a threat. This creates conflict, as it invokes the fight-or-flight response. In times of conflict, we naturally establish a negative bonding pattern with the person who initiates threatening behavior towards us; a bonding pattern between our vulnerability, which is the part of us that can be open and therefore hurt, and the other person’s “power,” as defined by their behavior. The important aspect of the process, at the psychological level, is that when we feel threatened, the natural thing for us to do is to identify ourselves with (or become) the part or parts of us that we learned to protect ourselves with when we were young, and then react accordingly to the present situation.”

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We have just uploaded another video clip to the Aikido Journal channel on Youtube.com. Aikido Journal Editor Stanley Pranin talks about the making of Morihiro Saito Sensei’s “Lost Seminars” DVD series and his experiences as Saito Sensei’s interpreter. Have a look behind the scenes into the production of these outstanding DVDs!

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“A memorial video of Aikido Shihan, Mitsunari Kanai-Sensei, of the New England Aikikai.The images are from various sources.The soundtrack is “Red Dragonfly” from the CD “Song of The Seashore” by James Galway. “

Please click here to read entire article.

“The technique sometimes substitues strength. It’s difficult for someone to defeat me until today.”

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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We have just uploaded a new addition to the Aikido Journal channel on Youtube.com. Aikido Journal Editor Stanley Pranin describes the circumstances of how he began publication of Aiki News and Aikido Journal the forerunners of the aikidojournal.com website. Check it out to learn about the antecedents of the Aikido Journal website.

Click here to view video clip on youtube.com

It was a gamble building a dojo two and a half hours from the nearest city and 15 minutes from the nearest town. A gamble that would have made a real-estate agent with his ‘location, location, location’ rule shake his head.

But I thought there must be others sharing my enthusiasm for the spiritual affinity of aikido and Nature, who would appreciate being able to practice in one of the most beautiful places in the world and who would, therefore, find their way here if we waited patiently.

Terry Dobson was the best story teller I ever met. He mythologized himself, to be sure, but his stories, unlike the Baron Munchausens of the world, were true. These stories were a kind of passport through which he could charm, enthrall and inspire - and, truth be told, never let the room go silent.

Beyond story telling, however, is the alchemy of writing. Terry knew that a writer was far more than a teller of tales, someone who can take the raw material of life (think of ore), the story being merely a crude semi-crafted product (iron) and with heat, power and a tremendous amount of work, turn it into art (steel). He never succeeded in this last step, struggling with writer’s block of epic proportions. (Shortly before he died, he started a novel - in the middle - and that one chapter is jaw-droppingly brilliant - just as with his aikido, he left the stage just when he “got it.”) He did, however, leave a number of hours of tapes of his stories. He and his inamorata, Riki Moss, planned turning this material into some sort of book, but he died before getting very far. Riki spent the next ten years struggling with the stories, and with her own story - her life with this man, and her own life while being with this man.

“This was the picture of Jujutsu which the Swedish physiotherapist, boxer and elite-sportsman Viking Cronholm took with him when he travelled to South-Africa in 1904. It was there that a few years later he was taught Jujutsu by an English officer. He returned to Sweden, and immediately introduced Jujutsu to his old boxing friends.

The first official Jujutsu exhibition followed by a course in self-defence, was held in January 1908. Cronholm continued his studies with various Japanese Jujutsu masters, probably those who had started the Jujutsu institute in London. His first Jujutsu demonstration in Stockholm was given immense attention, and he gained great interest and support from the most prominent sporting leaders in Sweden, amongst others the “father of modern sport”, the General and head of the Central Gymnastic institute, Viktor Balck.”

Please click here to view video clip.

“Also known as the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Deshis”. Just to show that not all martial artists take themselves too seriously. We can’t always be as graceful as Sensei.

This video is a long time coming —- a belated Christmas gift to my fellow students at Open Sky Aikikai (formerly the North Winnipeg Aikikai) Aikido club.”

Please click here to watch the video.