The other day James and I were trying different techniques with horizontal strikes, the tsuki punch to the belly. We’d try one technique, then another, starting with that punch. We’d been moving with each other in fairly flowing motion when all of a sudden when I punched toward him he didn’t budge at all, except to put up a blocking arm in front of his center. Then he immediately stepped forward to mow me down. That first time I more or less banged into him, and had the distinct impression of encountering the proverbial immovable object.
When it was my turn to receive his thrust, I carried out the technique as I was accustomed to doing it–receiving the punch absorbently, moving aside a bit to allow the energy to express itself before I stepped forward to unbalance James. My moves seemed satisfying, even graceful, and they conformed to my image of a flexible, responsive aikido.
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“At my dojo Enighet in Malmö, we have made a listing of basic aikido techniques and on what attacks they are reasonably possible to do. The list is long, of course. We have also formulated some basic principles on what to be considered by tori (defender), uke (attacker) or both. In case this is of any use to you, here it all is. There may be additions in the future.
“Marsalis’ advice may seem deceptively simple, perhaps even obvious. And yet, how many times during taijutsu practice, when Sensei corrects your movements, have you thought, “That’s such a simple movement! I’m making it way more complicated than it needs to be”?
“This actually ties in with the whole Aikido is not about fighting issue… Saotome Sensei doesn’t “fight” with you. He does not “contend”, he does not “defend”.
“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.”
“Kenpō (拳法 ?) is the name of several martial arts. The word kenpō is a Japanese translation of the Chinese word “quánfǎ. This term is often informally transliterated as “kempo,” as a result of applying Traditional Hepburn romanization (which provides for use of the letter “m” when ん precedes a labial consonant such as “p”), but failing to use a macron to indicate the long vowel. The generic nature of the term combined with its widespread, cross-cultural adoption in the martial arts community has led to many divergent definitions.”
“While re-reading some back issues of Aiki News magazines the other day, I came across an article of an interview with Saito sensei back in May 1979.
I’ve been training in Las Vegas for several months now under Mr. Pranin. I’ve enjoyed learning from him as well as the other students. We meet twice a week in the evenings and I wish we could meet more. I look forward to the classes and learn new things about the art as well as myself every time.
“This website is dedicated as a memorial to the many accomplishments of my father Charles Vincent Gruzanski. Within these pages are the countless individuals that my father instructed as well as his many teachers. Yumio Nawa, Gozo Shioda, Masaaki Hatsumi, Masutatsu (Mas) Oyama, Robert Trias, Tadashi Nakamura and Harry McEvoy are just a few of the people who guided his path within the martial arts and knife throwing community. Please enjoy the many pictures, letters, weapons, documents and very rare books from my collection. I also have many rare books for sale as well.”
“Wonderful interview. Very humorous, but very wise person. I have great respect for this wonderful sensei.”
“The predominant philosophy of Kokikai Aikido is “Minimum effort, Maximum effect”. There are two parts to achieving this.
“I recognize that I’ve been a little quiet as of late. I could blame the holiday season, which is partially true, but there have been a number of new changes to my daily routine, and it has taken me a few