“Few here know that the controversial Mustard was once the chief foreign instructor at the martial art’s headquarters in Japan and is considered by many to be the best non-Japanese instructor of yoshinkan aikido in the world.
What’s more, he is a central figure in the book Angry White Pyjamas. It was written by Oxford poet Robert Twigger, who took an 11-month, brutally demanding course of training at the dojo in Japan under Mustard and other instructors in the mid-1990s.”
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“G.E.: You then became the representative in Ireland for the Japan Karate Association. Did you set up some kind of official organisation?
“You may never need to use Aikido in a practical and physical way in your life, and perhaps you already have. You may have gone into the art on a whim, as I did, or may have begun training because of some event in which you were victimized, and vowed to never become a victim again. I can’t speak for all, but I can speak from my own experience, and will attempt to do so in this essay.
Ever had an Ikkyo kind of day? Where no matter the attack, only Ikkyo happened. And you shook your head in frustration, or got berated as “wrong.”
“I’ve mentioned this before in passing, but I wanted to bring some attention to it in today’s post. In aikido (or judo or karate or etc…) we mostly practice empty-handed, but occasionally put a simulated knife in the hand of the attacker. It it not that we want to emphasize those ridiculous “knife defenses” that are the bread and butter of so many martial arts classes – so why do we even mess with a knife?
“I don’t claim to be an expert on psychology or NLP. I can however provide insights into using the subconscious based on my own experience which should be of assistance to those who are a little sceptical of such things.
“Dear Owner: Before I begin, I want to first say that I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt on a number of things. For example, I’m more than happy to assume that you are, in fact, a skilled practitioner of some sort of martial art. I may not know what that martial art is–and you might have just made it up yourself. But I’m okay with assuming that you put in some considerable time learning what you now know. I’m also willing to assume that you’re genuinely interested in improving the lives of other people through martial arts training. I don’t even have a problem with the fact that this interest may run parallel to your interest in making money–a dojo is a business, after all. You have bills to pay just as anyone else does. I’m not even going to give you a hard time about some of your fees–when I built my dojo, I looked at retail locations. I know how expensive they are, so I would expect your prices to reflect that reality. In short, I want you to know that I’m not looking down on you. I respect you, and I appreciate the situation you’re in.
“With 2009 marking Yukio Utada Shihan’s 35th year of teaching aikido in the United States, the anniversary is being commemorated with a weekend seminar and embu on Saturday, October 10, 2009 and Sunday, October 12, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.
Randori Shiai (free-style contest) was created as a competitive format for applying ‘aiki’ techniques by Kenji Tomiki around 1960, and since that date has been the subject of continuous development and evolution. This has enabled it to justly claim a place alongside judo and kendo as an exemplification of budo in its modern sporting form. Indeed the starting point for Aikido Kyogi development lay in the profound influence of Jigoro Kano on the young Kenji Tomiki’s maturing ideas on the nature of budo in the modern world. In a series of speeches made between 1926 and 1927, Kano addressed the issue of incorporating atemi techniques in judo randori (free) practice. Then as now, any form of atemi (striking vital points) technique was proscribed from judo randori and shiai for reasons of safety, limiting contest to grappling techniques starting from an initial seizure of the sleeve and collar of the keikogi. Atemi waza and certain of the most severe wrist and joint locks from the canon of jujitsu on which judo was based, were strictly limited to kata practice only. Despite these self imposed limitations Kano believed that: “Randori or bouts including Ate Waza may be developed through some devices and further research, but it may not be easy.” This demonstrates that after some fifty years of judo development, Kano was still thinking of ways to broaden the scope of randori to encompass all the elements of jujitsu technique. http://www.hikarikan.co.uk/competition
“I had studied traditional Asian martial arts (karate & Judo) since I was about 14 years of age. Working as a bouncer changed my view of what true self defense training should involve. Physical technique was the focus in my Asian system studies, but now that I had seen hundreds of actual fights and had been forced to defend myself on scores of occasions, I had to recognize that what I was seeing and experiencing was the reality of actual fighting.
“My friend and I were talking last night and he told me about these Japanese researchers who were working on a body suit with micro motors in the fabric with sensors that read the electrical activity in the area of intended body movement. The goal was to help people with impaired movement, move normally with the assistance of the body suit. One of the findings was that the movements from the suit preceded the muscles firing in the person’s body. My friend, who is a skilled, Chinese martial artist, raised this topic because we were discussing the issue of engaging in intended movement without conscious intention. This research finding confirmed my belief that conscious, intended movement can be perceived by someone else, even without physical contact. The concept of intended movement without conscious intent corresponds to the saying that when you are in a fight, if you have to think about what you do, it is too late.