Out of the turmoil of a culture in which expressions of violence had been institutionalized, formalized and even spiritualized, and from the frustrations of a tragic world war a Japanese man, Morhihei Uyeshiba, has brought to the world a message of pure and unconditional love. Paradoxically this message is couched in the terminology and activity of the very martial arts from which previously sprang much misery.
Born into the turbulent era of the Meiji Restoration, when modernization was thrust forcibly onto a nation long frozen in feudal lifestyles, Uyeshiba was exposed early to diverse spiritual influences. It was to be some years before these contacts were to result in the maturation of the spiritual form which Uyeshiba offered to the world community after the tragedy of the Pacific War. Long before he developed his spiritual mastery, however, he was acknowledged as one of Japan’s greatest martial artists, a master of weapons and unarmed combat. This background was to direct and mold the unique character of his personal spirituality.
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Make no mistake: There will be atemi, dageki, atari…, call them what you will: there are many nuances of striking well worth studying and practicing.
“When you practice with weapons in traditional martial arts, you learn to use those weapons as extensions of your body. This will, over time, develop what I like to call ‘extensional awareness’ of what those weapons are doing. Most people start learning weapons with the bo, which is essentially a long stick. After that, people often move to sai, which are essentially shorter sticks. Other weapons that people may move on to learn include katana, eku, yari, and nunchaku. Again, all sticks–granted, nunchaku bend in the middle, but when they are swung, tension makes them a stick. Think about what this does to your extensional awareness in terms of geometry, for a moment–they are generally cylindrical.”
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“Yoshinkan (meaning “hall for cultivating the spirit”) is a style of aikido founded by Gozo Shioda after World War II. Made famous by the controversial book “Angry White Pyjamas” by Robert Twigger, the Senshusei Aikido training course was initially started at the dojo in 1957 to train members of the Tokyo riot police. In 1991 the 11-month program opened its doors to applicants outside the police force, and since then the course has attracted recruits from all over world.”
“The drunk, upon seeing the officers, cursed them but really didn’t feel like fighting. A simple hold was all that was required to subdue him. The prostitute wanted to get away more than anything else, and taking her into custody was no problem. The lumberjack, however, was an entirely different situation. Besides being a skillful street fighter, he possessed the willingness to fight. This made him a very dangerous individual.”
“In response to Kevin Leavitt’s Fighting Distance article, I would like to take a look at the use of peripheral vision as part of your preparation or methodology. It is often said to look into the eyes of your opponent. The eyes are telling; but, it should be a relaxed gaze and not a focused stare. Your peripheral vision is much more sensitive to motion the focused/tunnel vision.”
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The article below written by Waseda University, Fumiaki Shishida, has been selected from the 
“The biggest determining factor in a close fight is space or distance between you and your opponent or opponents. Seems obvious really if you think about it. Either you can touch someone or you can’t! If you cannot effectively touch them or if they cannot touch you, then there really is no fight! Lets talk about distance and how it affects the fight.”
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