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I asked how they applied the body techniques to the ken, but no one showed me. Since there was nothing to be done about the situation, I began practicing the ken in 1955 soon after I began Aikido training. What else could I do? Nobody taught me! O-Sensei did sword techniques at lightning speed and would say, “That’s how you do it,” and then disappeared from the dojo. I tried in vain to understand what he was doing and the next moment he was gone.
May
09
Video: Katsuyuki Kondo Sensei: “Completion of the two-attacker throw. Note the “zanshin,” or abiding mind of Kondo Sensei reflected in his stance at the conclusion of the technique.”
May
09
Video: “Katsuyuki Kondo Sensei, Menkyo Kaiden holder, executes the beginning of ippondori to break uke’s balance”
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I asked how they applied the body techniques to the ken, but no one showed me. Since there was nothing to be done about the situation, I began practicing the ken in 1955 soon after I began Aikido training. What else could I do? Nobody taught me! O-Sensei did sword techniques at lightning speed and would say, “That’s how you do it,” and then disappeared from the dojo. I tried in vain to understand what he was doing and the next moment he was gone.
May
09
Video: “Daito-ryu includes both hard and soft styles… Do you know the differences?”
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This video contains highlights of an historically important Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu demonstration that took place at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in 1992. This event commemorated the 50th anniversary of the passing of Sokaku Takeda. The demonstration was hosted by the Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu organization of Katsuyuki Kondo Sensei, and also featured other schools of Daito-ryu including the Kodokai, the Takumakai, aikido and kobudo schools…
May
09
Video: “Teaching Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu from here forward”
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For my part, together with all of my students I hope to continue pursuing the Daito-ryu tradition left to us by Tokimune Takeda with greater fervor and devotion than ever, and from my position at the edge of the budo world I hope I may continue receiving the teaching, encouragement, and reproof of those from whom I still have so much to learn…
May
09
Popular! Video: Tetsuzan Kuroda – The Master Swordsman on BBC
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This is a fascinating video from a BBC documentary that looks at the myths and reality in martial arts showcasing various forms, secret skills, ancient knowledge, and hidden techniques from all over the East. The focus here is on Tetsuzan Kuroda, the headmaster of the martial legacy of the Kuroda family, one of the best known and respected of contemporary Japanese koryu practitioners. He is one of Japan’s finest swordsman, a master of a variety of classical weapons, and an adept in the soft-style Kuroda family jujutsu. Kuroda was a featured participant in Aiki Expo 2003 sponsored by Aikido Journal…
May
09
Video: “The secret and oral teachings of Daito-ryu will flow outside and be known to the general public!”
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“If you teach people the true techniques and the next day they leave the school, then all of the secret and oral teachings of Daito-ryu will flow outside of the school and be known to the general public.” He also said, “Out of a thousand pupils, teach the true techniques only to one or two. Make absolutely sure of those you chose, and to them alone teach what is real. There is no need to teach the rest.”
May
08
Autobiographical article (2): “Koichi Tohei in the Heyday of the Aikikai” by Stanley Pranin
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My efforts to gather materials on the Founder met with little success. I was able to buy a few books and several back issues of the Aikido Shimbun published by the dojo, but my requests through the office to obtain copies of photographs or films led to no concrete results. Finally near the end of my stay I asked Iwao Tamura, one of Tohei Sensei’s deshi who was fluent in English, if it would be possible to ask Tohei Sensei again about helping me. As a result, I was called to a room on the second floor of the dojo late in August. Present were Tohei Sensei, Mr. Tamura and myself. I was told clearly that I was considered to be a student of Tohei student and as such was mistaken to have trained with other teachers during my stay in Japan…
May
08
Video: Teaching Daito-ryu: “Reveal or Conceal!”
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Regarding the aforementioned “secretiveness” inherent in Daito-ryu, it is said that Sokaku Takeda never taught the same technique twice. My teacher Tokimune Sensei (Sokaku’s son) told me that whenever he was teaching as his father’s representative, if he showed his students something more than once in order to have them better understand, his father would scold him for being “foolishly soft-hearted.” When I myself was learning from Tokimune, he often warned me, “If you teach the same technique twice, the second time your students will figure out how to reverse it and defeat you with it. For that reason, teach something different the second time…”
May
08
Historical photo: Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei and Morihiro Saito at Self-Defense Force demonstration c. 1955
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Here are three unpublished photos from the personal collection of Morihiro Saito taken c. 1955. Morihei is aged 71 years and Saito Sensei is about 27 years old. Although the exact location is unknown, it appears as though the event is taking place at a Self-Defense Force facility due to the presence of uniformed observers…
May
08
Video: Katsuyuki Kondo… to do or not to do: “I worried about revealing the secret teachings of the art”
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In truth, when first approached about publishing a technical volume on Daito-ryu, I had quite a few reservations…. Given the traditionally closed, secretive nature of Daito-ryu, I worried to what degree it would be appropriate for me to disclose the oral and inner teachings of the art with which I have been entrusted to those outside the school. On the other hand, given the growing proliferation of technical manuals, videos and the like, not to mention the unprecedented availability of all kinds of information made possible today by the Internet—much of it incorrect and of dubious origin, I might add — I decided that it would be in the best interest of Daito-ryu to publish a written and pictorial record of the most fundamental points of at least the first portion the school’s technical curriculum, so that these do not become lost to posterity…
May
08
“Fallow Field – Clearing the Weeds,” by Nev Sagiba
“When life takes you away from training, do not worry. Because Aikido is natural and follows the principles of the Universe, it is like a food garden. When you have been away and return, it may have become overgrown with other herbs, but when you return and clear it there will be a rich crop growing quietly underneath…” – Morihei Ueshiba
The fallow field principle was well know for renewing and enriching the earth before the days of unbridled ignorance and greed in mere mortals, fostered the illusion that recently invented and ultimately obsolete, toxic chemical imbalance somehow knows better than eternal God and Nature.
In a like manner, recovery time enriches us as human beings. Everything in the Universe progresses in cycles. Time out is a natural thing.
When you return to training or any skill there will be some work clearing the, “rust and dust from the joints..” but you will find that the accrued credit from previous training will have gained interest. It is a natural law of the universe. Don’t let your mind play tricks on you. You’ve in truth lost nothing. It is lying fallow, waiting to be resurrected.
Do this gradually and progressively, with care and attention.
Indeed there will be times when a change, a break or a good rest from training is the best thing you can do. It will allow the accrued interest to mature and multiply. That inner kingdom which is yours to augment is of immense value.
Whilst you may not consciously notice the gain immediately, it soon becomes evident.
Ever had a break, and on your return newly inspired, people ask; “Where have you been training?” I’m not sure how it works but it works as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow. Perhaps your training during the break was on the “inner realms,” where the natural wisdom of the unconscious (or superconscious) mind made vital augmenting adjustments.
Don’t feel bad about it. Allow the time out to take its course. Allow the rest and recovery. Allow yourself to be. Allow the universe to wrought the new refinements and changes that augment your being. Allow yourself to relax into the process. It is entirely natural.
The neuronal file paths of the body-mind connection never leave. They may sometimes need a rest but will always revive better than ever if you train well and true.
After a few weeks of renewed training practice you will find that you will be sailing again and this better than ever before.
Learn to observe and understand the cycles of nature. They give Life! Aikido, at it’s core is the life giving principle of accommodation that inevitably reconciles all possibilities, if not sooner, then certainly later.
Nev Sagiba
aikiblue.com
May
08
Video: “In the techniques of Daito-ryu you must break the balance of your opponent the instant you touch him!”
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The difference between aikido and Daito-ryu in the eyes of the general public is that in techniques of Daito-ryu you must break the balance of your opponent the instant you touch him. This is because there is aiki in the technique, which we use to break the balance of the opponent. This is a major characteristic of Daito-ryu. Another characteristic is its use of atemi. This atemi is also a part of aiki in Daito-ryu. Although it is often said that Daito-ryu looks unrefined or is lacking in magnificence, Daito-ryu also has a component called aiki no jutsu (fifty-three techniques) and they are truly wonderful…
