Was Steven Segal the originator of Aikido?

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Tsubaki Kannagara Aiki Taisai - 4/27-29 Aikido, Misogi & O'sensei memorial in Shinto Jinja, Granite Falls, WA

[ian]

I was browsing through the video review section trying to see if there were any good tapes of Ueshiba when he was older doing aikido. To my amazement there is not one review of an Ueshiba video, yet we get 6 reviews of Sensei Segal! I can't believe people are more interested in seeing Steven Segal doing aikido than O'Sensei.

If anyone could suggest a good video of Ueshiba doing actual techniques (and which preferablly is available in the UK), I would greatly appreciate it.

Ian

[andrew]

There's a few clips at aikidoonline.com,
also at http://www.geocities.com/rosentalyoav/ there is several.
I don't know anybody who has an actual videotape of O Sensei, they don't appear to be too common.

[David Kerr]

Hi Ian

I suggest you check out www.blitzsport.com
who are based in the UK.
They have a good selection of Aikido videos featuring O'Sensei at various times of his life.

[Erik]

Go to www.aikidojournal.com. He's got several which he sells. I don't know if he ships to your neck of the woods but that's where I would start.

[ian]

cheers all, I'll investigate these leads.

[Richard Harnack]

Originally posted by ian
I was browsing through the video review section trying to see if there were any good tapes of Ueshiba when he was older doing aikido...If anyone could suggest a good video of Ueshiba doing actual techniques (and which preferablly is available in the UK), I would greatly appreciate it.

Ian

I second that you check out the collection available through Aikido Journal.

Be forewarned, however, that much of the footage of O'Sensei was of the "spring wound 16mm" type. The two or three pieces of professional film covered different eras of his life.

The one from 1935 shows Ueshiba when he was in his 50's doing a style of "Aikido" which definitely antedates what he ultimately developed.

The two pieces of film from television tended to focus on either his spiritual side or the more "sensational" aspects of training.

Do not expect to learn much in the way of "technique" from any of the film. However, do enjoy the available footage for a rare opportunity to see O'Sensei in action.

Overall, with very few exceptions, I have not been impressed with much of the tape out there. Most are tapes of seminars or demonstrations, thus are next to useless unless you already know what is being taught.

[ian]

Thankyou Richard,

you guessed my objectives - in trying to examine Ueshiba's technique. I have seen some MPEGs (mostly from Aikido online), which are very interesting, but wanted some more footage to enable me to examine some aspects of his technique. One thing that seems to occur to me is that Ueshiba (in his later years) either:

i. does not 'disturb' someones centre by moving it, but tends to turn uke's body around their own centre; or

ii. excercises leading control to move people before unbalancing them.

I suppose this is pretty obvious but it is interesting to see Ueshiba actually doing it. Also, like much of aikido, you don't know what is really going on unless you know what to look for.

Cheers,

Ian

[Richard Harnack]

Ian -
Definitely enjoy the tapes. My students gave me a full set years ago. I occasionally take them out and review them. In that we are fortunate to have as much footage of O'Sensei as we do.

Kobayashi, Sensei, used to comment on viewing these tapes that it appeared to him that half the time the "throw" was over with by the time O'Sensei was doing the "finish" of the technique.

[JMCavazos]

I don't think that someone could learn anything from watching O'Sensei.

His movements are so subtle and he was so good that you can't even see the technique! You see beautiful Aikido, but you can't pick up exactly how he did it. The technique was over almost before it began.

I like his tapes to see beautiful art at work, not to learn from.