You are really going to like this:

http://www.vrazvedka.ru/training/phy...html?showall=1

The Dutch version of "Morihei Ueshiba and the Way of the Cross - Izanagi and Izanami cross the Floating Bridge of Heaven" - "Morihei Ueshiba en de Weg van het Kruis - Izanagi en Izanami steken de Zwevende Brug van de Hemel over".

Enjoy!

Chris

Hey Jun, I hope this is okay here, its half Aikido :)

June 21 at 6:00pm until June 23 at 8:00pm

Aikido and Aikijujutsu - over 125 years of combined Aiki knowledge in one seminar

3 Day seminar - $275 - Event Limited to the first 60 participants !

Popkin-Brogna Jujitsu Center
400 Hempstead Tpke, West Hempstead, New York 11552
516-489-1278
popkinbrogna@yahoo.com

Registration: http://eventsbot.com/events/eb243909645

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/events/2160...71182/?fref=ts

Thanks!

I was watching a program and I observed someone wearing a t-shirt that said "miming should be a crime"
That put me in thought...hmmm......"MMA should be a crime"

After reading the frustration expressed in the thread Cold Sensei I saw the tie in to the effective Aikido thread . I decided to start a new thread.

When a person makes the conscious decision to defend themselves they change from the inside out. Now that person has the chance to make a choice about every single situation in her own life.

When a person is complaining about circumstances he can hear the hollow echo of whining in his ears. It no longer fits...it feels like trying to squeeze into a child's sweater.

Now that person knows that since he has made the the decision to be pro-active in self-defense, every circumstance is an opportunity to train. Instead of wasting time complaining about people, places or circumstances she can change the only thing that she really can change: Herself.

The decision is very important. Until it is made all else is futile.

The path is also important...that will become available during the process of the decision to defend oneself.

Takamura ha Shindo Yoshin ryu & Takagi Hachi Ho ryu
Kenjutsu and Bojutsu
Two-day weapons seminar with Toby Threadgill, Menkyo Kaiden
Saturday July 27th & Sunday July 28th, 2013

Experience the traditional koryu kenjutsu of Takamura ha Shindo Yoshin ryu, and gendai bojutsu of Takagi Hachi Ho ryu, by the leading authority on these arts. Threadgill sensei will share the history, etiquette, basics, postures, and paired practices of these unique systems.

Takagi Hachi Ho ryu 高木八方流
A fuzoku ryuha (assimilated school) taught in tandem with Takamura ha Shindo Yoshin ryu. This bojutsu school, founded by Takagi Isoga, is a gendai budo derived from the personal teachings of TSYR shihan, Namishiro Matsuhiro who had studied Yoshin Koryu, Shinto Muso ryu, and Matsuzaki Shinkage ryu, in addition to Shindo Yoshin ryu.

A unique feature of Takagi Hachi Ho ryu bojutsu, (Takagi school of 8 directions staff arts) is the use of a 5ft jo staff, which is a bit longer than those typically used by other ryuha. The arts curriculum is comprised of 32 kata separated into 8 sections represented by the 4 cardinal and 4 ordinal directions. These eight sections cover three subjects: staff vs sword, staff vs staff, and empty-hand vs. staff.

Takamura ha Shindo Yoshin ryu 高村派新道楊心流
Historically, in addition to the Akiyama Yoshin ryu line via Tenjin Shinyo ryu, and the Nakamura Yoshin Koryu line via Totsuka ha Yoshin Koryu, Shindo Yoshin ryu's mainline included teachings from the kenjutsu schools Jikishinkage ryu and Hokushin Itto ryu. The Takamura ryuha includes further influence from Matsuzaki Shinkage ryu via Namishiro Matsuhiro.

The kenjutsu curriculum through Shoden and Chuden levels is comprised of 10 Batto (sword drawing), with omote and ura variations, and 30 kumitachi (paired sword vs. sword kata), with additional kata for both taught at Joden level. The kumitachi are separated into groupings of five based on the elements and seasons. Additionally, there are kata for short sword, weapons retention, tanto, and while wearing armor.

Attendees are asked to bring a bokken (wooden sword) with a tsuba (hand guard) and a 5 ft jo (wooden staff).

Day 1: Takamura ha Shindo Yoshin ryu Kenjutsu
Day 2: Takagi Hachi Ho ryu Bojutsu
10:00 am -- 5:00pm each day
$75.00 for one day
$120 for both days
$10.00 observation each day

Location:
Senpokan Dojo
1418 E. Wilshire Ave.
Santa Ana, Ca. 92705

For registration and information contact:
Kenshinyokan@ca.rr.com

Please make checks payable to:
John Lovato

Mail to:
Kenshinyokan dojo
5846 Eastbrook Ave
Lakewood, CA 90713

Or through Paypal at:
yanagi@ca.rr.com

Hosted by the Kenshinyokan dojo

Been lurking here for years. Finally posting. My name is Bob. I practice at Plano Aikido Center. Hello.

An interesting TEDxTalk by David Shaner sensei.http://youtu.be/eyBEIx7fCfY

I have, for sale, an exquisite sunuke boken and jo set. Just an incredible feel, there's nothing to compare to sunuke wood. The boken and jo are in excellent, like new condition. If interested I can send photos. Reasonable offers will be considered but keep in mind that sunuke is considered a luxury item in Japan.

The role of the uke is central to the development of any real skill in the art of Aikido. Personally, I think the misunderstanding of how to be a great uke is central to why Aikido has so many technical issues when it comes to the art as a martial art. So what is the roll of the uke in Aikido training?

The uke exists to enhance the learning of the partner. Yes, he or she is learning a number of things that are specific to that role. But basically his primary role is to act as the check and balance on the partner's developing skills and to provide constant feedback to the partner.

I think that the first area of focus in Aikido training should be developing an understanding of how to organize one’s body properly and how to use ones intent to give that body structure. This is done with a combination of solo practice and paired connection exercises. This part of training requires an uke that is sensitive enough to give just the right amount of energy so that the partner can "succeed" while still having to make a an improvement in how he or she is doing the exercise. Many people think that it is their job to apply as much force as they can and the partner's job to figure out how to deal with it. This way of training is detrimental to the learning of both partners.

On the other hand, any number of people simply move for their partners when they feel the direction of the energy. This is equally disastrous for training because the partner has no idea what actually works or does not. This problem is endemic in the Aikido community and frankly, many ukes have simply been taught an ukemi that makes their teacher's technique work.

So the uke in paired connection exercises must apply just enough structure and force that the partner cannot succeed when doing the exercise completely wrong but will succeed and be able to do significant repetition to "burn the skill in" when he is able to approximate the skill being taught. Very often, it is the teacher who is most capable of making this judgment about when the student has incorporated another element of the lesson and needs to be allowed to succeed for a time before the next level of difficulty is applied. So, it is crucial that every student be able to work with the teacher taking ukemi. The student can feel how the teacher applies force and gives his partner feedback and then the student himself can emulate the teacher in his role as uke.

This whole process puts a huge burden on the student to be sensitive to what the teacher is doing and especially sensitive to the level of the partner. Over application of force with too much tension and shutting down ones partner will NEVER result in the ability to relax properly and develop technique in which falling isn't optional for the partner. But being overly compliant doesn't provide ones partner with any feedback about what is right and what is not, or what changes in the intent and one’s body need to be made to take an exercise that is not working optimally and make it better.

I have found that the vast majority of ukes simply do not have any idea how to attack. Many seem to think that grabbing a wrist or some other part of the body is an attack. Many seem to think that grabbing a wrist and turning the hand purple is some kind of attack. Many seem to think that the proper role of the uke is to grab and try and be immoveable while the partner tries to figure out how to move them. This is utter stupidity from a training standpoint. It provides the nage with a totally unrealistic attack (who ever heard of winning a fight by being immoveable?) and doesn't teach the uke how to attack using the same principles that nage is using to defend.

Fifty percent of one’s training is in the role of uke. If you are doing something different in each role your body simply gets confused about what it should be doing. Uke and nage should be doing exactly the same thing in terms of principle so that training in each role is still creating enhanced martial skills. Somehow this got really distorted in modern Aikido. Aikido today is often about a nage striving to execute incredibly sophisticated techniques against an uke who attacks like a martially handicapped person. This fundamentally limits the level of the practice to something extremely basic regardless of the years of effort put in. What we REALLY want is to have a nage who can execute technique against an opponent who is using the same principles that he is using. From a training standpoint this is really when the practice gets interesting.

Ukes should be taught from the very start how to attack properly. Since one of the fundamental principles of Aikido is “kuzushi on contact”, ukes should be taught how to grab in such a way that they can break the balance of the nage just with the grab itself, which is what you’d be trying to do if you grabbed an opponent. Nage should be allowed to try to strike the uke when he grabs. If uke’s grab doesn’t allow him to defend against a punch or kick from nage, it isn’t being done properly. There is no way that one can move ones opponent with a grab using muscle power. If one wishes to move a partner using a grabbing attack, one is forced to use the same principles of connection being used by nage.

Then, in the training context, the uke applies the grab to touch the center of the partner but chooses to not apply direction to the connection so that nage can practice his waza. Later on, at the higher levels, he should try to use the attack to get kuzushi. Then you see whether nage can actually do his waza against a skilled attacker. But this isn’t the way to learn technique initially; it is the way to train after waza is learned.
The other aspect of Aikido waza is what I call the fundamental geometry of technique. The martial side of Aikido requires that nage control the line of attack and the multiple vectors through which the attacker can apply force. When the uke views his or her role as simply taking ukemi for the nage, this whole aspect falls apart. Personally, I think that we should rethink the idea that the uke “takes ukemi” from nage. That understanding leads to ukemi in which there is no real attack and the uke comes in thinking his job is to initiate a movement and take a fall. Ukes job is to try to maintain his structure if possible, to maintain his balance if possible and if his balance is compromised to regain it as quickly as possible and to stay connected with his partner and keep the attack continuous until he is thrown or pinned. Eventually, this type of practice will lead one to the ability to apply sutemi waza (sacrifice throws) and even kaeshiwaza (reversals) which are central to real martial practice. Of course all of this still requires making it all level appropriate for one’s partner.

The martial side of the practice of Aikido is about understanding “suki” or openings. If the uke is not trained to give immediate feedback when nage is “open”, nage can do all sorts of fancy movements which look great but leave him totally open to anyone looking to exploit those openings. As simple an exercise as katatetori tankan, one of the first movements one learns in Aikido must be done in such a way that the uke can’t strike one with his off-hand while you are turning. Since most ukes are not taught to think about that strike, most folks are totally open to being struck while they turn. This is even true of some folks with large numbers after their names. Their movement does not contain kuzushi on and is merely an “escape” from the attack. A serious attacker will strike him before he or she can complete the turn. In a properly executed technique there should be no instant in which the attacker can strike you and you should at all moments be able to strike him. That’s just basic martial arts yet it is often a concept lacking in much of Aikido practice.

The uke should maintain his balance and structure and with that his freedom to move at all times and, if that is compromised, should recover as quickly as possible. Just watch the ukes for many teachers even some very highly ranked teachers. Very often you see them attack in a completely unbalanced and over committed manner. When their strikes miss because nage has moved they break their own balance even though the nage hasn’t even touched them. Throwing someone who breaks his own structure like that certainly doesn’t require any skill since they gave up their centers rather than forcing nage to get kuzushi. YouTube videos of Aikido are replete with examples of this type of ukemi. There is simply no way a practitioner of another martial art will allow their structures to be compromised like that. It seems to be an Aikido problem. Ukemi like that seems to be allowed by various teachers because it makes their technique look good (at least to folks who don’t know what they are looking at). But it is really an example of the attacker simply “giving up” right in the middle of his attack and it is terrible martial arts. Uke’s job is to keep the attack continuous until it is brought under control by the nage. This is how uke gives feedback to nage.
Once one is past the beginner level of the art, if one leaves an opening anywhere in one’s technique he should either be struck instantly or reversed. In beginner practice one should point out the openings but leave out the reversals simply because if a senior keeps reversing a technique the beginner never actually gets to do it and one doesn’t ever learn to do something by not doing it over and over.

We need to get rid of the notion that the uke takes falls. The fall is simply how the uke keeps himself or herself safe when nage gets kuzushi. Uke provides feedback to the partner. That is the role of uke. It takes the form of maintaining ones balance when the nage doesn’t get kuzushi properly. It takes the form of striking the nage when he or she is presents an opening. And it also requires that uke NOT do anything that would be not good martial arts such as over committing, compromising one’s own structure, doing anything (such as physical and mental tension) that would reduce ones freedom to move as needed to respond to uke’s movements.

If all this seems far more complicated compared to what you may have thought uke’s role is, you’d be right. Being a great uke is to allow success while forcing the partner to progress. It is the role of uke to enhance the learning of the partner. This is far more complex than taking pretty falls. Nage is totally dependent on uke for his progress. It is impossible for nage to get to a high level in the art with partner’s who are incompetent. Asking the partner to simply collude with ones movements reduces the art to a dance. Fixing our ukemi is the single most important element in getting Aikido back on track as a martial art with some depth to it. Many years of ingrained habits have to be undone to accomplish this. I don’t really know if that will happen but it needs to.

http://youtu.be/iq9vrE-ghOk

Just thought I would post this video for those who have not seen it. I was thinking of Chris Hein and his study of techniques and history of.

Peace.G.

Philippe Voarino, the author of the Kajo series (now fully translated) begins with this new series a study of Morihiro Saito sensei's method.

The first article has a strong and maybe controversial point: the method is not Aikido.

Enjoy, share, comment...!

:)

Universal is the key word to focus on when addressing Aikido. Universal love, oneness, centre of the universe, complete non resistance, in yo, at one with the universe....etc.etc.

All seen as philosophical terms but this merely means real spiritual terms. Real being the operative word.

In trying to work out the meaning of Aikido and 'ramblings' as some call them of O'Sensei we must first understand that we don't understand. Then we can take what he said literally. So there is no 'external Aikido' and there is no 'internal Aikido' for thos things are not Aikido. There is only Universal Aikido.

There is universal Ki, universal love, universal harmony and the universal dao, way.

Internal disciplines come under the heading basically of yoga. External disciplines come under the heading basically of physical training. So martial arts are mainly external disciplines and when they get to advanced levels find they are improved by internal disciplines. Thus we have chinese arts with internal disciplines carried to them from India.

Yoga says basically in essence that through various meditations spiritually you can learn and realize the true nature of things and find inner peace. This produces inner strength and inner stability and power.

Then people come along and say "What's wrong with those 'monks' for all they do is remove themselves from society?"

So on the other side of the coin we have 'outer' or external disciplines. These are for doing 'out there' in the world. Thus we can learn to ride a bike or even fight.

So then we have the outer discipline borrowing things from the internal disciplines to make them even better at the outer discipline. Prevalent in most martial arts as an example.

None of this however is Aikido. It is merely martial art. It is budo but not shin no budo.

Using the analogies above let's look at what Aikido is then. Universal. What is universal?

It is both inner and outer. "They don't understand in yo" was a famous comment made once but in yo is not some internal thing but actually a universal thing.

Let's put some reality on this in life. People getting too confused or upset with life internally explain how they gained after doing something like yoga. So they needed some internal training to restore balance yet notice it was internal discipline.

Meanwhile someone who keeps going around causing trouble or upset or messing up in what they do in life needs some external discipline. In other words they need new rules of behaviour or action to follow which in turn will put the balance back in. In a martial art it may be some technical correction for example.

So following new rules of operating as a discipline externally can wake you up internally and vice versa. As an add on here you may then understand what justice is for justice is when the person will not change and put such discipline in and thus the group does it for him.

So Aikido says universal. The rules of balanced inner self bringing about a balanced outer other. Not a defeated other, not a harmed other, a better other.

When a person does a job be it in politics or the police force or any other workplace or even if he is a criminal then that is external, that is outer operations. Now if in that job he goes home after doing things which made others suffer he will find it hard to sit alone and be at peace internally with himself and so will comfort himself with drugs or alcahol or a group of like minded folk trying to prove how right they are. Yet internally they suffer.

If a man learns internal arts be it yoga or whatever and yet uses the new found strength to cause suffering then he too will not be at peace and suffer. Thus Aikido cannot be self defence in the normal framework of what that means but only in the spiritual framework of universal love where I win over me and thus you win also. Everyone wins.

The attacker in Aikido is never defeated but only improved. Centre is not taken but given. Spirit is not led but joined. Mind is not taken but settled. Harmony is not broken but restored. The floating bridge is not a place from where you do but is where you meet.

Thus Aikido is but a universal martial art.

When outer harmony and inner harmony are the same we have Aikido.

Foods for thought and may they be thoughts of food.

Peace.G.

Hello everyone,

I've been training for 6 years and evesdropping for a little under that. I don't recall my rank exactly, maybe 2 kyu, not because my teacher doesn't have to pull my teeth out to get me to test and then sometimes I go and crash my bike instead :D
I train at an unafilliated dojo called Two Cranes Aikido in Seattle, WA. U.S. Our dojo cho is Kimberly Richarson, she has her rank from Mary Heiny, and has also spent conciderable time with Saotome, Ikeda, Tom Read, and others, so the flavor is dynamic.

Also, I'm looking for a way to contact a moderator because the note about waiting for moderator approval flashed very quickly on my screen after my first post, so I didn't think it went up and I retyped it. But I think I like the one that I retyped better, so maybe they'll see this post and just delete the very first post that I made.
Looking forward to discussions.

-Richard

How is it that the Aikido term for connection or union i.e. musubi is also the name for a rice and spam Hawaiian snack, Spam Musubi. Is there a better Aikido term for connection?