Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

Hello All,

I know most on this site are practising some sort of Ueshiba derived Aikido but I wanted to recommend the art of Nihon Goshin Aikido to you all. I have studied many martial arts: Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, Jiu Jitsu (Japanese & Brazilian), Muay Thai, wrestling, as well as ASU and Suenaka style Aikido. All are very good but I have found Nihon Goshin Aikido the best of the best. It applies the Aiki principles in a complete self defense system. This is why I have decided to dedicate my life to the study of the art.

Just somethng I wanted to share after many years in the Martial Arts. You can google "Nihon Goshin Aikido" and find a school near you if interested.

Thanks,

Tim

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

How long did you study Aikido prior to training in Nihon Goshin Aikido? After watching some video of the style I find myself a bit skeptical to be honest. Is this video representative of the skill level one would expect of a Nidan in this style?

http://youtu.be/p5em6yaOg8M

I'm not trying to be cynical, but calling a style "the best of the best" is opening up in-roads into criticism.

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

Hi Richard,

I actually studied Nihon Goshin Aikido for about 8 years as a kid (5-13) and then moved on and studied other styles for the next 20 years until now where I am back with Nihon Goshin Aikido for good.

The self defense line in this youtube video represents a great way to practice blending and technique in a fashion where you as nage doesnt know what attack is coming. So sometimes it may not look as pretty as a technique done in a classical manner it is more realistic.

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

I really like that type of training. That would be a really fun thing to do for the last segment of a class. Looks good to me all around.

What's the history of Nihon Goshin AIkido? You say this is not Ueshiba lineage stuff?

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

Hi Cliff,

Yea ... the self defense line at the end of class is great. It is good training and fun!

Here is a brief history of the art:

Master Shodo Morita founded the art of Nihon Goshin Aikido. He was trained by Yoshiro Kitaro, an instructor of Daito ryu Aikijitsu. Master Kitaro also trained in his family's system of self-defense. In addition to training in Daito ryu, Master Morita trained in Judo, Kobudo (weapons), Karate, and the esoteric arts. After mastering these arts, Master Morita realized that although they were highly effective, no single style was complete. Each art focused on a separate element of self-defense: The karate arts focused on striking. The judo arts focused on throwing. The jujitsu arts focused on joint locks.

Master Morita incorporated principles and techniques of each system into a new system called Nihon Goshin Aikido. It is significant to note that he did not merely choose the best techniques from each system, but a variety of techniques, recognizing that what works well for one person may not be effective for a second person due to height differences. Nihon Goshin Aikido is a highly effective form of martial arts due to its variety of principles.

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

It seems that Kitaro was a direct student of Sokaku Takeda. Do you know what rank he achieved in Daitoryu?

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

I believe he was a direct student of Takeda Sensei. I'm not sure what rank he received in Daitoryu - I know Kitaro also studied in his families style of Jiujitsu which probably influenced his style as well.

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

Interesting, where did he acquire the term "Aikido"?

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

This topic has been done before, do a search on Nihon Goshin Aikido and all questions will be answered, including who invented the word Aikido. Hint its not who you expect.

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

I asked a question of someone who raised a subject in a discussion forum. It's fine if you don't wish to answer the question, but it's not necessary to tell me to go search the web rather than participate in this discussion.

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

"Historically speaking, Ueshiba does NOT have any ownership on the label Aikido. The name Aikido was invented by the Dai-Nihon-Butokukai for Practical Yawara, or Ju-jutsu if you prefer, and Ueshiba adopted it, not the other way around. Hence:
"Aikido == Ueshiba derived jujutsu" is simply untrue, It's not an identity, rather just labeling."

Taken from this thread:

http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showth...+goshin+aikido

There is plenty of debate about the system in that thread.

More video of the system. It looks like fairly standard Aikido to me. http://youtu.be/vlPswDwULR4

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

I just researched that thread as well. There is a lot of good information there. A lot of it debates the use of the term Aikido and its origins which is not that important when judging an arts effectivness in self defense or that particular arts efftect on making its students better all around people through its study.

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

Thanks for the answer, Richard. I don't have a dog in this fight; I was just curious.

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

Regarding Morita's teacher. I'm going to guess something here. Yoshiro Kitaro is an odd-sounding name. I think in the transmission of the history from the Japanese to not-very-fluent non-Japanese something got garbled. Given that the art was developed in Hokkaido, I'm going to bet that the instructor was, in fact, Yoshida Kotaro.

Here's a site with some history -

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

Here is a Nihon Goshin site with Yoshida Kotaro's name in the first paragraph. It goes on to spell his name "Kitaro" in the second paragraph...
http://www.northwestnga.com/history.html

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

One of my students trained in that system. His information corresponds to that website that Ellis listed. The person who brought this "system" to the US had a Shodan.

Marc Abrams

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

I'm not sure I see a difference between that "self defense line" and normal (uchi) jiyu waza, which in our (completely non self-defense-centered) style is pretty standard? I mean, multiple attackers, sure, but they line up in a row, so that doesn't really make a difference?

Not criticising,I just would have expected something more... martial from your description. The video looks like fairly standard aikido training to me, like we often do in the end of class.

Re: Nihon Goshin Aikido
 

hey there mar,

i wouldn't take a suggestion to search personally...i'd think that's a basic first answer to many questions that may have been asked many times on forums. i'm sure walter was just saying search aikiweb. NGA has been covered a bit on the forum in the past.

anyways, back on topic kinda, when i started aikido, i had no idea of what federations or associations or cult-like groups existed. i just wanted information. the first book i bought on the subject was 'aikido and the dynamic sphere,' which i devoured in a weekend, and the first video i bought was one by robert macewen and one of his uke was a young walter kopitov.

again i had no idea that there was 'this aikido' or 'that.' but these two pieces were a great introduction to the art for me.