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Tony Peters · 02-21-2002, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sherman Byas
O-Sensei did
study, however, an obscure art known as Kuki Shin Ryu, the mystical art of the Yamabushi, or mountain
warriors. The Kumano mountain region near Osaka is famous for such mountain ascetics, and O-Sensei at
one stage of his life retreated there a number of times during the mid-1920's. The preferred weapon of the
Yamabushi is the jo, and according to Stevens, Kuki Shin had considerable influence on Aiki-jo. Kuki Shin
Ryu is also one of the nine traditions of Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu, and a photo of the 33rd Grandmaster of
Togakure Ryu, the late Toshitsugu Takamatsu Sensei, shows him holding a jo in a pose not unlike that of
Aiki-jo. A number of jo-dori within the Togakure Ryu also bear strong resemblance to Aikido jo-dori, though
again, more research is needed to verify this."

You can read the whole thing if you wish. http://www.aikidoaus.com.au/dojo/docs/weaphist.htm

Of course I welcome any comments.

As a student of SMR Jodo I know for sure it (aikijo) didn't come from that. As an occasional student of Kukishin ryu I've never seen anything that would be remotely related to aikijo. Though many of the locks are familiar to aikido locks only in appearance. In reality the appication is nothing alike. Kukishin ryu is the meanest most painful art I have ever practiced and it can't be practiced for an extended length of time as it can be quite damaging phisically. While I'm paraphrasing here one of the tenants of Kukishin "first pain must be applied before it is safe to enter." This about sums up the differences in a nutshell.