AikiWeb Aikido Forums - View Single Post - Using ki-skills for "aiki" in Daito-Ryu

R H · 01-15-2009, 10:34 PM

Oh, Mike, sorry, I forgot to address the videos that you linked regarding the principles of Kuroda, Ueshiba and Okamoto. I have personally felt both Okamoto, Kuroda and some Shihan from Nishikido's dojo do the arm-wrestling thing. The one similarity is that in all three cases the movement is 'Silent' (ie it can't be felt by the other person), but the way that each of them does this arm-wrestling (and the principles that they apply to it) are quite different. They are not doing the same thing from a technical perspective. As far as an unknowing uke is concerned, they are exactly the same thing (because they are complete unable to feel anything and they are unable to pick out the details of the movement because it is so "ghostly" to use a word that has been popular here.

The reason they are using different principles is because the purpose of each art is different and so the context of training is different.

Take for example Oshiki-uchi of Daito-ryu, which is the training that comes through the Aiki No Jutsu. The purpose of this training (as I understand it) was to make body-guards who could most effectively protect a feudal lord, his advisors and family primarily inside a Japanese castle (Aizu specifically). If you've ever been inside a some of these Japanese castles, you will find that the hallways tend to be very narrow and the ceilings tend to be very low. They are designed this way to limit the possibility of weapons usage inside the castle. Swing your sword and it hits the ceiling or wall before it makes it to its intended target. This dictates that the movement of Daito-ryu aikijutsu incredibly small. Furthermore the art was designed (as I understand it) to neutralize multiple attackers on first contact (instantly) as it assumes that there would be multiple assassins. If the body-guard got stuck in a wrestle with one assassin, the other could just run by slay your King. If you try to substitute other arts into this same body-guard position, you might find a lot of things need to be changed in order for some of the other arts to fit that particular venue.

Regards,
Richard

01-15-2009, 10:34 PM	#153
R H Dojo: Shinkaikan Medford Oregon Location: Medford, Oregon Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 26 Offline	Re: Using ki-skills for "aiki" in Daito-Ryu Oh, Mike, sorry, I forgot to address the videos that you linked regarding the principles of Kuroda, Ueshiba and Okamoto. I have personally felt both Okamoto, Kuroda and some Shihan from Nishikido's dojo do the arm-wrestling thing. The one similarity is that in all three cases the movement is 'Silent' (ie it can't be felt by the other person), but the way that each of them does this arm-wrestling (and the principles that they apply to it) are quite different. They are not doing the same thing from a technical perspective. As far as an unknowing uke is concerned, they are exactly the same thing (because they are complete unable to feel anything and they are unable to pick out the details of the movement because it is so "ghostly" to use a word that has been popular here. The reason they are using different principles is because the purpose of each art is different and so the context of training is different. Take for example Oshiki-uchi of Daito-ryu, which is the training that comes through the Aiki No Jutsu. The purpose of this training (as I understand it) was to make body-guards who could most effectively protect a feudal lord, his advisors and family primarily inside a Japanese castle (Aizu specifically). If you've ever been inside a some of these Japanese castles, you will find that the hallways tend to be very narrow and the ceilings tend to be very low. They are designed this way to limit the possibility of weapons usage inside the castle. Swing your sword and it hits the ceiling or wall before it makes it to its intended target. This dictates that the movement of Daito-ryu aikijutsu incredibly small. Furthermore the art was designed (as I understand it) to neutralize multiple attackers on first contact (instantly) as it assumes that there would be multiple assassins. If the body-guard got stuck in a wrestle with one assassin, the other could just run by slay your King. If you try to substitute other arts into this same body-guard position, you might find a lot of things need to be changed in order for some of the other arts to fit that particular venue. Regards, Richard