To move the thread slightly perhaps:
Inaba sensei happily teaches Kashima no Tachi (kenjutsu) to Aikido people of a variety of different backgrounds who are interested. For example, as is fairly well known/documented, Tissier sensei studied with Inaba sensei and has fairly widely disseminated his understanding of the various kata and principles that he learned some 30 years ago.
Said (interested) people are often "quite happy with their (aikikai) taijutsu" (and indeed need to keep grading in a particular style/school so they need to (be able to) do techniques in a particular way) but they just want to learn some "kenjutsu" alongside what they currently do.
For those who have practiced with him, Inaba sensei's taijutsu emphasizes particular principles: yawarami (soft body), relaxation, directness, focus on tanden, effectiveness of technique etc. The outward manifestation tends to be different from various other styles (but bear in mind he has Yamaguchi sensei influence - though various Yamaguchi students are different to each other).
So, my questions (personal answer(s) to follow at a suitable point in the discussion):
- why is such training interesting to aikidoka (what does it add that they aren't currently getting from their current training/teaching)?
- can you just "add kenjutsu" to your aikido without changing the way you perform your existing techniques?
- what might (or indeed has to) change in your aikido (techniques or the way you perform them) to incorporate any such understanding (which is at a deeper level than just surface form)?
- what do you "not like" in Inaba sensei's taijutsu forms (if you have had exposure to them) - and why?
I look forward to some views - indeed I hope a genuine exchange could prove rather interesting
At this point I am purposely keeping the questions to a more technical level. Note that I am in no way a speaker for Inaba sensei - I am researching my own way having had some years of study with him - and indeed been encouraged by him to explore other teachings. I am hoping to pick other people's brains to help my own study and understanding