Hi Mert,

I just dont think aiki is something you get more and more of. So when you say high level aiki I get the impression that you think it is something you keep building on?

Yes that is a very impressive photo of Dan Harden doing 'aiki-age'. My teacher never used that term, and he said Hisa Sensei never used that term to him either. I dont think that term exists in Takeda Ryu, but there are really no terms or names. Maybe it is a modern term.

Yes Ueshiba Sensei had a very important contribution to Daito Ryu. Although at the time the students never knew they were learning Daito Ryu. They were just learning Ueshiba's martial art i.e. Ueshiba Ryu, he never told them the name, but he had started to change towards aikido during that time. If you look at the Asahi film that is very different to Takeda Ryu.

When Takeda Sensei arrived he did re-teach alot of the waza in the early books that did throw away waza. I remember my teacher telling me all of the time, in Ueshiba Ryu they did it like this, but Takeda Sensei told them do it differently. The waza were very different there is one in particular in Ueshiba Ryu in the 5th book I think, it was like the throw kaiten nage in aikido, but Takeda Sensei did not like that throw. The version he taught is completely different.

Gavin

....One of the characteristics of aiki-no-jutsu are of course, aiki as control with no leg or foot power. I was taught that Aiki-no jutsu is the higher level throws. I was also shown that in the Ropokai almost all of the techniques were of the aiki-no-jutsu level (higher level) and lack leg or foot power.

I think we should consider that Ueshiba, like Mori here, and Okomoto of the Ropokai, all decided to use the upper level techniques of the art demonstrating pure aiki as the foundation of their arts.....