senshincenter

K. Ueshiba said (quoted by Ted):

"The holds and pins of Aikido are always applied towards the natural bend of the joint..."

I have read this too. And I remember folks trying to say it to me a long time ago as well. It's a fairly common view I think - even if it is not shared by every aikidoka. However, I can't imagine that any person specializing in biomechanics would agree with it. I would have to say that by scientific standards this is simply NOT true. From my own training perspective, actually, it's a crazy proposition, and it is thus one of the reasons why I personally feel that Kisshomaru Ueshiba is a watershed in Aikido history - that he did a lot of inventing and reinventing when it comes to Aikido (stuff we are all tied to today) but that he tried to give all props to Osensei (or to "Aikido") for cultural and/or political reasons.

I'm not out to say that all "invention" is a bad thing, but I think it should be based in some sort of reason and/or some sort of awareness of the greater historical and cultural context. And I just don't see that awareness, for example, when it come to stating a position that posits that Aikido's waza are somehow so structurally different from the waza of other Japanese martial arts that the latter can be considered antithetical to the former. The truth is, even when allowing for the huge amount of variation that we must when it comes to addressing the influence of personal perspectives, Aikido has no monopoly on kote-gaeshi, nikyo, sankyo, etc., nor over the manner in which they are executed.

Personally, I don't think we should go around spouting this view that Kisshomaru tries to present in his book. I think we are all more aware of other arts now, and thus of Aikido as well. In short, Aikido joint manipulations DO NOT go with the natural bend of the joint and other Japanese martial arts DO have the same tactical architectures as Aikido (allowing for instructor variation of both Aikido and non-Aikido arts).