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Old 09-01-2010, 09:56 AM   #12
ShinZan
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 8
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Re: Question about the renaming of ikkajo to ikkyo (philosphy)

I appretiate everyones input, I think the conversation is leaning toward too much emphasis on DaitoRyu that jumps to Aikido and there is the very early days of aikido before it was called aikido that is glossed over (aikijitsu/aikibudo). Shioda was a very early student, obviously he called ikkyo, ikkajo and nikyo nikajo all the way to gokyo. Forget the daitoryu volumes. I'm saying if Shioda called ikkyo ikkajo its likely that its because O-Sensei taught it to him that way.

The question then becomes at what point in history did the name change (I have always assumed and heard it was post WWII in 1945ish-52 when O-sensei cosolidated the techniques and the formal term Aikido was first used) However I cannot find any references as to this but it makes sence to me. Are there any aikido practioners out there from the 50s' 60's that trained with Ueshiba, or whos instructor trained with O-Sensei (and can remember back that far lol) that can shed some light on what they called those techniques in those early days of modern aikido?

O-Sensei got involved with Omoto-kyo early on and in the and its completely apparent that this shinto sect had a profound influence on him and influenced his martial arts.

I think to help me forge this paper, I would ask if anyone has any information about when the name change of Ikkajo to Ikkyo occurred and who did it. Like i say it seems likely to me that if Shioda called it Nikajo he learned to call it that from O-Sensei. Also but at some point the aikikai started using the term ikkyo. Was it Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba? I dont find this likely. Was it Tohei? Or was it O-Sensei himself? Yoshinkan uses terms like force. Aikikai uses terms like engrgy. It seems to me the timeline of pre WWII to the more religious days of Post WWII may have been when it happend to reflect O-Sensei's shift toward from first control to first teaching. Perhaps the use of the Kanji is a double entendre? Yoshinkan Aikido is very 1-2-3 direct force physics. Aikikai Aikido is more about feeling, and going through the motions with a ton of practice until you can feel the technique working case in point Kokyu Nage being nicknamed the 20 year throw and it being early in the cirriculum of Aikikai and Yoshinkan doesn't introduce timing throws until later in their cirriculum.

I find the nuances of language to be supremely interesting and have often found that even native japanese speakers may not fully understand terms used within martial arts if they are not practioners themselves, I enjoy understanding the kanji for myself vs having someone tell me what they mean especially when dealing with pictograph languages. I figured this would be a great place to ask this type of question with so many learned people reading.

Thanks again

Last edited by ShinZan : 09-01-2010 at 10:01 AM.
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