Kokyu - Ueshiba vs. Sagawa
Was glancing over at Aikido Journal (great site!) and saw a pic of Ueshiba from the 1938 "Budo" book and how this may have been a preliminary step away from Daito ryu to Aiki Budo to Aikido in developing kokyu (breath power).
Well, did a little research. First, the pic is on page 69 in Budo (Kodansha publ.) and shown as a preliminary kuzushi (balance taking) to a practice move - BACK STRETCH.
Image looking familiar, I did a quick book check and was nicely surprised by my find. Here is the same preliminary kuzushi by Daito ryu master Sagawa leading up to a throw. You can see the EXACT same posture for uke and nearly same posture for nage except not an exercise so a grip to hold onto your partner. So, I perhaps Ueshiba is showing his Daito ryu roots more than his developing Aikido.
The more things change the more they remain the same.
Scott Harrington
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