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Old 07-22-2015, 10:22 PM   #28
rugwithlegs
Dojo: Open Sky Aikikai
Location: Durham, NC
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 430
United_States
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Re: A question about Shihonage!

Thanks for the benefit of the doubt. I am merely giving myself permission to ask if I missed something.

The Daito Ryu name is Karaminage, O Sensei didn't use it. Karaminage is part of the Hiden Mokuroku Ikkajo - some schools do call Juji a variation on Ikkyo (which the other "Kyo" techniques are, and some keep them separate. There are only five kata named by numbers in Daito Ryu (Ikkajo to Gokajo) but some Aikido people do have a Rokkyo and some claim numbers all the way to ten, though not involving Jujigarami. Most of the core techniques can be pins, throws, koshinage, atemi Waza and kansetsu Waza, and Jujigarami fits this bill.

My own teacher used Jujigarami, which implied he did not exclusively consider it a throw. The one translation of O Sensei's lectures showed a horizontal line representing earth, and a vertical line meaning heaven, and that raised the possibility for me that the Ju cross could be one of his symbols for the unity of Heaven and Earth, so did he think Tenchinage and Jujinage had any connection? Also, if you do a Morote Dori or a two handed ushiro attack, the top hand as you circle will be Ikkyo to Yonkyo, the bottom hand will be Kotegaeshi/Shihonage, and as you transition between the horizontal and vertical kuzushi techniques, there is Jujigarami - it is related to both groups of techniques. Every time you circle, the hands change and Jujigarami appears again. And yes, it is still a number and we use numbers in our technical designations, and does that mean anything?

Yes, I have been told that Juji just means cross, same as it is used in Shotokan karate. It implies a very pedantic and simple translation of a man who was known for religious imagery in his teaching and for difficult to comprehend lectures. The name might not even be from O Sensei, maybe from his students so it could be just the obvious answer now. Were the names set, No, if they were we'd all be using the same language and we're not.

I give myself permission to wonder if the obvious one-note answer is all there is to the name. O Sensei died before I was born, so I never had the chance to ask him. It's most important to just practice, but I like to stretch my understanding off the mat.

Last edited by rugwithlegs : 07-22-2015 at 10:25 PM. Reason: Clarity
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