Despite the recently popular mantra the essence of Aikido being the same as Daito-ryu, in reality the most important parts of Ueshiba's training didn't come from Takeda. His martial skills were never separate from his religious practices regardless how often profane western �logic' desires otherwise to reduce the physical from the spiritual or the spiritual from the physical.

We can see Takeda in this photo at 80 years old, knowingly with few years left to live, deciding to provide an ostentatious display of �power' during one of the few opportunities to record his image. His other photos late in life only show a wretched expression, a man embittered by his hollow mastering of separation for martial gain. The visual similarity between some taijitsu forms belie the actual polarity of their ways. Certainly Ueshiba felt sorry for his former teacher who never realized a higher level of power. In the 21st century I would've assumed common sense among Aikidoka a desire for the pursuit of power, as many here openly seek, without irony is the greatest limiting factor in its attainment.