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Old 06-06-2009, 12:25 AM   #3
Ellis Amdur
 
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Location: Seattle
Join Date: May 2003
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Re: Ellis' post about cover-up and Ueshiba

I objected to the word "conspiracy." That one or another writer slants history is not a conspiracy. That one or another shihan is dismissive or lies, is not a conspiracy. I went to Japan in 1976. I'd done aikido two years. I wanted to do Daito-ryu. Takeda was described as a not nice man, but in my mind, there was no doubt that he was as great or greater than Ueshiba. Daito-ryu was my goal. Until I saw it. What was presented publicly was a profound disappointment.
Two other points:
1. The real "cover-up" was enacted by Daito-ryu. If they had wanted the limelight, all they had to do was do what Ueshiba did - wow rich patrons and get sponsorship. They chose to be secretive. Look, when Sagawa states that until his latter years he didn't even teach his OWN students the real goods, is it any wonder that many would have a jaundiced eye towards DR.
2. The aiki arts are rife with a tendency to denigrate each other - to deny others' validity or even existence. Examples?
  • Yukawa, Ueshiba's student, had to pretend to fall for Takeda, per Tohei K.
  • Takeda had to go to Ayabe to help Ueshiba handle the Navy guys who were too strong for him, per Tokimune
  • Inoue Noriaki took ukemi for Takeda, but never learned from him, and had to take the falls to make Takeda look good, per Inoue himself
  • Shioda learned real aiki from Kodo Horikawa, not his own teacher Ueshiba, say many, despite Tenryu stating that Shioda was the closest to Ueshiba in technique
  • Aikido is better than Daito-ryu, because the latter lacks "kokyu," per Saito M.
  • Kodo Horikawa is my student, per Sagawa, because he signed his "book," after a couple of days of instruction to fill in some blanks in Horikawa's own learning
  • Yoshinkan is "hard," per Aikikai
  • "Tohei? Tohei who?" per Aikikai
  • "Everyone in Tokyo is weak. Their aikido is useless." Tanaka Bansen to me
  • "Hombu Aikido is weak. Only Iwama is doing Osensei's aikido." Sugawara T. to me
On the other hand, note Okumura, one of the top shihan at the Aikikai in one of Stan Pranin's early interviews - saying something like, "You should contact Kodo Horikawa. He studied with Takeda sensei longer than Osensei."

It's all high dudgeon over little. The reason "aiki" (internal training) has been little known has been
a. EIther Ueshiba didn't teach it or his students didn't learn it
b. Daito-ryu didn't present it publicly after Takeda, and, in fact, used a teaching procedure that ensured that few of their own students would progress with any speed.

Best
Ellis Amdur

Last edited by Ellis Amdur : 06-06-2009 at 12:28 AM.

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