Quote:
Dan Harden wrote:
Aikido is not a weapons based art.
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Hmm? Care to elaborate?
While not purely a "weapons art," without any understanding of the sword, jo, and tanto one cannot fully grasp aikido.
And I would say that it is nearly irrefutable that the art is based on the sword.
Morihiro Saito briefly discusses these relationships at the beginning of Traditional Aikido, Vol. 1.
"Aikido is known by its taijutsu techniques. However, the taijutsu movements are based on movements of the ken." (p. 18)
"… in aikido a contest means a fight with a real sword." (p. 19)