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Old 04-28-2001, 11:19 PM   #2
lt-rentaroo
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 237
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Hello,

I'm not going to go into details about the differences between the different styles of Aikido. You will find though, that what I believe to be the main difference between Yoshinkan and Aikikai is in the hanmi stances. Yoshinkan is considered to be a "hard style" because Gozo Shioda was a student of Morihei Ueshiba in the pre-WW II days of Aikido, when the training was considered by some to be more "intense" or rough. After WW II, Aikido seems to have changed slightly, focusing more on circular movements (Yoshinkan techniques are generally more linear in nature).

Usefulness depends entirely upon the student. If you train well and learn how to apply the techniques in an effective and efficient manner, then you will have useful Aikido. If you just hang around the dojo and don't commit yourself to the art and training, your aikido will be useless. It really is that simple.

Differences in teaching are really dependent upon the instructor. Some may emphasize one aspect of Aikido more than others, such as the use of atemi.

I'm not sure how many different styles of Aikido exist today. There are several styles out there such as Aikikai, Yoshinkan, Tomiki, Ki Society, Iwama, and others. There is information on Aikiweb about the different styles, but I'm not sure exactly where. Your best bet would be to browse through this site and see what you can find.

I hope that I've helped some, have a good day!

LOUIS A. SHARPE, JR.
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