Whenever I move, that's Aikido.
O Sensei, Morihei Ueshiba
Aikido is a Japanese martial art
developed by Morihei Ueshiba (often referred to by his
title 'O Sensei' or 'Great Teacher'). On a purely physical level
it is an art involving some throws and joint locks that are
derived from Jujitsu and some throws and other techniques
derived from Kenjutsu. Aikido focuses not on punching or kicking
opponents, but rather on using their own energy to gain control
of them or to throw them away from you. It is not a static art,
but places great emphasis on motion and the dynamics of
movement.
Upon closer examination,
practitioners will find from Aikido what they are looking for,
whether it is applicable self-defense technique, spiritual
enlightenment, physical health or peace of mind. O Sensei
emphasized the moral and spiritual aspects of this art, placing
great weight on the development of harmony and peace. "The Way
of Harmony of the Spirit" is one way that "Aikido" may be
translated into English. This is still true of Aikido today,
although different styles emphasize the more spiritual aspects
to greater or lesser degrees. Although the idea of a martial
discipline striving for peace and harmony may seem paradoxical,
it is the most basic tenet of the art.
We could attempt to pigeonhole
Aikido into a synopsis of X number of words, but that would not
do it justice, so we leave the practitioner of Aikido to find
out what Aikido is for themselves without any preconceived
notions.
There are no 'styles' of Aikido.
It is like cheese cake. You can cut it in wedges or squares or
just dig in with your fork but it is still cheese cake!
Aikido was originally developed by one man, O Sensei. Many
students who trained under O Sensei decided to spread their
knowledge of Aikido by opening their own dojos. Due, among other
things, to the dynamic nature of Aikido, different students of O
Sensei interpreted his Aikido in different ways. Thus different
styles of Aikido were born. The more common are listed here
along with a brief explanation of what is different about the
style. Each style has its own strengths and weaknesses, but all
are firmly rooted in the basic concepts which make Aikido the
unique art that it is. None should be considered superior or
inferior to any other, but rather an individual must find a
style which best suits him or her. Outside factors such as
geographic location may of course limit one's options.
No matter which style you choose, you are going to be taught
that particular instructors interpretation of it, and you
yourself are going to develop your own particular Aikido. One
might say that there are as many different styles of Aikido as
there are practitioners.
Since this list is going to be challenging enough without
looking for extra work, we'll restrict our definition of Aikido
to mean styles that clearly trace their lineage to Ueshiba O
Sensei. The classification into categories is fairly arbitrary.
The "Old" Schools
Here we'll list the schools that developed from the pre-war
teachings.
- Aiki-Budo
- This is the name given to the art O Sensei was teaching
early in his development. It is very close in style to
previously existing Jutsu forms such as Daito-ryu Aiki-Jutsu.
It is considered to be one of the harder forms of Aikido.
Most of the early students of O Sensei began during this
period and much of the early practice overseas was in this
style (e.g. Abbe Sensei's teaching in the UK in the 50s).
- Yoseikan
- This form was developed by Minoru Mochizuki, who was an
early student of O Sensei and also of Jigoro Kano Sensei at
the Kodokan.
This style includes elements of Aiki-Budo together with
aspects of Karate, Judo and other arts.
- Yoshinkan
- This is the style taught by the late Gozo Shioda. Shioda
Sensei studied with O Sensei from the mid-30s. After the
war, he was invited to begin teaching and formed the
organization known as the Yoshinkan. Unlike many later
organizations, the Yoshinkan has always maintained friendly
relations with the Aikikai both during and after O Sensei's
life.
The Yoshinkan is a harder style of Aikido, generally
concerned with practical efficiency and physically robust
techniques. It is taught to many branches of the Japanese
Police.
The international organization associated with the Yoshinkan
style of Aikido is known as the Yoshinkai, and has
active branches in many parts of the world. In recent years,
there have been a number of offshoots of this style, usually
developing for political reasons.
The "Modern" Schools
This includes most of the variants taught today. Most of these
"styles" are taught by various senior students of O Sensei, with
the divergences coming after the death of the Founder. Most
would claim to be teaching the art that O Sensei taught them -
and this is probably true even though some have little in common
with others! Taken together with O Sensei's notorious obscurity
in teaching style, the story of the elephant and the blind men
may give us some clue as to how this could have come about :-).
Most of us have our biases and preferences amongst the various
styles but can recognize that all have their strengths and
weakness and we all have something to learn from all of them.
The "Traditional" Schools
- Aikikai
- The Aikikai is the common name for the style headed by
Moriteru Ueshiba, O Sensei's grandson, as taught under the
auspices of the International Aikido Federation. Most regard
this school as the mainline in Aikido development.
In reality, this "style" is more of an umbrella than a
specific style, since it seems that many individuals within
the organization teach in quite a different manner. The
Aikido taught by Ueshiba Sensei is generally large and
flowing, with an emphasis on a standard syllabus and little
or no emphasis on weapons training. Other teachers within
the auspices of the Aikikai (like Saito Sensei) place much
more emphasis on weapons practice.
- Iwama-ryu
- The style taught by Morihiro Saito, based in the Iwama
dojo, is generally considered sufficiently stylistically
different from mainstream Aikikai that it is named
individually, even though it still is part of the Aikikai.
Saito Sensei was a long time uchideshi of O Sensei,
beginning in 1946 and staying with him through his death.
Many consider that Saito Sensei was the student who spent
most time directly studying with O Sensei Saito Sensei says
he is trying to preserve and teach the art exactly as it was
taught to him by the Founder. Technically, Iwama-ryu seems
to resemble the Aikido O Sensei was teaching in the early
50s mainly in the Iwama dojo. The technical repertoire is
larger than in most other styles and a great deal of
emphasis is placed on weapons training.
The "Ki" Schools
One of the most noticeable splits in the Aikido world occurred
in 1974 when Koichi Tohei, then the Chief Instructor at the
Aikikai, resigned from that organization and founded the Ki no
Kenkyukai to teach Aikido with strong emphasis on the concepts
of Ki. Since that time, there has been little interaction
between the traditional schools and the Ki schools.
All of these arts tend to refer to themselves as Ki Aikido, even
though there is little contact between some of the styles.
- Shin-shin Toitsu Aikido
- The style founded by Koichi Tohei - Aikido with Mind and
Body Unified. Tohei Sensei places a great deal of emphasis
on understanding the concept of Ki and developing this
aspect independently of the Aikido training for application
to general health and daily life.
This style is one of the softest styles of Aikido and is
characterized by soft movements that often involve the
practitioner jumping or skipping during the movement. Most
schools are not concerned with practical application of the
techniques, considering them exercises to further develop Ki.
In recent years, Tohei Sensei has been moving further and
further away from Aikido and has devoted himself almost
exclusively to Ki training. The latest news is that Ki no
Kenkyukai has started an initiative to make Shin-shin Toitsu
Aikido into an International Competitive sport.
The "Sporting" Styles
One of the other big breaks in Aikido history occurred during O
Sensei's life when Kenji Tomiki proposed "rationalizing" Aikido
training using Kata and Competition. Since that time, there has
been little commonality between the Tomiki schools and the
mainline Aikido schools.
In recent years there have been a number of offshoots of
Tomiki-ryu that have abandoned the idea of competition.
- Tomiki-ryu
- Founded by Kenji Tomiki, and early student of O Sensei
and of Judo founder Jigoro Kano. Tomiki Sensei believed that
a "rationalization" of Aikido training, along the lines that
Kano Sensei followed for Judo would make it more easily
taught, particularly at the Japanese Universities. In
addition, he believed that introducing an element of
competition would serve to sharpen and focus the practice
since it was no longer tested in real combat. This latter
view was the cause of a split with O Sensei who firmly
believed that there was no place for competition in Aikido
training.
Tomiki-ryu is characterized by using Kata (prearranged
forms) in teaching and by holding competitions, both empty
handed and with a rubber knife.
"Those who are skilled in combat do
not become angered,
those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid.
Thus the wise win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to
win."
Yes, Aikido can be a very effective form of self-defense
However, it can take considerable time and effort before Aikido
(or any martial art) can be used effectively in a self-defense
situation.
Does Aikido take longer time to master and apply than other
martial arts?
"If you knew the time it took me to
gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful."
Michelangelo
The simple answer is "yes". A year in Karate/Tae Kwon Do/Kempo
and you can probably fight much better than before. It takes
well over a year before you start feeling comfortable enough
with Aikido techniques to imagine using them in "real life".
The complex answer is "no" in the sense that I don't think
anyone ever feels like they have "mastered" an art. If
they do then they've stopped growing, or the art is too simple.
In Funakoshi's autobiography you definitely get the feeling that
he doesn't feel like a "master" and is bemused to be considered
one.
An old story might tell you some of the mindset you ought to
apply when studying martial arts:
A young boy traveled across Japan to the school of a famous
martial artist. When he arrived at the dojo he was given an
audience by the Sensei
"What do you wish from me?" the master asked.
"I wish to be your student and become the finest kareteka in the
land," the boy replied. "How long must I study?"
"Ten years at least," the master answered.
"Ten years is a long time," said the boy. "What if I studied
twice as hard as all your other students?"
"Twenty years," replied the master.
"Twenty years! What if I practice day and night with all my
effort?"
"Thirty years," was the master's reply.
"How is it that each time I say I will work harder, you tell me
that it will take longer?" the boy asked.
"The answer is clear. When one eye is fixed upon your
destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the
Way."
Though there are many paths
At the foot of the mountain
All those who reach the top
See the same moon.
This is an extremely controversial question and has generated
much heated debate in forums such as the rec.martial-arts
newsgroup.
The answer to this question is very subjective - students of
any particular martial art tend to favor that one over any other
(otherwise they would probably be studying the other martial
art).
There are many different but equally valid reasons for
studying any martial art, such as for self defense, for
spiritual growth or enlightenment, for general physical health,
for self-confidence and more. Different martial arts, and even
different styles within a particular martial art, emphasize
different aspects.
Hence 'better' really depends on what it is you want out of a
martial art. Even given this distinction, it is still a very
subjective question so perhaps a better one would be 'Is Aikido
better than any other martial art *for me*?'
This can only be answered by the individual asking the
question. The rest of this FAQ may help you in some way towards
finding that answer.
An alternative way to answer this question is to simply say,
'No, Aikido is not 'better' or 'worse' than any other martial
art. It is simply different.'
Can I train an additional
martial art while training Aikido?
Eat right, exercise regularly, die
anyway.
Yes. There is no problem in training several martial arts at
the same time, but there is one thing to watch out for. If you
have not gotten yourself a solid base in one martial art first
you are going to confuse yourself when you start your second
art. The result is (very likely) that your progress in both
martial arts is going to be slower than if you trained first one
and then another.
What kind of martial art you choose to train in addition to
Aikido is of course entirely up to what you yourself like and
feel comfortable with. A suggestion is that if you start to
train an additional art early, the more different from Aikido
the better, as you'll probably not be too much confused then.
Does Aikido have competitions?
"I like tall men. I like to turn
them into small men."
A Tomiki Aikido Sensei
It is often said that Aikido does not have any competitions.
It is true that the founder of Aikido (Morihei Ueshiba, or O
Sensei) felt that competition was incompatible with Aikido, but
that does not mean that everyone agrees.
One popular style, Tomiki Aikido, does have competition. It
is not however considered to be a fundamental part of the style.
On the other hand, the majority of Aikido schools do not have
any competition.
Most Aikido training, even in schools with competitions, is
of a cooperative rather than antagonistic nature, with both
thrower (nage) and throwee (uke) working as partners and trying
to optimize the experience of the other.
This "working partnership" is also necessary to a) minimize
the chance of injury from practicing (potentially dangerous)
Aikido techniques, and b) to develop both partners' capacity to
"take ukemi" - to be relaxed and able to take care of oneself
when responding to "falling" or being thrown in a martial
situation. |
