Morihiro Saito Shihan Saito shihan began training in aikido under the founder in Iwama in 1946 No other person has had that number of years personal instruction from the founder. Saito shihan received this instruction from the age of 18 util 41. Saito shihan emphasised that he was teaching O SEnsei's aikido as purely as he could including the use of the sword and stick. KUDEN The secrets of aikido are to be found in the triangles. The attacker must be made to circle around the aikidoka (not the opposite) This kuden answered many of the problems that I saw in aikido with many practisioners displaying elegent but ineffective technique. Saito shihan would concentrate on basics often telling us to slow down and saying that we should not attempt "flowing" techniques until 3rd dan level. Saito shihan authored a five volume series of books on aikido which I think are the most comprehensive of all aikido books to date. Although most strict in his own teaching Saito shihan encouraged us to see as many other aikido shihan as possible saying that we could learn from the individual approaches. Every other shihan that I have ever trained with held Saito shihan in extremely high regard.
Saito Shihan Anecdote Saito shihan NEVER gave any mystical connotations to aikido training however once during a very crowded training session I threw my partner with irrimi nage and as I turned I saw Saito shihan send his partner into the air. A collision was inevitable. Without an instants pause Saito shihan adjusted slightly and his partner changed direction and sailed into the only space on the mat available. Saito shihan surprised me by smiling and saying in english "It's a kind of magic."
Saito shihan Oral instruction When asked about aikido against random attacks including kicks, Saito shihan said that the weapons training taught principles such as zanshin, timing, distancing, decisiveness and the triangular alignment of the body ,that were most effective. The emphasis is placed on where and when he decides to attack rather than on the attack itself. Decisive entry
Although I started this thread as a"homage" to O Sensei and his deshi. Should anyone care to contribute please do. regards koyo
Interesting. At the end of last year an Aikikai Aikido dojo opened up in my town, the instructor of which trained under Chiba Shihan. I considered training there but I suck at ukemi. :cry: I thought Chiba Shihan was an Aikikai Aikidoka.
Hi cannibal bob Chiba shihan is indeed an aikikai master. However when Saito shihan introduced his weapons training outside of Japan in the early seventies chiba shihan taught it at a summer school. It was later that Iwama aikido as it has come to be known began to become more wide spread.Today Chiba shihan teaches his own sword stick and iai as part of his aikido riai (complete aikido) regards koyo edit You suck at ulemi. Strange I had no problem with that AS YOU CAN SEE
Thanks, interesting stuff. I bolded the Iai part because that was one thing that made me interested in that dojo, they taught Iaido as well. The only problem was that I couldn't find much information on it anywhere.
Many of the original shihan were also high grades in kendo, judo or iaido often all three. Sekiya shihan who was Chiba shihan's father in law was an expert in Katori shinto ryu and Kashima shinto ryu as well as aikido. Many saw themselves as Budoka (martial artists) rather than aikidoka or judoka etc. It was truly a brotherhood of martial arts devoid of the politics that exist today. Sekiya shihan
SEKIYA SHIHAN ANECDOTE. I had the pleasure of playing host to Sekiya shihan for a couple of months. We were watching videos of aikido masters and being a student of Chiba shihan I remarked how "martial" he looked by comparison to others. For example Noro shihan looked gracefull. "You are looking in a narrow way"he said,"watch Chiba shihan again, is he not gracefull?"Of course he was. Then "Watch Noro shihan again, is he not martial?" Of course he was. I was letting my preferences "colour" my view of others. A good lesson Training with Noro shihan (only picture I have of him) If anyone would like to post one please do.
Quote from Osensei/saito sensei Daily keiko starts with tainohenko and morotodori kokyu ho, always start from a strong static grip. this is the best way to make your hips strong and stable.
The 4 levels of keiko are- 1.KATAI (rigid) or go-tai/kihon 2.YAWARAKAI (flexible) 3.KI-NO-NAGARE (flowing) 4.KI (spirit) -this level is reached through time and patiance and very hard training. O-Sensei , once stated, "I am what I am today only because I did KATAI training for 50 years".
Found this rare photo of O Sensei and Nakakura shihan. I have found that the kuden expressed by Nakakura shihan meets some resitance among many modern day aikidoka because of it's martial emphasis. STRIKE RIGHT TO THE HEART OF VIOLENCE AND RESOLVE IT. This is another kuden that has meaning to me. I wonder what others think of it? regards koyo
Post number 8 on this thread gives information on the training O SEnsei experienced as he was developing aikido. As can be seen they are ALL traditional Japanese arts. regards koyo
Here is a quote from Minoru Mochizuki, Kancho of Yoseikan Aikido, Think for yourself. Don't assume that something is true because a great person said it. You have to experience it by yourself! Regards,
Keeping your hands down to portray a non-aggressive posture to invite an attack in an engagement. Got punched in the nose cause I was too slow and open. I stopped listening to that instructor real quick and started listening to the other one, cause it worked. Bled like a tap. Luckily I don't really have a nasal septum, so nothing was broken.
