Aikido is not technique; not fighting

Then you are either a) receiving poor instruction or b) not training properly. Aikido by default is effective, when used accurately. May I ask, what style of Aikido are you training at the current time? Yoshinkan Aikido is highly effective. Yoshokai Aikido is the most common taught in the United States and although Yoshokai is similar to Yoshinkan, they are both different because Yoshokai is more conservative and less aggressive than Yoshinkan. Yoshokai is not the only Aikido trained in the US. My guess is that you are training Yoshokai, however; correct me if I am wrong.

It is well known fact that when one attacks you, you can collaborate the skills you learned from Aikido into the conflict, meaning you are able to combine joint locks into the acual fight itself. Aikido uses Tai Sabaki which is not only used in Karate and Judo, but the original Jiu Jitsu. However; not all Aikido styles do this (most, however; do)

For example: If someone wants to attack you from behind and gets you on the ground, you can intervene by getting on the ground and performing a hanmi-handachi to defend yourself from that attack.

Aikido has several techniques that are relatively useful. Wristlocks are highly effectual, as well as, the individual grabs, returns, strikes, and throws. Aikido also focuses on an array of grappling techniques which allow you to not only defend yourself from attacks, but garner physical advantages.

Although Aikido is a martial art that is inspired by morale and spirit and heavily influenced by religion, it is purely effective in combat with other martial arts styles.

You may be a skeptic at the current time simply because you have only been introduced to "Uke" in a sloppy way and only managed to garner a Kyu of the 5th degree, but that doesn't mean Aikido is ineffective. My assumption is you are training an entirely different style of Aikido that is much less insistent and belligerent. It simply means you are (as I stated previously) receiving poor instruction, not learning properly, or are training the least aggressive Aikido style.

 

Who are you asking Sarah?

 

I was asking the original poster of the topic, however; anyone can answer. I currently train Aikido and I have studied several styles. Despite many similiarities, there is a distinction between every single individual style.

 

For me, I cross-trained in Aikido for about 3 years in the early 1990s under the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba. In all my years of training since then I always seem to go back to the principles taught in Aikido and find them to be right on, whether in my Kajukenbo, Karate, BJJ, Muay Thai, knife fighting, boxing, etc.

In fact, Iriminage and just entering in general from Aikido is one of the most practical and useful principles I have found in the martial arts.

 

Hi, Sarah, welcome to MAP. Here is a quote from Osensei:

"Ultimately you must forget about technique. The further you progress the fewer teachings there are. The great path is really no path."

Why would O sensei say something like that? What then is there ultimately once one forgets about technique? What else is there to study and learn and train and practice once one ultimately forgets about technique? In the beginning we focus on learning technique, what is the next point of focus as we come to realize that..."Ultimately you must forget about technique...?" I would venture to guess there is more, and that is what I intend the purpose of this thread to be.

Now take that in the context of other martial arts that have been in existance for thousands of years (compared to the relatively new formation of aikido), and take a look at the precepts that comprise those martial arts and make them great martial arts, and one can see aikido fits neatly into that category...but why is this so?

Once you catch up on this thread, you will see that I have asked other mappers to investigate what it is that Osensei is doing in his videos and share their ideas as well. I already have listed one item that I observe and have a couple more, however I want others to take a closer look at what it is that they practice via the individual who created the art, or perhaps use G. Shioda as well. Good luck!

As for my current rank, that is my own business. I am 10 months shy of 20 years in aikido. 7 of those years I spent as an ikkyu. What can I say, I'm a slow learner, and enjoyed getting pounded by my seniors, and I enjoy the journey. I have also trained other MA, for a total of somewhere around 27 years in the martial arts.

 

That is wonderful. It is posts like these that make me feel inspired to stick with Aikido. I truly agree with you when you say "practical" because it is a martial art that is beneficial on many different wavelengths. It allows you to blend into a fight and take control over your opponent.

 

I apologize, I truly misunderstood you. It's sometimes rather easy to get confused when you just speed read a post. I think that O Sensai is attempting to be philosophical and original. He wants to inspire and sometimes you need more than just effective martial art skills, you need words of sagicity. I wouldn't call his words "imprudence" but definitely banal and pseudo.

When an individual is pseudo, they are more than just faux. They attempt to try too hard to inspire people, but lack the actual mental development to do so. So these individuals revert to using ideas that were either unoriginal/stolen or simply do not make sense. I would say that O Sensai's are a little bit of both.

 

No problem, it happens.

He did not need words of sagacity as he was sagacious.

He was neither of these.

He hardly had to try to inspire people. People were inspired by him, in fact they lived their lives with him, many to the very end of his life, and there are still a good handful of those he trained and inspired and spent his life with doing just that which he inspired them to do. Many people packed up their belongings moved their families and found jobs nearby in Shinjuku or surrounding areas just so they could train with him. We are talking huge lifechanging and time consuming commitments here. Huge changes people made so that they could train seven days a week for decades upon decades with this man called O Sensei. This is hardly the result of an individual being psuedo, or a faux, or one that lacks any mental development especially considering the jobs and posts which he held professionally throughout his life.

Wow, that's who you think gave us the art of aikido? Really? Amazing. Might I suggest you try to learn a little bit more of this person whose art it is you study?

 

Sarah, Ueshiba may have been "out there" at times even to his senior students regarding his religio-philosophical thought and pronouncements but he was hardly slinging it as a pseudo sage or something. I've never heard of those who were oftimes baffled by some of his talks doubt his sincerity.

And as you're new-(welcome to MAP)- here I should inform you I'm neither in awe of your founder nor have I ever practiced Aikido,so mine is simply an opinion which contains no defensive bias. izumizu and I have a history of often disagreeing but I totally concur with his answer to you about your founder.

 

Izumizu, if you do not understand a person and continue to post links trying to analzye who they were and get confused by what they say, then you should perhaps do a little better of explaining. The person who founded Aikido was "Morihei Ueshiba" who is referred to O Sensai, however; there are many that attempt to teach Aikido that refer to themselves as "O Sensai". My comment is not directed to Morihei Ueshiba, it is directed to those that say things that cannot be explained. You are taking what I posted out of context. I am sorry if I confused you.

 

I wasn't referring to him. I was referring to people who say things that cannot be explained in effort to be philosophical. Ueshiba was philosophical man, however; when you refer to him as O Sensei, you have to make sure that you elaborate it is him and not someone else, as there are several people who identify themselves as "O Sensei"

 

Even if you were referring to other people adopting the name O sensei, you yourself did not make that distinction in your own post. You referred to O sensei, as in one individual that you believe is:

And this was following a quote that I referenced in the context of aikido, now granted I can understand if you were not familiar with this quote. But certainly in your aikido training you have heard the name Osensei before? You know, the old man whose picture sits on the shomen/kamiza in just about every single aikdio dojo that exists?

It seems that you are talking about one O sensei, even if you are not referring to M. Ueshiba. If you have trained with anyone else in your martial art endeavors that use that term, I would be interested in hearing about that training. Have you? Have you met these other O senseis that it is you are referring to? Just wondering.

I see where there is the general plurality of O Sensai's there in your reply, however, this being aikido...

Anyways, O sensei is M Ueshiba...at least for all intensive purposes here on the aikido forum, and probably in the rest of the aikido world that I know of at least, and that transcends many languages...even in Spanish, he is called O sensei, French, Russian...

Anyways, welcome to the world of aikido.

 

Sarah,

What do you feel was the original context in which the title O'Sensei was used？

With regards to Aikido and Ueshiba Morihei.

 

O Sensei is not a "name". It's a title. So far as I can remember it translates to something like "great teacher".

 

The term O'sensei doesn't mean a hell of a lot, I've trained with a couple of guys who were called "grandmasters".There are lots of terms like that bandied about Mas Oyama ( kyokoshinkai) was called "hansho" I believe..Doshin so ( shorinji Kempo) was called something else.......so it doesn't mean a great deal.......it is more important to focus on your own game than on legends

 

Dear Jorvik,
If you were to be in need of a serious operation and the surgeon was called a Chief Surgeon or Professor at a major hospital would you not think of him a being a special man[ in his own field?].Would you address him as Jim/Bob or Charlie? No you would address him as Prof.X/Mr X? While I agree that you should concentrate on your self , I also believe that since M.Ueshiba was the Founder
of Aikido we should respect his work , legacy and the title of great master.
I do not see how you can say his title does not mean a thing.
Would you say the same about the title of the Pope/American President eg? I think not.Formal titles are in a way denotes respect to someone who deserves respect of his /her peers.If you train do you call your own instructor Sifu/Sensei or are you informal with him/her.
In over 40 years despite me knowing my own instructors forename I have never called him by this name either formally [in the dojo ] or outside the dojo.I do this as a mark of respect for his position and status in the Art.

 

Well you see when we talk about martial arts we are talking about a whole load of things where different titles apply and for different reasons. My Aikido instructor once told me of a famous Master giving a display in Japan...he was old and could barely move.and yet his young audience applauded most vigerously saying stuff like " wasn't he marvelous"..they venerate the aged in Japan...now as I've said O'sensi is just a title...I've never met ueshiba so I really couldn't comment on how good he was, and fankly I'm not prepared to take somebody elses word for it...and I hold the same true of religion, which to me is infinetly more important than martial arts

 

Hey, Jorvik, thanks for the replys. I really don't think you have to take anyones word for it...aikido actually speaks for itself. Do you know you can practice aikdio around the world? It is everywhere, including Iraq...okay it is not in Afghanistan.

And you are right, it is a title, as aikiwolfie pointed out, and it translates as "great teacher." Ueshiba was honored and made a national Japanese treasure upon his death in 1969, and from what I know his hair is on display in Tanabe...though I have never been to Tanabe. There are not many Japanese that recieve this honor. I don't believe that judos' Kano was honored as such, nor did he have the same title.

Also, in his lifetime of aikido, Ueshiba taught over 67 black belts, many of them very high level (8th degree) black belts that Ueshiba awarded himself to these students of his...quite a long time to be under the tuteladge of one teacher (considering most of these recieving such high rank were well into their late 50's and 60's at the time of the award).

This was not a title he was awarded by anyone, nor was it a title he imposed that others call him. This is what his students called him out of respect, and because they wanted to, and they felt he deserved it and earned it.

Anyways, just my thoughts.

 

It's my understanding this is how such titles are awarded in Japan. They are honorific titles and not official titles like professor or doctor or president.

 

Wasn't O Sensei just used initially to differentiate between him and his son when they were teaching?