Most if not all of this petty BS comes down to two related things: 1) One up-manship 2) Ego I'd rather be an outstanding kyu grade and have people respect me for my ability and knowledge than be some over inflated Mickey Mouse Budo yudansha and be debated in the likes of these fora.
http://www.ctaikido.com/about.htm This person is a 7th dan in Samurai Jutsu. (and is currently selling his aikido videos on Ebay, which is how I found him)
OH>>>> MY>>>> GOD>>>> ! http://www.ctaikido.com/samurai_history.htm (clip 1&2 at the bottom of the page) Probarbly the most dangerous thing to do against a swordsman (unless he's fool) Clearly this "Sensei" has ABSOLUTELY ZERO comprehension of the damage a katana will have even if just glanced. Crap technique, compliant uke, poor form all round LMAO words can't describe the lack of control of the weapon in the third clip JEEZUS !
I totally agree. BUT having trained with them both 2nd and 3rd Doshus my opinion is that Aikido was and is in safe hands. IMHO 2nd Doshu's contribution to Aikido both in the technical sense and in its international growth has always been downplayed; not least by some of the "older" students of O Sensei who perhaps felt that they should have had a more prominent role. I cannot pass any opinion on Saito Sensei having never met him but again having trained with M.Saito Sensei (albeit very briefly) I know he's got a hard act to follow. It's alewys difficult for a successor family or not.
Philipsmith - I take you mean you have trained under The chief-Morihiro Saito Sensei, but you have not trained with his son Hitohiro Saito Sensie- is this what you meant? The point about Hitohiro though is there is nobody in the world now who is any higher than him or more experianced now his father is gone. So of course he had to leave the Aikikai and become a Soke of his own school, Who the hell else is going to run Iwama Aikido, some european who started to learn weapons from Hitohiro, i doubt it, and there is no japanese with the right experiance. He had to leave for the satey of preserving what the founder taught in his dojo and that must include the founders aikiken and aikijo(which quite a lot of people from the honbu would love to see gone as it dose not reflect what they know) The future of Iwama Aikido could not be more safe in Saito jnrs hands, There is nobody who can even come close to his ability maybe Daniel toutain.
Nobody directly im just saying this due to the previous conversation regarding being a Soke or head of your own org, His father made sure his son was well prepared for this move and more than able to take over from his fathers position.
Understood mate thanks, I think there is a world apart from the likes of Saito Sensei (Jnr) and the average joe who forms his own aikido organisation, has little if anything to do with a respective Hombu (for standards etc) and then issues grading certificates to students under the pretence of little more than being the head of one's own organisation. I look at this issue from the perspective of longevity. Hombu Dojo (the Aikikai in my case) will pretty much always be there in one form or another, I take my standards from them, I hope my standards meet theirs thus I know I have something which is on par with what the current Doshu expects. Certification is issued under regulation and is internationally recognised due to the signituries within the document. Personally, if I was faced with having to set up on my own, I'd strive to meet the requirements set by Hombu Dojo and obtain their recognition rather than be the head of my own little pond. But that's just me
budo? Dave, I am not too sure honestly about the people claiming this or that, I have discussed the Mr. Poole incident a few times, but being as how I am in the U.S. I rarely get a chance to hear about the issues with aikido in other countries unfortunately. I think this when it concerns budo and a martial art. Budo is a way of life, not just a martial art, the martial art encompases the persons life almost, but doesn't define it. A martial art can be part of a budo or a sport, and in that rehlm of thought to me is where merrit is awarded, not in budo. This is my opinion and I am not entirely sure on the whole issue with it, sorry.
After thirty years of Aikido I am amassed at the claims of some instructors within the UK. I am still not clear in my head what a grade in budo is, so please enlighten me. Having come from an association that was recognised by the Japan Aikido Association I thought that all aikido associations were affiliated to a Japanese hombu or association. Our group was not affiliated to the BAB untill the early nineties, we though that we should join as this would give us more credability, and what a surprise to me how many group were independant of Japanese recognition. I am not saying that all indendant groups are poor, some are well run and structured. As for Saito Sensei calling himself Soke I have no problem with this as he has a unquestionable history as did Shioda, Tomiki, Tohie all these were very senior dan grades before they left the Aikikai, not some second dan who gets his members to award him a third dan and so on untill he calls himself Shihan. Like Dave Humm I am very sceptical of some of the claims, Aikido has not been around for that long most senior grades should have a tracible history. Any senior who has nothing to hide should be happy to make this available. I know of a jujitsu instructor in my area who calls himself O Sensei and is the founder of his system not bad for someone in his early forties.
Hey mate.. Take a look at Aikiweb, there is a very interesting thread about Frauds in Aikido. Granted this is mainly from the American perspective however, if we care to look, we can see a similar trend here in the UK. Sad as that may be. Google "dan budo" and you'll see the number of people claiming this sillyness. Unfortunately there are a growing number of Aikidoists doing the same. There are also people here in the UK claiming PhD in MA and using "Dr." in relation to their status. It won't be long before we have an Aikido 9th dan here in England. Who ever has the gall to claim this won't be in an 'affiliated' or 'recognised' organisation with connections to a respective Hombu. I predict they will be in an independant organisation, the grade will be either awarded from within their own organisation "ratified" by their own students or, it will come from some "multi-styled" outfit with sperious links with Aikido. If one wants to look closely, there is a trend of one-upmanship within a group of instructors, as one grades, within a short period so do the others. Pathetic really. But thats just my 'outspoken' opinion. Dave
My teacher turned someone away a few years ago who wanted to practice for a year and receive a 1st dan grade as part of a degree in martial arts they were studying. It's possible now to construct your own degree at university. So long as you and the uni agree on the course work, the objectives and outcomes they will award the certificate when you have met all the requirements. Defeats the whole point of an official degree in my opinion. But that's what privetisation and the introduction of tuition fees brings.
Speaking as a 10th dan in the Welsh art of Llap Goch (awarded by Monty Python): I've maintained the view throughout postings on these threads that, if there is any doubt about the quality of an instructor, or his grade, the ability to show a clear and 'legitimate' lineage counts for a lot with me. Also, the grading organisation must have a clear syllabus, instructor training (NVQ posible but not essential) and regular QA among its instructors to ensure consistency of approach and standards. That's not to say every student of a student of a student of a student of someone who trained with O Sensei is guaranteed to be good! However, if they have been awarded a high grade from that lineage, there's some hope of it. However, I'm not sure if I buy the idea that, for example, a modern day Japanese Yoshinkan 3rd Dan is promoted with any better quality control than one in a 'break-off' organisation. (As few of them have ISO 9001, we can't say one way or the other). Don't forget Dave (for your book?) that several UK MA instructors adopted Master, Professor, Doctor etc in the early days. I've been told this was because of translating 'Sensei' but my own view is that it reflects the words used at the time by, for example, 'Professors of Physical Culture', probably pre-WW2, and was pure vanity. (If you fancy one which is legit. and legal in the USA, try Universal Life Church. You can become a real Reverend in about 10 mins on their website. If nothing else, it's good for getting seats on planes! ) As for 9th Dan in the UK, Dave, you're too late. Eddie Stratton was awarded that grade just before he died, by Thamby Rajah and the Shudokan International association - mind you the Hombu for them was in Malaysia. I've got absolutely no idea who was supposed to award it, with O Sensei and Shioda dead he had no 'superiors' unless you count his contemporaries from his time in Japan who, within Yoshinkan, presumably all graded each other, for whatever internal reasons they chose. Shudokan also included Joe Thambu (Thamby's son, now Australian resident) who I believe was the highest graded non-Japanese in Yoshinkan in Shioda's day. If he was now outside Yoshinkan (he's now still with them, I believe) should he, too, have his grade 'frozen' because only a Japanese should award the grades above 5th Dan? I think the whole business is too complex to be so 'dogmatic' but I understand that those who pay their dues to a Hombu expect some extra cudos for it. Personally, I am happy that anything above 5th Dan seems to be awarded largely for contributions to the art or the association rather than athletic technical/fighting skill on the mat, but I think it is now past the point where I can give anything other than a personal view as to who 'deserves' what. The only way I can see that an Aikido grade can be truly controlled is for the Japanese Hombu dojos to gain accreditation for their systems of QA and the strict criteria for each grade awarded. Then they would need to protect their 'trading names' legally and internationally so that nobody could claim to teach Aikido other than their members. Sounds impossible. Well, it isn't - but I can't ever see it happening as there would be so many claims and counter-claims of authenticity and 'permission' from O Sensei or his students. Accepting that this is not going to happen, we're left with a situation where we all have to use our judgement and experience to spot the 'wrong-uns'. Tough, but at least it gives us something to talk/bitch about!
Kiaiki, I acknowledge Stratton Sensei's grade and have no issues with it at all, it was awarded to him by his instructor and head of organisation, it wasn't some self given BS which really is the problem I foresee. <rant-mode on> There are a number of multi-styled organisatons in this country already willing to 'ratify' someone's grade if they're willing to pay the membership fee. One of those organisations created by a man who claimed to have trained with Kenshiro Abbe, had, never actually taken a single Aikido class in in life ! (this information verified by those who knew the man)... On his website there is a god awful picture of him attempting some half-arsed aikido technique wearing a Judo red and white belt. Another "Aiki-Budo" outfit quite visible on the internet has a president who calls himself the "Doshu" and operates out of the "Hombu" all of this is in the UK and related directly to Aikido. Its pathetic ! </rant-mode off>
I have received such an offer from a 'traditional' organisation to ratify my grade without any need for evidence on paper or on the mat. I adopt Groucho Marx's attitude on that one: ' I wouldn't want to join any club that would accept ME as a member'. Hang on, did I just shoot myself in the foot?
Just before I say anything, this thread is great, great opinions and contributions everybody. Just to commend on those video clips. My technique is also very very bad. Verry sloppy. But what you see in those clips beats everything. Just like dave said, the third one... If that was a real sword, he would have sliced his own foot open while his uke would stand up and laugh at him . As far as my opinions on higher grades go, I don't really care. Find yourself a a good teacher that teaches that what you wan't to learn. I don't care if it's eight or second dan. Once I had taken lessons from a fourth dan. His technique's where very sloppy and more focused on blending, though it looked liked petting. Now I'm learning from a Second Dan teacher who is great, very hard, very realistic. I like that, and I want to learn that. So now he's my teacher.
