Are you really practicing Morihei Ueshiba’s Aikido? Or something else? The Founder of Aikido penned (or brushed) six “Rules of Training.” These were often displayed on the wall of a dojo. These precepts have...
Archive - August 2012
Josh GoldProfessor Yamashita Goes to Washington by Joseph Svinth
Yamashita was born in Kanazawa City, in Ishikawa Prefecture, on February 16, 1865. The son of a minor samurai, he received some martial art training as a youth. In August 1884 he became the nineteenth member of Jigoro...
Introduction to the Omoto Religion by Stanley Pranin
From Aiki News #41 (October 1981) The Omoto religion is a product of the combined efforts of two charismatic figures, one an illiterate peasant woman named Nao Deguchi, and the other, a rather precocious and impetuous...
My Response to Stanley Pranin’s – “Constant Alertness Needed to Avoid Dojo Injuries” by Nev Sagiba
“When you bow onto the mats you are entering an ersatz war zone. Behave accordingly. Trust no one. Especially beginners who are the most dangerous.” Dojo myopia is unacceptable. When you step into the street, a...
In My Own Way: Early days as an Uchideshi in the Yoshinkan by David Lynch
“I would hear a piping voice say, ‘It’s old Grandfather Ueshiba here, is young Shioda there?'” It is somewhat embarrassing, after thirty years of aikido, not to have anything truly profound to offer...
“Descending from Mt. Olympus (or Mt. Kumano),” by Nev Sagiba
This old man must still practice. “When Susanou died, his body buried atop Mt.Kumano, his spirit became Kami and he sometimes appeared as a big bear..” “..The Founder would often remark: “This old man must still...
The Nature of Modern Martial Arts by Kenji Tomiki
From Aiki News #95 (Spring/Summer 1993) This essay has been edited with the help of Fumiaki Shishida of the Japan Aikido Association from tapes made during Aiki News interviews with Kenji Tomiki Shihan in 1979. Tomiki...
An Aikido Life, by Gozo Shioda: Part I
From Aiki News #72 (September 1986) Gozo Shioda began his aikido training under Morihei Ueshiba in 1932, enrolling as an uchideshi. After serving in various administrative positions during the Second World War, Shioda...