I count the number of techniques in “Budo” to be fewer than 50, but there are so many variations of each it’s hard to calculate. Plus we’ve lost all the leg pins and some of the more obscure arm...
Archive - February 2013
Josh Gold“Ranking, an Aiki Perspective,” by Francis Takahashi
“What is the almost visceral attraction of being handed progressively higher grades for members of those organizations in the greater Aikido community?” Why is there such an apparent fascination with having...
Aikido Teaching Styles… Evolutionary or Decadent?, by Charles Warren
In favor of evolutionary a commentator could say, “O-Sensei didn’t teach that way at Hombu in his old age, nor did his son, who managed during his lifetime and led after his passing. Besides, that old style...
“Character Counts!,” by Stanley Pranin
“I had never intended to confront the person responsible for this dubious act due to his prominent status–to do so would have no doubt been suicidal on my part…” From Aikido Journal #106, 1996...
“Uke’s ‘Dead Zone’ vs. ‘Power Zone,'” by Stanley Pranin
“The dead zone begins at about 80 degrees to either side of uke and extends around to his rear. Here, uke is at a clear disadvantage.“ In the last few months, I have begun systematizing my thinking on...
“The use of weapons and the question of changing form in Aikido,” by Matthew Hill
I am often asked questions during my teaching about the use of weapons and why the form changes when it is supposed to be, ‘preserved exactly as O’Sensei taught it.’ O’Sensei brought his study of the spear, sword...
Magazine: Aiki News Number 74, April 1987
“It’s time for us to have a little heart-to-heart chat. I was recently asked about the significance of the appearance of regular articles on Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu in these pages. After all, we are a...