“A nuboko adorned with jewels was used by Izanami and Izanagi while standing on the Ame no Ukihashi to ‘stir’ the sea!” This series of photos shows Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei performing misogi jo...
Archive - June 2015
Josh GoldVideo: Morihei Ueshiba — “Channeling the Power of the Gods,” by Stanley Pranin
“Many of the old-timers spoke of some kind of extraordinary power that O-Sensei possessed beyond the dimension of physical strength.” I began collecting films of the Founder Morihei Ueshiba at a young age...
“Interview with André Cognard (1),” by Stanley Pranin
André Cognard was born in France in 1954. He was 17 years old when he started teaching aikido to adults, by opening five dojos in several cities in France. Four years later, he received the French state diploma for...
Iwama: Birthplace of Aikido by Stanley Pranin
The inconspicuous village of Iwama situated in a farming area of Ibaragi Prefecture seems an unlikely candidate for the birthplace of aikido. Yet today the website of the Iwama Town Office proudly claims aikido as one...
Is O-Sensei Really the Father of Modern Aikido?, by Stanley Pranin
From Aikido Journal #109, 1996 After practicing and researching aikido for a number of years I gradually arrived at a hypothesis that went against conventional wisdom and the testimonies of numerous shihan who claimed...
Historical photo with Morihei Ueshiba and Gozo Shioda: “Atemi and pressure point attacks that make your technique work!” by Stanley Pranin
“Modern aikido has tended to neglect such techniques which have true martial application” The other day on Facebook, some kind soul posted a very rare photo of Morihei Ueshiba taken c. 1940. If you happen to...
Interview with Swordmaster Kiyoshi Nakakura, Part 1 by Hideo Yamanaka and Stanley Pranin
“I had the feeling that no one could beat me. I had rarely lost a match before, and I absolutely did not want to be defeated especially by people in Tokyo.” The text below is the first of a two-part...
The Dawn of Tomiki Aikido by Seiji Tanaka
First of all, I would like to explain how, where and why Tomiki Aikido started. It goes back to the month of April, 1958 when Waseda University approved our Aikido Club as an officially sanctioned sport club (called...
Haruo Matsuoka Sensei’s Aikido Journey: Part 7
“Through everyone’s encouragement and my own determination, I resolved to come back independent, without my previous connection to Seagal Sensei” Josh Gold: Sensei, you mentioned you brought Abe Sensei from...