“Those new to aikido who never met Saito Sensei and who have come to know him only through their own instructors now have an avenue to access this master directly through his videos and books that have been...
Archive - September 2015
Josh GoldDo you have aspirations of becoming a martial arts badass? Aikido is not your best choice, by Stanley Pranin
“A single person, regardless of his martial skill level, cannot hope to compare or prevail against the overwhelming force and strategies that can be brought to bear by today’s military and law enforcement...
Aiki: the term we toss about glibly whose meaning no one agrees on by Stanley Pranin
“When we talk about “Aiki” it all boils down to semantics. There are too many people who have used the terms in different historical eras to arrive at any consensus.” One of our readers have...
You too can perform “impossible feats” based on an understanding of physics and balance-breaking! by Stanley Pranin
“What Saito Sensei has done is to keep his arm relaxed and push using hip power to place the two attackers in an unstable position. They can be clearly seen in the process of losing their balance and colliding...
Are you an unwitting participant in the demise of Aikido? by Stanley Pranin
“Morihei Ueshiba has proven useful as an authorative figure to boost the status of various organizations, but his superlative techniques and Shinto-laced manner of speech are considered antiquated and irrelevant...
Historical photo: “Morihei Ueshiba captivates budo aficionados among Tokyo’s elite” by Stanley Pranin
“Here in a single image that tells a story with many threads, we see a 43-year-old martial arts phenomenon at the outset of his illustrious career.” In 1927, Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba moved his family...
Try aligning your hips to make iriminage work effectively by Stanley Pranin
The video clip below demonstrates an iriminage throw executed from a shomenuchi attack. It is very common to see nage align his hips at 90 degree to uke and bring uke’s head against his chest. What I am showing...
Why do you make nikyo so hard? Anyone can master this powerful technique! by Morihiro Saito
“If you can build a strong basis of each of aikido’s core techniques following this methodology, your aikido will take on a new dimension. Your technique will be solid at all levels due to your mastery of...
Collusion in Aikido: A Gentleman’s Agreement Taken Too Far by Stanley Pranin
“Aikido techniques will fail to throw a balanced opponent. The opposite is also true. Aikido will work consistently to control and throw an opponent — big or small — whose balance has been...
This technique is a disaster… Dissection of a failed kotegaeshi! by Stanley Pranin
“As you can see, he was able to easily punch my face even as I was struggling to force the technique by applying pressure on his wrist” This photo was snapped on Sunday, September 13 in Osimo, Italy at the...