During the seminar in the UK this year sensei talked about the importance of developing Ki-Gata. Recently I have been reading a lot of the founders lectures on Aikido and am truly astounded that the truth of what sensei is teaching us has been in plain sight for such a long time. Of course, over […]
I have spent a lot of time writing blogs and posts over the last few years. I have never been the type of person to shy away from the truth, as an avid history student, finding the truth and understanding historical, racial or religious context and social and ethical intricacies are par for the course. […]
The following passage is from a lecture given by Yamaoka Tesshu to his students. In it he tries to explain the process of Shugyo. ********************************************** There are three methods the carpenter adopts when using his plane. They are rough planing, medium planing and finish planing. To practice rough planing make your body firm, stretch out […]
A movement away from the view of harmony that is technical in nature represented by ki ichi hogan secrets of technique towards a greater understanding that true harmony comes from nothingness, this is any number multiplied by zero being zero. Zero being the ability to nullify all technique, zero being the realm of no enemy, […]
I wonder sometimes where the art of Aikido veered of the path the founder set for it. Truth is traditional Japanese arts cannot be studied in a western way, they weren’t designed to be, and were never intended to be. Knowledge and wisdom come from two different places. My focus in teaching this year is […]
There has been a big push recently on social media in Aikido circles, with many experts (some are, many are not) in the field asked to comment on various topics. One item in particular peaked my interest, specifically speaking of the martial aspect of Aikido. Those that know me know I have always pursued a […]
[This Post is by Murray Loader] Everything. Aikido is Love. Nothing. It’s a martial art! One of the biggest problems the world-wide Aikido community has is an historically accurate understanding of “Aikido is Love”, i.e. what Ueshiba Sensei actually said and actually meant by that. As a result there is a major disconnect within […]
I have written this article because both Peter and Martijn have asked me to clarify the connection between Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, and Aikido Yuishinkai. I worry that people from overseas, who have grown up in a different culture, with different customs, may not fully understand the meaning of “true Aikido,” which the […]
True Intent Having the mind and will focused on a specific purpose. This is body, mind and spirit as one. In relation to budo, true intent focuses the spirit through the body, incorporating our will free from our mental attachment, true intent becomes the physical expression of mushin or no mind, in action it is […]
Half a lifetime ago I saw my first Aikido class, what I failed to understand at that point in time was that what I was seeing wasn’t what I came to understand much later as Aikido, but rather form, or kata. This is the way of training. Function is understood from form. Practice, repeat, practice, […]