Aiki - Aikido

    "Aikido is to give others joy and happiness through budo without fighting" Aikido to me, indeed is a wonderful thing to practice and it goes far beyond just being gymnastics and sports or being a martial art mainly for self-defense. As Michio Hikitsuchi sensei puts it  1 : "Aikido is not about winning over the other person. It’s about victory over yourself. It’s about transforming your life. It’s about finding new purpose in life, to give others joy and happiness through budo without fighting".  In fact, I deeply feel that Aikido is joy, because Aikido is doing the things right and also doing the right things. To do so brings joy, not only to ourselves, but also to our training partners as well as to any of our fellow human beings involved in this kind of action.   "Doing the right thing the right way"   Aikido training gives us the opportunity to practice "doing the right thing the right way". But what is the right thing to do and...

Once when asked about how many Aikido techniques existed, O-Sensei explained 1 : “There are about 3,000 basic techniques, and each one of them has 16 variations… so there are many thousands. Depending on the situation, you create new ones.”   "in the end Aikido training is nothing but Aiki training"   To differentiate Aiki training from Aikido training, I‘d say that in Aiki training we use different training methods to improve our Aiki abilities, whereas in Aikido training we apply Aiki to our techniques so that these techniques can become true Aikido techniques. But in the end Aikido training is nothing but Aiki training too. To me, as I said before, Aikido is the way with Aiki, therefore Aikido training is a training method that leads us to where we are able to understand Aiki and are able to work with Aiki.   "Aikido is a training method that leads us to where we are able to understand Aiki and are able to work with Aiki"   When I started with solo training metho...

As my reading experience will continue, so will this list of recommendations for further reading still grow. You may want to check back frequently. If you would like to add some recommendations for further reading in the comments, you are most welcome to do so. A Aikido and spirituality, Japanese religious influences in a martial art - Margaret Greenhalgh Aikido and the harmony of nature - Mitsugi Saotome Aikido and words of power - The sacred sounds of Kototama - William Gleason Aikido, des paroles et des écrits du fondateur à la pratique - Gérard Blaize Aikido: Expression of Yin and Yang in Motion - Henry Kono Aikido Journal online Aikido, Heart & Sword - André Nocquet Aikido, living by design - Mitsugi Saotome, Susan Perry Aikido masters Vol. 1, prewar students of Morihei Ueshiba - Stanley Pranin Aikido Memoirs: One Irishman's Lifetime Search for the Answer to the Mystery of Morihei Ueshiba's Aikido - Alan Ruddock Aikido Pioneers Prewar Era - Interviews conducted by Sta...

Following I will talk about Aiki. To be more precise, I will talk about Aiki in which I see the principle of non-resistance to be the core principle. Again I want to declare, that whatever I say about Aiki and the principle of non-resistance just mirrors my own and limited understanding of the subject. So please don't hold it against me, if you have a different understanding of it all. I genuinely respect that. Maybe with your better understanding, you would want to help me to get to a better understanding as well. You are most welcome to do so in respectful manners.  So then, the functioning of the principle of non-resistance is quite simple, to put it into practice though, isn't simple at all. Once we understand how it works it becomes easier, but still it's quite difficult to do it right. To understand, we have to experience first. To experience, we have to do it quite right for the least. So this is like a closed loop or circle which makes it difficult to get in or on...

     "by putting the principle of non-resistance at the core of my Aikido, my Aikido training has changed completely"   My understanding of Aiki may still be very limited. By putting the principle of non-resistance at the core of my Aikido, my Aikido training has changed completely. The things that I have experienced so far and the things that I am able to perceive with my body tell me that in order to develop Aiki, we have to develop a kind of an Aiki body, that means a body that has the appropriate abilities in perception and is also able to move in accordance with the Aiki principles. Only a body capable of this will be able to produce Aiki techniques.   "unity of the body is a prerequisite for Aiki"   My own experience shows me that an Aiki body can only be developed through physical training. With intellectual thought alone things can't be done. Aiki expresses itself through the unity of one's own body, with perfect balance at any given moment in a bo...

In Daito-Ryu, a distinction is made between Daito-Ryu Jujutsu and Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu. Daito-Ryu JuJutsu is based on a technical execution of Daito-Ryu fighting techniques. Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu is based on Daito-Ryu techniques executed with Aiki. Daito-Ryu without Aiki is Daito-Ryu Jujutsu, Daito-Ryu with Aiki is Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu. This distinction is noteworthy and is also consistent with Michio Hikitsuchi sensei's comment on Aikido, saying that Aikido techniques by themselves are not Aikido, but only techniques  1 .   "the Aikido techniques only work perfectly well when applied with Aiki"   This I think, is a quite important point to be aware of: Aikido techniques without Aiki are just techniques. Without Aiki, Aikido then becomes a Jujutsu, a fighting technique. So, while Daito-Ryu Jujutsu techniques are characterized by their high effectiveness, the Aikido techniques as shown by O-Sensei would only work perfectly well when applied with Aiki.  If the Ai...

    "O-Sensei gave many explanations about Aikido and also specifically about Aiki"   Basically I am trying to best possibly taking O-Sensei's explanations and statements as a reference and a guideline for my own thinking, as O-Sensei gave many explanations about Aikido and also specifically about Aiki. However, his explanations mostly aren't easy to understand. O-Sensei used a very specific vocabulary with special expressions and terms to verbalize his knowledge about the subject. He used a vocabulary familiar to him from his studies in Shinto , Shingon , Omoto-Kyo and other fields of his personal interest. Without having at least to some extent some knowledge of these subjects, it is very hard, if almost impossible to follow O-Sensei's explanations. On the other hand, once having some knowledge about those topics things become more clear. He also used the expressions of his time and he spoke the dialect of his region. In Tokyo, many of his students did not unde...