Jujutsu vs. Aiki

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.

 

"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, Aikido techniques as shown by O-Sensei only work perfectly well when applied with Aiki. 

If the Aikido techniques are applied without Aiki, they don’t work well in fighting scenarios whatsoever. And exactly this, the inefficiency of Aikido as a fighting art, is one of the main points of critique on today's Aikido. Therefore to improve the efficiency of Aikido as a fighting art, most Aikidoka tend to fall back to the methods of Jujutsu by making their techniques more efficient, but leaving out the Aiki that O-Sensei put into his art. Unfortunately, by doing so we would be changing an Aiki-art into into a normal fighting art by leaving out the marvelous principles of Aiki.

A question that comes to my mind, is it, that we as normal Aikidoka first have to become masters of budo, in the sense of Jujutsu, meaning do we have to study fighting techniques and reach a higher level of martial excellence before we can start use Aiki? 

Well, looking at the nature of this Aiki and as to my understanding, we absolutely can first and foremost focus on ways and methods to get to Aiki, without putting martial excellence at the center of our training. Although, to get to this Aiki, it is absolutely crucial to follow the basic rule of almost any budo by not showing or having openings which make us vulnerable to attacks. So, therefore it is absolutely correct to define Aikido as a budo, even so Aiki itself is not about fighting against an opponent.

 

"martial excellence doesn't
necessarily leads to Aiki"

 

Martial excellence doesn't necessarily lead to Aiki, because if it did, the world would be full of masters of Aiki, which I guess, we can all agree on, isn't quite the case. If in Aikido, we are only looking for martial excellence, we then run the risk that we forget about Aiki and by doing so just add to the competing and martial spirit. Even so this is all just so understandable, yet all of it is just quite the contrary of what O-Sensei presumably intended to achieve with his Aikido by using Aiki at its core.

 

"with equal technical skills,
the physically stronger person
always remains the winner in Jujutsu"

 

No doubt, Jujutsu can be an effective method of self-defense. However, with equal technical skills, the physically stronger person always remains the winner.

Aikido goes beyond the concept of self-defense, it goes beyond the concept of attack and dealing with an attacker. In Aikido there are no attacks, there is no fight. Aiki does not involve combat at all. In Aikido there is no competition in technical skills or physical strength. Aiki does not use physical force against an opponent. As O-Sensei explains 1: “In Aikido, there is absolutely no attack. To attack means that the spirit has already lost. We adhere to the principle of absolute non-resistance, that is to say, we do not oppose the attacker. Thus, there is no opponent in Aikido.” 

 

"We adhere to the principle
of absolute non-resistance"

 

Also, an important characteristic to distinguish Jujutsu from Aiki is that in Jujutsu, cause and effect are usually clearly visible. Meanwhile, Aiki as such is not detectable by the eye as there is no visible cause and effect whatsoever. Therefore one might want to say that Aiki is something that is hidden. Well, the way I understand this Aiki right now, I'd rather say that also while in Aiki all is open on display and openly presented to those who are able to see the things we don't want to see in Aiki. Aiki itself can't be seen, as there literally is nothing to be seen.

Aiki techniques look fake, it looks like the opponent is cooperating. The opponent does not know where the force is coming from or how it is happening when being thrown. Because there is no force directed against the Person receiving a technique when using Aiki. The person receiving Aiki is being swept away like a leaf in a river is taken away by the river stream 2.

1  Quote taken from an interview with O-Sensei as published in Aikido Journal online
2  an analogy once told by Frank Doran sensei at an Aikido seminar in Switzerland

Page first published on 19.09.2023
Page last updated on 11.07.2024

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Disclaimer: everything presented in this post only represents my personal opinions based on my personal  knowledge, understanding and experiences made regarding the matter in discussion except where quotes are made. Other opinions are highly respected as long as they can withstand the argumentation. Some of the points presented may be purely speculative on my side due to the lack of evidence known to me. Any evidence presented to help clarify the points in question is highly welcomed. The post may still undergo little changes, although the content will mainly remain the same.

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