What is Aiki? (part 1)

 

 

"O-Sensei gave many
explanations about Aikido
and also specifically about Aiki"

 

Basically I am tying to best possibly follow O-Sensei's explanations and statements, as O-Sensei gave many explanations about Aikido and also specifically about Aiki. However, most of his explanations are not 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. 

He also used the expressions of his time and he spoke the dialect of his region. In Tokyo, due to various reasons, many of his students did not understand much of his explanations 1. However, there were also students who were well versed in one or more of the topics mentioned. Be it as coming from a family of believers in Omoto (Kanshu Sunadomari 2) or as a person who had a deep knowledge about Shinto and devoted himself completely to O-Sensei (Michio Hikitsuchi 3).

O-Sensei's explanations are also closely based on the personal spiritual experiences he had during his life 4. The birth of Aikido must also be seen in the context of these spiritual experiences and of course also in context with O-Sensei's budo career. Finally we should also take into account the historical context in which things happened. So everything gets quite complicated and I guess that it's almost impossible to give an overall and correct image of it all. So I won't even try to get into details at length, but I will stick to the relevant bits, as I see them relevant to the subject in question.

"the techniques O-Sensei uses
in his Aikido, with maybe very few exceptions,
are based on the techniques of Daito-Ryu"

Although it wasn’t always like this, nowadays, the facts are undisputed and it is well documented that the techniques O-Sensei used in his Aikido untill his very last day, with maybe very few exceptions, are based on the techniques of Daito-Ryu.

From 1915 on, O-Sensei was a direct and very close student of Sokaku Takeda 5. O-Sensei received the highest confirmation of transmission 6 from Takeda sensei in 1922. O-Sensei explained about his relationship to Takeda sensei 7: "Takeda sensei opened my eyes to budo". Just as Takeda sensei can probably be seen as O-Sensei's most important teacher of budo, Onisaburo Deguchi 8 can probably be seen as O-Sensei's most influential spiritual teacher. In 1919, O-Sensei joined the Omoto-Kyo and, as we can see from historical documents, he had a close relationship with Onisaburo Deguchi, from whom he most likely learned various spiritual practices of the Omoto-Kyo. 

Chinkon-Kishin 9, an exercise that is still practiced in some Aikido dojos today before the start of training to calm the body, mind and spirit, at least in its modern and reduced form, has its origins in Omoto-Kyo. With great certainty it can therefore be said that in general the technical part of Aikido comes from Daito-Ryu and the spiritual part of Aikido is based on O-Sensei's spiritual experiences gained through the spiritual practices and teachings of Omoto-Kyo.

From the mid-1920s, O-Sensei had already made a name for himself as a master of budo, namely Daito-Ryu. For example, in 1925 he was invited by Admiral Isamu Takeshita 10 to give a demonstration of his skills in Tokyo, whereupon he was invited by Yamamoto Gonbee 11 to stay in Tokyo and teach the Imperial Guard. Because of O-Sensei's relations with the Omoto-Kyo, however, in the end nothing came of it.

1  "Many students say O-Sensei was difficult to understand. I think they just lacked patience and knowledge. If you studied and thought about what he was saying, it was not so difficult to understand." Sadateru Arikawa in "Remenbering O-Sensei" by Susan Perry
   "Ueshiba Sensei never explained anything, he used to show a movement and we would copy him. His discourse was very complex and the few clues that he was letting through were very hard to dissociate from the mystical mumbo-jumbo. O-Sensei's discourse was a mystical mess in which he used to throw a few clues. You just had to be attentive enough to intercept them." Henry Kono in an interview with Guillaume Erard taken in 2008?
2  Kanshu Sunadomari (1932 - 2010), 9th dan Aikido, author of "Enlightenment through Aikido"
3  Michio Hikitsuchi (1923 - 2004), 10th dan Aikido, head of Shingu Dojo
4  O-Sensei had three spiritual experiences, they took place in 1925, 1940, 1942
5  Sokaku Takeda (1859 - 1943), founder of Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu
6  at the time designated to O-Sensei, the Kyoju Dairi was the highest certificate handed out by Sokaku Takeda
7  Quote taken from an Interview with O-Sensei as published in Aikido Journal online
8  Onisaburo Deguchi (1871 - 1941), one of the two spiritual leaders of the Omoto-Kyo
9  detailed information on Chinkon Kishin can be found in "Chinkon Kishin .." by Birgit Staemmler
10  Isamu Takeshita (1870 - 1949), admiral of the imperial navy
11  Yamamoto Gonbee (1852 - 1933), admiral of the imperial navy, jap. prime minister

Page first published on 19.09.2023
Page last updated on 10.01.2024

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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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