Aikido Yuishinkai International

Aikido Kenkyu Kai International (AKI), Canberra Australia

Griffith University Aikido Club

AikiWeb Aikido Information

Aikido Today Magazine

Aikido Journal Online

Authentic Japanese Sword Store

Bugei Trading Company

Home Page of Things of Japan

Martial Arts Megastore

Martial Arts of Japan Koryu.com

Shogun Martial Arts

Aikido Republic

The Japanese Sword Index

Scrapbook Photos

Album for scrapbook photos (18.04.2012, 0 Photos)

Profile Photos

Album for profile photos (18.04.2012, 1 Photos)

Jo, Tanto and Ken

(15.10.2011, 16 Photos)

Kids

(15.10.2011, 15 Photos)

Self-defence

(15.10.2011, 13 Photos)

Aikido Adults

(14.10.2011, 82 Photos)

Ki and Ki Development

Japanese, Chinese, and Indian traditions provide many explanations for the nature of ki. The most common explanation found in the West is that ki is “life force”.

The Ki Research Institute (Ki no Kenkyukai), which has historical links to Aikido Yuishinkai, and which is recognised by the Japanese government as the foremost authority on the subject, believes that ki is “the fundamental energy that the universe is made of”. Koichi Tohei, the founder of the institute, believes that ki is a physical, not mystical phenomenon, and that eventually science will find a way to detect and measure it.

In fact, it doesn’t matter what you believe ki actually is. Experimentation has provided a body of tests and exercises that demonstrate that ki behaves in particular ways and is best utilised in particular ways. If you use ki in the recommended ways, and exercise it in the recommended ways, unification of mind and body and the ability to understand and deploy ki visibly and significantly improve.

You have ki from birth, what the training does is expand the amount of ki you deploy and your sensitivity to the ki extension of others. Testing shows that you are actually a conduit for ki, not a container of it, and growth in ki understanding enlarges the “bandwidth” of ki you can deploy.

Ki can also be plus or minus, and your body and mind immediately reflect this. Positive words, positive images and positive actions immediately change minus ki to plus.

An in-depth understanding of ki lies at the heart of many martial arts. The study of ki has been pursued in martial arts because of its life-saving microsecond advantages of perception, understanding and timing in combat and, additionally, its side-effect of fundamentally changing the practitioner’s approach to life.

Ki can be shown to affect other people at a short distance, and to affect someone without their knowledge. However, it certainly isn’t “magic”, and the main benefit in situations with other people doesn’t lie in cutting their ki or in using ki as a weapon unless you are very senior. Rather, it lies in:

• calmness, and the awareness and perception it provides you of the opponent and the surrounding environment,
• the ability to enter and move swiftly,
• the ability to lead the opponent, and
• the ability to throw, subdue or strike powerfully (or gently) unconstrained by the limitations that tension, aggression and muscular force place on technique, perception, and movement.

In particular, the awareness that continues to develop with training may lead to you avoiding situations altogether, or to resolving them without conflict or the use of force – although the energy and intentions of the other participants may preclude this.

As a side-note, senior practitioners of sword and aikido use their ki extension to test and unsettle their partner, leading to sudden resolution with one cut or technique.

Traditionally, ki understanding is gained through long perseverance in training correctly, without much explanation. Highly accomplished practitioners can demonstrate profound implicit understanding without necessarily being able to provide a detailed explanation of “how” they are doing advanced performance.

However, some styles, such as Yuishinkai, utilise the body of knowledge from Morihei Ueshiba, Koichi Tohei, Maruyama Sensei and some Zen teachers much more explicitly. There is a body of ki tests, ki principles and ki exercises which demonstrate the correct use of ki and also help to develop it. Additionally, the use of ki as it flows during aikido technique is explicitly described by instructors, and then tested during practice. In connection with this, it is vital that instructors are properly trained, monitored and mentored in how to ki test correctly and consistently, or the tests are pointless and students are misled and mis-trained.

Ki tests and exercises work by biofeedback and neurological programming. They are taught by having a student perform an exercise incorrectly, being tested (and failing the test), then explaining how to think and act to pass the test and testing again. The student therefore learns what it feels like when the ki is incorrect and when it is correct. Initially students use techniques (e.g. think like this, move your tanden/one point here, send ki there, your posture must be…etc), to pass the tests and to extend ki during aikido techniques. At some point in their training students naturally change their approach, abandon technique, and instead just turn on the feeling of being unified.

There is no “ki event happening now” message or feeling. It is much more akin to walking down a street and suddenly turning your head for no reason, to find someone looking intently at you. The more you train correctly, the more sensitive you become to this, and the more aware you become of your own degree of unification, or lack thereof, at any given moment. You can therefore quickly use one of the ki techniques to regain or increase your ki extension. O Sensei commented that being unified with the universe is not a permanent condition, that he himself lost unification, but that he regained it so quickly other people didn’t notice.

Ki extension and mind/body unification with the universe can’t be learned from a book. Academic knowledge must be accompanied by consistent practise and testing over an extended period. Of course, you can gain benefits from any degree of training and practise, but, as Tamura Sensei and Kataoka Sensei have both said to me, if you want this to work for self-defence or for in-depth personal growth you must train very hard. There are no shortcuts. How much you grow depends on how much you put in.

Practitioners should constantly check their ki extension during each daily activity, e.g. “am I sitting correctly?”, “could I have passed a ki test when I lifted my coffee cup?”, “am I connected to my environment, or is my attention locked inside my mind or focussed exclusively on what I am doing?”, “I’m standing at these traffic lights, is my posture correct, am I unified?”, etc. The intention of this is to install a running “background routine” that, through habit, subconsciously checks whether you are still unified, and alerts you if you are not. The whole point is to take your unification of mind and body into the real world, not to restrict it to the artificial environment of the dojo.

Without constant awareness of our own state we can also be hijacked by our bodies. Evolution has programmed us to respond to unpleasant situations by dumping chemicals such as adrenaline and others into our bloodstream for fight or flight responses. These chemicals work well on a species-level “good enough” evolutionary response to danger, but are not optimal for an individual’s own survival or well-being. Mind and body unification with the universe is a demonstrably superior response to danger, conflict, and other relationship situations, as demonstrated by the determination with which various martial arts pursue it, but the fight or flight chemicals directly disrupt that unification, calmness and awareness. One of the reasons ki-based training demands effort and perseverance is that we have to re-program our body’s hard-wired responses to stress and danger, and it takes time for the programming to stick, and then to grow in strength.

Not only is it vital to constantly self-monitor and correct your unification, it is vital to work with the very senior practitioners and instructors to experience directly what they feel like when they are unified and performing. You will find their degree of relaxation, calmness, and effortless power an order of magnitude greater than you had pictured when they talked about it or demonstrated. Tell your body to remember what you felt, and turn the experience into a target for your unconscious to work towards. It is important to not be shy and sit at the back of the seminar or class; instead sit in the middle at the front and try to get picked as the instructor’s training dummy. Look for opportunities to work with and be ki tested by the most senior people you can find; but don’t focus on technique, instead, pay attention to what they felt like – then get the details of the technique right.

Mind and body unification is not well understood, and misconceptions abound about what it is. Anger, fear, sadness, passion and ego do not disappear into an emotionless zero-state through unification of mind and body with the universe, but our management of them, choices, and range of responses improves dramatically. Unification is a completely natural state easily attained in daily life, but not so easily retained. It should not to be confused with satori, a state of enlightenment often associated with Zen and Buddhism – although the effects may be similar when prolonged study has resulted in a profound depth of unification. Anyone can extend ki and be unified in mind and body with the universe in their first lesson; however, the amount of ki that can be extended and used, and the duration and depth of unification, both increase with perseverance and correct training.

Another side to the ki equation that is often overlooked is that of ki-assisted healing. A practitioner of traditional Indian stick fighting made a comment that has stuck in my mind – that if you learn how to fight, in order to be balanced you must also learn to heal. As most people will know, many martial arts follow this same belief; for example in China many kung fu instructors were/are also practitioners of traditional medicine, which includes chi healing practices. There are several healing arts using ki in the Japanese traditions as well, such as Reiki, Kiatsu, and Yuki – the art practised by Yuishinkai students.

Learning to understand and use ki is a practical matter, especially when detailed explanation, demonstration and testing are consistently provided. It is not difficult to do at all; the concepts and exercises are straightforward. Performance of tests and techniques naturally reflects your understanding at a point in time and changes over time. Meditation and ki breathing are useful adjuncts to ki exercises and aikido technique and are highly recommended.

Ki understanding provides two benefits when practised diligently:

A profoundly different relationship with other people and with the universe as a whole;

Martial competence.

Your Aikido Progression

Everyone’s experience is different. This my personal experience and may not match yours, or the one you will have.

First, you are always a beginner. If you lose sight of this fact the constraints you impose on your ki development, personal growth and on your technical ability are enormous. Even people with great natural ability seem to grind to a halt when their ego intrudes.

Some people come to Aikido to answer their conscious or unconscious spiritual needs. Some people come in order to learn a very effective martial art. Some are after a combination. Some cannot articulate their reasons. But “why” doesn’t matter when you realise that to be an accomplished martial artist you must master ki understanding as well as technique, and when you realise that to maximise your personal and spiritual growth you must master technique as well as ki.

Technique provides the vehicle with which you practise the practical matter of learning and using ki in daily life under stress. If technique isn’t correct then ki flow isn’t correct. Without constant practise, and practise under stress via techniques, ki training by itself can only provide limited benefits.

Ki training, on the other hand, seems to provide the core understanding that makes the difference between an expert technician and a master, and unlocks the potential for personal growth. Without consistent ki training of some kind, you may remain stranded in the intermediate levels of the art, expertise in technique notwithstanding.

You can’t get one without the other.

You can’t get the full benefit of either without commitment and perseverance.

The major point to understand here is that learning how to use ki is not enough in itself; learning how to pass a ki test is a matter of moments. The issue is to be able to do it consistently under the stress of life in the world outside the dojo. This requires months or years of practice (depending on which level of ki understanding you are working on) whilst the understanding seeps into your bones and becomes automatic. The further you have walked down the aikido road the longer the next step will take – but the less you will care about the time it takes. The main vehicle for this learning is aikido technique done correctly (this means both the ki flow and the physical movement), supported by ki exercises.

This doesn’t mean that you have to train 7 days a week, although that would be ideal, as you will benefit from any degree of training. Most people start out with a couple of sessions a week and either keep it at that level, or increase their training based on their interest and commitment. Whatever you choose is okay; we all have different needs and different lives to live, so your aikido commitment will reflect that. Bear in mind that, like most things in life, the results you will achieve reflect what you put in.

At the start of your aikido life your major focus is usually physical. “Where does my foot go?” and similar questions are usually most peoples’ major concern. At the same time you are being taught the ki principles and how ki moves during technique, but at this point your ki extension is not as noticeable as it later becomes and is difficult for you (but not your instructors) to detect, in addition to which your lifetime experience focuses you on the physicality of the moves. In actual fact you are undergoing major growth in ki understanding and ki extension, but most won’t recognise that for quite a while. For most people this period is about (a) increasingly athletic aikido, with an interesting sideline in ki understanding, and/or (b) a period where ki doesn’t seem to work for you too well despite your best efforts, in either exercises or techniques.

The answer to both is to persevere and train with commitment, to pay attention to correct technique, and to pay attention to where the ki should be flowing during each part of the technique. You should especially remember that ki extension occurs before a technique starts.

Then comes a time when you can feel the ki in techniques and in others, and you start to see and feel the difference the correct expression of ki makes. At this point students start to pay a lot more attention to the ki training, as well as becoming more athletic and competent technically.

During this period, which varies with each individual, but is often from before Shodan (your first level of black belt) to Sandan (3rd), making a technique work or passing a ki test is usually done by revisiting the core principles, e.g. using a technique to extend ki to your partner or to regain your own unification, keeping weight underside in your arm during a movement, aligning yourself with your opponent’s ki extension, etc. In other words, you will use a set of techniques to make an aikido technique or ki test work. The need for this ability never goes, as it is the “backup mode” if you are having a bad-hair day.

What seems to happen next is that rather than habitually using a process or ki technique to make a move work or to pass a ki test, you just turn on the feeling of being unified in mind and body, and use that. In other words, your body now understands ki extension and just needs to be reminded to do it, and your subconscious runs the technical program to execute the technique or test.

Of course, when the technique or ki test stuffs up, as it will (but less often), that is nature’s way of reminding you that you are a beginner, and to revisit the basic principles.

Now you start to build on what you have learned. Your ki extension and awareness become significant. Additionally, you start to consciously see Aikido in your own way, and express it your own way, your own personal Aikido, based on that of the Founder and your own Sensei.

And after that …tell you when I get there. But check out “Ki-Aikido: A Personal Model” for where I am currently looking.

Note 1 – During each of these phases you will probably at some point have a strong need to prove that what you are doing works. Talk to your instructor about scheduling some resistance training. Whatever you do, don’t get into the habit of resisting or testing uke, you will very seriously negatively affect your growth. In addition, it is the very worst thing you can do in a martial sense. In the real world, you have just told your partner that they need to hit you, and quickly. And you’ve helped them do it, because your attention is now focused on the resistance and you are no longer properly unified. What you must do is extend ki ahead of nage when you are uke; this will show you where you could have exited the technique or reversed it with kaeshi waza. Resisting is conflict, and you will wear the consequences. If you are continually resisting and testing it is because your ego is involved – acknowledge it and master the real martial art by flowing so well you can see and take the opportunities that provides.

Note 2 – Another problem that arises is that once you have learned to relax, the techniques become very powerful. It is natural to enjoy this evidence of growth; however, the problems are that (1) it becomes very difficult and uncomfortable to be uke for you, and (2) you are in danger of becoming attached to the feeling and getting your ego involved. By all means occasionally try yourself out with willing ukes, but it is far better to instead do the technique gently, with the power hidden and waiting inside. What then happens is that the gentlest of techniques becomes irresistible.

Note 3 – As mentioned previously, ki training can be transmitted solely implicitly, via intense training of correct aikido (or other arts) with the correct attitude. It can also, as in Yuishinkai, be taught explicitly, in addition to the implicit ki training of constant correct practice.

Ki Aikido, A Personal Model

Click here to open Ki Aikido – A Personal Model.

Guidelines

Aikido Yuishinkai Australia has comprehensive official guidelines. Students are welcome to study the guidelines and a copy is available from the Head Dojo Instructor.

Inherent Risk

Experienced instructors provide guidance and supervision over all activities. No activity is performed without such supervision by an accredited instructor. Additionally, sound and comprehensive guidelines for instructors are provided.

Students are required by the Student Code of Conduct to declare injuries or health issues and also not to undertake any activity they feel uncomfortable attempting.

However, Aikido is a martial art, with considerable physical interaction with other people in energetic and dynamic movement. As such there is inherent risk of injury. Whilst experience shows that the occurrence of injuries is infrequent, they nevertheless occur.

The student explicitly assumes the inherent risk of injury by signing the indemnity provided and by involvement in training activity.

Insurance

Aikido Yuishinkai Australia maintains sports insurance cover for instructors.

It is highly recommended that students seek sports insurance cover from a provider. Instructors can provide limited information on request.

Mat Safety

The mat can be a bustling, dynamic place during class. Students are required to:

• Pay attention to where other students are and what they are doing;
• Comply with the injury procedure described below;
• Make sure their training partner is informed of any injury that needs to be taken into consideration;
• Ensure they remain adequately hydrated; students are free to bow on and off the mat for access to water and to toilets;
• Remove all jewellery and accessories;
• Refrain from participation in any activity they don’t wish to undertake; this is a delicate balancing act as the student must explore and enlarge their boundaries, however there is no rush and the decision lies with the student;
• Refrain from all argument and dispute whilst training;
• Show respect and tolerance to all;
• Be completely free of the influence of drugs and alcohol;
• Observe exemplary cleanliness and hygiene in person and clothing.

The Student Code of Conduct and Official Guidelines contain further details and must be read and signed by a student on commencement of training. Click here to view the Student Code of Conduct.

Injury and First Aid

The dojo will have a first aid kit and will, wherever possible, have qualified first aiders on hand.

The dojo will maintain an injury register and emergency contact details for students.

Shortly after commencement new students will be familiarised with the first aid kit and the blood injury procedure.

The following additional guidelines are recommended by Aikido Yuishinkai Australia to further reduce the low risk of HIV and Hepatitis transmission during training:

1. Be responsible: maintain strict personal hygiene.
2. Fingernails and toenails should be smooth and short.
3. Don’t share cups.
4. Use paper towels for drying after using the toilet and dispose of them in the bin.
5. If a bleeding wound occurs during training, leave the mat and wash the wound with soap and water, apply antiseptic cream and a secure bandage. Keep the wound covered until you receive medical advice if necessary.
6. Similarly clean and cover any existing lesion or open wound before training.
7. If you notice that someone else has an open cut or sore, remind them of their obligation prior to training with that person.
8. Clean any spill of blood on the floor covering immediately. Disinfectant is available.
9. If you are assisting someone with a bleeding injury, wear surgical gloves, available in the first aid kit. Wash your hands with soap and water after you remove the gloves.
10. All used gloves, bloody dressings, rags and so on must be place in a leakproof plastic bag and disposed of carefully.
11. If anyone’s blood gets on your skin, leave the mat immediately and wash the blood off thoroughly with soap and hot water. Alcohol handwash is available in the first aid kit.
12. The Australian Sport Medicine Federation recommends vaccination against Hepatitis B.

The Student Code of Conduct and Official Guidelines contain further details.

Child Protection Strategy

Display – this Strategy is to be placed in a location within the Dojo visible to all members and visitors.

• Aikido Yuishinkai Canberra is committed to the safety, protection and wellbeing of children during training in Aikido.
• The purpose of the Strategy is to recognise, assess, and take steps to mitigate the risks to children during Aikido training.
• This Strategy is additional to the precautions and risk management inherent in the Code of Conduct.

Student Register – A register of students will be maintained which will include the following details for each student:

• Emergency contact name and phone number(s) for parents/guardians; plus one other nominated adult emergency contact;
• Any physical or other restrictions, health issues or impediments;
• Any custody or family issues that the parent wishes to be taken into account;
• Details of persons authorised to collect children from the Dojo.

Code of Conduct – In addition to the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct the following items are to be adhered to with respect to children training in Aikido:

• The Student Code of Conduct and the Indemnity must be signed by a parent or guardian before the child can commence training.
• Students and parents/guardians are required to abide by the terms and conditions of the Student Code of Conduct and the Indemnity as a condition for the child training.
• Any health, custody or other issues which may affect the safety, protection and wellbeing of the child are to be communicated to the Instructor(s) upon commencing training and on an ongoing basis. The Instructor concerned must record the information and ensure it is passed to the other Instructors and the Head Dojo Instructor.
• All children are to be delivered to the dojo by an adult or to be in possession of a note authorising the child to attend on that date by themselves. In the latter case the note must detail the arrangements for the child to return home after training.
• Children are not to leave the dojo unless in the company of a parent, guardian, or authorised person, or without a written note from a parent or guardian permitting the child to return home themselves. Failing these options the child is to remain in the Instructor’s care. The Instructor will contact the parent/guardian accordingly and retain care of the child until suitable arrangements ensue.
• Parents will advise the instructor if their child is to leave the class early, so the Instructor can account for the location of all children under their supervision.
• All Instructors will be subject to the successful result of a check by the Australian Federal Police.
• A sensible Student:Instructor ratio will be maintained. Where there are concerns the ratio does not allow for safe supervision the Instructor will raise the issue with the Head Dojo Instructor, who will make arrangements for additional instructors or class options.
• Parents, guardians or other adults are not permitted to assist their children in any way during the class unless at the Instructor’s request, nor to come onto the mat or to partake in the class in any way. Dojo policy is for parents and guardians to deliver their child then to leave and return to pick them up at the end of the class.
• Any physical contact with children is to be:
  • Appropriate to the situation;
  • In accordance with the safety precautions appropriate to the activity;
  • Necessary and appropriate for the activity and the child’s skill development within it.
• It is inherent in martial arts training that calculated and appropriate risk is required to perform the art. This activity is part of the skill and personal growth that the art is performed to learn and is a required part of the curriculum. These activities will be performed in a controlled, supervised environment. Activities will be appropriate to the age, size, skill, experience and health and other issues of the child. Aikido Yuishinkai Canberra recognises that Instructors will need to provide support, encouragement and supervision additional to that that adult students require.
• Part of the Aikido curriculum is the learning of skills in the traditional weapons of sword, staff and knife. These teach the basic principles of Aikido and are significant vehicles for the concepts of skills for daily life that Aikido disseminates. Children will not undertake weapons training unless:
  • They have are at least Green belt in grade;
  • They are a suitable age;
  • They have demonstrated suitable maturity and self-control;
  • They have had the safety precautions explained and demonstrated to them by an instructor;
  • They are under the continual supervision of an Instructor with the appropriate skill and experience.
• Injuries are to be recorded in the Injury Register and reported in accordance with the Aikido Yuishinkai insurance policy procedures and to the Head Dojo Instructor.
• Instructors are to have a current first aid qualification where possible, and at least one Instructor must have such a qualification.

Reporting Inappropriate Behaviour – Concerns regarding the behaviour of any persons towards children in the dojo, or regarding any breaches of this Strategy are to be immediately brought to the attention of the Instructor.

The Instructor is then required to take immediate steps to resolve the issue and to advise the Head Dojo Instructor. The Head Dojo Instructor will review the incident with the Instructor, and if necessary with the reporting person. Where possible matters will be addressed internally by the Head Dojo Instructor first, but may be reported to the Police as appropriate.

Parents or guardians can approach the Head Dojo Instructor directly, but must inform the Instructor of any incident or behaviour of concern at the time it is observed.

Indemnity

Please view the Indemnity here.

Students, or their guardian, are required to sign the official indemnity and waiver before training can be commenced.

Locations

View a larger map

View a larger map

Schedule

Beginners workshops: Please check the home page announcements area or the News and Events page for details.

Children’s classes are held during school term:

• Mondays at Deakin:
  • 3.30 pm-4.30 pm, 5-8 years old.
  • 4.45 pm-5.45 pm, 8- teenager.
• Tuesdays at O’Connor:
  • 3.30 pm-4.30 pm, 5-8 years old.
  • 4.45 pm-5.45 pm, 8- teenager.
• Wednesdays at Deakin:
  • 3.30 p.m.-4.30 p.m, 5-8 years old.
• Thursdays at O’Connor:
  • 10 am-10.45 am, Preschool/3-5 years old.

Adult classes are in two locations, Deakin and O’Connor :

Wednesday	6-8 pm Aikido; at the Air Scouts Hall, La Trobe Park, cnr of Gawler Crescent & Melbourne Avenue Deakin.
Wednesday	8-9 pm, Shinto Muso Ryu Kenjutsu Study Group, at the Air Scouts Hall, La Trobe Park, cnr of Gawler Crescent & Melbourne Avenue Deakin.
Thursday	5-7 pm (arrival by 5.15 is okay) at the 13th Canberra Scout Hall, Hovea St, O’Connor ACT
Sunday	9-11 am, at the 13th Canberra Scout Hall, Hovea St, O’Connor ACT. The first hour is Aikido Weapons
Sunday	11-12 am, Shinto Muso Ryu Kenjutsu Study Group, at the 13th Canberra Scout Hall, Hovea St, O’Connor ACT.

Fees

Adult classes

There is no membership or joining fee.

$10 per two-hour class and $15 for the Sunday three-hour class

$7 per two-hour class for full-time students and part-time workers, $10 for the three-hour class

Children’s classes

Fees for a school term = $110, and $100 for siblings.

Orders for uniforms (Gi) will be taken during the first session, or can be arranged with the instructor beforehand. A Gi is typically around $38.

What to wear

Adults

Until you know that you want to stay there is no point in buying specific Aikido clothing or weapons. Recommended clothing is a strong top/rugby shirt that will not rip when pulled. Additionally, track suit pants or similar to cover and protect the knees will be needed. Training is performed in bare feet.

Women should consider clothing that will provide them adequate modesty, e.g. a t-shirt under the top garment. Note that no jewellery can be worn whilst training.

Later, you will want to acquire a judo gi (jacket, pants, belt). Weapons such as the jo, bokken and tanto will not be required initially, although many people get them at the same time as their first gi. A Judo gi costs around $80, and a basic jo or bokken around $45 each.

Children

Children usually wear a uniform (Gi), but can start in “activity” clothes.

What to expect

When you introduce yourself you will be briefed on what to expect during the lesson. This includes the courtesies exchanged (bowing etc), and, if time permits, a senior student will show you some of the exercises prior to the class. You or your parent or guardian will also be asked to fill out your contact details, sign a copy of the Student Code of Conduct, asked to fill out an indemnity, and asked about any relevant health conditions.

It may all seem a bit strange at first – the exercises look a little unusual and it will take 4-6 weeks before your mind and body make much sense of the techniques. Just remember – everybody on the mat with you had a first night/week/month etc. They know exactly what you are experiencing and will without exception be friendly and helpful. There are no egos or attitude on the mat or off it. Everyone is a beginner.

There is no requirement whatsoever to memorise or to “get right” anything taught during a lesson. Instead, the learning method is to let knowledge sink in over time, revisiting material in the knowledge that you will learn more each time.

There are no expectations whatsoever placed upon you, except to smile a lot and enjoy yourself.

Instructor Information

Head Dojo Instructor

Murray Loader (6th Dan)

Murray studied Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu, a form of Okinawan Karate, for seven years in New Zealand. This was fairly intensive training – six times a week, with often two classes a day. Whilst in NZ he visited a 4th Dan in Aikido who had returned from studying in Japan and who had set up a dojo in Auckland. Murray was very impressed by the technical, and particularly the mental, aspects of Aikido, and he decided that if he were to ever do another martial art it would be Aikido.

After moving to Brisbane, in 1988 he started studying Shinshin Toitsu Aikido (Ki Society) under Wayne Murray Driver, as there was no dojo of his style of Karate available. An additional impetus was that learning the spiritual side to Karate was difficult outside Japan as few instructors had been taught it, whilst Aikido seemed to live and breathe it. Wayne was a gifted instructor and provided Murray with a solid foundation in both ki understanding and technique.

Since then Murray has studied and taught at the Spring Hill and Cleveland dojos, and is now resident and teaching in Canberra.

Murray attended several seminars with Maruyama Sensei while Sensei was still in Ki Society. For Murray, Maruyama Sensei formed the very model of what students should aspire to. At this point Sensei resigned from Ki Society and entered a temple for extended study. Whilst a major blow, this also meant Australian students were exposed to a series of excellent teachers such as Reed, Kataoka, Nonaka and Tamura Senseis.

Tamura Sensei (9th Dan) in particular had a very strong influence on Murray. His blend of a strong martial component and advanced understanding and use of ki perfectly suited Murray’s own inclinations. Tamura Sensei’s dojos were a living example of a how to live a life with ki, and were simultaneously skilful, joyful, tolerant, committed and serious. Advice and guidance from Tamura Sensei and also from Kataoka Sensei (8th Dan) have played the major part in Murray’s development.

Due to his strong connection with Tamura Sensei Murray did not immediately join Yuishinkai when it formed. However, after Tamura Sensei’s untimely passing Murray was welcomed into the Yuishinkai community. A synthesis of Maruyama Sensei’s own formidable understanding and the best of O Sensei and Tohei Sensei (Ki Society), Yuishinkai has proved an excellent home and vehicle for growth and understanding.

In addition to Aikido, Murray also studies a traditional Kenjutsu ryu, a sword style formed in the early 1600s with roots in an even older style from the 1400s.

Children’s Aikido Instructor

Louise Wills (2nd Dan)

Louise has been studying Aikido in Melbourne and in Canberra.

Louise is also a qualified fitness coach.

As a mother and an aikido student Louise has a passion for passing on to children the many benefits aikido can provide children in daily life.

She has a comprehensive approach to teaching children, utilising the martial techniques in aikido, the many forms of exercises, the concepts and philosophies inherent in the art, and a lot of fun. Skills-based games are also part of the carefully structured syllabus.

Louise’s objectives for the children include martial skills, confidence, awareness and perception, focus, balance, coordination and agility, and an increasing ability to live a positive, joyful life.

Louise sought an effective and practical martial art that didn’t contain the aggression and “hardness” of some other martial arts. She was particularly drawn to the powerful techniques that come from being relaxed and natural, where using force is a disadvantage. Louise found the Canberra dojo approach suited her well, with keen attention to detail, a supportive environment that encouraged students to push themselves beyond their boundaries, powerful, assertive, realistic, but non-aggressive technique, and a focus on using ki in daily life and technique. She found her training became one of joyful and serious commitment. Louise’s growth and understanding have led to a strong desire to provide children, teens, and other women the many benefits of Aikido.

]]> http://canberraaikido.com.au/schedule-and-training/87/feed/ 0 http://canberraaikido.com.au/shinto-muso-ryu-kenjutsu/84/ http://canberraaikido.com.au/shinto-muso-ryu-kenjutsu/84/#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:04:02 +0000 admin http://canberraaikido.com.au/?p=84 Schedule

In addition to Aiki Ken and Aiki Jo in general, and the particular expression of these of Maruyama Sensei, Canberra Aikido dojo studies Shinto Muso Ryu Kenjutsu (SMR). See http://www.koryu.com/guide/muso.html for an overview of SMR.

Have a look at these videos (not brilliant quality but excellent content):
Donn Draeger and Kaminoda Tsuemori performing Jo vs Sword:

Donn Draeger and Kaminoda Tsuemori performing Sword vs Sword:

Donn Dreager performing Uchida Ryu Tanjojutsu from the Shinto Muso Ryu Chuden:


SMR is known as the foundation style for Jojutsu, however its founder was a noted swordsman, and sword is integral to the SMR technique and thought. Whilst Omote focuses on Jo, it is also teaching sword, and in any case the Jo itself is based in large part on sword. The Chuden level explores more advanced Jo and also teaches ancillary weapons in addition. The Okuden level, while teaching the most advanced Jo, also specifically teaches sword, short sword and two-sword at an advanced level. There are also teachings only shown to those awarded the Menkyo Kaiden.

Canberra Aikido is very grateful to David Dangerfield Sensei of the Shinto Muso Ryu (see http://www.martialartsaus.com/) and his teacher Nishioka Tsuneo Sensei, for the opportunity to study the Kenjutsu of Shinto Muso Ryu as a Study Group under Dangerfield Sensei’s supervision. Nishioka Sensei is the retired headmaster of the Sei Ryu Kai, an organisation created using a derivation of his teacher’s name. The Kenshinryu Chief Instructor, David Dangerfield, is one of a small number of people to have received the traditional certification of ‘Shomokuroku’ from Nishioka Sensei.

Training in Shinto Muso Ryu Kenjutsu significantly advances understanding of aspects of Aikido.

Training in Shinto Muso Ryu Kenjutsu in Canberra is available completely independently of the Aikido training.

Schedule

Shinto Muso Ryu Kenjutsu class time: Sundays 11-12am and Wednesdays 8-9pm.

Shinto Muso Ryu Kenjutsu class locations: Sunday – Scout Hall, Hovea Street, O’Connor. Wednesday – Scout Hall in La Trobe Park, cnr Gawler Cres & Melbourne Ave Deakin.
(Please call Murray Loader on 0412 413 366)

]]> http://canberraaikido.com.au/shinto-muso-ryu-kenjutsu/84/feed/ 0 http://canberraaikido.com.au/personal-safety-self-defence/80/ http://canberraaikido.com.au/personal-safety-self-defence/80/#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:00:27 +0000 admin http://canberraaikido.com.au/?p=80 Program Overview
Primary Program
Teen Program
Women’s Program





JUNE WORKSHOP


An interview with Louise Wills re Self-Defence and Personal Safety [produced by Jennifer Sexton Productions]:


Program Overview

A Personal Safety self-defence program teaches:

• Awareness of your environment, awareness of own and other’s behaviour, recognition of early warning signs
• Assertiveness skills and confidence strategies using voice, facial expression and body language
• How to set personal boundaries
• How to match a response to the intensity of a situation
• How to respond calmly when under stress or taken by surprise
• How to break free from holds and grabs
• Core-strength and flexibility

Personal Safety Self-Defence programs provide the student with a toolbox full of Personal Safety skills to live confidently in the world – to live a life not ruled by fear. These tools include increased awareness to recognize danger and walk away before it escalates, and dealing confidently with a situation in progress without it escalating to being able to deal with common attacks. Personal Safety self-defence programs are designed to account for age and gender and the risks associated with the different environments in which we live, work and socialize.



Primary Program

Primary-aged school children begin their training by learning that self-defence is far broader than dealing with violent attacks. They learn that to look for early warning signs and choosing to walk away is the most effective form of self defence. By developing awareness and confidence-building strategies they learn to recognize and avoid a confrontation altogether. The focus of a Personal Safety program for this age-group is to increase self-confidence, learn how to deal effectively with verbal assaults and simple responses that children can use to protect themselves against the kinds of confrontations they may experience at school and in the community. We place a strong emphasis on what is an appropriate response to a situation and what is not.

These outcomes are achieved through:

• Interactive discussions to gain understanding of what constitutes inappropriate behaviour from others
• How to set personal boundaries to minimize the possibility of being the recipient of inappropriate behaviour
• Confidence-building strategies using striking pads, posture, eye contact and voice
• Awareness training to recognize and avoid imminent danger
• Learning appropriate responses to verbal attacks and playground confrontations
• Learning simple techniques to break free from grabs and holds

Teen Program



The Personal Safety Teen Program focuses on defining the perimeters of safe, appropriate and acceptable behaviour from others and from themselves. Once teenagers have a clear understanding of appropriate behavior they will learn to draw invisible lines to protect their physical and emotional well-being. Investing time in setting personal standards makes it crystal clear when someone crosses the line. This helps to eliminate any anxiety of how to respond as they have already made their own rules. There is particular emphasis on awareness training to help teenagers learn to recognize dangerous situations before they escalate and when it is necessary to walk away.

The Personal Safety Teen Program takes into account that boys and girls face different issues and therefore have different self-defence requirements. For a portion of the Program boys and girls will separate to address issues such as when to leave a situation, when to stop drinking (for example), how to make their values clear and insist on others respecting them. Each group will identify adverse social and physical situations that may occur and learn to make choices in advance about their personal values and responses. They will then explore physical self defence responses to the different scenarios they could typically find themselves in.

These outcomes are achieved through:

• Interactive discussions to establish what is appropriate and acceptable behaviour from others
• Interactive discussions to minimize risk and avoid dangerous situations before they occur
• Establishing a personal set of rules and values (and how to abide by them)
• Awareness training to recognize a dangerous situation
• Confidence training to have the courage to walk away from a dangerous or uncomfortable situation focusing on posture, attitude, eye contact and voice
• Confidence training to have the courage to insist on others respecting their wishes
• Confidence training to act if necessary, using striking pads, strength training, posture, attitude, eye contact and voice
• ‘Danger rating’ a situation and matching it with an appropriate response
• Learning simple but effective physical responses to common attacks
• Role playing different scenarios to consolidate their learning

Women’s Program

Scheduled Workshops
Workshops for Groups – get your work colleagues or friends together and we will do a program for you, either at your place or ours!
Corporate Workshops – for Public or Private sector organisations



The Personal Safety Women’s Program focuses on women allowing themselves to trust their instinct and having the confidence to act on that knowledge. Many adult women today have been socialized to believe that being assertive is seen as being masculine and aggressive. Assertiveness training is an essential tool for a young woman to learn. Sharpening confidence strategies and learning to trust instinct are a powerful combination to deflect a potentially dangerous situation.

A Personal Safety Women’s Program addresses three vital questions:

• What is the social or physical coercion being used against me?
• Is force required? What are the options if not?
• How much force is necessary to escape a particular danger-level and physical situation?

The focus of the Program is to equip women with the ability to answer these questions to ensure they can immediately recognize the danger level of a situation and respond appropriately. These outcomes are achieved through:

• Awareness training to recognize a dangerous situation
• Confidence training to have the courage to walk away from a dangerous situation and/or to insist on others respecting their choices and values
• Confidence training to act if necessary using striking pads, strength training, posture, attitude, eye contact and voice
• Developing strategies to be calm when placed under stress
• Interactive discussions to establish what is worth fighting for
• ‘Danger rating’ a situation and matching it with an appropriate response
• Learning effective physical responses to grabs and holds



]]> http://canberraaikido.com.au/personal-safety-self-defence/80/feed/ 0 http://canberraaikido.com.au/childrens-aikido/66/ http://canberraaikido.com.au/childrens-aikido/66/#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 04:32:22 +0000 admin http://canberraaikido.com.au/?p=66 What is Aikido
Minikids
Training Information

What is Aikido?


Louise Wills – Senior Children’s Instructor

Aikido is a martial art that teaches practical self-defence techniques and skills for daily life.

Aikido will not teach your child how to fight or be a hero.

Aikido will not teach your child violence to sort out problems.

Instead, Aikido will teach your child how to avoid, or to manage and control violence.

Children will learn that the most appropriate response to an attack is simply to get out of the way, then, if necessary, to control the attacker. We teach children to blend with their opponent’s energy and lead their opponent through an aikido technique, instead of using force to block an attack and then counterattack. Children will learn how to blend with their partner, developing skills to redirect movement so that conflict and physical injury do not occur.

Unlike many martial arts that emphasise straight-line, direct movements such as punching and kicking, Aikido is based on natural movements where children respond to an oncoming force by moving out of the way, and with relaxed, powerful, circular motions.



How do kids benefit from Aikido?

Aikido is a martial art that enhances and develops focus, physical energy and concentration. This training helps children develop calm, clear minds. As a result they absorb knowledge more easily and think with greater clarity, thereby enhancing focus and concentration at school.

The training increases the awareness children have of what is happening around them and of the intentions of others. It also develops relaxed power that doesn’t depend on strength, agility and coordination, The positive benefits will flow through to all types of physical and academic activity. Increasingly, children become aware that when they move correctly, they do not need to rely upon size, strength or athletic ability.

Our aim is to provide children with skills for daily life, to deal with difficult situations and people, so they do not want to resort to aggression or violence, but have the ability and confidence to deal with it decisively when others employ it. We teach children to maintain a positive mind in a stressful situation, so that when they encounter conflict they learn how to relax and redirect the energy, or simply to leave the conflict. They learn conflict resolution for daily life through practice of Aikido, and respect and consideration for their partners.

We teach children that staying calm and relaxed can be much stronger and have a greater impact than anger, force and aggression. We teach our children that aggression is not appropriate, and instead to meet it with compassionate assertiveness and confidence. The awareness and confidence they develop is directly useful in all aspects of life.

Through the concentration that children will use as they learn practical self-defence techniques, and through the energy they expend during the fun, skills-focused games, they will naturally push themselves emotionally and physically beyond what they think they are capable of.

And they will have fun. Our training is serious and committed, but also fun and joyful.

And the end result? Children who have a sense of calm, quiet self-assurance and respect for all human beings.



What happens at the dojo?

The dojo is a training hall. It is a refuge from the outside world where we like to maintain a sense of calm and focus to ensure that children reach their full potential at training. Experience has shown us that children respond more positively to learning if the parents leave the dojo quickly and quietly once they have dropped their child at training, allowing the child the time and space to focus on the task in front of them.

Throughout the year we will provide opportunities where families are welcome to attend and join in demonstrations to ensure that parents remain in touch with their child’s progress and understand what their child is doing.

We also request that children arrive 10-15 minutes early, allowing the class to start on time.

As you would expect in a martial arts environment, there are some etiquette and dojo rules that all who enter the hall are expected to observe, to focus minds and set the environment for successful learning and safety. [For further information on our occupational health and safety approach, and our child protection strategy, please read the Health & Safety page on this website.]

We start the class with meditation, then exercises and stretches and training in ki. On alternate weeks the class starts with a Boot Camp, to develop core strength, followed by stretches. The majority of the time is then spent learning Aikido technique and thinking, with the help of games and exercises for the younger group specifically targeted at the objectives for the class and more complex Aikido and some weapons work for the older group. Both younger and older groups explore self-defence scenarios and appropriate responses, with the older group doing more complex scenarios.



Minikids

Aikido Minikids has been specifically developed for children aged 3-5 years just as they are beginning to socialize beyond the family. The program is about:

• Fun!
• How to be safe
• Co-ordination and agility
• Respect for each other
• How to be calm
• How to listen



We strongly believe that anyone and everyone can benefit from learning Aikido, especially young children as they begin to develop their first friendships.

Aikido is self-defence. We do not teach children to fight. We teach children how to deal with difficult situations, for example if someone says something unkind or tries to hit them. For this age group in particular, the emphasis is on how to move away from a situation of conflict. Children will learn that responding with aggression or violence to a confrontation is far less effective than staying calm and retaining control. This is especially relevant in early relationships when young children haven’t yet acquired and developed their social skills.

Young children learn best when engaging in natural and fun activities. They will be running, rolling, stretching and learning some very simple techniques. They will learn through using the same kinds of movements that they use every day. Over time they will develop their skills and learn to have confidence in their actions.

Our aim is to nourish a positive attitude and a sense of calm to help young children live in harmony with each other as they begin to socialise.

Training Information

Locations:


View a larger map


View a larger map

Schedule:

Children’s classes are held during school term:

• Mondays at Deakin:
  • 3.30 pm-4.30 pm, 5-8 years old.
  • 4.45 pm-5.45 pm, 8- teenager.
• Tuesdays at O’Connor:
  • 3.30 pm-4.30 pm, 5-8 years old.
  • 4.45 pm-5.45 pm, 8- teenager.
• Wednesdays at Deakin:
  • 3.30 p.m.-4.30 p.m, 5-8 years old.
• Thursdays at O’Connor:
  • 10 am-10.45 am, Preschool/3-5 years old.

  Holiday Programs run during school holidays. The program(s) offered vary depending on demand and on the length of the school break. During the Xmas break several different programs may be offered.

  Programs include:

  • Personal Safety – protective behaviours and self-defence, in Kids and Teens age groups.
  • Aikido weapon training introduction – staff, sword, knife. These use training weapons, not real ones!
  • Aikido

  Programs will typically run for 3 half-days each, and the fee is usually around $120.

  Fees:
  Fees are for a school term = $110, and $100 for siblings.

  Orders for uniforms (Gi) can be arranged with the instructor during class. A Gi is typically around $38.

  The traing uniform (Gi) is optional; most kids prefer to have one; some parents wait until their child has shown commitment to training and then purchase a gi. Gi can be ordered from either Louise or Murray at any time. The cost of a Gi varies, but is typically around $38.

  See our Contact Us page for our contact details.

  ]]> http://canberraaikido.com.au/childrens-aikido/66/feed/ 0 http://canberraaikido.com.au/about-aikido/57/ http://canberraaikido.com.au/about-aikido/57/#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:33:53 +0000 admin http://canberraaikido.com.au/?p=57 Aikido’s Technical Background
  The Founder of Aikido
  Daito Ryu Aikijuijitsu

  A short interview with Murray Loader 6th Dan, Head Instructor of Canberra Aikido [produced by Jennifer Sexton Productions]:
  

  Sources

  The material on the technical background of aikido is from web research.

  The material on O Sensei is the merger of two chapters from:

  Ueshiba, Morihei, BUDO, Teachings of the Founder of Aikido, Kodansha International, NY 1991.

  Saotome, Mitsugi, Aikido and the Harmony of Nature, Shambhala, Boston 1993.

  The material on Daito Ryu is from:

  Omiya, Shiro, The Hidden Roots of Aikido, Kodansha International, Tokyo 1998.

  These three books would all be excellent additions to your library if you don’t have them already.

  Aikido’s Technical Background

  • Empty-hand: The primary early technical influence on Aikido was the Daito Ryu Aiki-ju-jutsu of Sokaku Takeda, O-Sensei’s main teacher from 1915 to the 1930′s. According to his son Kisshomaru Ueshiba, O-Sensei also studied Goto Juijitsu.
  • Sword: As Takeda also held a teaching license in the Ono-ha Itto Ryu school of swordsmanship, and possibly trained in the Jikishinkage Ryu school, O-Sensei was probably exposed to these styles. O-Sensei and several of his students studied Kashima Shinto Ryu (sword) intensively for several years. He also studied Katori Shinto Ryu for several years and left the Army with a certificate in Yagyu Shinkage Ryu.
  • Spear and Jo: O-Sensei studied the yari/spear of Hozoin Ryu, which bears some resemblance to Aiki-jo. The Kashima and Katori Shinto Ryus referred to above, contain substantial teaching in naginata (halberd), yari (spear) and jo (staff) as well as sword. It is not known whether O-Sensei studied these subjects in addition to sword.

  O-Sensei also studied an art known as Kuki Shin Ryu, one of the nine traditions of Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu, The Kuki Shin had considerable influence on Aiki-jo including a number of jo-dori within the Togakure Ryu that bear strong resemblance to Aikido jo-dori. He also studied jukendo (bayoneted rifle) while in the army in the early 1900′s, and certain disarming techniques bear resemblance to some of the jo-dori (staff disarming).

  O-Sensei adapted the traditional arts he learned to fit aiki and other spiritual principles, and, while strong resemblances can be seen to the old arts, aiki-jo and aiki-ken are now styles of their own. It seems clear that while the empty-hand (taijutsu) techniques are mostly from Daito-ryu, modified by O Sensei to optimise ki flow, the mindset and energy transaction in Aikido largely derives from sword and jo.

  For information on some of the styles mentioned above the following links may prove useful [the koryubooks site has excellent coverage of the traditional arts]:

  Kashima Shinto-ryu Kenjutsu

  Yagyu Shinkage-ryu

  Daito-ryu Aikijujitsu

  Shinto Muso-ryu Jojutsu

  Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu

  The Founder of Aikido

  Morihei Ueshiba was born on December 14, 1883, in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture. He was the fourth child and eldest son of Yoroku Ueshiba, a well-to-do farmer who owned two hectares (about five acres) of prime land. His father was a widely respected member of the local community who had served on the village council for twenty years, while his mother, Yuki Itokawa, came from a landowning family of noble descent.

  A delicate and sensitive child, his early life was shadowed by illness. He often daydreamed, identifying with the miraculous stories of the great Buddhist teacher Kobo Daishi of the nearby Kumano region. At the age of seven he began studies in the basics of the Chinese classics at a private school of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. He studied deeply for one so young and possessed an extraordinary interest in the meditations, incantations, and prayers of that esoteric sect. Concerned that young Morihei was overly mental in his pursuits, his father, a strong and vigorous man, also encouraged him to discipline and strengthen his body through the practice of sumo wrestling and swimming.

  Morihei graduated from Tanabe Higher Elementary School, and was admitted to the newly established Tanabe Prefectural Middle School at the age of thirteen. He left middle school before graduating, however, and went to the Yoshida Abacus Institute. Upon obtaining his diploma, he found employment at the Tanabe Tax Office, where his duties included the assessment of land values.

  Ueshiba moved to Tokyo in the spring of 1902 and established the Ueshiba Company, a stationery store large enough to employ several sales clerks. Meanwhile, a strong interest in Budo had awakened in him, and while he was in Tokyo, he studied both the Kito School of Koryu Jujutsu (unarmed combat) and the Shinkage School of Kenjutsu (techniques of swordsmanship). However, illness was to touch his life once again, and after giving his business to his employees, he returned home to Tanabe to convalesce. After his recovery Ueshiba married Hatsu Itokawa, whom he had known since childhood. The attitude of deep social responsibility that had been impressed on him by his father became stronger as he assumed the responsibilities of family life. Believing that change could occur only through action, Ueshiba became involved in many social reforms.

  At the age of twenty, Ueshiba enlisted in the military and served in the thirty-seventh regiment of the Osaka Fourth Division. His sincere and hard-working attitude and his extraordinary skill quickly drew the attention of his superiors. Easily regarded as the best bayonet fighter in the regiment, he displayed a technique so swift and clean that even the closest scrutiny of the judges could not detect how it was that each opponent was instantly sent flying.

  Promoted from Corporal to Sergeant during the Russo-Japanese War, the stories brought back by Ueshiba’s comrades of his great courage under fire made him a living legend, and among the troops he was respectfully called “the Soldier Kami.” Recognizing his talent and his capability to become a future general, his superiors urged him to attend officer training school, but because of the situation at home, Ueshiba left the military after four years of enlistment in 1907 and returned to Tanabe, where he worked on the family farm and participated in village politics, becoming the leader of the local Young Men’s Association. He took with him a certificate from the Yagyu School of Swordsmanship, obtained through study and practice during his off-duty hours, and the admiration and respect of all who had served with him. Upon his return to Tanabe, he channelled his skill and energy into social service and worked hard for the public good.

  During this period his father engaged the judoka Kiyoichi Takagi, who was then visiting Tanabe, to act as Morihei’s teacher, and converted the family barn into a dojo. As well as learning Judo he also continued to attend the Nakai Dojo and received a certificate from the Goto School.

  In 1912, the Japanese government announced the beginning of the Hokkaido Project, encouraging people to settle in this northernmost, undeveloped island. The additional living space and farming lands were necessary to the welfare of the nation, and the Russians were showing an interest in its strategic location. The adventure of a new life and devotion to Japan were to challenge Ueshiba once again. So at the age of twenty-nine, he organized eighty people from fifty-four households in the area, and together they moved to the village of Shirataki, in Monbetsu County, Hokkaido.

  The frozen land was harsh and inhospitable, unwilling to yield to the efforts of the new settlers. They were beset by storms and heavy snows, making their planned logging operations impossible. They tried to clear the land for cultivation, but the freezing rains drove them back into their hastily constructed shelters. Progress was slow, and the price paid in time and suffering was high. The first two years brought poor harvests and many hardships. Spirits were low, but Ueshiba encouraged the people, setting an example by his optimism and ceaseless hard work at the settlement, and his determined pursuit of negotiations for relief funds from every possible source.

  Two years later, in the fall, the land yielded its long-awaited harvest and the people began to feel that a permanent settlement was feasible. Each of the projects they undertook peppermint cultivation, lumbering, horse breeding, and dairy farming, was based on Ueshiba’s plan and proved to be an important factor in the development of Shirataki. The village took on new life, including the construction of a shopping street in Shirataki, the improvement of housing conditions, and the founding of a primary school. People began to call Ueshiba “King of Shirataki,” and when they had problems they came to him for advice and help. He served as a member of the village council and assisted in an exploratory excavation of underground mineral resources. During this period he met Sogaku Takeda, master of the Daito School of Jujutsu, who had occasion to pass through the area. Ueshiba was very impressed by Takeda’s technique and He subsequently trained intensely with Takeda, and gained a certificate in Daito-Ryu Aikijuijitsu.

  Owing to the expansion of the timber industry, Shirataki was fast becoming a boom town. But on May 23, 1917, the village was completely destroyed by a disastrous fire. The following spring found Morihei, who had been elected a member of the village council, totally immersed in the reconstruction of Shirataki. In July that same year Morihei’s eldest son, Takemori, was born.

  In November of his thirty-sixth year, Ueshiba received news that his father was in critical condition. Leaving Hokkaido, he gave his entire holdings to Master Takeda in appreciation for all that he had taught him. But on the way back to Tanabe, he was diverted by stories of a man named Onisaburo Deguchi of the new Shinto sect known as Omoto-kyo. Deguchi was a master of the spiritual practice called chin kon kishin, a Way of communication with the Divine Spirit of Kami through concentrated meditation. With the hope of a miracle, Ueshiba went to Ayabe, near Kyoto, to ask for prayers to alleviate his father’s critical condition.

  Upon his return to Tanabe, he learned that his father had passed away. His sorrow was deep, and he spent more and more of his time in prayer and meditation. Soon Ueshiba’s thoughts returned to Deguchi’s kindness and revolutionary approach to traditional spiritual teachings. He moved his family to Ayabe and entered the religious life of Omoto-kyo, where he remained for 8 years, until he moved to Tokyo in 1928. Deguchi loved and respected Ueshiba and invested him with much authority and responsibility. Deguchi told him, “You should make Budo your life. You have the strength to move mountains. Do it!”

  Acting on this advice, the Founder opened the “Ueshiba School of martial arts”. He taught mostly those who had some connection with Omoto-kyo, but his fame as a martial artist quickly spread among other people. He cleared and cultivated the land near the main hall of Omoto-kyo, led the self-sufficient life of a farmer, and put into practice his idea of the essential unity of Budo and farming. The study of kotodama, the spiritual function of the vibration of sound, had become a key aspect in his search for the true spirit of Budo, and gradually he began to bring about the unification of spirit, mind and body. In 1923, the Founder officially named his art Aiki Bujutsu. Aiki Bujutsu is the blending of spirit based on classical martial movement. jutsu is technique, as opposed to do, which is a path or way.

  Sadly, Morihei’s first year in Ayabe was marked by further personal tragedy: he lost both his sons through illness; Takemori died in August, aged three, and in September his second son, Kumharu, died, aged one.

  In the year following Morihei’s move to Ayabe, the instruction offered at the Ueshiba Academy gradually increased in range and depth, and word began to spread that there was an exceptional master of the martial arts living in Ayabe. The number of non-Omoto-kyo followers enrolling at the Ueshiba Academy began to increase, and many sailors from the nearby naval base at Maizuru came to train there.

  On February 11, 1921, the authorities suddenly clamped down on the sect in what later became known as the First Omoto Incident, and several people, including Onisaburo, were arrested. Fortunately the incident had no effect on the Ueshiba Academy. Ueshiba’s son Kisshomaru was born here in 1921. Over the next two years Morihei tried to help Onisaburo, who had been released on bail, to rebuild the Omoto-kyo. He took over administration of about nine hundred tsubo of land, which he farmed while he continued to teach at the Ueshiba Academy. In this way he was able to realize in his everyday life the belief that there is an essential unity between the martial arts and agriculture, something that was close to his heart and was to be a recurring theme throughout his life. From around this period Morihei’s practice of the martial arts gradually began to take on a spiritual character, as he became more and more absorbed by the study of kotodama. This led him little by little to break away from the conventions of Yagyu-Ryu and Daito-Ryu Jujitsu, and to develop his own original approach, using applied principles and technique together, to break down the barriers between mind, spirit, and body. In 1922 this approach was formally named “aikibujutsu,” but it became known to the general public as Ueshiba-ryu aiki-bujutsu.

  In 1924 he accompanied Deguchi to Manchuria, seeking a place to serve as the spiritual centre for “a world cooperative of people of five races and colours,” a vision of Omoto-kyo based on the idea that all teachings evolved from a single origin. Together with Lu, a local warlord, they led the Northwest Autonomous Army (also known as the Mongolian Independence Army) into the interior of the country. Their path led them into many tense encounters with armed bandits and professional soldiers. By this time the Founder had reached such an advanced level of spiritual awareness that when fired upon, he would perceive the aggression in the form of a small point of light immediately preceding the bullet. He described his experience: “Before the opponent could pull the trigger, his intention to kill would form into a ball of spiritual light and fly at me. If I evaded this ball of light, no bullet could touch me.”

  However, their expedition was ill-fated; they were victims of a plot concocted by another warlord, Chang Tso Lin, and when they reached Balan Dalai on June 20, they found Chinese troops waiting to arrest them. Morihei, Onisaburo, and four others were sentenced to death. Fortunately, just before they were due to be executed, a member of the Japanese consular staff intervened and secured their release and safe return to Japan.

  Morihei tried to resume his former life after returning to Japan in 1925, uniting the practice of the martial arts and farming by teaching at the Ueshiba Academy and working on the farm. He also became interested in sojutsu (spear technique), and continued his intensive practice of swordsmanship and aikibujutsu. He practiced day and night, utilizing his own unique methods of physical training and spiritual purification, and as his practice rose to higher levels, his martial skill took on an almost superhuman quality. Things were not the same, however. He had been deeply affected by the expedition to Manchuria and Mongolia, in particular by his experiences of facing death under gunfire, where he had found that he could see flashes of light indicating the path of oncoming bullets.

  The discovery of this intuitive sense was a profound experience for Morihei, and after returning to Japan, he frequently encountered situations where he felt manifestations of a spiritual force. At the culmination of a period of particularly intense training he had the realization he had been seeking all his life. In the spring of 1925 Morihei met a naval officer and master of kendo. He accepted the officer’s challenge and defeated him without actually fighting, because he could sense the direction in which the blows would fall before the officer’s wooden sword could strike him. Immediately after this encounter he went to wash at a well, where he experienced a complete serenity of body and spirit. He suddenly felt that he was bathing in a golden light that poured down from heaven. It was a unique experience for him, a revelation, and he felt reborn, as though his body and spirit had been turned into gold. At the same time the unity of the universe and the self became clear to him and he came to understand one by one the other philosophical principles on which aikido is based. At that moment, as the spirit of the universe enveloped his body with a shimmering golden light, he grasped the essence of ki (universal life force), he intimately understood the processes of the universe, and he knew that the source of Budo is the spirit of protection for all things. “Budo is not defeating the opponent by our force,” he said; “nor is it a tool to lead the world into destruction with arms. To follow true Budo is to accept the spirit of the universe, keep the peace of the world, and correctly produce, protect, and cultivate all beings in nature.”

  It was also in this way that he realized that it would be better to name his creation aiki-budo, rather than aiki-bujutstu. (The substitution of the character do) in the place of jutsu changes the meaning from the martial art of aiki to the martial way of aiki).

  As aiki-bujitsu became better known and Ueshiba’s reputation spread, it attracted a number of distinguished followers, including Admiral Isamu Takeshita. In the fall of 1915 Morihei was invited to visit the admiral in Tokyo. He stayed at the residence of former Prime Minister Gombei Yamamoto, where he gave a martial arts display in front of a number of dignitaries, all of whom were greatly impressed. Morihei also spent twenty-one days teaching the martial arts at the Crown Prince’s Palace.

  In the spring of 1926 he again went to Tokyo at Admiral Takeshita’s invitation. He taught at the Imperial Court and Imperial Household Ministry, as well as teaching army and navy personnel and people connected with the world of finance. Morihei’s stay in Tokyo became somewhat prolonged, but in the summer he fell ill with an intestinal disorder and was forced to return to Ayabe to rest.

  In February 1927, having received an invitation from Admiral Takeshita, Morihei felt he had no alternative but to leave Ayabe for the third time. With Onisaburo’s blessing, he decided to make the move a permanent one and to devote his energies solely to establishing himself in Tokyo as a teacher of the martial arts.

  With the help of many supporters, in 1930 the temporary training facilities in Tokyo were enlarged to include a mat space of over fourteen hundred square feet. This training hall was called Kobukan Dojo and was located in the Wakamatsu district of Shinjuku, Tokyo. (Dojo is the place where the Way is studied; Kobukan indicates a search for truth by transcending ordinary human consciousness,) That year, Jigoro Kano, the founder of Kodokan judo, came to visit the dojo. Upon seeing Master Ueshiba’s supreme skill, he said, “This is my ideal in Budo”,- and sent two of his students to study. Many young judo practitioners came to study at Ueshiba School. One of these was Kenji Tomiki, the leader of the judo club at Waseda University. Tomiki later developed an aiki-jutsu-style offshoot of Aikido that included competitive matches. At the same time, Gozo Shioda, later the headmaster of Yoshinkan Aikido, studied as an apprentice to the Founder.

  It was not easy for members of the general public to join the dojo. Only those with recommendations from two reliable sponsors were allowed to become students. The practice was so intense and rigorous that the dojo earned the nickname “Dojo of Hell.” Many famous people, leaders in the military, government, business, education, and the arts, entered the Ueshiba School, and through these contacts, the Founder taught the police force and those connected with the Imperial Court. The year 1932 found Master Ueshiba extremely busy teaching and giving demonstrations of the art. Branch dojo were established in other parts of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. Aikido was quickly spreading throughout the country.

  A memorable visit in 1930 was that of Major General Makoto Miura. He was sceptical about the new budo, and visited the dojo only in order to defeat Morihei. The founder overcame Miura’s doubts so completely, however, that he enrolled as a student on the spot. Subsequently, at the request of the same major-general, Morihei became an instructor at the Toyama Military Academy.

  The next few years were extremely busy ones for Morihei, as he was teaching not only at the Kobukan, but also at many other dojo that had started up in Tokyo and Osaka.

  In 1932 the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Martial Arts was founded, and in 1933 Morihei became its president. In May 1933 a full-time training hall, called the Takeda Dojo, was set up in Hyogo Prefecture. Dozens of students came to live there, putting into practice the founder’s ideal of uniting the martial arts and agriculture.

  By the mid-thirties Morihei had become famous throughout the martial arts world. Even more than for his mastery of the various traditional Japanese martial arts, he came to public attention for the epoch-making nature of his own original creation, “the union of spirit, mind, and body” in aiki, formally called aiki-budo. During this period Morihei was practicing kendo very intensively at the Kobukan Dojo and a number of kendo practitioners frequented the dojo, including Kiyoshi Nakamura, who became Morihei’s son-in-law in 1932.

  In September 1939 Morihei was invited to Manchuria to attend a public exhibition of the martial arts. There he fought the ex-sumo wrestler Tenrya and pinned him with one finger. Morihei continued his visits to Manchuria even after the outbreak of the Pacific War, taking up advisory posts at various institutions, including Kenkoku University, with which he became particularly involved. His last visit to Manchuria was in 1942, when he attended the celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Japanese-sponsored state of Manchukuo at the invitation of the Greater Martial Arts Association, and gave a demonstration of the martial arts in the presence of Emperor Pu’Yi.

  On April 30, 1940, the Kobukan was granted the status of an incorporated foundation by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The first president of the foundation was Admiral Isamu Takeshita. In the same year the police academy where Morihei was teaching adopted aiki-budo as an official curriculum subject.

  With the outbreak of the Pacific War, one after another, the students at the Tokyo dojo went to the front, and Morihei’s son Kisshomaru, then a student at Waseda University High School, was given the responsibility of maintaining the dojo.

  Also in 1941 aiki-budo was assimilated into the Butokukai (a governmental body uniting all the martial arts under one organization). Morihei appointed Minoru Hirai to represent and manage the Kobukan in the Aiki Section of the Butokukai. It was around this time that the name aikido first came into use.

  In 1942, when the war effort was intensifying, Ueshiba was severely troubled by the disparity between his ideas of world cooperation and the actual state of the world relationships. Accompanied by his wife, Hatsu, he went to the town of lwama in Ibaraki Prefecture, leaving his son to run the Tokyo dojo, and once again he began to clear the land for cultivation There he built an open dojo and an Aiki Shrine to serve as a spiritual retreat. The Founder has related that he said at that time, “There are getting to be more and more people in the military who are reckless and indiscriminate with their power. They have forgotten the importance of helping people, of relieving suffering. A bunch of fools, they strut about displaying their violence, their narrow mindedness, and wanton destruction of life. What idiots to go against nature, against the Will of Kami! The Way of Budo is to put new life into the original universal life force that gives birth to all things. Harmony, love, and courtesy are essential to true Budo, but the people who are in power these days are only interested in playing with weapons. They misrepresent Budo as a tool for power struggles, violence, and destruction, and they want to use me toward this end. I’m tired of this stupidity. I have no intention of allowing myself to become their tool. I see no other way but to go into retreat.”

  During and after the Second World War, the Founder devoted himself to farming and sought the perfection of the ideal of Takemusu Aiki. Abiding deep within his heart was the belief that the path of Budo is the path of compassion; that the task of a true samurai is to make the world fertile for peace and to protect all life. In his sorrow for the suffering and destruction caused by the conflict, he spent long hours in prayer. Master Ueshiba had reached levels of spiritual awareness attained by very few, but still he continued his search for the power of truth. Having virtually no income, he lived in extreme poverty, training body and spirit and working the soil.

  Despite the worsening situation and the massive bombing of Tokyo by the U.S. Air Force the dojo escaped damage, but after the war it was used as a shelter by over thirty homeless families, so practice could no longer continue there. The headquarters of aikido was therefore moved to lwama, where Morihei continued to live quietly, farming and teaching young people from the surrounding area.

  After the war the martial arts went into decline for a time, and the future of aikido, too, was in doubt. However, Morihei had faith in the new aikido, and worked hard to establish its place in post-war Japan. When it seemed that the confusion prevailing in the immediate aftermath of the war had abated somewhat, it was decided to move the headquarters of aikido back to Tokyo. On February 9, 1948, the Ministry of Education granted permission to re-establish the Aikikai, with a revised charter. . Until that time, General Headquarters of the American Occupation had prohibited all teaching of Budo. But because of its emphasis on peace and the seeking of truth, Aikido was allowed to resume an active part in society. The name of the dojo was changed from Kobukan to the Aikikai Foundation, and it was headed by the Founder’s son, Kisshomaru Ueshiba. During that time the main dojo in Tokyo was renamed the Ueshiba Dojo and World Headquarters of Aikido.

  After the establishment of the Aikikai, Kisshomaru was given the responsibility of consolidating the existing organization and planning its future development. Meanwhile, Morihei remained in lwama, absorbed in contemplation and martial arts practice. From time to time he would come to Tokyo at his students’ request, lecturing on Aikido principle and teaching technique.

  From 1950 onward Morihei once more began to travel around Japan in response to invitations to teach, lecture, and give demonstrations. As he reached the age of seventy, Morihei’s superb technique flowed increasingly from his vastness of spirit, in contrast to the fierceness and physical strength that had characterized his earlier years. He came to place greater emphasis on the loving nature of aikido. (The first character of aikido, “ai,” which means harmony, is read in the same way as the character meaning love. In his later years, Morihei stressed the equivalence of these two meanings.)

  In 1954 the headquarters of aikido was moved to Tokyo, and the Tokyo dojo took the official title of the Hombu Dojo of Aikido. In September 1956 the Aikikai held the first public demonstration of martial arts since the end of the war on the rooftop of the Takashimaya department store in Nihombashi, Tokyo. The demonstration lasted five days, and made a deep impression on the foreign dignitaries present. Morihei had been adamantly opposed to giving such public demonstrations, but he understood that Japan had entered a new era, and consented in order to further the development of aikido.

  In 1959, as public recognition of Aikido took root, 0′Sensei’s fame spread both within Japan and abroad. There was a marked increase in the number of people coming to the dojo seeking instruction, and some of the leading students began to take an active part in spreading his teachings overseas.

  On January 15, 1969, Morihei attended the New Year’s celebrations in the Hombu Dojo. Although he appeared to be in good health, his physical condition rapidly deteriorated, and he passed away peacefully on April 26, 1969. On May 1, the founder was given a posthumous award by Emperor Hirohito. His ashes were buried in the cemetery of the Ueshiba family temple in Tanabe.

  Daito Ryu Aikijuijitsu

  THE DAITORYU is believed to have originated within the family of Emperor Seiwa and to have been greatly developed by one of the emperor’s descendants, Shinra Saburo Minamoto no Yoshimitsu, in the eleventh century. Through his careful study of human anatomy-he made a point of visiting battlefields and execution grounds to examine and dissect the bodies of war dead and executed criminals-Yoshimitsu determined which were the most effective strikes, blows, holds, joint locks, and pins. To fathom the mysteries of aiki, or harmonized energy, Yoshimitsu spent hours observing a female spider trapping prey in her web. Furthermore, he was a talented musician, and while accompanying dancers on his sho (a type of wind instrument), he gained insight into the nature of good rhythm and smooth transition between movements. Yoshimitsu incorporated all of this knowledge into the martial art he had been taught by family members and then passed on to his sons this improved and expanded system-which came to be known as the “Daitoryu,” after the name of one of his residences.

  Yoshikiyo, his eldest son, settled in the village of Takeda in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture and founded the Takeda branch of the Minamoto clan. The Daitoryu tradition of Yoshimitsu was thereafter handed down in complete secrecy to successive generations of the Takeda family. Near the end of the sixteenth century, the family, led by Kunitsugu Takeda, shifted its main base to the Aizu district in present-day Fukushima Prefecture. There the martial art system became known as o-shiki-uchi, or “practice in the room,” and alternatively as an o-tome-bujutsu, or “inside- the-clan martial art”; both these terms are thought to suggest the great secrecy with which the Daitoryu techniques were guarded. The art was secretly transmitted to the samurai of the Aizu domain until the fall of the Shogunate in 1868.

  It was not until the nineteenth century-when Sokaku Takeda began to teach the Daitoryu to the public-that the art became widely known. Sokaku was born in 1860 in Aizu, where he received instruction in the traditional o-shiki-uchi arts of the Aizu clan from his relatives and from Tanomo Saigo (1830-1905), the last minister of the Aizu domain. Sokaku is considered the thirty-fifth Grand Master of the Daitoryu tradition stemming from Kunitsugu Takeda. In addition to the Daitoryu system, Sokaku studied many other martial arts and acquired firsthand combat experience in street fights all over the country. Around the turn of the century, Sokaku began teaching the Daitoryu system-which by then included some new elements that he himself had incorporated-to select groups of military officers, police officials, and aristocrats. Sokaku was based in remote northern Japan but made occasional forays to Tokyo and western Japan. In the course of his travels, Sokaku defeated all challengers. It is said that thirty thousand martial artists received instruction at Sokaku’s hands. Of this vast number, only twenty or so received formal teaching licenses from the Daitoryu Grand Master. Several of Sokaku’s students themselves became extremely distinguished teachers.

  Yukiyoshi Sagawa (1902-1998) was one of Sokaku’s earliest students. He began studying with Sokaku in Hokkaido when he was just twelve years old, and continued this training for many years. Sagawa eventually settled in Kodaira, a suburb of Tokyo, and established a dojo (training hall) there. Sagawa was widely considered to be the premier Daitoryu exponent of the second half of the twentieth century.

  Another early student of the Daitoryu was Kodo Horikawa (1895-1980). Horikawa began his training in Daitoryu under his father, one of Sokaku’s first students, and then with the Grand Master himself. Horikawa lived all his life in Hokkaido’s Kitami district, where he disseminated the Daitoryu teachings.

  Takuma Hisa (1896-1980) was Sokaku’s principal student in western Japan. He is believed to be the only one of Sokaku’s students to have received the complete transmission of all the Daitoryu techniques for unarmed and armed combat. After university, where he had been a champion sumo wrestler, he taught Aiki jujutsu Daitoryu for many years in and around Osaka.

  Tokimune Takeda (1916-1993), Sokaku’s second son, established a Daitoryu aiki budo headquarters in Abashiri, Hokkaido in 1953, subsequently assuming leadership of the Daitoryu tradition. In this role, Tokimune established an archive for Daitoryu-related material, codified all of the Daitoryu techniques, and established branch dojos throughout Japan.

  Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) was Sokaku’s most famous student. Morihei first met Sokaku in 1915 in Hokkaido, and trained under him until 1922, when Morihei in turn was licensed to teach. Under the influence of Onisaburo Deguchi (1871-1948), charismatic leader of the Omoto-kayo religion, Morihei adopted and simplified the Daitoryu techniques and added a prominent spiritual dimension to create the art of Aikido-which in recent years has become extremely well known around the world and gained a large international following.

  ]]> http://canberraaikido.com.au/about-aikido/57/feed/ 0