Search results for: “tomiki”

Something’s Rank – Black Belts in Aikido
Yoshimitsu Yamada in Kauai Hawaii, 1966
What was Jigoro Kano thinking, anyway?
The other day I was reading an interview with Yoshimitsu Yamada on the Aikido Sansuikai website. This passage happened to catch my attention:
Well, the ranking system in aikido is another headache. I personally disagree with this system. A teaching certificate is okay, a black belt is okay. But after that, no numbers, no shodan, no nidan, etc. People know who is good and who is bad. The dan ranking system creates a competitive mind, because people judge others – “oh, he is sixth dan, but he is not good, this guy is much better…”
Yamada has made similar statements before, I know, but it’s always interesting when the person responsible for handing out rank to a large number of people in several countries states publicly that he is himself opposed to the ranking system. (more…)
August 5, 2012
Aikido Shihan Hiroshi Tada: The Day I Entered Ueshiba Dojo
Hiroshi Tada, 6th Dan, being thrown by Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba O-Sensei (1958)
“Ueshiba Sensei of Aiki-jutsu is the greatest Budo master alive”
Hiroshi Tada was born in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan December 13th 1929. He began training at Aikikai Hombu Dojo on March 4th 1950. He was sent to Rome, Italy in October 1964 and established a dojo in 1966. He was Instrumental in the growth and development of Aikido in Italy.
Until he left for Europe in 1964 he also studied breathing exercises and yoga with Tempu Nakamura, who is well known for his influence on Shin-Shin Toitsu Aikido (心身統一合氣道) Founder Koichi Tohei.
He also studied with the Ichikukai (一九会), which was founded to continue the teachings of Tesshu Yamaoka by his student Tetsuju Ogura. The “1-9” Group was named to memorialize the day of the month (the 19th) on which Tesshu died, and is famous for its rigourous Misogi training.
Hiroshi Tada later developed his own system of breathing and meditation exercises called Ki no Renma (気の練磨 / Cultivation of Ki) as a supplement to Aikido Training.
The following article is a translation of the Japanese article that originally appeared in “Aikido Tankyu” (合氣道探求 / Aikido Quest), a magazine published by the Aikikai Hombu Dojo. (more…)
July 22, 2012
Masters of the Universe, the Aikikai and the Shihan Certification
Masters of the Universe®, Mattel Inc.
Who gets it, who doesn’t and would you want it anyway?
“Shihan” – most often translated as “Master Instructor”. Sound pretty important?
The term wasn’t used much when I first started Aikido, but it seems to be the title to have nowadays.
In Japanese, the Kanji for Shihan (師範) break down to “instruct” and “model” – or “model instructor”. This makes sense, especially considering normal Japanese methods of instruction – this would be the guy that everybody else copies, or hopes to copy.
The usage of the word varies from art to art. Some arts issues Shihan certifications, some don’t. Some arts (like Shodokan “Tomiki” Aikido, which only has two, although it is also used as an organizational title) have a very limited number of Shihan, some have many. In Judo, Jigoro Kano is usually called “Kano Shihan”, as Morihei Ueshiba is often called “O-Sensei” in Aikido.
What does “Shihan” mean in the Aikikai (I’m only going to talk about the Aikikai here)? (more…)
May 6, 2012
Aikido ™ – Can it really be trademarked?
Reg. No.2313434, June 28, 1991 – Registered Trademark “Aikikai”
Who’s doing Aikido, who isn’t, and who decides.
Here’s something that caught my eye from “Best Aikido, The Fundamentals” (Kisshomaru Ueshiba Doshu and Moriteru Ueshiba Hombu Dojo-cho), which was published in 1997 as 「規範合氣道基本編」 in Japanese:
Ｑ：合気道の分派はあるのですか。
Ａ：確かに巷には合気会とは別に「○○合気道」と名乗っている団体が存在します。中には、素姓の知れぬ訳の判らぬようなものもあるようです。
しかし、開祖・植芝盛平に連ならないもの、その教えを逸脱したものは、いかに外見を似せようが、深遠そうな哲理を語ろうが、合気道ではありません。例えば、競技試合を行っているようなものは明らかに合気道本来の姿を忘れたもので、合気道と呼ぶことはできません。
私どもで言う合気道には分派は存在しないと考えています。分派がいくつもあるという考えは、それ自体が合気道を貶（おとし）めるものでしょう。
Ｑ：Are there different schools of Aikido?
Ａ：To be sure, there are many systems that claim to be “such-and-such Aikido,” even without really knowing what Aikido is. And there are some splinter groups that have been established by former students of the Founder, with a few even going so far as to introduce organized competition, something that is totally contrary to the spirit of Aikido. Regardless of how similar the techniques appear, if they are divorced from the spirit of the Founder it is not Aikido.
We do not like to think that there are separate schools of Aikido. If we draw too many distinctions between different interpretations of the techniques, the universal character of Aikido will be degraded. (more…)
February 19, 2012

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