This is the Spanish translation of the article in English “Ueshiba-ha Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu” , provided courtesy of Héctor Muñoz Garcia.

En 1922 Sokaku Takeda se trasladó a las instalaciones de Omoto en Ayabe a vivir con Morihei Ueshiba y proporcionarle entrenamiento y formación intensiva durante cinco meses. Ueshiba conoció a Takeda por primera vez en 1915 en el Hisada Inn (una posada) en Engaru, Hokkaido, y entrenó de forma intensiva con él durante unos años antes de trasladarse a Ayabe. Tokimune, el hijo de Sokaku Takeda, comentó una vez:

Entrenó de forma extensa y entusiasta. Era el alumno favorito de Sokaku.

En 1922, al finalizar su estancia en Ayabe, Sokaku Takeda le concedió a Morihei Ueshiba la certificación Kyoju Dairi (instructor asistente) en Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu, pasando a ser instructor certificado en este arte marcial.

Certificado Kyoju Dairi Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu expedido a Morihei Ueshiba

Esta relación entre maestro y discípulo entre Sokaku Takeda y Morihei Ueshiba se prolongaría durante veinte años:

Permíteme comenzar afirmando categóricamente que la mayor influencia técnica en el desarrollo del aikido es el Daito-Ryu jujutsu. Este arte marcial, que se dice es la continuación de la tradición marcial del Clan Aizu, y que se remonta varios siglos en el pasado, se propagó por Japón durante la era Meiji, Taisho, y el principio del periodo Showa por el célebre artista marcial Sokaku Takeda. Conocido a partes iguales por su proezas y su carácter severo, Takeda había utilizado sus habilidades en situaciones de vida o muerte en más de una ocasión. Takeda tenía cincuenta y cuatro años cuando conoció a Morihei Ueshiba por primera vez en el Hisada Inn en Engaru, Hokkaido, a finales de febrero de 1915. Este encuentro marcó el comienzo de una tormentosa y duradera, a la par que productiva asociación entre los dos, que duró durante más de veinte años.

Aikido Journal Editor Stan Pranin – “Morihei Ueshiba and Sokaku Takeda“

Pero, ¿qué pasó después?

Kisshomaru Ueshiba y el Aikido de la postguerra

El 27 de octubre de 1985 en Sendai, asistí a una ponencia sobre la historia del aikido impartida por el Segundo Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba. Durante esta charla Kisshomaru Sensei hizo la siguiente aseveración: “El Fundador sólo estudió Daito-ryu durante tres semanas, más o menos.” ¡Me quedé con la boca abierta de incredulidad cuando escuché decir, a la persona más versada en la historia del aikido, hacer una afirmación que era evidentemente falsa!
Aikido Journal Editor Stan Pranin – “Beware the big lie!“

La foto de Morihei Ueshiba al comienzo de este artículo fue tomada en 1922 después de recibir su certificación Kyoju Dairi de Sokaku Takeda, momento que da comienzo a su carrera como instructor de artes marciales, y como instructor en Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu bajo la autoridad de Sokaku Takeda.

Sin embargo, hay una versión distinta en el mundo del Aikido moderno, una que es apoyada por la Aikikai, en donde el Aikido es la creación única y original de Morihei Ueshiba. Esta narrativa estipula que el Aikido es algo que él creó después de estudiar numerosas artes marciales, y que representó un cambio radical con respecto a sus prácticas pre-guerra, representando un dimensión espiritual nueva y original.
Pero, ¿estamos seguros de que fue así?

Pero, ¿estamos seguros de que fue así?

Para empezar, esta versión no se sostiene con las afirmaciones de Kisshomaru Ueshiba, que aseguró que la revelación clave, la de “el gran espíritu de la mutua protección” (万有愛護の大精神) — sucedió 1925. En lugar de ocurrir después de la guerra, esto sucedió hacia el comienzo de su carrera como instructor de Daito-ryu.

Kisshomaru Ueshiba con su padre Ueshiba Juku en Ayabe, 1925

Volviendo al Daito-ryu en sí mismo, vemos que las raíces filosóficas de Morihei Ueshiba…ya existían.

Masao Hayashima — alumno directo de Sokaku Takeda
“Aiki-jutsu es llamado el Budo de la Armonía”.

Además de Masao Hayashima (arriba), también tenemos a un contemporáneo de Ueshiba y compañero de Sokaku Takeda, Yukiyoshi Sagawa afirmar que “El Aiki Budo es el Camino del Desarrollo Humano”.

También tenemos a Tokimune Takeda, hijo de Sokaku Takeda, hablar sobre las enseñanzas de su padre:

“Los principios fundamentales de Daito-ryu son Amor y Armonía”

“El objetivo de enseñar Daito-ruy es “Armonía y Amor”, manteniendo este espíritu nos permite preservar y realizar justicia social. Este fue el último deseo de Sokaku Sensei.”

Pero estos conceptos tienen su origen en las tradiciones marciales japonesas, lejos de ser únicas de Morihei Ueshiba o del Daito-ryu.

• 「武ハ弋止ノ義何ゾ好テ以テ殺戮センヤ」 “Bu es el abandono de la violencia. Uno no debe encontrar placer en la batalla.”, Katayama-ryu Densho – 1647
• 「我モ勝ズ人モ勝ズ相得テ共ニ治ル」 “No somos capaces de alcanzar la victoria ambos, uno mismo y el otro. Entonces los dos deberán alcanzar mutuamente un estado de paz.”, Katayama-ryu Densho – 1647
• 「兵法は平法なり」  “Los métodos de la guerra son los métodos de la paz.”, Iizasa Ienao of Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu  –  1387–1488

Estos argumentos fueron expresados por el Profesor Karl Friday, historiador japonés y estudiante de las tradiciones marciales de Japón (recibió formación completa en Kashima Shin-ryu) en este extracto de una entrevista en 2009:

La evolución de la sabiduría en las artes marciales japonesas (ryūha bugei) está íntimamente ligada a la historia de la guerra. Los sistemas y colegios de artes marciales fueron desarrollados con el objetivo de servir como herramientas para transmitir las habilidades necesarias en el campo de batalla, como respuesta a la intensa demanda de hombres hábiles en la lucha generada a comienzos de la Era Sengoku. Los guerreros que deseaban sobrevivir y prosperar en los campos de batalla durante el medievo comenzaron a buscar conocimientos y entrenamiento en soldados veteranos, que empezaron a codificar su conocimiento y a sistematizar sus enseñanzas. Así el bugei ryūha surgió de forma más o menos directa debido a las exigencias de las guerras medievales. Durante la Pax Tokugawa que empezó en 1600 y trajo más de 200 años de paz, se produjeron cambios fundamentales en la práctica de artes marciales. La instrucción se profesionalizó y, en algunos casos, se comercializó; los periodos de entrenamiento se prolongaron, el currículo se formalizó; y se elaboró el sistema de niveles para los estudiantes. Sin embargo, los motivos y los objetivos fundamentales de la práctica bugei fueron remodelados de forma significativa. Los samurai, que ya no van a pasar tiempo en el campo de batalla, buscaron y encontraron una forma más racional y relevante de estudiar artes marciales, enfocándose no sólo en las capacidades en combate, como tenían sus ancestros, sino también en el cultivo del ser.

Esta es básicamente la historia que he resumido en mi libro “Legacies of the Sword Book” (legado del libro de la espada). Comienza por la asunción lógica de que ryūha bugei (sabiduría de las artes marciales) se origina como un instrumento para el entrenamiento militar, y evoluciona desde ahí hacia el budō, un medio para el auto-desarrollo y la auto-realización. Pero hay algunos problemas en esta imagen que se manifiestan si lo comparas con investigaciones recientes sobre las guerras medievales.

En primer lugar, queda claro que ryūha bugei sólo puede ser considerado una pequeña parte del entrenamiento militar del siglo XVI. Había como máximo unos pocos ryūha durante el siglo XVI, pero los ejércitos de aquella época movilizaban decenas de miles de hombres. Para que incluso una pequeña fracción de guerreros Sengoku pudiesen haber aprendido artes marciales a través de una o varias ryūha, cada una de las mismas debía haber entrenado al menos varios cientos de alumnos por año. Por tanto, Ryūha bugei debían haber sido entonces una actividad especializada, realizada por solo un porcentaje diminuto de guerreros Sengoku.

Un problema aún mayor, sin embargo, es la aplicación de esas habilidades que los bugeisha se concentraron en desarrollar durante las guerras medievales del siglo XVI. Las estrategias y tácticas estaban evolucionando. Donde en el siglo XV se dependía de guerreros individuales y pequeños grupos tácticos, en el XVI se concentra en maniobras militares de grandes grupos. Esto significa que los ryūha bugei se estaban enfocando en el desarrollo de habilidades individuales de combate, floreciendo en proporción inversa al valor de dichas habilidades de los guerreros en el campo de batalla.

Recientes estudios sobre las últimas guerras medievales, demuestran que la espada nunca se convirtió en un armamento clave en el campo de batalla en Japón, sino que era considerada un arma suplementaria, análoga a las armas de mano que llevan soldados modernos. Mientras que las espadas se llevaban en el campo de batalla, se usaban con más frecuencia en peleas callejeras, robos, asesinatos y otros disturbios callejeros no relacionados con la guerra. Herramientas de proyectil — flechas, piedras y más adelante balas — dominaron las batallas durante el periodo medieval.

Por otra parte, casi todas las ryūha que datan del periodo Sengoku o antes, aseguran que el uso de la espada juega un rol principal en el entrenamiento desde el comienzo. Tsukahara Bokuden, Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami, Iizasa Chōisai, Itō Ittōsai, Yagyū Muneyoshi, Miyamoto Musashi y otros fundadores de escuelas de artes marciales son conocidos por sus proezas en el manejo de la espada.

Al principio, me pregunté si el lugar que tiene el estudio de la espada en las artes marciales medievales representaba una prueba contradictoria frente al nuevo consenso sobre el las últimas guerras medievales. Después de todo, si los bugei ryūha empezaron como sistemas para entrenar guerreros para el campo de batalla, e hicieron del arte de la espada el eje central de su estudio, ¿no sugeriría esto que la espada era más importante en las guerras medievales que lo que estos nuevos estudios nos quieren hacer creer?

Después de batallar sobre esta cuestión por un tiempo, surgió la idea de que el problema puede residir en la primera premisa del argumento. Todas estas cuestiones que me inquietaban (¿por qué los bugei ryūha surgen en un momento en que la estrategia militar estaba eclipsando rápidamente a las habilidades marciales individuales como elemento decisivo en el campo de batalla, y clave para una carrera militar exitosa? ¿Por qué había tan pocos ryūha durante la era Sengoku, y por qué proliferaron tan rápido durante el comienzo del periodo Tokugawa, después de que los años de guerra hubiesen acabado? ¿Y por qué el manejo de la espada era tan prominente incluso en los primeros bugei ryūha?) eran más fáciles de responder si dejabas a un lado la premisa de que los bugei ryūha se originaron como instrumentos para formar en las técnicas necesarias en el campo de batalla. Y la verdad sobre este asunto es que hay muy poca base para esa vieja premisa, más allá del hecho de que la guerra era endémica en Japón cuando las primeras escuelas de artes marciales surgieron. La sabiduría recibida se basa, en otras palabras, en un error hoc ergo (porque un evento suceda después de otro no significa que el primero cause el segundo).

Parece entonces que esos ryūha bugei y sus enseñanzas tenían un objetivo más abstracto desde el comienzo, comunicando ideales más profundos de desarrollo personal y cultural. Esto significa que los ryūha bugei fueron una abstracción de la ciencia militar, no una mera aplicación de la misma. Fomentaron rasgos de la personalidad y agudeza táctica que hacía que aquellos que la practicaban fuesen mejores guerreros, pero sus objetivos e ideales eran más parecidos a los de la educación liberal que a la formación profesional. En otras palabras, el bugeisha, incluso durante la era de Sengoku, tenía más en común con los competidores de puntería de los Juegos Olímpicos, entrenando con armas especializadas para desarrollar niveles esotéricos de habilidad bajo condiciones particulares, que con los fusileros. También tenían tanto — quizás más — en común con la era Tokugawa y los artistas marciales modernos que con los guerreros ordinarios de su propia época.

Básicamente, estoy argumentando que no hubo un cambio fundamental de propósito en la educación de las artes marciales entre finales del siglo XVI y mediados del siglo XVII. El budō de la era de Tokugawa representó no una metamorfosis del arte marcial tardío medieval, sino la maduración del mismo. Ryūha bugei en sí constituía un nuevo fenómeno -uno derivado, no una mejora lineal, de un entrenamiento militar anterior y más prosaico.

(Para el argumento completo, vea mi obra “Off the Warpath”, en Alex Bennett’s Budo Perspectives [Auckland, Nueva Zelanda: Kendo World Publications, 2005], 249-68).

Lejos de ser nuevo y original, o único de Morihei Ueshiba y el Aikido moderno, vemos que el concepto de una tradición marcial para el desarrollo espiritual y personal es algo muy antiguo y endémico para muchas artes marciales.

¿Eso importa?

Ciertamente, Morihei Ueshiba era una persona espiritual, y creía que practicaba y enseñaba un arte que permitía el desarrollo personal y espiritual.

Que los conceptos que él expresó no eran ni únicos ni originales no quita importancia a ese mensaje.

En mi opinión, es hora de abandonar la presunción de excepcionalismo espiritual y la singularidad que a menudo existe en el Aikido moderno, ya que a largo plazo es destructivo para el arte en su conjunto.

Morihei Ueshiba y Daito-ryu

Entonces, ¿qué hay de la implicación de Morihei Ueshiba en Daito-ryu y Sokaku Takead?

La descripción que se hace en la web de Aikikai dice:

Aikido es un Arte Marcial moderno creado por el fundador, Morihei Ueshiba.

Un descripción más detallada contiene la misma narrativa:

Aikido es un Arte Marcial japonés creado durante los años 20 por Morihei Ueshiba (1883~1969), un experto que alcanzó el más alto nivel de maestría en las Artes Marciales clásicas japonesas.

Ninguna de las dos hace mención a Sokaku Takeda o Daito-ryu, aunque Takeda es mencionado una vez (sólo una) en el cronograma de la vida de Morihei Ueshiba:

El Fundador conoce a Sr. Sokaku Takeda, el creador de Daito-ryu Jujutsu, en el Hisada Ryokan en Engaru, y solicita ser instruido.

Y eso es todo…

De forma similar, en los libros de Kisshomaru Ueshiba “The Spirit of Aikido” y “The Art of Aikido” no hay ni una sola mención al Daito-ryu. Ninguno de los libros es un trabajo histórico, pero tampoco mencionan que el Daito-ryu fue el único arte marcial en el que Morihei Ueshiba tenía certificación como instructor (además del suyo propio).

En el trabajo más reciente, “Best Aikido“, escrito por Kisshomaru Ueshiba y Moriteru Ueshiba, hay una breve mención a Daito-ryu como uno de los muchos artes marciales que Morihei Ueshiba estudió, pero ninguna mención relativa a la profundidad del estudio de dichas artes — dicho capítulo no reconoce el hecho de que, con excepción del Daito-ryu, todas esas artes marciales fueron estudiadas en periodos muy breves de tiempo.

AikiWeb: O-sensei también habría estudiado un montón de otras artes koryu aparte de Daito-ryu
Stan Pranin: Yo diría que eso no es cierto.

Si lo miras históricamente, fue a Tokio en 1901 y pasó allí un año. Durante esta estancia en Tokio, cuando estaba entrenando para convertirse en un comerciante, hizo un poco de jujutsu Tenjin Shinyo-ryu. Probablemente era un dojo “machi”, es decir un pequeño dojo en el área de Asakusa de Tokio. Él iría allí por la noche, fueron cerca de tres o cuatro meses en total antes de enfermar de beriberi, dejar Tokio y volver a Tanabe. Lo estaba haciendo mientras trabajaba muy duro durante el día y fue un período muy breve de sólo unos pocos meses. Sería difícil imaginar que eso tuviera una fuerte influencia técnica.

Por la misma razón cuando estaba en el ejército, también comenzó a estudiar Yagyu-ryu jujutsu. Hay algunas preguntas sobre cuál era el nombre real del arte marcial. O-sensei se refirió a él como Yagyu-ryu jujutsu, mientras que [Kisshomaru Ueshiba] Doshu hizo algunas averiguaciones y dijo que era Goto-ha Yagyu Shingan-ryu o similar.

Él estaba en el ejército en ese momento y también fue enviado a Manchuria durante un tiempo. Era difícil para mí imaginar que iba regularmente mientras estaba en el ejército, así que no sé si su entrenamiento fue en los fines de semana o qué. Al parecer, estaba entusiasmado con su formación, pero no se daban las circunstancias para permitir un estudio en profundida.

Sin embargo, siguió estudiando un poco de Yagyu-ryu después de salir del ejército, pero estaba en Tanabe, ¡estaba a un par de cientos de millas de distancia y tenía que ir en ferry! Tal vez subió tres, cuatro o media docena de veces, pero no era el tipo de un estudio intensivo con alguien durante años.

Sin embargo, él tenía un makimono (rollo de papel oficial donde se firma el certificado oficial) también — sin embargo, no lleva ningún sello. Uno sólo puede especular lo que eso significa. A veces lo que sucede es que a una persona se le dice que prepare un makimono o que alguien lo prepare y, por cualquier circunstancia o razón, el maestro nunca está disponible para firmarlo. Por lo tanto, el rollo no puede considerarse oficial.

Por lo tanto, parece que estudió esta forma de Yagyu-ryu más que el jujutsu de Tenjin Shinyo-ryu, pero probablemente hizo un año o dos como mucho.

El otro arte que él estudió, pero otra vez no en mucha profundidad, habría sido judo. La primera descripción del maestro que fue enviado del Kodokan a Tanabe por el padre de O-sensei para enseñar a Morihei y varios parientes y amigos dio la impresión de que este maestro de judo era un experto. Resulta que tenía 17 años. Conocí a su esposa en la década de 1980 y me lo dijo directamente. Podría haber sido un shodan, máximo. Además, O-sensei estaba involucrado con otras cosas en esta fase de transición de su vida tratando de averiguar lo que iba a hacer con su carrera. Una de las razones, según Doshu, de que esta persona del judo fuese traída era ayudarlo a centrarse y canalizar sus energías. Pero O-sensei terminó yendo a Hokkaido.

Por lo tanto, tienes este período muy breve en Tenjin Shinyo Ryu, un poco de entrenamiento en Yagyu Ryu jujutsu mientras que está en el ejército, un poco de judo, y luego Daito-ryu. Eso es todo. La impresión de que estudió muchas artes distintas de Daito-ryu y las dominó es completamente falsa.

Aikiweb Interview with Stan Pranin – Agosto, 2000

Ahora, volvamos a la foto de 1922 en la parte superior de este artículo. En esa foto Morihei Ueshiba está sentado delante de un cartel que lee “Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu”.

Por desgracia, el Aikikai retocó la foto un poco en varias ocasiones y en varias publicaciones — muy probablemente con el fin de apoyar la narración pública que se promueve después de la guerra.

Aikido Shimbun, número 2 – mayo de 1959
scan original de Stan Pranin

El segundo número del boletín de la Fundación Aikikai, el “Aikido Shimbun” (foto superior) mostraba una copia de la foto de Ayabe, de 1922, con el letrero “Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu” cuidadosamente editado. Además, no hay ninguna mención, en absoluto, de Daito-ryu, o el contexto de la foto, en el texto del artículo.

“Aikido Nymon”, de Kisshomaru Ueshiba – 1975
scan original de Stan Pranin

En esta imagen, a partir de un libro publicado por Ni-Dai Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba en 1975, los caracteres de “Daito-ryu” han sido editados, dejando sólo las palabras “Aiki-jujutsu”.

“Aikido Shintei” de Kisshomaru Ueshiba – 1986

En esta foto, de una publicación de 1986 llamada “Aikido Shintei”, los caracteres de “Daito-ryu” también son editados, de forma chapuzera, dejando intacta parte del carácter “ryu”.

Invitación para clases de verano con Morihei Ueshiba
en Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu y Aiki-budo, 1931

Morihei Ueshiba y Daito-ryu – Continuidad

En 1933 Morihei Ueshiba publicó un manual de instrucciones técnicas de Daito-ryu, Aikijujutsu Densho. Que fue titulado “Aikijujutsu”, y fue distribuido a los estudiantes que reciben certificados en Daito-ryu como una especie de documento de transmisión. Más adelante — volvió a publicar el mismo manual, con las mismas técnicas y explicaciones (pero sin usar el lenguaje imperial de antes de la guerra) en 1954 como Aikido Maki-no-ichi. Morihei Ueshiba usó este manual como libro de texto cuando enseñó en los años 50.

En 1938, Morihei Ueshiba publicó el manual técnico “Budo”. Este libro, re-descubierto por el editor del diario Aikido Stan Pranin, contiene técnicas que Morihiro Saito afirmó eran idénticas a las técnicas enseñadas por Morihei Ueshiba en la casa de Morihei Ueshiba en Iwama, donde vivió desde 1942 hasta cerca del momento de su muerte.

Un día, en julio de 1981, estaba llevando a cabo una entrevista con Zenzaburo Akazawa, un uchi deshi de pre-guerra de Morihei Ueshiba del periodo Dojo Kobukan. El Sr. Akazawa procedió a mostrarme un manual técnico publicado en 1938 titulado Budo que nunca había visto antes. Contenía fotos de unas cincuenta técnicas demostradas por el propio fundador. Mientras volvía lentamente las páginas del manual, me sorprendió ver en las fotos que la ejecución de varias técnicas básicas como ikkyo, iriminage y shihonage eran virtualmente idénticas a lo que había aprendido en Iwama bajo Saito Sensei. Aquí estaba el propio fundador demostrando lo que yo había considerado hasta entonces como técnicas “estilo Iwama”. El señor Akazawa, que vive a pocas manzanas del Dojo de Iwama, me prestó amablemente el libro y me apresuré a mostrarlo a Saito Sensei.

Siempre recordaré la escena cuando llamé a la puerta de Sensei para compartir con él mi nuevo descubrimiento. Para mi sorpresa, nunca había visto ni oído mencionar el libro antes. Se puso las gafas de lectura y hojeó el manual con los ojos examinando las secuencias técnicas con atención. Entonces me sentí obligado a disculparme por haber dudado de su afirmación de que estaba haciendo todo lo posible para preservar fielmente las técnicas del fundador. Saito Sensei se echó a reír y, obviamente con un gran placer, gritó: “¡Ves, Pranin, te lo dije!” Desde ese momento hasta el final de su vida, Saito Sensei siempre tenía a su lado su copia de Budo en el Dojo de Iwama y en sus viajes lo utilizaba como prueba para demostrar que una técnica particular se originó en las enseñanzas del fundador.

Aikido Journal editor Stan Pranin – “Remembering Morihiro Saito Sensei“

En 1940, Takuma Hisa — una de las únicas personas que han recibido Menkyo Kaiden (“certificado de transmisión completa”, mostrando que uno ha dominado la totalidad de un sistema marcial) en Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu directamente de Sokaku Takeda, publicó “Kannagara no Budo, Daito-ryu Aiki Budo Hiden”. Este manual sobre Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu es casi una copia exacta, tanto en explicación técnica como en las técnicas ilustradas, del manual “Aikijujutsu Densho” publicado por Morihei Ueshiba en 1933 … el manual que se utilizó como libro de texto para loa estudiantes post-guerra en la década de 1950 como “Aikido Maki-no-Ichi”.

Sokaku Takeda en el Asahi Shimbun Dojo en Osaka  – 1936

Takuma Hisa también es importante ya que fue una de las pocas personas que tuvo la oportunidad de comparar directamente a Sokaku Takeda y Morihei Ueshiba en profundidad durante un período prolongado de tiempo:

La formación que Hisa recibió de Takeda le dio la oportunidad de comparar las técnicas que había enseñado durante los tres años anteriores (1933–1936) Ueshiba con las enseñadas por Takeda. Su conclusión fue que eran lo mismo, lo que significa que Ueshiba no había modificado significativamente ni evolucionado lo que Takeda había enseñado. En años posteriores, Hisa era inflexible acerca de las técnicas de Ueshiba y Takeda siendo idénticas. Lo expresó claramente en una mesa redonda: “Cuando Tomiki llegó a Osaka para enseñar aiki-bujutsu al pueblo Asahi, las técnicas que tanto Ueshiba y Takeda enseñaban eran las mismas. Definitivamente lo mismo. El Maestro Ueshiba debería decir que le fue enseñado por el maestro Takeda. Debería decir que era Daitoryu. Pero nunca dijo eso. El Sr. Tomiki (quien también viajó desde Tokio a Osaka para enseñar el sistema de Ueshiba en el dojo Asahi) sabe esto, ¿no? Pero Ueshiba nunca lo dijo. Y Tomiki respondió: “Definitivamente no. ‘Yo [Ueshiba] lo establecí todo … [sonriendo misteriosamente]’. Sin embargo, los viejos artistas marciales a menudo lo hacen de esa manera. “[Shishida (Ed.), 1982, p.1]

“The Process of Forming Aikido and Japanese Imperial Navy Admiral Isamu Takeshita: Through the analysis of Takeshita’s diary from 1925 to 1931”
 – Fumiaki Shishida (Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan)

Tanto Sokaku Takeda como Morihei Ueshiba mantuvieron un registro de sus estudiantes. Cuando alguien se convierte en un estudiante su nombre sería ingresado en el libro y el estudiante adjunta su sello. El Sr. Kimura habla un poco sobre el registro, que firmó en 1942 en “Mr. Kimura’s Aikido Memories, Part 1”.

Mamoru Okada también recuerda la firma de este registro — en este caso firmó el registro en 1949, después de la guerra.

Hiroshi Isoyama también declara que firmó este registro — de nuevo en 1949, después de la guerra. Además, su testimonio confirma que el registro estaba titulado “Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu”:

Y el título en mi papel de registro es “Registro Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu”. Esto es lo que firmé. En la parte superior del registro de estudiantes, también hay los nombres de personas como el Almirante Takeshita Isamu.

“Interview with Isoyama Hiroshi Shihan, the master of the Iwama Dojo“

Es decir — Morihei Ueshiba estaba inscribiendo a gente como estudiantes de Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu en una fecha tan tardía como 1949.

Aquí hay algunas fotos de un rollo de Hiden Mokuroku (gracias a Scott Burke por las fotos) — el “catálogo de enseñanzas secretas” que compone el primer rollo en el currículo de Daito-ryu. Este rollo fue publicado por Morihei (entonces usando el nombre de Moritaka) Ueshiba en 1925:

“Aiki-jujutsu Hiden Mokuroku”, 1925

El sello de Aiki-jujutsu en la esquina superior derecha es similar (pero ligeramente diferente en forma) al sello que aparece en el manual técnico 1919 de Morihei Ueshiba Aikijujutsu Densho — AKA Budo Renshu.

Aquí otra sección del mismo rollo de 1925:

Aiki-jujutsu técnicas con paraguas 1925

Esta sección del rollo habla sobre técnicas con un paraguas y está sellado como “Aiki-jujutsu”.

Hiden Mokuroku 118 Techniques

Una continuación del rollo — a la izquierda indica que este rollo contiene 118 técnicas. Las 118 técnicas básicas del primer rollo de Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu.

Página de firma – Hiden Mokuroku 

Esta es la página de la firma del rollo de 1925. Firmado por el estudiante de Sokaku Takeda Masayoshi Minamoto (武田惣角源正義), Moritaka Ueshiba Seigan Minamoto (源晴眼).

Claramente un rollo Daito-ryu, y claramente emitido bajo la autoridad de su maestro, Sokaku Takeda. Lo mismo ocurre en este rollo, también publicado bajo la autoridad de Sokaku Takeda:

Hiden Mokuroku expide a Minoru Mochizuki en 1932
“Ueshiba Moritaka, estudiante de Takeda Sokaku”

Y aquí otro rollo más:

Aikido Hiden Mokuroku

La calidad de la imagen no es tan buena, pero hay algunas cosas interesantes que podemos observar:

1. El pergamino ahora lee “Aikido” en lugar de “Aiki-jujutsu”.
2. La estructura del pergamino es idéntica a la del Daito-ryu.
3. El título del pergamino es “Hiden Mokuroku”, el mismo que el rollo Daito-ryu.

Aikido Hiden Mokuroku – detalle

Aquí hay una sección del rollo en mayor detalle. Al igual que el rollo Daito-ryu, este pergamino contiene una sección sobre técnicas de paraguas. Este también contiene una sección sobre las técnicas de Bo (palo).

En el lado izquierdo se especifica que este rollo contiene 118 técnicas, igual que el rollo Daito-ryu de 1925.

Página de firma – Aikido Hiden Mokuroku

Aquí está la sección de la firma del pergamino. El nombre de Sokaku Takeda ya no aparece en el rollo, sino que está firmado por Aikido Doshu Tsunemori Ueshiba (un nombre que Morihei Ueshiba usó con frecuencia después de la guerra).

La fecha que aparece en el rollo dice March Showa year 35 – 1960.

Entonces, en resumen:

• 1922 – Morihei Ueshiba es certificado como instructor en Daito-ryu, tiene poca experiencia en otras artes marciales en ese entonces.
• 1922-1936 – Morihei Ueshiba es documentado como enseñando Daito-ryu bajo la autoridad de Sokaku Takeda.
• 1933 – Morihei escribe Aikijujutsu Densho, un manual de instrucciones de Daito-ryu.
• 1936 –  Takuma Hisa compara lo que estaba haciendo con Sokaku Takeda y encuentra que ambos están haciendo Daito-ryu. Sokaku Takeda se hace cargo del Asahi Shimbun dojo y Morihei Ueshiba se va por su cuenta.
• 1940 – Takuma Hisa publica el Aikijujutsu Densho de Morihei Ueshiba como un manual de Daito-ryu.
• 1949 –  Morihei sigue inscribiendo estudiantes como estudiantes de Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu después de la guerra.
• 1954 – Morihei Ueshiba publica Aikido Maki-no-Ichi, que duplica las explicaciones técnicas y las ilustraciones técnicas de Aikijujutsu Densho. Enseña a los estudiantes de posguerra de este manual.
• 1957 – Lee Price dice que hay 2.664 técnicas en Aikido de Morihei Ueshiba para el programa de televisión estadounidense “Rendezvous with Adventure” (esto puede haber sido un error de traducción del habitual número de 2.884 técnicas citadas por los Takumakai) en lugar del reducido número de técnicas en el Aikikai de posguerra. Morihei Ueshiba afirma que el arte fue fundado por Minamoto Yoshimitsu en 1120, que fue transmitido a través de la familia Takeda, y que se representa a su legítimo heredero — no al fundador. Cuando se le preguntó cuándo comenzó el Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba dice “hace unos 50 años”. Recordemos que esto es 1957, por lo que haría hace 50 años sobre el tiempo que conoció a Sokaku Takeda, mucho antes de la guerra.
• Morihei Ueshiba enseña las mismas técnicas en Iwama después de la guerra en los años 50 y los años 60 como fueron documentados en el manual técnico 1938 Budo.
• Morihei Ueshiba emite certificados Daito-ryu, con el nombre cambiado a Aikido pero con todos los otros detalles conservados, tan tarde como 1960 — y mucho más tarde, en rollos que son privados.

Estoy seguro que ves por donde voy:

1. Antes de la guerra Morihei Ueshiba era instructor de Daito-ryu bajo Sokaku Takeda, enseñó Daito-ryu durante muchos años y emitió licencias en Daito-ryu.
2. Lo que Morihei Ueshiba enseñaba y distribuía después de la guerra en las décadas de 1950 y 1960 era esencialmente el mismo material que estaba enseñando y distribuyendo antes de la guerra: Daito-ryu, hasta los certificados y el nombre en el libro de inscripción.
3. No hubo cambio de fase en la técnica básica, o invención radical de la nueva técnica marcial.
4. Que había una continuidad básica en la línea de su formación y enseñanza como estudiante y maestro de Daito-ryu desde 1922 hasta su muerte en 1969.

Comparando la continuidad del legado técnico de Morihei Ueshiba visualmente

Como dijo Masatake Fujita, que pasó casi todos los días con Morihei Ueshiba durante los últimos dos años de su vida:

P: ¿En cuanto a la técnica, notó un cambio en el Fundador mientras lo observaba?

R: No, no hubo ningún cambio. Eso es probablemente cierto incluso antes de la guerra, porque incluso cuando ves la cinta de vídeo de Showa año 12 (1937), el año en que nací, eso es verdad (* Nota del traductor: en realidad es la demostración Asahi News de 1935). Sin embargo, hubo algunas técnicas de ese período que se han olvidado hoy. Estoy enseñando ese tipo de técnicas ahora, pero por supuesto es difícil.

“Interview with Aikido Shihan Masatake Fujita, Part 2“

“No, realmente no hubo ningún cambio”.

En otras palabras, el legado de Morihei Ueshiba era, en realidad, lo que algunas personas podrían llamar “Ueshiba-ha Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu”, propia rama de Morihei Ueshiba del árbol del arte marcial de Sokaku Takeda.

Para más información sobre lo que pasó con los legados divergentes de Morihei Ueshiba y su hijo Kisshomaru, revise el ensayo de Mark Murray “The Ueshiba Legacy” — Parte 1 y Parte 2. También podría estar interesado en Aikido Journal Editor El ensayo de Stanley Pranin “Es O -Sensei realmente el padre del Aikido moderno?” (Inglés: “Is O-Sensei Really the Father of Modern Aikido?“).

Published by: Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI

The post Ueshiba-ha Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu [Spanish Version] appeared first on Aikido Sangenkai Blog.

In 1922 Sokaku Takeda moved to the Omoto compound in Ayabe to live with Morihei Ueshiba and give him intensive instruction for five months. Ueshiba first met Takeda in 1915 at the Hisada Inn in Engaru, Hokkaido, and trained intensively with him for a number of years before moving to Ayabe. Sokaku Takeda’s son Tokimune once commented:

He trained extensively and was enthusiastic. He was Sokaku’s favorite student.

In 1922, at the conclusion of his stay in Ayabe, Sokaku Takeda awarded a Kyoju Dairi (assistant instructor) certificate in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu to Morihei Ueshiba, making him a certified instructor in the art.

Morihei Ueshiba’s Kyoju Dairi in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu

This relationship between teacher and student, Sokaku Takeda and Morihei Ueshiba, would last for more then twenty years:

Let me begin by stating categorically that the major technical influence on the development of aikido is Daito-ryu jujutsu. This art, which is said to be the continuation of a martial tradition of the Aizu Clan dating back several hundred years, was propagated in many areas of Japan during the Meiji, Taisho, and early Showa periods by the famous martial artist, Sokaku Takeda. Known equally for his martial prowess and severity of character, Takeda had used his skills in life-and-death encounters on more than one occasion. Takeda was fifty-four years old when Morihei Ueshiba first met him at the Hisada Inn in Engaru, Hokkaido in late February 1915. This encounter marked the beginning of a long, stormy yet ultimately productive association between the two, which lasted for more than twenty years.

Aikido Journal Editor Stan Pranin – “Morihei Ueshiba and Sokaku Takeda“

But what happened next?

Kisshomaru Ueshiba and Post-war Aikido

On October 27, 1985 in Sendai, I attended a lecture on the history of aikido given by Second Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba. During his talk Kisshomaru Sensei made the following remark: “The Founder only studied Daito-ryu for three weeks or so.” My jaw dropped in disbelief when perhaps the most knowledgeable person in the world on the subject of aikido history made such a patently false statement!
Aikido Journal Editor Stan Pranin – “Beware the big lie!“

The picture of Morihei Ueshiba at the beginning of this article was taken in 1922 after receiving his Kyoju Dairi certification from Sokaku Takeda, which marks the beginning of his teaching career in the martial arts, and as an instructor in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu under the authority of Sokaku Takeda.

However, there is a narrative in the modern Aikido world, one that is encouraged by the Aikikai, in which Aikido is the original and unique creation of Morihei Ueshiba. This narrative stipulates that Aikido is something that he created after studying a number of martial arts, and that it represented a radical phase change from his pre-war practices, and that it represented a new and original spiritual dimension.

But is that really the case?

To begin with, this narrative is complicated by Kisshomaru Ueshiba’s representation that the key spiritual revelation, that of “the great spirit of mutual loving protection” (万有愛護の大精神) – occurred in 1925. Rather than after occurring after the war, this was towards the very start of his career as an instructor of Daito-ryu.

Kisshomaru Ueshiba with his father at Ueshiba Juku, Ayabe in 1925

Going back from there to Daito-ryu itself we see the roots of Morihei Ueshiba’s philosophy…already in existence.

Masao Hayashima – a direct student of Sokaku Takeda
“Aiki-jutsu is said to be the Budo of Harmony”.

In addition to Masao Hayashima (above) we also have Morihei Ueshiba’s contemporary, and a fellow student of Sokaku Takeda, Yukiyoshi Sagawa and “Aiki Budo is the Way of Human Development“.

Then, we have Sokaku Takeda’s son Tokimune Takeda discussing his father’s instruction:

“The essential principles of Daito-ryu are Love and Harmony”

“The goal of spreading Daito-ryu is ‘Harmony and Love’, keeping this spirit is what preserves and realizes social justice. This was Sokaku Sensei’s dying wish”

But these concepts can be tracked all through the Japanese martial traditions, they are far from unique to either Morihei Ueshiba or Daito-ryu.

• 「武ハ弋止ノ義何ゾ好テ以テ殺戮センヤ」 “Bu is the abandoning of violence. One must not find pleasure in slaughter.”, Katayama-ryu Densho – 1647
• 「我モ勝ズ人モ勝ズ相得テ共ニ治ル」 “Oneself and another who cannot win are both unable to attain victory, so both mutually return to a state of peace.”, Katayama-ryu Densho – 1647
• 「兵法は平法なり」 “The methods of war are the methods of peace”,  Iizasa Ienao of Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu – 1387-1488

This argument was expressed by Professor Karl Friday, a Japanese historian and a student of the Japanese martial traditions (having received full transmission in Kashima Shin-ryu) in this excerpt from an interview in 2009:

The conventional wisdom on Japanese martial art (ryūha bugei) ties its evolution closely to the history of warfare. It starts from the premise that systems and schools of martial art originally developed as tools for passing on workaday battlefield skills, in response to intensified demand for skilled fighting men spawned by the onset of the Sengoku age. Warriors hoping to survive and prosper on late medieval battlefields began to seek instruction from talented veterans, who in turn began to codify their knowledge and methodize its study. Thus bugei ryūha emerged more-or-less directly from the exigencies of medieval warfare. But-so goes the tale-the two-and-a-half-century Pax Tokugawa that began in 1600 brought fundamental changes to the practice of martial art. Instruction became professionalized, and in some cases, commercialized; training periods became longer, curricula were formalized; and elaborate systems of student ranks developed. Most significantly, however, the motives and goals underlying bugei practice were recast. Samurai, who no longer expected to spend time on the battlefield, sought and found a more relevant rationale for studying martial art, approaching it not simply as a means to proficiency in combat, as their ancestors had, but as a means to spiritual cultivation of the self.

This is basically the story I summarized in my Legacies of the Sword book. It begins from the logical assumption that ryūha bugei originated as an instrument for ordinary military training, and evolved from there into budō, a means to broader self-development and self-realization. But there are some problems with this picture that become clear if you juxtapose it against recent research on medieval warfare.

It‘s clear, first of all, that ryūha bugei couldn’t have accounted for more than a tiny portion of sixteenth-century military training. There were at most a few dozen ryūha around during the 16th century, but armies of that era regularly mobilized tens of thousands of men. In order for even a fraction of sengoku warriors to have learned their craft through one or more ryūha, each and every ryūha of the period would need to have trained at least several hundred students a year. Ryūha bugei must, therefore, have been a specialized activity, pursued by only a minute percentage of Sengoku warriors.

An even bigger issue, however, is the applicability of the skills that late medieval bugeisha concentrated on developing to sixteenth-century warfare. For one thing, strategy and tactics were shifting, from the 15th century onward-precisely the period in which bugei ryūha began to appear-from reliance on individual warriors and small group tactics to disciplined group tactical maneuver. Which means that ryūha bugei, focusing on developing prowess in personal combat, emerged and flourished in almost inverse proportion to the value of skilled individual fighters on the battlefield.

All of the recent scholarship on late medieval warfare, moreover, argues that swords never became a key battlefield armament in Japan-that they were, rather, supplementary weapons, analogous to the sidearms worn by modern soldiers. While swords were carried in combat, they were used far more often in street fights, robberies, assassinations and other (off-battlefield) civil disturbances. Missile weapons-arrows, rocks, and later bullets-dominated battles, throughout the medieval period.

On the other hand, almost all of the ryūha that date back to the sengoku period or earlier claim that swordsmanship played a central role in their training, right from the start. Tsukahara Bokuden, Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami, Iizasa Chōisai, Itō Ittōsai, Yagyū Muneyoshi, Miyamoto Musashi and other founders of martial art schools were (are) all best known for their prowess as swordsmen.

Initially, I wondered if the place of swordsmanship in medieval martial art represented a major piece of counter-evidence to the new consensus on late medieval warfare. After all, if bugei ryūha started out as systems to train warriors for the battlefield, and made swordsmanship central to their arts, wouldn’t that suggest that swords were more important to medieval warfare than the new scholarship would have us believe?

After wrestling with that question for quite a while, it finally struck me that the problem might lie in the first premise of this argument. All of the questions that were bothering me (why did bugei ryūha emerge at a time when generalship was rapidly coming to overshadow personal martial skills as the decisive element in battle, and the key to a successful military career? Why were there so few ryūha around during the Sengoku era, and why did they proliferate so rapidly during the early Tokugawa period, after the age of wars had passed? And why was swordsmanship so prominent in even the earliest bugei ryūha?) become much easier to answer if you just set aside the premise that bugei ryūha originated as instruments for teaching the workaday techniques of the battlefield. And the truth of the matter is that there’s little basis for that hoary assumption, beyond the fact that war was endemic in Japan when the first martial art schools appeared. The received wisdom rests, in other words, on what amounts to a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy.

It seems likely, then, that ryūha bugei and the pedagogical devices associated with it aimed from the start at conveying more abstract ideals of self-development and enlightenment. That is, that ryūha bugei was an abstraction of military science, not merely an application of it. It fostered character traits and tactical acumen that made those who practiced it better warriors, but its goals and ideals were more akin to those of liberal education than vocational training. In other words, bugeisha, even during the Sengoku era, had more in common with Olympic marksmanship competitors-training with specialized weapons to develop esoteric levels of skill under particularized conditions-than with Marine riflemen. They also had as much-perhaps more-in common with Tokugawa era and modern martial artists than with the ordinary warriors of their own day.

Basically, I’m arguing that there was no fundamental shift of purpose in martial art education between the late sixteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries. Tokugawa era budō represented not a metamorphosis of late medieval martial art, but the maturation of it. Ryūha bugei itself constituted a new phenomenon-a derivative, not a linear improvement, of earlier, more prosaic military training.

(For the full argument, see my “Off the Warpath” piece, in Alex Bennett’s Budo Perspectives [Auckland, New Zealand: Kendo World Publications, 2005], 249-68.)

Far from being new and original, or unique to Morihei Ueshiba and modern Aikido, we see that the concept of a martial tradition for spiritual and personal development is something that is very old, and endemic to many arts.

Does that matter?

Certainly, Morihei Ueshiba was a spiritual person, and believed that he practiced and taught an art that enabled personal and spiritual development.

That the concepts he expressed were neither unique nor original doesn’t take away from that message.

In my opinion it is time to abandon the conceit of spiritual exceptionalism and uniqueness that often exists in modern Aikido, in the long run it is only destructive to the art as a whole.

Morihei Ueshiba and Daito-ryu

Now, what about Morihei Ueshiba’s involvement with Daito-ryu and Sokaku Takeda?

The base description on the Aikikai website reads:

Aikido is a modern Martial Art created by the Founder, Morihei Ueshiba.

A more detailed description contains the same narrative:

Aikido is a Japanese Martial Art created during the 1920s by Morihei Ueshiba (1883~1969), an expert who reached the highest level of mastery in the classical Japanese Martial Arts.

Neither contains any mention of Sokaku Takeda or Daito-ryu, but Takeda is mentioned once (and only once) on the biographical timeline of Morihei Ueshiba’s life:

The Founder meets Mr. Sokaku Takeda, the originator of Daito-ryu Jujutsu, at the Hisada Ryokan (inn) in Engaru, and asks for instruction.

And that’s it…

Similarly, in Kisshomaru Ueshiba’s books “The Spirit of Aikido” and “The Art of Aikido” there is virtually no mention of Daito-ryu in either one. Neither of them are historical works, but neither of them make any real mention of the only art that Morihei Ueshiba was ever licensed to teach, the only art (outside of his own) in which he ever issued certificates or licences.

In the more recent work, “Best Aikido“, written by Kisshomaru Ueshiba and Moriteru Ueshiba, there is a short mention of Daito-ryu as one of the many arts that Morihei Ueshiba studied, but no mention is made of the relative depth of study of those arts – the section entirely fails to note the fact that, with the exception of Daito-ryu, all of those arts were studied for very brief periods of time.

AW: O-sensei also reportedly studied a lot of other koryu arts outside of Daito-ryu.

SP: I would say that that’s not true.

If you look at it historically, he went up to Tokyo in 1901 and spent about a year there. During this stay in Tokyo when he was training to become a merchant, he did a little bit of Tenjin Shinyo-ryu jujutsu. It was probably a “machi” dojo, in other words a small dojo in the Asakusa area of Tokyo. He would go there at night, but it was probably about three or four months total since he got very ill with beriberi and had to leave Tokyo and return to Tanabe. He was doing it while working very hard during the day and it was a very brief period of only a few months. It would be difficult to imagine that that had a strong, technical influence.

By the same token when he was in the army, he also began studying Yagyu-ryu jujutsu. There are some questions about what the actual name of the art was. O-sensei referred to it as Yagyu-ryu jujutsu, while [Kisshomaru Ueshiba] Doshu did some research and said it was Goto-ha Yagyu Shingan-ryu or similar name.

He was in the army at the time and also was sent to Manchuria for a part of the time. It was hard for me to imagine him going regularly while being in the army, so I don’t know if his training was on the weekends or what. He apparently was enthusiastic about his training but there just weren’t the circumstances to allow a detailed study.

He did, however, continue to study a little bit of Yagyu-ryu after he got out of the army, but he was in Tanabe which was a couple of hundred miles away and he had to go up by ferry! Again, maybe he went up three, four, or a half a dozen times, but it wasn’t the sort of thing of an intensive study with someone year after year.

Now, he did have a makimono (scroll) as well — however, it bears no seal. One can only speculate what that meant. Sometimes what happens is that a person would be told to prepare a makimono or have someone prepare it and, for whatever circumstance or reason, the teacher never gets around to signing it. Therefore, the scroll cannot be considered official.

So, it would appear that he did study this Yagyu-ryu form more than the Tenjin Shinyo-ryu jujutsu, but probably at the most he did a year or two.

The other art that he studied, but again not in very much depth, would have been judo. The first description of the teacher who was sent down from the Kodokan to Tanabe by O-sensei’s father to teach Morihei and various relatives and friends gave the impression that this judo teacher was somewhat of an expert. It turns out he was 17 years old. I met his wife back in the 1980s and she told me this directly. He could have been a shodan, maximum. Also, O-sensei was involved with other things in this transition phase of his life trying to figure out what he was going to be doing as a career. One of the reasons, according to Doshu, that this judo person was brought in was to help him focus and channel his energies. But O-sensei ended up going to Hokkaido.

So, you have this very brief stint in Tenjin Shinyo Ryu, some training in Yagyu Ryu jujutsu while in the army, a smattering of judo, and then Daito-ryu. That’s it. The impression that he studied many different arts other than Daito-ryu and mastered them is completely false.

Aikiweb Interview with Stan Pranin – August, 2000

Now, let’s go back to the 1922 photo at the top of this article. In that photo Morihei Ueshiba is clearly sitting in front of a placard reading “Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu”.

Unfortunately, the Aikikai tinkered with the photo a bit at various times and in various publications – most likely in order to support the public narrative being promoted after the war.

Aikido Shimbun, issue 2 – May 1959
original scan by Stan Pranin

The second issue of the Aikikai Foundation’s newsletter the “Aikido Shimbun” (pictured above) featured a copy of the 1922 photo from Ayabe – with the placard reading “Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu” carefully edited out. Additionally, there is no mention, at all, of Daito-ryu, or the context of the photo, in the text of the article.

“Aikido Nymon,” by Kisshomaru Ueshiba – 1975
original scan by Stan Pranin

In this iteration, from a book published by Ni-Dai Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba in 1975, the characters for “Daito-ryu” have been edited out, leaving only the words “Aiki-jujutsu”.

“Aikido Shintei” by Kisshomaru Ueshiba – 1986

In this photo, from a 1986 publication called “Aikido Shintei”, the characters for “Daito-ryu” are also edited out – but very poorly, leaving part of the “ryu” character intact.

Invitation to summer training with Morihei Ueshiba
in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu and Aiki-budo, 1931

Morihei Ueshiba and Daito-ryu – Continuity

in 1933 Morihei Ueshiba published a Daito-ryu technical instruction manual, Aikijujutsu Densho. which was stamped “Aikijujutsu”, and was distributed to students receiving certificates in Daito-ryu as a kind of transmission document. Jump ahead – he re-published the same manual, with the same techniques and explanations (minus the pre-war imperial language) in 1954 as Aikido Maki-no-ichi. Morihei Ueshiba used this manual as a textbook when teaching in the 1950’s.

Then in 1938 Morihei Ueshiba published the technical manual “Budo“. This book, re-discovered by Aikido Journal editor Stan Pranin, contais techniques that Morihiro Saito claimed were identical to the techniques taught by Morihei Ueshiba’s at Morihei Ueshiba’s home in Iwama, where he lived from 1942 until near the time of his death.

One day in July 1981, I was conducting an interview with Zenzaburo Akazawa, a prewar uchi deshi of Morihei Ueshiba from the Kobukan Dojo period. Mr. Akazawa proceeded to show me a technical manual published in 1938 titled Budo which I had never seen before. It contained photos of some fifty techniques demonstrated by the founder himself. As I slowly turned the pages of the manual, I was amazed to see in the photos that the execution of several basics techniques such as ikkyo, iriminage and shihonage were virtually identical to what I had learned in Iwama under Saito Sensei. Here was the founder himself demonstrating what I had up until then regarded as “Iwama-style” techniques. Mr. Akazawa, who lives only a few blocks away from the Iwama Dojo, kindly lent me the book and I hurried to show it to Saito Sensei.

I’ll always remember the scene as I called at Sensei’s door to share with him my new discovery. To my surprise, he had never seen or heard mention of the book before. He put on his reading glasses and leafed through the manual, his eyes scanning the technical sequences intently. I felt compelled then and there to apologize to him for having ever doubted his assertion that he was making every effort to faithfully preserve the founder’s techniques. Saito Sensei laughed and, obviously with great pleasure, bellowed, “See, Pranin, I told you so!” From that time on up through the end of his life, Saito Sensei always had along his copy of Budo in the Iwama Dojo and on his travels to use as proof to show that a particular technique originated in the founder’s teachings.

Aikido Journal editor Stan Pranin – “Remembering Morihiro Saito Sensei“

Moving on to 1940, Takuma Hisa – one of the only people to have received Menkyo Kaiden (“certificate of complete transmission”, showing that one has mastered the totality of a martial system) in Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu directly from Sokaku Takeda, published “Kannagara no Budo, Daito-ryu Aiki Budo Hiden“. This manual on Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu is almost an exact copy, in both technical explanation and the illustrated techniques, of the “Aikijujutsu Densho” manual published by Morihei Ueshiba in 1933…the manual that was used as a textbook for post-war students in the 1950’s as “Aikido Maki-no-Ichi”.

Sokaku Takeda at the Asahi Shimbun Dojo in Osaka – 1936

Takuma Hisa is also significant in that he was one of the few people who had a chance to directly compare Sokaku Takeda and Morihei Ueshiba in depth over an extended period of time:

Takeda’s instruction gave Hisa the chance to compare the techniques that he had been taught for the previous three years (1933-1936) by Ueshiba with those taught by Takeda. His conclusion was that they were the same—meaning that Ueshiba had not by that time significantly modified or evolved what he had been taught by Takeda. In later years, Hisa was adamant about Ueshiba’s and Takeda’s techniques being identical. He stated this clearly at a round table talk, “When Tomiki came to Osaka to teach aiki-bujutsu to the Asahi people, the techniques that both master Ueshiba and Takeda taught were the same. Definitely the same. Master Ueshiba should say that he was taught them by master Takeda. He should say that it was Daitoryu. But he never said that. Mr. Tomiki (who also traveled from Tokyo to Osaka to teach Ueshiba’s system at the Asahi dojo) knows this, doesn’t he. But Ueshiba never said it.” And Tomiki answered, “Definitely not. ‘I [Ueshiba] established everything…[smiling mysteriously]’. However old martial artists would often do that way.” [Shishida (Ed.), 1982, p.1]

“The Process of Forming Aikido and Japanese Imperial Navy Admiral Isamu Takeshita: Through the analysis of Takeshita’s diary from 1925 to 1931”
 – Fumiaki Shishida (Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan)

Both Sokaku Takeda and Morihei Ueshiba kept a registry of their students. When one became a student their name would be entered into the book and the student would attach their seal. Mr. Kimura speaks a little about the registry, which he signed in 1942 in “Mr. Kimura’s Aikido Memories, Part 1“.

Mamoru Okada also remembers signing this registry –  in this instance he signed the registry in 1949, after the war.

Hiroshi Isoyama also testifies that he signed this registry – again in 1949, after the war. Further, his testimony confirms that the registry was titled “Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu”:

And the title on my registration paper is “Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu registry”. This is what I signed. At the top of the students’ registry, there are also the names of people such as the Admiral Takeshita Isamu.

“Interview with Isoyama Hiroshi Shihan, the master of the Iwama Dojo“

That is to say – Morihei Ueshiba was enrolling people as students of Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu as late as 1949.

Here are some photos of a Hiden Mokuroku scroll (thanks to Scott Burke for the photos) – the “catalog of secret teachings” that composes the first scroll in the Daito-ryu curriculum. This scroll was issued by Morihei (then using the name Moritaka) Ueshiba in 1925:

“Aiki-jujutsu Hiden Mokuroku”, 1925

The Aiki-jujutsu seal in the upper right hand corner is similar (but slightly different in shape) to the seal that appears in Morihei Ueshiba’s 1933 technical manual Aikijujutsu Densho – AKA Budo Renshu.

Here’s is another section of the same 1925 scroll:

Aiki-jujutsu umbrella techniques 1925

This section of the scroll covers techniques with an umbrella and is also stamped “Aiki-jujutsu”.

Hiden Mokuroku 118 Techniques

A continuation of the scroll – on the left is states that this scroll contains 118 techniques. The basic 118 techniques of the first scroll of Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu.

Hiden Mokuroku signature page

Here is the signature page of the 1925 scroll. signed by the student of Sokaku Takeda Masayoshi Minamoto (武田惣角源正義), Moritaka Ueshiba Seigan Minamoto (源晴眼).

Clearly a Daito-ryu scroll, and clearly issued under the authority of his teacher, Sokaku Takeda. The same is the case in this scroll, also issued under the authority of Sokaku Takeda:

Hiden Mokuroku issued to Minoru Mochizuki in 1932
“Ueshiba Moritaka, student of Takeda Sokaku”

And here’s yet another scroll:

Aikido Hiden Mokuroku

The picture quality is not quite as good, but there are some interesting things that we can pick out here.

1. The scroll now reads “Aikido” rather than “Aiki-jujutsu”.
2. The structure of the scroll is identical to the Daito-ryu scroll.
3. The title of the scroll is “Hiden Mokuroku”, the same as the Daito-ryu scroll.

Aikido Hiden Mokuroku detail

Here is a portion of the scroll in greater detail. Like the Daito-ryu scroll, this scroll contains a section on umbrella techniques. This one also contains a section on Bo (staff) techniques.

On the left hand side it specifies that this scroll contains 118 techniques, the same as the 1925 Daito-ryu scroll.

Aikido Hiden Mokuroku signature page

Here is the signature section of the scroll. Sokaku Takeda’s name no longer appears on the scroll, instead it is signed by Aikido Doshu Tsunemori Ueshiba (a name that Morihei Ueshiba often used after the war).

The date that the scroll was issued reads March Showa year 35 – 1960.

So…here is some of what we have:

• 1922 – Morihei Ueshiba is certified as an instructor in Daito-ryu, he has little experience in other martial arts at the time.
• 1922-1936 – Morihei Ueshiba is documented as teaching Daito-ryu under the authority of Sokaku Takeda.
• 1933 – Morihei writes Aikijujutsu Densho, a Daito-ryu instructional manual.
• 1936 – Takuma Hisa compares what he was doing to Sokaku Takeda and finds that they are both doing Daito-ryu. Sokaku Takeda takes over the Asahi Shimbun dojo and Morihei Ueshiba goes off on his own.
• 1940 – Takuma Hisa publishes Morihei Ueshiba’s Aikijujutsu Densho as a Daito-ryu manual.
• 1949 – Morihei continues to enroll students as students of Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu after the war.
• 1954 – Morihei Ueshiba publishes Aikido Maki-no-Ichi, which duplicates the technical explanations and technique illustrations of Aikijujutsu Densho. He teaches post-war students from this manual.
• 1957 – Lee Price is told that there are 2,664 techniques in Aikido by Morihei Ueshiba for the American TV show “Rendezvous with Adventure” (this may have been a translation error from the usual number of 2,884 techniques cited by the Takumakai) rather than the greatly reduced number of techniques in the post-war Aikikai. Morihei Ueshiba states that the art was founded by Minamoto Yoshimitsu in 1120, that it was handed down through the Takeda family, and and is represented its legitimate heir – not the founder. When asked when Aikido began, Morihei Ueshiba says “about 50 years ago”. Remember that this is 1957, so that would make 50 years ago about the time that he met Sokaku Takeda, well before the war.
• Morihei Ueshiba teaches the same techniques in Iwama after the war in the 1950’s and 1960’s as were documented in the 1938 technical manual Budo.
• Morihei Ueshiba issues Daito-ryu certificates, with the name changed to Aikido but with all of the other particulars preserved, as late as 1960 – and actually much later, in scrolls that are privately held.

I’m sure you see where I’m going here:

1. Before the war Morihei Ueshiba was a Daito-ryu instructor under Sokaku Takeda, taught Daito-ryu for many years and issued licenses in Daito-ryu.
2. What Morihei Ueshiba was teaching and distributing after the war in the 1950’s and 1960’s was essentially the same material that he was teaching and distributing before the war – Daito-ryu, right down to the certificates and the name in the enrollment book.
3. There was no phase shift in core technology, or radical invention of new martial technology.
4. That there was a basic continuity in the thread of his training and teaching as a student and teacher of Daito-ryu from 1922 through to his death in 1969.

Comparing the continuity of Morihei Ueshiba’s technical legacy visually

As Masatake Fujita, who spent most of every day with Morihei Ueshiba during the last two years of his life, put it:

Q: In terms of technique, did you notice a change in the Founder while you were watching him?

A: No, there wasn’t really any change. That’s probably true even from before the war, because even when you watch the video tape from Showa year 12 (1937), the year I was born, that’s true (*Translator’s note: this is actually the Asahi News demonstration from 1935). However, there were some techniques from that period that are gone today. I am teaching those kinds of techniques now, but of course it’s difficult.

“Interview with Aikido Shihan Masatake Fujita, Part 2“

“No, there really wasn’t any change.”

In other words, Morihei Ueshiba’s legacy was, in actuality, what some people might call “Ueshiba-ha Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu”, Morihei Ueshiba’s own branch off the tree of Sokaku Takeda’s art.

For more on the what happened to the diverging legacies of Morihei Ueshiba and his son Kisshomaru, check out Mark Murray’s essay “The Ueshiba Legacy” – Part 1 and Part 2. You might also be interested in Aikido Journal Editor Stanley Pranin’s essay “Is O-Sensei Really the Father of Modern Aikido?“.

Published by: Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI

The post Ueshiba-ha Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu appeared first on Aikido Sangenkai Blog.

Sawamura Sojûrô V als Kiichi Hôgen (鬼一法眼)
uit het toneelstuk Kiichi Hôgen Sanryaku no Maki (鬼一 法眼 三略巻)

*This is a Dutch translation of the article “Kiichi Hogen and the Secret of Aikido – Tales from Heike Monogatari“, courtesy of Ernesto Lemke of Seikokan Aikido.

Verhalen uit de Heike Monogatari

Er is een interessant citaat te vinden op pagina 40 uit ‘Profielen van de Grondlegger’ (開祖の横顔), een verzameling interviews met leerlingen van de Grondlegger van Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, gepubliceerd in Japan in 2009 (vooralsnog alleen verkrijgbaar in het Japans voor zover ik weet).

Hetzelfde citaat doemt op ontelbare plaatsen op maar het sprong echt van de bladzijde af de eerste keer dat ik het las. Het citaat komt voor in het interview met Morito Suganuma die een uchi-deshi werd van de Grondlegger in 1967, kort voor diens overlijden in 1969. Suganuma kwam naar Hawaii en bezocht Aikido van Hilo in september 2011.

Ik hoorde het citaat voor het eerst van Seishiro Endo enkele jaren geleden maar zoals ik al zei komt het op ontelbare plaatsen voor. Morihei Ueshiba zei dat dit citaat een van de geheimen ( (極意 / Gokui) was van Aikido. De onderstaande tekst is die zoals Suganuma die citeert: 

「来たるを迎え、去るは送る、対すれば相和す。五・五の十、一・九の十、二・八の十。大は方処を絶し、細は微塵に入る。活殺自在」

Als het komt, ontmoet het, als het vertrekt, stuur het dan op weg, als het tegenstribbelt, harmoniseer het. 5 en 5 is 10, 1 en 9 is 10, 2 en 8 is 10. Het grote onderdrukt alles, het kleine dringt het microscopische binnen. De kracht van leven en dood.

Hier is de tekst die Endo gebruikt. Deze is een beetje anders maar beide zijn transcripties van hetzelfde origineel uit eeuwenoud Japans. Het is ook de tekst die John Stevens gebruikt in zijn boek Budo Secrets (hij geeft geen Japanse vertaling en de vertaling die hier verschijnt is de mijne). In de korte inleiding van deze sectie schrijft Stevens dat ‘Dit onderricht is wijdverspreid en veel gebruikt door krijgsinstructeurs door de eeuwen heen en is nog steeds in gebruik. Morihei Ueshiba, de Grondlegger van Aikido citeerde regelmatig van deze lijst als hij les gaf en Aikido technieken demonstreerde. Zo ook mijn leraar Rinjiro Shirata.’

来たれば即ち迎え、去れば即ち送り、
対すれば即ち和す。
五五の十
二八の十
一九の十
是を以て和すべし。
虚実を察し、陰伏を知り、
大は方処を絶ち、細は微塵に入る。
殺活機にあり、変化時に応ず。
事に臨んで心を動ずること莫(なかれ)や。

Als het komt, ontmoet het, als het vertrekt, stuur het dan op weg.
Als het tegenstribbelt, harmoniseer het.
5 en 5 is 10.
1 en 9 is 10.
2 en 8 is 10.
Op deze manier moet je harmoniseren.
Voel aan wat waar en vals is, weet wat verborgen is.
Het grote onderdrukt alles, het kleine dringt het microscopische binnen.
Er zijn kansen voor leven en dood, zonder op de veranderingen te reageren.
Benader de dingen zonder je hart te bewegen (zonder verstoord te raken).

Dus nu hebben we Rinjiro Shirata (via Stevens), Morito Suganuma en Seishiro Endo die allemaal dezelfde tekst hanteren. En Morihei Ueshiba uiteraard.

Morito Suganuma voerde aan dat het citaat kwam uit de Kiichi Hogen (鬼一法眼), wat kan kloppen (tenminste, de verhalen zeggen van wel). Hogen is in Japan een legendarisch figuur uit 1100. Een leraar van de zelfs nog legendarischer figuur Minamoto Yoshitsune (uit de Heike Monogatari).

Geinig weetje nr 1: Dit is rond dezelfde tijd dat Daito-ryu zogezegd werd gesticht door Shinra Saburo Minamoto no Yoshimitsu.

Volgens de legende trainde Minamoto no Yoshitsune onder Kiichi Hogen in de kunst van strategie. Kiichi’s dochter Minatsuru word uiteindelijk verliefd op Minamoto en deze gebruikt de dochter om enkele strategieboeken te stelen (waarvan ik er een hieronder zal behandelen) en uiteindelijk vermoord hij Kiichi.

Geinig weetje nr 2: Kiichi Hogen had ook een reputatie als expert in Onmyodo, ook bekend als Inyodo wat zich letterlijk laat vertalen als ‘De Weg van In en Yo’ (‘In’ en ‘Yo’= ‘Yin en Yang’ voor de Chineestaligen onder ons).

Geinig weetje nr 3: Van Soemon Takeda, de grootvader van Sokaku Takeda, word gezegd dat hij een kunst onderwees genaamd ‘Aiki In Yo Ho’ (‘De Yin Yang Methode van Aiki’).

Geinig weetje nr 4: Toen Henry Kono rechtsreeks aan Morihei Ueshiba vroeg ‘Hoe kan het dat wij niet kunnen wat u kan?’ was het antwoord net zo rechtstreeks: ‘Omdat je In en Yo niet begrijpt (Yin en Yang). (Uit ‘Aikido Memoirs’ door Alan Ruddock, een fantastisch boek).

Maar wat betekent dit alles? Ik ga hier nu niet te diep op in behalve dan door te wijzen naar de overduidelijke ‘In’ en ‘Yo’ referenties hierboven.

Dus waarom heb je je tijd nu besteed aan dit allemaal te lezen?

Wat ik duidelijk probeer te maken is het volgende. Het citaat werd niet een keer maar herhaaldelijk aangewend, zowel in de geschreven als de orale transmissie, als het geheim van Aikido door niemand minder dan de Grondlegger zelf, Morihei Ueshiba.

Dat maakt het nogal belangrijk nietwaar?

Ga eens na:

1. Het citaat en de implicaties zijn gemeengoed in het kernonderricht van minstens twee Koryu waar ik van op de hoogte ben. Dat zou betekenen dat het geheim van Aikido niet echt een geheim is maar ook in gebruik is door en onderwezen wordt aan anderen. Het zou ook betekenen dat het geheim niet zo nieuw is maar al meer dan 900 jaar gebruikt en onderwezen werd door een hoeveelheid van scholen in Japan, lang voor Morihei Ueshiba geboren werd.
2. Het citaat ontstond niet werkelijk bij Kiichi Hogen. Hogen verkreeg het uit het Tijger hoofdstuk van een Chinees strategieboek genaamd ‘Rikuto’ (六韜 / ‘Liu Tao’ voor de Chineestaligen). Dat zou betekenen dat het geheim van Aikido, zoals de Grondlegger Morihei Ueshiba dat stelde, niet alleen ouder is dan 900 jaar maar oorspronkelijk naar Japan kwam vanuit China.

Denk hier eens over na. Als er zelfs maar één ding (iets waarvan Ueshiba zei dat het belangrijk was) uit China kwam, wat kwam daar dan nog meer vandaan? (Zie Ellis Amdur’s ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’ voor een meer gedetailleerd overzicht hiervan).

Hoe zal dit de wijze waarop we Ueshiba’s geschriften en training beschouwen veranderen?

Hoe zal dit de gevestigde versie van de geschiedenis en methodologie van Aikido veranderen door de lens van meer kennis?

Wat als blijkt dat de dingen die Ueshiba zei, in plaats van heel erg nieuw te zijn, het juist heel erg oud is?

Wat als de Grondlegger van Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, een interne krijgskunstenaar was die leefde in een gemeenschap van leerlingen die dezelfde principes ontwikkelden en onderzochten binnen een traditie die al duizend jaar oud is in Japan….en nog ouder in China?

Daarover later meer….

(Vertaald door Ernesto Lemke)

Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI      

The post Kiichi Hogen en het Geheim van Aikido [Dutch Version] appeared first on Aikido Sangenkai Blog.

Keisetsu Yoshimaru demonstrating Aiki-age

“Aikido no Ogi”, by Keisetsu Yoshimaru

Keisetsu Yoshimaru (吉丸慶雪) trained under Yukiyoshi Sagawa from 1961 to 1976.

Yukiyoshi Sagawa began training in Daito-ryu with his father, a student and Kyoju Dairi (licenced “Assistant Instructor” – the same license that Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba received) of Sokaku Takeda. Sokaku Takeda actually lived with the Sagawa family for some time, and Sagawa started training with him around 1914, about a year before Morihei Ueshiba met Takeda at the Hisada Inn in Hokkaido and became his student. He was once considered to be the successor to Sokaku Takeda.

Interestingly, there was once an agreement for Sagawa to become an instructor at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo around 1956, but he took exception to some remarks about Sokaku Takeda made by Morihei Ueshiba in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun around that time and changed his mind.

After Yoshimaru left Sagawa Dojo he also trained under Kinbei Sato (佐藤金兵衛), who had trained in Daito-ryu under Kakuyoshi Yamamoto (山本角義), another direct student of Sokaku Takeda.

Although Keisetsu Yoshimaru remains a somewhat controversial figure in Daito-ryu, he has published a number of interesting books with quotes from Yukiyoshi Sagawa, most of which have never been translated into English before.

This is the second part of a two part translation of the “Bujutsu and Ki-Ryoku” chapter of “Aikido no Ogi” (合氣道の奥義 / “The Secrets of Aikido”), which consists mainly of quotes from Yukiyoshi Sagawa, many of which recount Sagawa’s memories of Sokaku Takeda. You may wish to start with part 1 before you read this section.

You may also wish to read another two part translation from “Aikido no Ogi” which contains quotes from Yukiyoshi Sagawa relevant to building the “Aiki no Rentai” (合気之錬体 / “The Conditioned Body of Aiki”): Part 1 | Part 2 

Postcard from Tokimune Takeda and his brother Munekiyo
appointing Yukiyoshi Sagawa the 36th Soke of
Daito-ryu Aiki-bujutsu – January 1954
Sagawa stepped aside on January 25th 1956
and took the title “Sohan” (宗範)
from “Transparent Power” by Tatsuo Kimura (透明な力・木村達雄)

Bujutsu (武術) and Ki-Ryoku (気力), Part 2

The Oral Transmission of Yukiyoshi Sagawa Sensei

(from “Aikido no Ogi” by Keisetsu Yoshimaru, translation by Christopher Li)

Translator’s Note: “Ki-Ryoku” (気力) is “Ki Power”, and in most of the cases here Sagawa is using it in the sense of “force of will”. He also makes use of the phrase “Ki wo noseru” (気を乗せる), for which I have substituted “project Ki”, but is most often used here in the sense of “projecting will” – or perhaps more accurately “projecting intent”.

February 17th, 1966

Once when we were staying in Kounosu there was a political ruffian on the Yamanote Line who was teasing a woman, so when he passed in front of me I stomped on his instep, knocked him down and called him rude – there was nothing that he could say. It’s important first to dominate them with your Ki.

February 21st, 1966

Even at a funeral Sensei could never be content unless he was seated above the priest.

April 14th, 1966

During training Sokaku Takeda sensei would never allow techniques to be applied to him. Because of that, in front of Takeda sensei I only practiced in applying techniques to others. I was told “Would a Bushi ever allow a technique to be applied to them?” by Takeda sensei.

Sokaku Takeda sensei’s method of teaching was to show around 15 techniques per day, he’d have you come strike and then do it this way from this attack or that way from that attack, just applying the techniques twice each with never any explanation. The technical principles that I am teaching now are things that I have conceived of based on my observations.

April 14th, 1966

It’s okay for a human being to be meek, but in terms of Bujutsu it’s no good. Even if your technique is excellent, in the end, when it comes to a fight something won’t be quite right. If you’re not prepared to steal your instructor’s techniques then there’s no way that you will be able to learn them. You’ll never succeed by just waiting to be taught.

Article about Yukiyoshi Sagawa in the Asahi Shimbun, January 8th 1990

May 26th, 1966

You can’t think of your opponent other than in terms of applying technique. If their bones break or whatever it’s okay. If you don’t do that then you will be the one that it is done to. If you can’t do that than it’s better to give up Bujutsu.

If you stand up then you must not shrink away. It’s normal for any human being to stand up when faced with a real fight. However, if resign yourself completely to face whatever may happen then you will be able to move quickly.

December 8th, 1966

Treat training as if it is a real fight, treat a real fight as if it is training.

September 22nd, 1967

Regarding the saying “Society says that Sumo is three-tenths technique and seven-tenths Ki-Ryoku”. Talking about technique as three-tenths and Ki-Ryoku as seven-tenths, as technique and Ki-Ryoku in opposition, it’s not good. A person with Ki-Ryoku researches just as much technique. Both sides are in complete harmony. You cannot step away from a fight in the middle. You have to stick with it where ever it goes.

October 25th, 1967

Even when Takeda sensei turned eighty he never lost to younger opponents. Even in the bath, if he thought that somebody splashed him he’d immediately start to fight. When I was with him I would always stay close and keep an eye on him, but when he went alone to the public bath (“sentou” / 銭湯) in Osaka there was a time that he flipped eight young people on their backs and stuffed them in the bathtub.

Sokaku Takeda (note the derby) and family

May 29th, 1968

As I remember Takeda sensei, he would always wear a derby, and he’d wear the diamond shaped Takeda mon every day. The cord on his haori was thick and purple and his magnolia wood geta had white leather straps. He always wore socks.

When he met someone for the first time he’d glare at them and look them over with a scowl from bottom to top, so everybody would be frightened. If he wasn’t allowed to sit above the priest at memorial services he would start saying nasty things like “Those priests smell like fish…” (Translator’s note: meaning the priests were corrupt) and in the end Sensei would end up sitting by himself in the high seat (he really made some very clever and cutting remarks). However, when I saw someone who was a student of a Naval Admiral sitting in hanmi in the lower seat I thought that Takeda really was a person able to wield tremendous authority.

His forearms and hands were extremely large, his forearms were about as large as mine are now (27.8 cm around the wrist), and his little finger was about the same size as my index finger.

May 14th, 1971

In Bujutsu it is necessary to intimidate your opponent. Both in training and in everyday life Takeda sensei would always glower at the other person, and it felt as if something with a blood thirst was prowling in the area. I guess that a person who can create an atmosphere like that is a real master. His students were so intimidated that none of them even thought about resisting. I also never accommodated myself to another person’s practice. Everyone trained just trained for their own progression.

May 12th, 1971

Mental strength is extremely important. Since you don’t know the real abilities of someone that you’re facing for the first time, no matter how weak they look you must treat them seriously. In my case, no matter what kind of a person I am facing I always apply the technique seriously.

No matter what kind of a person he was facing, Sokaku Takeda sensei would always use all of his strength, and that’s the way that I learned. You cannot apply a technique if you think of getting into an exchange with an opponent, it’s necessary to be resolved to press them down to the very end.

May 12th, 1971

If you don’t confront them seriously you will not be able to adapt to the attack of the enemy in an instant. You are not applying the technique with enough intent to break the arm, so if they struggle it will not be effective.

Sagawa student Youichi Shiosaka demonstrating “Shumoku”
(撞木 / “wooden bell hammer”)
Yukiyoshi Sagawa commented on this picture of Takeda in part 1

August 6th, 1971

Anyway, Takeda sensei would sit and glare at the person across from him, so faint-hearted people would be too afraid even to speak. I knew him from when I was a child, so I thought that was normal and didn’t think anything of it. There was a blood thirst pervading the air around Takeda sensei.

April 9th, 1973
Age-te

Bujutsu is not like something you just shape out of clay, the “Rising” (“Ageru” / 上げる) Ki-Ryoku must be present. However, if we’re getting to technique then it’s a different matter.

January 8th, 1967

In your first real fight you tend to stand up too high, so it’s better if you keep your body low when you use your strength.

January 9th, 1970

It’s necessary to be fast, but if you become stiff then your effective power drops down to about a third. In a real fight, especially if you are holding a sword, step forward using the techniques that you have learned up until now with just the intention of practicing how to step forward and cut. It’s necessary to step forward with Mushin (無心). If you think that you have to win, somehow when you think about winning you become stiff and it leads to defeat.

Sasaburō Takano (高野佐三郎 / 1862 – 1950) of Nakanishi-ha Itto-ryu
one of the fathers of modern Kendo

October 21st, 1974

Tokimune Takeda sensei came to visit with his student, Mr. Katsuyuki Kondo. Yoshimaru was present, and created this account.

[Object of the Visit]

In order to entrust the title of Daito-ryu Aiki Budo, So-Hombu, So Hombu cho (大東流合気武道総本部総本部長 / “Daito-ryu Aiki Budo, General Headquarters, Director of the General Headquarters”). In accordance with the previous agreement, the office of So Hombu cho was vacant, and it would be permissible (for Yukiyoshi Sagawa) to take the titles of So Hombu cho and Sohan (宗範). Sensei refused.

[Said by Yukiyoshi Sagawa sensei]

Kendo gathered the essence from the various Koryu, and there was a serious question as to whether the truly best things would be hidden, but when the forms were decided each teacher hid a knife in their clothing and attended the conference. My personal opinion is that perhaps Daito-ryu could also be best transmitted correctly to future generations in this manner. I also think that it is desirable for the individual instructors to be allowed to continue their independent research.

[Said by Tokimune Takeda sensei]

The Urawa Police was in Sasaburo Takano’s (高野佐三郎) territory, and everybody was very confident. When we went to teach there I was told “You go first!”, so I went first by myself. That was when I was around twenty years old. I put on a stand up collar because my face was childish, I didn’t look more than sixteen. They told me that I was an idiot, useless, and they bragged about their martial prowess. After that I applied a Yonkajo and when I raised it up they were so shocked that they fell flat to the ground and apologized. The next day Sasaburo sensei came and instructed.

At that time Sokaku sensei took a large man who was a sixth dan in Judo, grabbed him in a Sankajo, and said “Okay, move!” as he walked him around the Dojo. Sensei, who was so tiny, really looked huge at that time. Sagawa sensei and I both said that it was really mysterious.

After that Sagawa sensei also reminisced about how Sensei had appeared so large at the time.

January 10th, 1971

“Shiai” (“contest:” / 仕合) is “death” (“shi” / 死) and “meet” (“ai” / 合い). In a fight, if you just think about things like not getting injured you can’t really fight. You have to fight as if you are intending to die.

October 13th, 1971

First, apply Aiki. If you take a stance like “Come and get me!”, then however they come you will be able to apply Aiki immediately.

Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI      

The post Yukiyoshi Sagawa on Bujutsu and Ki-Ryoku, Part 2 appeared first on Aikido Sangenkai Blog.

Daito-ryu scrolls given to Kinbei Sato by Kakuyoshi Yamamoto

“Aikido no Ogi”, by Keisetsu Yoshimaru

Keisetsu Yoshimaru (吉丸慶雪) trained under Yukiyoshi Sagawa from 1961 to 1976.

Yukiyoshi Sagawa started training with Sokaku Takeda around 1914, about a year before Morihei Ueshiba met Takeda at the Hisada Inn in Hokkaido. He was once considered to be the successor to Takeda Sokaku.

After Yoshimaru left Sagawa Dojo he also trained under Kinbei Sato (佐藤金兵衛), who had trained in Daito-ryu under Kakuyoshi Yamamoto (山本角義), another direct student of Sokaku Takeda.

Although Keisetsu Yoshimaru remains a somewhat controversial figure in Daito-ryu, he has published a number of interesting books with quotes from Yukiyoshi Sagawa, most of which have never been translated into English before.

This is the first part of a two part translation of the “Bujutsu and Ki-Ryoku” chapter of “Aikido no Ogi” (合氣道の奥義 / “The Secrets of Aikido”), which consists mainly of quotes from Yukiyoshi Sagawa, many of which recount Sagawa’s memories of Sokaku Takeda.

You may also wish to read another two part translation from “Aikido no Ogi” which contains quotes from Yukiyoshi Sagawa relevant to building the “Aiki no Rentai” (合気之錬体 / “The Conditioned Body of Aiki”): Part1 | Part 2) 

The Basic Principle of Explosive Power
(発勁 / Hakkei in Japanese, Fajin / 發勁 in Chinese)
from “The Science of Aikido” (合氣道の科学) by Keisetsu Yoshimaru

“The Basic Principle of Explosive Power: Explosive power is primarily a method which uses the opposing forces generated between the bottom of the feet and the ground surface added to the force from the expansion of the legs, the lower back and the arms, and accelerated by turning the waist. The Kokyu of Aiki also uses exactly the same method.”

呼吸力を出すためには足の親指を地面に食い込ませるように立たなくてはならない
In order to generate Kokyu you must stand as if you are making your big toe sink into the surface of the ground. -Gozo Shioda

Bujutsu (武術) and Ki-Ryoku (気力), Part 1

The Oral Transmission of Yukiyoshi Sagawa Sensei

(from “Aikido no Ogi” by Keisetsu Yoshimaru, translation by Christopher Li)

Translator’s Note: “Ki-Ryoku” (気力) is “Ki Power”, and in most of the cases here Sagawa is using it in the sense of “force of will”. He also makes use of the phrase “Ki wo noseru” (気を乗せる), for which I have substituted “project Ki”, but is most often used here in the sense of “projecting will” – or perhaps more accurately “projecting intent”.

May 24th, 1964
About Zen

You will not be able to fight if you calm yourself through Zen. Zen is unnecessary for Bujutsu. It is said that the Yagyu learned Zen in ancient times, but I think that shows a flaw in their Kenjutsu. Bujutsu is achieved through doing Bujutsu. Nothing else is needed.

Translator’s Note: “Ueshiba-sensei disliked the self-styled Zen of modern times and refused to discuss Zen philosophy or satori.” (William Gleason, “The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido” 1995).

August 15th, 1964
The importance of Ki-Ryoku and projecting Ki.

No one is a master capable of handling an attack from any direction and skilled at all techniques from the beginning. That kind of training is no good. You must be able to wait until they come and then deal with it immediately. For that reason, projecting your Ki is important.

September 9th, 1964
Projecting Ki and applying technique.

Bujutsu cannot be peaceful. When I was young my students would say that it was frightening just to stand in front of me. In mixed martial arts contests we would apply techniques with intent to break arms. If you held back you would be the one it was done to. In mixed Ju-jutsu contests they would come to take my wrist, but couldn’t apply any of their locks, it wasn’t even really a contest. If they came with Judo I would finish them in an instant.

In sports, if your technique is good then that is enough, but since Bujutsu is a thing that must be applied (to the opponent), if you wonder about whether or not something can be applied then there is no way that you will be able to apply the technique. You must be absolutely certain that it will work when you are applying it.

Project Ki and apply the technique all the way to the end. All of my training is done this way. If you stop part way through it will be useless when it comes to a real fight. You must watch and understand that.

Also, when a technique doesn’t work you must immediately transform to another technique to finish.

This is called Ki-Ryoku. The writings in the books of Bujutsu are all about this point.

Yukiyoshi Sagawa – from Shukan Bunshun (週刊文春)

September 30th, 1964
Cautions for Ki-Ryoku

When priests were sitting above Takeda sensei in the high seat during ceremonies he would become angry, and refuse to agree unless he himself was able to sit in the high seat. Even if the other person was a Navy Admiral he would sit in the high seat himself. That’s how much pride in yourself you should have.

Even if you’re pretending to have courage, just develop your Ki-Ryoku. A craftsman can comfortably work on a tall rooftop, while we would be afraid. However, even if I am cut with a Japanese sword I am not afraid. I am accustomed to it. If you think that it’s frightening from the beginning than you will always be frightened, but if you just pretend to have courage and continue to tell yourself that you are not afraid there will come a time when you are no longer frightened.

I learned this kind of thing by watching Takeda sensei, it’s not something that I was taught.

February 9th, 1964 Snow

This is a story of the Aizu Domain. There was once a cowardly samurai. One night he met a person on the road who attempted to surprise the samurai, raising his sword high above his head. At first the samurai was frightened and fell to the ground, but then he cut upwards with his entire being and his sword cut into the person’s side, killing them. This story teaches the value of acting with your entire being, and that “unpreparedness is the greatest enemy” (油断大敵 / “Yudan Taiteki”).

Sokaku Takeda, around 1939

February 17th, 1965
(upon discovering a picture of Takeda senshi holding an opponent up on his back)

In person his eyes weren’t this calm. When someone came into the room he would stare at them and look them over with a scowl from head to toe, and everyone would feel uncomfortable. It was so extreme that in Showa year 11 (1936), when he went to teach a seminar at the Tokyo Daily Newspaper office in Osaka, the owner of the newspaper company called me aside and asked me if Takeda sensei had some kind of mental problems. When a conversation began he would only speak about himself, not allowing the other person to talk at all. Even when he became of advanced age he would always get into fights. Once he was teaching in Osaka when he was around 70 years old – it was going on for a number of days, so I returned to Tokyo. After I left he got in a fight with a young person over water splashing, and he ended up stuffing five or six people into the the bath at the sento.

He was 83 years old when he passed away. He was famous even in Engaru (遠軽) – when Takeda sensei went to the baths everybody else would get out. He would splash water over his head in the bath, and glare at anybody who laughed at him.

March 15th, 1965

If your technique is held in contempt then it cannot be applied. It is important to intimidate them from the very beginning. Even though Takeda sensei would say “Put some strength into it and come get me!”, everybody was so afraid that there was no one who could actually apply their strength. Sometimes there would be someone who didn’t know better who applied strength and tried to struggle, but it ended very badly. In those days you would move from hand to hand and always take things to completion – there was no throwing them away. In Sapporo, the head of the fisherman’s union, Jingorou Hamano (浜野甚五郎), grabbed Sensei in a choke from behind and was thrown to the front. He struck his hip and was unable to stand until he healed some six months later, but such things were considered normal at that time.

March 15th, 1965

If a person has no tenacity they will not progress. That is the difference between things like dancing and Bujutsu. Even I, some people thought that I was a madman in the old days, but it was because I had that much tenacity that I became a little bit skilled. Nobody ever came to challenge Takeda sensei to a contest, in the past there weren’t so many cases of matches between the various schools. You didn’t know the other person’s real skills, so you didn’t actually know who to challenge. Even in Dojo-busting (道場破り / “Dojo Yaburi”), at first you would just ask them to teach you one thing and then start struggling with them in the middle. You can’t be unprepared for that. When you are instructing it is important to pay attention to intimidating your opponent from the beginning.

Sokaku Takeda demonstrating at the Asahi Dojo in 1939.
Photo courtesy of Takuma Hisa.
from “Zukai Coach Aikido” (“Illustrated Coach Aikido”)
by Tsuruyama Kozui, published in 1971

August 30th, 1965

You won’t become skillful just by practicing, you have to project Ki. Be thorough.

September 27th, 1965

It always felt as if there was a blood thirst swirling in the air around Takeda sensei. He always held a posture that was completely free from openings, he would never splay his legs out. In other houses he would always look to the left and right at a door before passing through. When he stayed at an inn he would always prepare a rope to secure the doorways.

February 3rd, 1966

Takeda sensei was teaching at the Urawa Police Station when he was 80 years old. He put a large 6 shaku 1 sun (184cm / 六尺一寸) man into a Sankajo with one hand and, saying “Walk!”, took him once around the room and then threw him in the middle of the Dojo. At that time, Sensei, who wasn’t even 5 shaku (151cm), appeared really huge. Takeda sensei had killed people, and carried such an unusual atmosphere with him that normal people couldn’t even look him in the face. I’ve never met another Bujutsu-ka like that. Sensei would never speak while he was teaching, at that time I felt that he was attempting to teach this “Ki-Ryoku”.

February 10th, 1966

Using things like Zen or meditation to increase your mental strength is an attempt to become strong through dependence upon another power, and I think that it is not very effective. The most important thing is to maintain with absolute certainty and tenacity that you will never lose to another person. Even if it’s a bluff, if you continue to do it for a lifetime it will become the truth.

February 17th 1966

You can strengthen your mental powers even in the Dojo. This is saying “Come on!” time after time and concentrating your mind to the very end. My training in the past was this way, without saying a word of explanation or direction. I think that this is how Takeda sensei was able to increase his mental strength.

Continued in part 2…

Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI      

The post Yukiyoshi Sagawa on Bujutsu and Ki-Ryoku, Part 1 appeared first on Aikido Sangenkai Blog.

Sawamura Sojûrô V as Kiichi Hôgen (鬼一法眼)
from the play Kiichi Hôgen Sanryaku no Maki (鬼一 法眼 三略巻)

Tales from Heike Monogatari

There’s an interesting quotation that appears on page 40 of “Profiles of the Founder” (開祖の横顔), a collection of interviews with students of Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba that was published in Japan in 2009 (it’s still only available in Japanese, so far as I know).

The same quotation occurs numerous other places, but it happened to pop out at me when I read it this time. The quotation occurs in the interview with Morito Suganuma, who became an Uchi-deshi to the Founder in 1967, shortly before the Founder passed away in 1969. Suganuma came to Hawaii and visited Aikido of Hilo in September 2011.

I first heard this quotation from Seishiro Endo some years ago, but as I said above it appears in a number of places. Morihei Ueshiba said that this quotation was one of the secrets (極意 / Gokui) of Aikido. The text of the quotation below is as cited by Suganuma. 

「来たるを迎え、去るは送る、対すれば相和す。五・五の十、一・九の十、二・八の十。大は方処を絶し、細は微塵に入る。活殺自在」

If it comes meet it, if it leaves, send it on its way, if it opposes then unify it. 5 and 5 are 10, 1 and 9 are 10, 2 and 8 are 10. The large suppresses all, the small enters the microscopic. The power of life and death.

Here is the text that Endo uses, which is slightly different, but both are transcriptions of the same original from ancient Japanese. This is also the text that John Stevens used in his book Budo Secrets (he doesn’t supply the Japanese translation, and the English translation that appears here is mine). In his very short intro to this section, Stevens writes that “These teachings have been widely employed by martial arts instructors over the centuries and are still in use. Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, often quoted from this list when teaching and demonstrating Aikido techniques, and so did my Aikido teacher Rinjiro Shirata.”

来たれば即ち迎え、去れば即ち送り、
対すれば即ち和す。
五五の十
二八の十
一九の十
是を以て和すべし。
虚実を察し、陰伏を知り、
大は方処を絶ち、細は微塵に入る。
殺活機にあり、変化時に応ず。
事に臨んで心を動ずること莫(なかれ)や。

If it comes, then meet it, if it leaves, then send it away.
If it resists, than harmonize it.
5 and 5 are 10.
2 and 8 are 10.
1 and 9 are 10.
You should harmonize like this.
Intuit true and false, know what is hidden,
The large suppresses all, the small enters the microscopic.
There are chances for life and death, without reacting to changes.
Approach things without moving your heart (without being disturbed).

So now we have Rinjiro Shirata (via Stevens), Morito Suganuma and Seishiro Endo all presenting the same text. And, of course, Morihei Ueshiba.

Morito Suganuma cited the quote as coming from Kiichi Hogen (鬼一法眼), which may even be correct (at least, the tales have it this way). Hogen is a legendary figure in Japan from the 1100’s, a teacher to the even more legendary Minamoto no Yoshitsune (of the Heike Monogatari).

Fun Fact 1: this is about the same time that Daito-ryu was supposedly founded by Shinra Saburo Minamoto no Yoshimitsu.

According to legend, Minamoto no Yoshitsune trained with Kiichi Hogen in the art of strategy. Kiichi’s daughter, Minatsuru eventually falls in love with him and he ends up using the daughter to steal some books of strategy (one of which I talk about below) and finishs by killing him.

Fun Fact 2: Kiichi Hogen also had a reputation as an expert in Onmyodo, also called Inyodo (陰陽道), which is literally “The Way of In and Yo” (“In and Yo” = “Yin and Yang”, for the Chinese speakers).

Fun Fact 3: Soemon Takeda, Sokaku Takeda’s grand-father, was reputed to have taught an art called “Aiki In Yo Ho” (“The Yin Yang Method of Aiki”).

Fun Fact 4: When Henry Kono asked Morihei Ueshiba the question straight out, “How come we can’t do what you do?” the answer was equally straightforward: “Because you don’t understand “In” and “Yo” (“Yin” and “Yang”).” (from “Aikido Memoirs” by Alan Ruddock, a great read).

So what does it mean? I’m not going to go into that in depth right now, except to point out the obvious references to “In” and “Yo” above.

So why did you waste your time reading all this?

Here’s my point. This quotation was cited not once, but multiple times, in oral and written transmissions, to be the secret of Aikido by no less than the Founder of Aikido himself, Morihei Ueshiba.

That ought to make it pretty important, right?

Consider this:

1. This quotation and its implications are in common use in the core teachings of at least two Koryu that I am aware of. That would mean that the secret of Aikido is not really all that secret, but is used and taught by others. Also, it would mean that said secret is not so new, that it has been used and taught by a number of schools and fighters in Japan for more than 900 years before Morihei Ueshiba was born.
2. The quotation didn’t actually originate with Kiichi Hogen. Hogen got it from the Tiger chapter of a book of Chinese strategy called the “Rikuto” (六韜 / “Liu Tao” for the Chinese speakers). That would mean that the secret of Aikido, as stated by Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba, is not only more than 900 years old, but originally came to Japan from China.

Think about it now – if even one thing (something with Ueshiba himself said was important) came via China, than what else did (see Ellis Amdur’s “Hidden in Plain Sight” for a more detailed discussion of this very thing)?

How will that change how we evaluate his writings and training?

How will the established history and methodology of Aikido change when considered through the lens of greater knowledge?

What if the things that Ueshiba did, instead of being very very new, were very very old?

What if Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba was an internal martial artist in a community filled with students researching and developing the same principles with a tradition over a thousand years old in Japan – and an even older one in China?

More on that later…but more on those interesting numbers in “Aikido without Peace or Harmony“, for those who are interested.

Published by: Christopher Li – Honolulu, HI

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