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Japanese with no subtitles, but this is an interesting documentary on Shinto Ryu which shows some of our history and some of the kenbu kata.

This week’s video blog is all about sword basics. While there are lots of different Japanese sword schools, there are some foundational basics that are common across most arts and this includes aiki-ken. Here I discuss how to hold the katana correctly, some commonly found kamae (postures), moving between kamae, and some common grip and cutting mistakes. I used a bokken (wooden sword) in this video since that’s what most people studying sword work in the context of Aikido will be most familiar with.

Due to a nefarious flat tire I wasn’t able to shoot any new content this week, so here’s a re-post from my private YouTube channel. Here in this 2018 video, Evan and I work with the concept of “pulling” yourself to help neutralize and control your partner’s pull. This is a direct application of many of the drills we’ve been posting lately and is similar to part of Aikido’s “boat rowing” exercise.

While I first saw shiko in the context of sumo, I was first TAUGHT shiko by the Aunkai. What is it and why should it be part of one’s solo exercises? While often referred to as “sumo leg lifts” or “sumo stomps” the kanji is actually made up of the characters for “four” and “limbs”. While we shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking of this as the meaning or translation of shiko, it should at least point us in the direction that shiko is about more than the legs. The various versions of shiko can be used to develop hip and leg strength, stability, core strength, and improved balance. But the core of shiko as a bodyskill exercise (sometimes referred to as “internal power”) is as a way to coordinate and associate disparate parts of the body. The arms PULL the legs up through the torso and can be used to hold the leg lifted position as well as to help control the descent. Opening and closing of the kuà (hip joints) can and should be used to raise and lower the body. By holding the raised leg posture for a few seconds, we get to experience what many arts call “double weighting”: loading all of the body’s weight onto one leg which is often a precursor to being thrown. Developing a sense of balance and control at this extreme position can make one much harder to complete techniques on and allow one to recover full balance much faster. How does it relate to Aikido or jujutsu? Besides the points listed above, we know that Sagawa Yukiyoshi of Daito Ryu considered shiko to be one of his main solo exercises and bragged that he did thousands of them a day. Ueshiba Morihei of Aikido was a contemporary of Sagawa Sensei in Daito Ryu and also was supposed to have done sumo (though not professionally) in his youth. Personally I after I began doing shiko regularly as a warmup for class, I was surprised how often a guest Aikdio instructor would take note and almost always ask me where I learned the version I was doing or why I was doing it. They would often nod knowingly, and like my Iai-battojutsu instructor, say something alont the lines  of, “Ah, that’s very good,” with a bit of a wink. Many Aikido and jujutsu techniques are driven by shifting weight between the feet and it’s hard to think of a better exercise to develop that than shiko.

A quick video on how you can use the head to initiate and accelerate a forward roll. This is very important for forward rolls where you aren’t able to use your legs to propel your roll or fall.

Great article looking at the historical origins of Daito Ryu and Sokaku Takeda!

“…as the legend of Daito-ryu says, “Daito-ryu is a martial art that has been handed down from ancient times only to the upper class of the Aizu clan, and Sokaku TAKEDA is the founder of its revival.” Is it really true? Considering that Sokaku TAKEDA’s family belonged to the class of Ashigaru or Goshi, a low social class that locates between Bushi and farmer and was not officially recognized as a Bushi, I cannot help but doubt the credibility.”

【Web AIKI Course Part 1】Knowledge of AIKI Series 2「Daito-ryu founded by Sokaku TAKEDA」 | BUDO JAPAN

Christian Moses from Japanese Fighting Arts NW introduces the concepts of the hip joint (kua), opening and closing the kua, and how that relates to bowing and unbowing the legs. Rather than begin this in a static position, he uses a basic exercise from Yanagi Ryu Aiki-bugei to help introduce new practitioners to these concepts or as an alternative exercise for those already pursuing these skills.

Here’s our first video content made specifically for JFANW. Here we look at what it means to bow the arms, how that helps create dual opposing forces in the body, and we review one of Dan Harden’s most basic exercises, The Yoke. We also contrast these concepts with the “unbendable arm” trick that many Aikido practitioners may be familiar with. Enjoy!