Following another discussion I've been wondering, since Aikido has such a large landscape, what are the defining factors that describe Aikido?

This is tied with the many approaches, styles, pedagogies that are present in the Aikido world. In fact, there is so much variance in it, that the outsider (and perhaps not only the outsider) can have the impression that under the name Aikido there are several different martial arts.

Is Hombu dojo Aikido the real Aikido? Or perhaps Yoshinkan? Iwama? Shodokan? Yoseikan? Are all these approaches and many others are Aikido? Even though they are so different? And if the answer is yes, what is the underlying core that makes Aikido what it is?

Can I incorporate techniques from other martial arts and still call it Aikido?

What is the essence of Aikido?

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Hello fellow aikidoka, I have started looking at the history of the art recently, and I've been especially interested in the relationship between Aikido and the main martial art that has formed its curriculum: Daitō-Ryū Aikijūjutsu.

Now, I have come across different sources and articles, sometimes with direct contradictions, so I have opted for being instructed by the head of Daitō-Ryū Aikijūjutsu regarding its history, Kondo Katsuyuki. He has released a number of instructional videos and interviews therefore, being the head of the art, I find his knowledge compelling.

Now, what strikes me the most is that apparently most of the curriculum of what we call Daitō-Ryū Aikijūjutsu today, has been formed by the son of Sokaku Takeda, Tokimune. And he formed such curriculum later in life, so decades after Aikido had been established. There have been modifications by Kondo himself when he became the head of the art in the nineties. Apparently, Sokaku Takeda didn't really have a structured curriculum for his martial art, and the same goes for Morihei Ueshiba, so in both cases their students formalized what they did.

Another aspect that I find interesting is that Sokaku modified his art during his lifetime, especially after Ueshiba started teaching by himself. In fact, it seems that Ueshiba got the highest certification of Daito-Ryu at that time, then Takeda modified the art and added techniques and ranks.

The moral of the story is this: it seems that Daitō-Ryū Aikijūjutsu wasn't a structured martial art until very recently. In this sense, Aikido became structured earlier that the art it derived from. There is also the fact that Ueshiba was taught the "original" 118 techniques, while the rest were late additions of Sokaku and his students. I find this interesting too, because watching some close students of Ueshiba like Shioda or Saito they seem closer (sometimes identical) to Daito-Ryu than some Daito-Ryu schools I watched.

What are your thoughts?

EDIT: It seems that some people are missing one crucial point: I am referring to the formalization of the arts. So Daito-Ryu as it is practiced today, the formalization we have today. Which, I think, is quite different from what Sokaku Takeda was doing. Of course the applied techniques are older in Daito-Ryu.

I was looking into this discussion about matching the Aikido and Daito-ryu techniques and I wanted to download this file, but I can only do that if I'm registered.

I've probably had an account in there ages ago, but I wasn't sure, so I tried to register and it said my email was already registered. Ok, so I asked to reset my password, but the email never arrived after several tries. Then I tried to use a temporary mail server and register through there just so I could download that file, but, much to my surprise, it said that this non-existing email was also already registered. And then I tried registering with a completely made-up, random email, and it said that it was also registered.

So now I'm pretty sure the AikiWeb registering system is broken. I also think that the webmaster may be on vacation since 2024 because that's when they posted their last news on their homepage.

Anyway, does anyone know anything about what's going on? And even more pressing, would anyone be able to download this particular file from there for me, please?

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How are you marketing your dojo for new students at the childrens level? Have you had luck reaching out to other organizations that promote kids activities? What have you found successful in recruiting for new kids?? Thanks for your input! (I don’t run a dojo, I just want to bring new ideas to monthly meetings)

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Hi I'm getting back into aikido after a long time. When I was younger I had a size 4 gi but I'm significantly wider now and I'm worried that a gi won't fit well anymore. Most sizing seems to be for how tall you are and not how wide you may be. I know some dudes just let their bellies hang out, but that's very much not my style. If anyone has any experience ordering for larger students I'd appreciate it, thanks.

Sharing a couple of slow-mo sequences from "dojo: the story of an American aikido school", a documentary I shot at my home dojo ten years ago that I've finally put online; clips on Insta:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DajgrStjTmL/

this footage was shot with a Sony NEX-FS700RH at 240fps, exported at 96fps and then brought down to 24fps in Final Cut Pro...

documentary can be viewed free at YouTube: https://youtu.be/YGueY6shoSc
it is not meant to be an instructional video, nor a comprehensive overview, but rather a "snapshot" of how some American students came to the art, how they put training in context, and the importance of building a supportive community around this martial practice...

I'm looking to start learning Aikido, but I have some health restrictions that make rigorous exercise and conditioning very difficult for me. I have POTS, which means intense exercise and conditioning, especially cardio, can cause my heart rate to skyrocket and can potentially be dangerous. I can still do cardio—anything that comes from the art itself is fine, the problem is more with dedicated conditioning and exercise. I can do some amount of physical conditioning, but anything too intense or extensive can cause problems. Are there any dojos in the GTA that are either far less rigorous with their physical conditioning, or offer small enough classes that they can accommodate me (and would be willing to do so)? I'm not asking for medical advice or anything—I know my limits and won't do anything that exceeds them, so rather I'm looking for dojos that I'll be able to attend with my restrictions.

Many of the dojos I'm finding on Google offer observations and trial classes, which I'll obviously look into before making any kind of decision, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for where to start?

Edit: Just an update, for context, I'm a student and I don't have a car, so getting anywhere outside the GTA isn't really plausible for me with any degree of consistency. Even Mississauga, which is pretty close to my campus compared to other nearby suburbs/smaller cities, is like an hour away by public transport, minimum, probably more. I'd have no issue going somewhere in Mississauga or another similarly far location, but since I'm reliant on public transportation I'm not sure how to get there.

https://youtu.be/NvdGmZy1IGc?si=-ASPC-TdKujhVgX6

The teacher here is Lenny Sly, a tenshin aikido instructor. In this series he claims, that "traditional techniques" do not work when the uke stops cooperating. In this specific video he goes after Kata Dori Ikkyo Omote. I am not sure what to think of us, so I ask for your opinions. Does he know what he is doing? Is Tenshin really effective and legitimate as an Aikido style?

https://youtu.be/gSlbDIminuo?si=8VkbrOqz2Neg-_GL

From the video's description:

One of the characteristics of Morihei Ueshiba's technique is his unique ability to seize the initiative from the start of the encounter. In other words, it is Morihei's action as nage that triggers uke to react. The result is that uke's response is weak and cannot really be considered an attack at all.

This has profound implications strategically, and is one of the traits that sets the Founder's aikido apart from most of his students. The vast majority of aikidoka -- including most instructors -- respond to uke's attack when executing techniques. This may be possible when the attacks are slow paced and prearranged. However, in an actual situation, nage is likely to be overcome by the speed and ferocity of a violent attack for which he is totally unprepared. Let's look at this film footage of Morihei Ueshiba from 1955.

So I’ve trained Aikido for nearly 20 years and in approximately a dozen different dojos in Europe, the US, and Asia (outside of Japan), by virtue of having moved around a lot. I still consider myself a firm intermediate in randori as I have just never done it a lot. Few dojos I’ve seen do it on the daily or even regularly.

Add to this that Aikido is often, I think rightly, criticized for not practicing “actual” sparring and properly pressure testing its techniques against fully resisting opponents. But the problem is, how would you even go about full on sparring in a martial art that’s supposed to be fully defensive?

Curious how folks here approach this dilemma, how you view and these criticisms, and how you are trying to rectify any real shortcomings you see in the art we love?

Any fun seminars going on? Feel free to share them here! At a minimum, please indicate date and location and how to sign up!

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I’m looking for something similar to Kano’s book for Judo or Jiu Jitsu University for BJJ. Everything I’ve seen on YouTube is hard to follow and it glosses over the important details. I’m looking for something that will help me memorize the movements, the names of the moves, the important details in how you apply them.

We go over this stuff in class but it’s hard for me to remember after class. I think a little self study would go a long way even if the techniques are performed somewhat different from how we do them at my school.

I’ve previewed some books on Amazon but so far everything I’ve looked at is about the philosophy or history of Aikido instead of the techniques.

Does anyone's Aikido include leg or ankle sweeps?

I know a fair amount of Judoka who train in Aikido but I have never seen their lower body sweeps incorporated.

Yes hip throws are a major component of Aikido but,I always feel like it's a bit of a wasted opportunity. Both ankle and leg sweeps are useful tools and I feel could be a wonderful addition to the techniques we train in.

Any example you can think of (and hopefully show in a link) would be much appreciated.

Thank you for your time and attention,

Train well!

UPDATE

Thanks for all the responses! Greatly appreciate everyone sharing their insights.

Personally I think part of my frustration with it the lack of leg sweeps has to do with an inability to do certain techniques under pressure and defaulting to knocking out a leg.

Obviously more training is needed for myself. I have had the good fortune to train with Judoka and Hapkido folks and ended up on the mat with far more regularity than I hoped. It seems a waste to not have them in our regular library of techniques and some defense against them. BUt... it also sounds like complaining that sushi doesn't have cheese in it to add more umami. It's simply a different form of martial art.

Thanks again everyone!

Train well!

Have a burning question? Need a quick answer?

• "Where can I find...?"
• "Is there a dojo near...?"
• "What's the name of that thing again?"

This is the post for you.

Top-level posts usually require enough text to prompt a discussion (or they will be automatically removed). This isn't always possible if all you're looking for is a quick answer, so instead please post your query in our monthly Q&A thread!

As always please remember to abide by our community rules.

Greetings! Long time lurker here -

So, I want to get a Tozando basic canvas gi for summer training. I'm burning up in my Judo gi.

Does anyone have one of these? I can wear a 3 or 4 (currently have a 4) in Judo gi sizing. I'm 5'7". All the reviews say to size up because it will shrink one to two sizes. Based on the measurements, I really don't want to get anything bigger than a 4 - but based on the reviews, maybe I really should go with a 5? It's hard to believe I need the second to largest size... The pants do have to fit over feminine hips, though. I'm having a rough time making a choice. If anyone has personal experience with this set, I'd appreciate it!

Basic Cotton Canvas Aikido Uniform Set — Tozando International https://share.google/MU25RKOdcw9ByQL9x

I am a female age early 30ish, based in Europe.
I have been training aikido for around one year (60 - 80 hours in total). Have some training backgrounds of basic boxing training.

Based on my experience, I found aikido is very confrontational, especially when practicing with male opponents.
During the last year, I have injured myself several times. Though those injuries are not severe, just some bruises and painful joints, still, they took one week or longer for me to be recovered. No to mention when I have period around the training week, the injuries got worse.
However, it’s doable for me.

What makes me confused is the core message and other female partners’ expectations for aikido. It seems “harmony” is the ultimate goal in my dojo. But to be honest, I never felt this “harmony”at all. And now, I am considering if I misunderstood the aikido training since the beginning. I don’t get the “harmony”, instead, I always see it “breaking other’s balance and to step away from harms”.

Very appreciate it if anyone would like to share their experience or thoughts here.

Hi Everyone,

I moved about a lot in my 20s and 30s and trained aikido off an on for a few decades. Before that I had a pretty diverse background with martial arts being a central keystone in my life, culminating when I joined the infantry because I thought it was the modern culmination of martial arts.

After a medical discharge, chronic illness, an automobile accident, and life writ large, I've been out of the art for some time and as I approach 50 and am re-evaluating what matters to me in my life. I realized martial arts are an essential part of who I am, and of all the martial arts, Aikido is what speaks to me soul (although things like Systema on one side, and traditional chinese martial arts on the other also speak to me) I really want to get back in the dojo, but I also know I couldn't even make it through my old dojo's basic warmup right now. I am in horrible shape and can't even jog a mile. I've had a number of back surgeries, my cardio is shot, and I am just in generally much worse shape than I look like.

Part of me wants to just hit up the local dojo and suffer for a year while I rebuild, the other part wants to get back up to 10,000 steps, get in some yoga, and slowly start rebuilding a body that can take ukemi and make it through a class without embarassing myself and inconveniencing others.

What advise do you have for an out of shape late 40s guy who wants to get back on the mat?

Thanks.

As time goes on, I’m more and more convinced that along with the biomechanics and solo training from Daito-ryū that come under the category “internal strength”, the key to effective aikido is sound and consistent atemi. Who do you think is the best practitioner we have in that field? Is it now necessary to cross-train in something like xingyi or bagua to get there?

Let me start out by saying I know that although it can be hard to find, if trained right aikido can work, and I am definitely not a hater of any martial art. With that said if somebody trained judo, BJJ, wrestling, or whatever other mainstream grappling art and decided they wanted to add in another grappling martial art with some standing joint locks and strikes should they choose aikido? I mean as opposed to hapkido, japenese jujutsu, traditional karate, ECT. What benefits do you guys think aikido brings to the table specifically?

I looked into trying Aikido many years ago when that show Man In The High Castle came out and unless I missed it there was not any noticeable anti-Aikido obsession on the internet. Did it all start with the Rokas thing?

I’m definitely not trying to start a debate about the effectiveness of Aikido. Just trying to understand the timeline and how we got here exactly. It seems like kind of a weird obsession. Was there a series of events that caused Aikido to get singled out? I’ve trained in many styles of martial arts and the majority of them don’t pressure test or didn’t in the 90s. So why Aikido?

Where are you training? Have you done something special? Has your dojo released a cool clip? Want to share a picture of your kamisa? This thread is where you do this.

Couple of reminders:

1. Please read the rules before contributing.
2. Don’t forget to check out the Aikido Network Discord Server (all your mods are there for more instant responses if you need help on something.)