Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, is a Japanese martial art that first became widely known in the early 20th century under the headmastership of Takeda Sokaku. Takeda had extensive training in several martial arts (including Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū and sumo) and referred to the style he taught as “Daitō-ryū” (literally, “Great Eastern School”). Although the school’s traditions... more »
The use of striking in the performance of Aikido waza or applied technique is not well documented and is even the source of quite a bit of conflicting information. Saotome Sensei has made it quite clear that O-sensei Ueshiba taught that atemi in Aikido was at the heart of the practice. Yet other instructors... more »
In this old footage (1935) Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, demonstrates numerous suwariwaza, hanza handachi (hanmi handachi), tachiwaza, multiple attacks, and sword and bayonet techniques. His partners are Shigemi Yonekawa and Tsutomu Yukawa. There are also brief appearances by Takuma Hisa and Rinjiro Shirata. Most of the techniques are advanced and performed in... more »
Gozo Shioda Sensei was born in 1915. His farther, Dr. Seiichi Shioda was known as a famous doctor and a patriot. Gozo was his second son. When Gozo Shioda sensei was 18, he became a student of Morihei Ueshiba Sense (O-Sensei), the Founder of Aikido. He spent 8 years with Ueshiba Sensei, dedicating his life to... more »
Koichi Tohei is the founder of Ki-Aikido (Shinshin Touitsu Aikidō) is the style of aikido, a modern Japanese martial art. Tohei studied judo from the age of 16 and as a result of a training injury developed pleurisy, in response to this he began studying zen and misogi at Daitoku-ji in Kyoto under temple head... more »
Minoru Mochizuki (1907 – 2003) was a Japanese martial artist who founded the dojo Yoseikan. He was a 10th dan in Aikido, 9th dan in jujutsu, 8th dan in iaido, 8th dan in judo, 8th dan in kobudo, 5th dan in kendo, 5th dan in karate, and a 5th dan in jojutsu. Mochizuki, began... more »
Mitsugi Saotome is a Japanese aikido teacher currently living in the United States. He is a direct disciple of the founder of aikido, Morihei... more »
Morihei Ueshiba was born on December 14 1883 in a village of the province of Wakayama, south of Osaka (Japan). He was short (158 cm) and still a frail teenager when he briefly studied Jujutsu at the age of 17 at the Kito School (Tokusaburo Tosawa) in Tokyo. In 1903, at the onset of... more »
In about 1935 Konishi Sensei, Ueshiba Sensei (the founder of Aikido), Mabuni Sensei, and Ohtsuka Sensei were training together almost daily. At this time, the Japanese government was largely controlled by top officers of the Imperial Army. Konishi Sensei was asked by the commanding general of the Japanese Army to develop women’s self-defence techniques.... more »
Steven Seagal was born on April 10, 1951, in Lansing Michigan. His mother was a medical technician and his father was a high school math teacher. When Steven was 5 the family moved to Fullerton, CA. At age 7, Steven became inerested in the martial arts and discovered a Japanese dojo in nearby Garden... more »
Tenjin Shin’yō-ryū, literally meaning “Divine True Willow School”, can be classified as a traditional school (koryū) of Jujutsu. It was founded by Iso Mataemon Minamoto no Masatari in the 1830s. Once a very popular jujutsu system in Japan, among the famous students who studied the art were Kano Jigoro, whose modern art of Judo... more »
Yoseikan Budo may be classified as a sogo budo form (lit. “composite” or “comprehensive” martial art), but is used here to indicate a martial art into which various martial ways have been integrated. It is probably most widely known for its connection to a pre-war style of Aikido; however, it has important connections to... more »