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I teach physical alignment of the two centres at the base level to develop a feeling of heart connection between the two. It’s even more important that the uke attempts to maintain such a connection, as it is in this role that most instructors give the least attention, as in many ways it is the… Lees verder Physical alignment of the two centres

“My feeling is that aikido, and by extension martial arts in general, offers a form of “love.” There is a film of Takuma Hisa taken at the Asahi News dojo back in 1935. He is reading from the Domon, which begins: “Budo should be considered a means of following the sacred path of the Divine,… Lees verder Aikido is a form of love

The essence and principles of the sword create the art of Aikido. It’s not the physical lifting and falling of the sword, but the body movement principles that are intrinsic to the functioning of speceific techniques. This principle relates to the sole of the foot and how it rotates the hara into instantaneous multidirectional movement.… Lees verder Total body, mind and spirit integration

The only way to become what you need to be is to let go of what you think you are. I teach Aikido. It is what I do, not what I am. It’s not an identity to which I can find safe Harbour. I thought for a long time there that I was studying self… Lees verder Let go of what you think you are

This is the essence of understanding ai-nuke. There is nothing but this and sacrifice. “Some aikido teachers talk a lot about non- violence, but fail to understand this truth. A pacifist is not really a pacifist if he is unable to make a choice between violence and non- violence. A true pacifist is able to… Lees verder The essence of understanding ai-nuke

The person that creates the conflict is responsible for resolving the conflict. This is ukemi, this is the ultimate lesson in Aikido. Yoshio Kuroiwa Shihan Uke Central To Practice Yin practice is the expression of “shackled” form. Thus, it is first necessary to be shackled. It is important in training to correctly understand the roles… Lees verder Transmission

“It’s simple; think nothing, do nothing. When I move with intuition I am formless; when I have no form, there is nothing in this world that can oppose me.” Issai Chozan

Musubi means to tie together, to “knit” to lock. In my practice, Musubi starts with the line of attack, it eventually ends up at the solar plexus/heart region. When the old masters(Shioda, Shirata, Sunadomari etc) said to give up the point of contact, what were they saying? To read intent one must know intention. To… Lees verder Musubi

I have always taught the body of Aikido as having two dimensions, rising and falling. This can be elusive and is far more complex than just a strong powerful base and grounding and a relaxed upper. One of my favourite quotes is “hands up, me down” (thanks Peter Ralston). This implies that when the upper… Lees verder Rising and falling

So, the tanden ball. The sphere that moves the structure. Sensei has been teaching tanden ball for 20 years as a fundamental in Yuishinkai Aikido. Fundamental means that senior instructors must know and teach this principle as the art they represent. Tanden ball relates directly to in/yo. When a sphere moves one side ascends and… Lees verder Tanden ball

Kiichi-Hogans secrets of technique When opposition comes, connect with it at once. When it leaves, send it on its way. If there is resistance, harmonise with it immediately. 5 plus 5 is 10 2 plus 8 is 10 1 plus 9 is 10 This is the secret to harmony. There is nothing in the universe… Lees verder Secret of harmony

A lot is said about spirals in Aikido, but how to create spirals in the structure starts with our relationship to the ground, and our feet. Imagine a long balloon for making a balloon dog, to manipulate this balloon needs 2 points, a twist point(your hara and your facia, and groin) and an anchor point(your… Lees verder Spirals

“The key element in this worldview is musubi, which means something like “connection” or “unity.” In classical Japanese texts like the Kojiki and the Nihonshoki, the word musubi is written using a pair of characters meaning “generation/birth” and “spirit/soul.” The first character, “musu,” connotes generative change, for example in phrases like “gohan wo musu” (to… Lees verder Musubi and ainuke

Tactile awareness means the ability to have a conversation with your partner through the point of contact. Feeling intent through our ability to release our strength and align the structure with our centre of gravity. Subtle changes in energy send ripples through our awareness centres, and are read like a blind man on a braille… Lees verder Tactile awareness

“In Aikido, before one’s opponent comes, one absorbs the intentions of his spirit/mind into oneself to control it freely. That is to say, the workings of a spiritual gravity(inryoku no tanren) makes progress. One sees the world all at once. Today, as yet, almost nobody is able to do this. I haven’t reached it, either.”… Lees verder Ken-po

It is impossible to acquire experience through theory. An experiential art cannot become an intellectual philosophy without the tempering created through physical intuitive interactions. In aikido, these interactions comprise a conversation between an “attacker” and a “defender”. Just as much time must be spent analysing both roles for anyone to get an in depth understanding… Lees verder Conversation between uke and nage

Kan no me and the power of true observation is the pillar of kenjutsu and Yuishinkai aikido.I have lost count of the amount of times I have heard sensei say “look, don’t see”.Why does he say this.Kan in Japanese is the power of meditative observation, it is perception or intuition – the ability to see… Lees verder Kan no me

It was sometime between 2005-6 that I started to have a deeper look at the idea of centre attack and control. I read quite a bit on WingChung at the inspiration of a friend that had been studying it for a while. The basic concept appealed to my simple mindset on Budo. He who controls… Lees verder Centre attack

I’m In this world of entitlement and I have lost count of how many students have lost sight of the way. Budo is a tradition with a long and sometimes disturbing history. The culmination of which was world war 2. In this period of the tradition of the warrior, there have been men of great… Lees verder Budo

I was training/teaching up north on the weekend and we were exploring advanced aikido principle. I say advanced but really a very basic concept. To be in the here and now both physically and mentally. We say we are, but actually our body action, posture, weight distribution and intent tell a different story. The beauty… Lees verder Art with no enemy

The techniques of Aikido change constantly; every encounter is unique, and the appropriate response should emerge naturally. Today’s techniques will be different tomorrow. Do not get caught up with the form and appearance of a challenge. Aikido has no form – it is the study of the spirit. – Morihei Ueshiba The unchanging fundamentals of… Lees verder A formless art is an unteachable art

Why is it, according to just about all his students, when O’Sensei saw training where uke resisted the technique of nage the founder would fly into a rage and scream “that’s not aikido”? Why did kenjutsu shimizu say that, although he was a 4th Dan in judo, his ukemi wasn’t good enough for the founder… Lees verder The role of uke

Please have a listen to Peter Kelly’s aikido interview with ABC Hobart – click here – it starts just before the 7 minute mark.

“Move the totality of the consciousness along the orbital path, finish in hanmi” “Aikido is not about changing the other, but about changing the self” “When the attacker comes they do not exist, and I do not exist” Morihei Ueshiba The initial movement before any contact with Uke is made occupies the space in which… Lees verder Occupy the space in which the attackers intent lies

If you do this……. No matter how good the sensei is, if the person who is attacking is not honest, it is difficult to handle the situation as freely as he would like. If you are honest and give your body and soul to the teacher, he will give you everything. If you resist even… Lees verder Honest attack

When we walk into a dojo for the first time, we should be taught that we are studying a kata. When we learn to roll and fall, this should not be called ukemi, it should just be called rolling and falling. Uke is not just rolling and falling. It is far more than that to… Lees verder Understanding Uke

Kata is the vessel that holds the principles. Technique is a way to move to express these principles, it is not a way to fight, the techniques are just expressed movement in a select moment. Training the heart is utmost to martial tradition. The founder was seeking Ken-Po, the ultimate expression of mastery, the highest… Lees verder Kata

One of the instructors commented the other day that the comments I have posted online were different to the common rhetoric that occupies the Internet forums. I agreed. There are many reasons for this, firstly Aikido is not technique. See first quotes. Secondly, ukemi as practiced in modern Aikido dojo isn’t done correctly, and so… Lees verder Aikido is not technique

I quite often find myself in deep contemplation regarding Sensei’s teachings. About the essence of the study of Budo, but more importantly, the essence of the study of Yuishinkai. I have decided I hate the word Aikido attached to what we do, or the essence of what we do. Just hear me out. Strange that… Lees verder What it isn’t….

Yesterday I was re-reading the founders book that was written as a technical guide. I haven’t actually had this book in my possession for many years as it was on loan. Anyway I was just thinking about 2003. This should have been a pivotal year for many in Yuishinkai as it was the year sensei… Lees verder “Moon shadow foot” and “lizard leg”

This paradox of training in Aikido is a difficult one. Over the years I have met all types of people that train for many different types of reasons. Health, spirituality, martial prowess or just to attempt to find that thing missing in their lives. We are told Aikido has two dimensions, spiritual and physical. Just… Lees verder My uncle Earnest

I was discussing today with another instructor about an old video that I had posted regarding ukemi. He commented that he had never heard anyone explain what I was demonstrating in the way that I explained it. I get this a lot in my teaching. I am different to everyone else, no one talks about… Lees verder Fundamentals

O-sensei was often angry during his class, saying, “Don’t be contrived.” When we practice the same technique repeatedly and get used to it, we often anticipate the opponents’ moves and block or avoid the technique unnaturally, even unconsciously. He called it “unnatural” or “contrived” and disliked it so much. He repeatedly said “You have to… Lees verder Aikido has nothing to do with the techniques and forms

Mind isn’t the use of “jedi” tricks. Mind is increasing understanding through bringing totality of awareness into each and every part of every movement at all times. In Aikido, nage is the study of the self. How the body moves and reacts to stresses and external stimuli. It is the realisation of the capacity of… Lees verder Nage is the study of the self

Ueshiba sensei said, “Aikido is 95% perspiration and 5% philosophy.” By saying that, I have said everything.” (A. NOCQUET) It has happened to the art that I love. I suppose that it has happened for quite a while now, but it took a lot of time to actually understand how this came about. I was… Lees verder Where’s the Dog, Ma? A way to fix the current Aiki Crisis

There are very deep philosophical principles hidden in the art of Aikido. These principles aren’t discovered by the Ancient Greek version of philosophical debate, but rather discovered in the forging of the physical body, through hard work and tenacity. Anyone can endorse a Japanese philosophical idea, anyone can claim to have a Japanese sword master… Lees verder Ainuke, yeah……maybe not

I have been away with the kids up the north east and have had far too much time on my hands walking on beaches thinking about Aikido, and more importantly, thinking about my role and the future of the art. Now inevitably, thinking about the future of the art brings us to a point where… Lees verder Future, Past, present

“To become poisoned by secret teachings is something that occurs in Aikido as well. Instead of looking at their feet (“The feet reveal the secrets of the universe.”Morihei Ueshiba), people look up and imitate sophisticated movements in a pretentious, empty manner. That is called “to be poisoned by secret teachings”. This is quite rife in… Lees verder Ai-nuke and Aikido