| Subject: Re: Aiki Ju-jutsu |
Author:
Liam Graham
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Date Posted: 12:20:53 05/26/04 Wed
In reply to:
Corey Minatani
's message, "Re: Aiki Ju-jutsu" on 23:58:07 05/25/04 Tue
Hi, Sensei,
With my current involvement in Aikido, and my desire to train in Aiki jujutsu, I get the feeling that aiki means different things in those two realms. At least, it has become something different in Aikido, regardless of how it was first envisioned by the founder, O-Sensei Ueshiba (who probably changed it himself as time went by, and he leaned more to the religious and pacifist side of things). In Aikido today, it seems to have a lot to do with blending and harmonization of energy, or ki. You blend with your attacker, and seek a harmonious end to the dispute, whether this is a street fight or an argument. I get the sense that , for example, a Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu sense of aiki would be more along the lines of sensing and nullifying your opponent's ki and attacks, rather than blending ... or maybe nullifying it 'through' blending ... but without the requirement that the end be 'harmonious' in the Aikido way. That's totally conjecture on my part, as I admit that my only experience currently is through Aikido. I'll throw in a paraphrase of a quote from a Daito Ryu master that I read somewhere online recently: "If I throw you and you smile, that's Aikido; if I throw you and you scream, that's Daito Ryu."
One thing I am very curious about is what constitutes the difference between simply 'Jujutsu' and 'Aiki Jujutsu'. The addition of aiki, obviously, but what does that really mean? Was Daito Ryu Jujutsu simply the range of physical techniques that Takeda Sensei taught before he added aiki concepts into the mix?
As far as arts considered aiki, all I know are Aikido and Aiki Jujutsu in their various forms ... but my knowledge is limited. I do know that various schools of Aikido differ dramatically, from some Ki Society dojos that simply meditate on the mats while wearing their gis, without any of the physical art, to harder sub-styles, such as Nihon Goshin Aikido, which is much closer to the Aiki Jujutsu roots.
As far as what I think about aiki, I want to understand, feel and experience it in as wide a range as possible. I think there are situations in which the Aikido approach is superior, and situations in which a harder, Aiki Jujutsu approach would be superior. I was fortunate enough to be Dan McConnell's uke for his session at Water & Steel last year, and he showed a very cool progression. He started with Iriminage in a gentle Aikido sense, then progressed through a Jujutsu approach, finally connecting Modern Arnis knife techniques, but all flowing from the same movement. He described it sort of as an escalation, starting with uke as 'My Good Friend', then moving on to 'My Drunken Uncle', who needs some firmer convincing to behave, then on into true criminals attacking, requiring deadly force.
Anyway, I've probably rambled on for long enough. That's my beginner's take on things, and I look forward to learning more!
Respectfully,
Liam
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