Hiroshi Tata Aikido 1

 

 

When I moved to Arizona I had to delete much of the Martial Arts library I had accumulated.  I retained those books that were gifts or had special relevance to my studies. Among those I saved were some random selections from my magazines and I have just begun reading one of them. The Aikido Journal from 1884 vol 21 no 4.

 

I don’t expect that will be of relevance to any of you reading this. But over the years I found much interesting material in the Aikido Journal and its predecessor.  Most specifically is the interview with Hiroshi Tata  9^th dan Aikikaiki shohin, who introduced aikido to Italy in the mid 60’s.

 

Of course him talking about his life is very interesting, but when he began to address the changes of intent in different aikido programs, how his aikido changed as he faced the changes of age, and especially how the young in Japan of 1994 were raised in a very different time from the young of before, resulting in changes to address those needs. As well as other issues.

 

Most interesting are his comments about how Aikido has changed, especially in Japan.

 

For one thing he cautions young aikido instructors, “some students are interested in becoming stronger to handle themselves better in a physical confrontation, other student are motivated by a desire for better health,  others simply may want enjoyment of trying something from a different culture.” He suggests they address all of that in their studies about how to become a better instructor.

 

I am aware there are aikido schools that focus on only one aspect of Aikido. But he suggests that an instructor could address all of them.

 

As Aikido has changed Karate has also changed especially as it has moved around the world. Many schools only focus on one aspect of their art. Not that that is bad, but we must acknowledge there are many different levelt a school may address.

 

He gets into the topic that the youth of Japan have been brought up quite differently from the youth of the past.

 

He suggests “until the Meiji period, Japanese people mastered kukyuho and  developed their “Ki” through discipline that began at a young age.In that respect Japanese people today are completelydifferentfrom Japanese people back then. “ He was “referring to the sort of discipline that begins at birth, namely the way children are taught and the nature of family life.”

 

Kukyuho is literally translating as breathing exercise, Kokyu ho are breathing training methods used in Aikido to develop the hara (lower abdomen). By proper breathing with a strong hara, one can achieve the principle of one point as joriki (the power of unified concentration) is developed.

 

Suggesting today even in Japan to develop kykyuho, essential for aikido, it must be addressed differently than was done in the past.

 

He goes further on this type of change was occurring in Europe, abet in different ways.

 

This goes for karate studies too. When I began teaching the young 40 years ago, they had been raised in a different world, than the young decades later. That meant things had to be addressed differently, some things previously not needed were now a necessary part of instruction.

 

Hiroshi Tada Shihan - Rare Aikido Demonstration (1957)