Thursday, May 11, 2023

Morihiro Saito demonstrates atemi-waza c. 1975

 



 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvsRrDSy960

 

What I found was interesting on several levels.

 

 

The first one was the striking was used in ways you will understand.
It is more akin to karate, such as we practice it, or what Sherman Harrill showed us.

 

 

The locks and projections which we normally regard as Aikido, are supplements with the use of striking to create an opening, or a finishing movement.

 

 

Every one of them would be an excellent demonstration technique if you ever need one. Several are interesting variations which might be used for the kids.


However, the other point I wish to make, involves the way aikido was transmitted around the world.

  

The concept of Atemi (striking) was not being taught outside of Japan as far as I can tell.

 

This movie was made in 1975. But a decade later was when I saw the first discussions about Atemi in the Akikoi Journal. Those English speaking folks in Japan translated the Usheiba book from the 1930s into English. This was where Usheiba was clearly showing he was teaching the use of atemi striking along with his other technique. This did geverate discussion at that time.


Apparently post WWII Usheiba took Aikido in a divverent direction away from the use of earlier atemi. Some schools in Japan remained the preWWII flavor of aikido. The other schools moved in the new Usheiba direction. Apparently most of the Japanese instructors who were sharing with the world, were of the latter Aikido. So Atemi was not part of their art.

 

 

Other arts had the same thing happening. TKD in the states did not teach the axe kick. Then the US team competed in Korea and axe kicks for which they had no defense that they had developed, cut through them just like an axe. Of course that then changed in the States. But in that case Korean TKD instructors specifically did not share that outside of Korea.


Other Arts were not immune from the same things.

 

Now tell me the truth, doen't this look like something we would do out of Kusanku kata.


 




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