WHAT IS Saigo-Ha TAKEDA-RYU "AIKI"

The concept "AIKI" explained

Saigo-Ha Tekeda-Ryu AikiBudo

AIKI There are many martial arts which use the word "AIKI" as part of their names or concepts, but unless they are teaching a system which is directly derived from the teaching of Soemon Takeda, ( grandfather of Sokaku Takeda ) and do know and teach the concepts or basis of true "aiki" they are misrepresenting themselves because it was Soemon Tekeda who first coined the term AIKI ( He called it the Aiki of Ying & Yang ) . AIKI has been portrayed as some mysterious concept of unifying energy with movement ( a sort of "mind & body" unification , almost religious) but, the AIKI concept was developed by Yoshimitsu Minamoto after watching a spider catching prey in it's web, hardly anything that mysterious, and defintely not quazi-religious at all ! In Saigo-Ha Takeda-Ryu ( Daito-Ryu) Aiki is not mysterious ( very well protected, but not mysterious) and we will describe it in modern terms for the world to see and understand ( although, nobody can ever really understand "aiki" perfectly unless they are under direct instruction from a qualified Saigo-Ha/ Takeda-Ryu / Daito-Ryu teacher or instructor for a long period of time ! ) THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF AIKI STRATEGY Early Aiki exhibition " His skills were such that, as soon as he was touched by his opponent, his opponent seemed to lose all control over his balance and strength, and would be thrown with ease." How he accomplished this was hard to explain, even if one saw it with one's own eyes. " - Mr. Arima Mr. Arima commenting on Shiro Saigo's techniques upon his arrival at Jigoro Kano's Kodokan Judo dojo. The techniques described were Saigo-Ha/Takeda-Ryu / Daito-Ryu techniques * (Mr. Arima wrote what is believed to be the first book on Kodokan Judo.) Aiki is a strategy of warfare.

Aiki is a battlefield stategy born of the need to win in military encounters, it has implications for use in duels between two or more indeviduals or thousands of soldiers , but, here, we will discribe it's use for physical encounters between two combatants ) What must be understood is that "Aiki" is not magical , paranormal, quasi-religious or mystical. It is based on the observation of a 15th century soldier of how an insect catches it's prey, being modified and developed for over 500 years by his many successors until one Soemon Tekeda started calling it "Aiki" for want of a better name. All techniques of Saigo-ha / Takeda-ryu / /Daito ryu, regardless of their level, have 100 fundamental principles in common that should not be neglected nor taken for granted. For a technique to have proper progression and be performed within Saigo ha / Takeda-Ryu / Daito ryu concepts, these fundamental principals must remain a constant. These fundamental principles are sometimes over-simplistically listed as : Metsuke: Meeting or focus of the eyes Kokyu: Breathing Ma-ai: Distance Kuzushi.- Breaking the opponent's balance Zanshin: Staying attentive at the end of a technique Aiki- Spirit or energy unification However ! These six principals are really just the parts of a successful battle plan and a more detailed explanation of each is needed to fully understand the true concept of AIKI STATAGY : METSUKE In Saigo-Ha / Takeda-Ryu / Daito-Ryu, "Metsuke" is probably best discribed as focusing your eyes on your opponant without centering on any part of his body ! ( looking at him as a whole ) in such a manner than you can concentrate on his most minute movement, see tell-tale signs of weakness, and demonstrate the look of confidence, courage and fearlessnes born of intense seriousness for the task ahead It is said that many great fighters have that "LOOK " which turns men to jello ! A look that causes your heart to pound, your stomach to heave, and your palms to sweat. It is said that the great Saigo-Ha / Takeda-Ryu/ Daito-Ryu masters like Shiro-Saigo, Tanomo Takeda, Sokaku Takeda, and many others oozed with such confidence that when they looked at them it made grown men tremble with fear and often lose control of their bladders. In it's advanced stages, Metsuke can enable you to win a fight without having to fight at all ! Metsike can be called the "all seeing and controlling eyes " of the warrior . KOKYU This term is often confused with Karate / Kung Fu SANCHIN breathing, but is very different. It is actual a sort of preparatory oxygen charging, stress reducing, preexecution of technique breathing method that was developed at the Japanese Iwa

Taisho Shinto Temple over 1600 years ago as part of the meditation training for young Shinto monks. It is composed of two or three cycles with four stages each as follows : First Stage: - One slowly & quitely inhales through the nose as for exactly 10-seconds ! ( one must keep inhaling for 10 full seconds ) This completely fills the lungs with oxygen-rich air. If one accidentally breathes with the upper part of the lungs only, the shoulders would rise and if one inhales too deeply, which the opponant might notice and become convinced that this is a sign of fear on your part, hense, encouraging him to attack you ) Second Stage: - One holds the breath for a full 10-seconds ! This stage is sometimes called Shisei Mosoku (meaning "whole-heartedness stops one's breath"). and allows the lungs to absorb as much oxygen from the air in the lungs into the blood supply as possible. Third Stage: One now slowly & quietly exhales the air from the lungs (always through the nose for better control) for a full 10-seconds ! This helps remove as much carbon dioxide from the lungs as possible, freeing or emptying the air sacks in the lungs to better absorbe as much oxygen as possible with the next inhalation ! Fourth Stage : One holds the breathing process ( stops breathing) for a full 10seconds ! ( While the lungs are still empty) to allow the bloodstream to carry away as much oxygen from the lungs as possible, so the air sacks in the lungs will be empty and allow for maximum absorbtion of oxygen into the body during the next inhalation . This is a complete cycle, which should be repeated at least two times before engaging in a physical conflict ! NOTE * When being surprised, people often draw in breath.yet, and since an attack will be more effective when the opponent can exhale.if you can attack while he is breathing-in, he will be taken aback, he will have to finish drawing in breath, and his mental state might be broken by his inability to exhale. His rhythm is then broken as is his thought-line, , which results is a longer reaction time on his part.making him more vulnerable to your techniques.. For this reason, you should syncronize your breathing with your opponant ! (When he inhales, you exhale, and when he exhales, you inhale ) However, you must always remember to inhake deeply ever executing a technique, and always exhale or breathe-out while doing the technique. While training, never try to control your breathing, allow that process to be fully controlled by your medulla ! ( it has over 200.000 years of evolution to prepare it to control that fundamental body function ! ) This breathing technique should be taught to anyone whose job involves undue stress. ( police officers, management, medical personel. firemen., ect..) MA-AI This can be best defined as the distance between attacker and defender. For SaigoHa / Takeda-Ryu / Daito Ryu techniques, the concept of distance is similar to the maai used in Japanese swordsmanship. The techniques were designed for situations where the attacker is armed with a sword and the defender was unarmed . The early swordsman's confidence rose because he felt comfortable with the distance held by the unarmed Saigo - Ha / Takeda-Ryu / Daito ryu opponant , and he assumed that he was in an advantageous position Of course The assumption was incorrect because Saigo-Ha / Takeda-Ryu / Daito ryu ma-ai is similar and no such advantage exists.

What makes this distance so important today is that the danger from the sword has been replaced with dangers from other weapons and the vast improvement in leg strikes by one's attacker, and the traditional Saigo-Ha / Takeda-Ryu / Daito-Ryu MA-AI is still perfect for defending againsts these modern attacks. Basically, this distance is determined by the height of the opponant ! ( you must retain the distance between you and your opponant at which he is in kicking range , but not within striking range with his hands ! ) In the case of weapons, your distance must be slightly farther away that his reach with the weapon . To simplify this : If he can reach you with a kick without moving toward you at least 8 inches, you are too close, and the same holds true of the weapon he is attacking you with . ( The time it takes for him to move that 8-inches will give you enough reaction time to defend against the attack.) Of course ! We are over-simplifying this ! What we left-out was that you have to understand the principals which govern movement so we can determine which angle the attack will come from so we can successfully mount our counter-attack. KUZUSHI This is often defined as breaking or disturbing the balance or equilibrium of an opponent creating an opening in which the technique and our full energy could be effectively applied. Kuzushi is stressed heavily in Judo, but, it lacks the nessesary componant to make it effective for all the judo techniques. ( this missing element is what we call creating an AIKI situation) Kuzushi is actually better discribed as placing the body in such a position that it cannot recover to a fully controlled state for a brief period of time during which the attacker can use the forces of nature such as gravity, enertia, momentum, centrifugal force, ect..to cause it to be thrown, twisted, spun, or deposited to the earth surface in such a manner as to cause injury or death. There are eight directions in which one can exhert kuzushi . ( each being useful for specific techniques ) Kuzushi is not permanent, but lasts only for a brief second or two, during which time one must apply the appropriate technique or lose the oppertunity . The human body is a marvel of adaptation ! Our balance is trully amazing, which is why kuzushi is such a fleeting thing ! ( It is there one second-gone the next !) The most important principal for executing kuzushu is called "triangulation " ZANSHIN This is actually not a real part of AIKI STATAGY ! It merely is the practice of resisting the urge to cease concentrating on the opponant after a finishing technique to prevent a surprise counter-attack ! In effect, Zanshin means that for a brief period of time after you finish-off the opponant, you keep on attentive eye on him to make sure he is finished. You could say this is part of a good battle stategy ! ( although, it is highly unlikely that a person could survive a strong Saigo-Ha technique from the Dai Goju Tachi Nage, Dai Goju Setumi Nage, Dai Hyaku Tachi Keri Nage or Dai Hyaku Setumi Keri Nage sets and continue to pose a danger to you unless weapons are involved .) This concept evolved on the battlefields of Japan when in the heat of battle, it was common for felled oponants to draw-upon some hidden resolve and continue to attack even though suffering mortal wounds.

It is a good idea not to assume that you technique had incapicitated your opponant and just turn your attention elsewhere until you are assured that the desired effect of the technique was achieved. Simply-stated : you should do your thing, check him out, and move-on. AIKI Which brings us to the last point of the basics Aiki Statagy : Aiki. Aiki, for Saigo-Ha / Takeda-Ryu / Daito ryu, is divided into three levels: Shoden, Chuden, and Okuden, or Hiogi, levels. ( other branches of the Takeda-Ryu / Daito-Ryu art have different interpretations of what constitutes "Aiki" but this is how it was explained to Dr.Williams by Sigung Shen ) Basically, Aiki means to create a situation which enables you to apply kuzushi or a similar state in your opponant . Aiki at the Shoden level is creating the opening to apply the techniqueby entering at exactly the precise moment by using a deceptive maneuver (strategy, or heiho) such as atemi-wasa to weaken his defense and apply kuzushi . Hence, Aiki at Shodenlevel can be defined as a mechanical robotical skill that requires endless practice. ( old TaiJutsu was Aiki at the Shoden level ) Aiki at the Chuden level goes one-step farther, here the kuzushi is based not on the eight-directions, but on basic knowledge the 100 principals which govern the art, and although atemi-wasa is often used, it is more of a diversionasry tactic rather that a reactionary one. Aiki at Okuden, or Ogi level involves the full control of the opponant solely trough the applications of the 100 principals, There is no need for any atemi wasa or use of power, because it involves PURE technique based on universal laws of nature. ( Here the practitioner creates the "aiki" situation naturally without conflict of resistance ) When we refer to the "Aiki-Situation" we are refering to that fraction of time when the opponant is completly at your mercy, where all that stands in the way of his/her death, is your morality, ethiics and compassion. ( This is best demonstrated at the Okuden or Hiogi levels ) AIKI does not have to only create the oppertunity to create KAZUSHI for throws & take-downs ! It can create kazushi for all the techniques taught in the system. ( including atemi-wasa and gaishi-wasa ) Mastery of AIKI is evolutionary in nature ! One has to progress through the Shoden level and Chuden levels before attaining the Okuden levels ! ( I t is impossible to master aiki in any other manner because it is a psychological or cognative process , not just a physical skill ) Aiki has spiritrual links as well ! It was developed through the teachings of the SHINTO religion, It is partially based on SHINTO beliefs . ( Shinto was the religion of the Minamoto & Aizu clans, and many teachers of Saigo-Ha / Takeda-Ryu / Daito-Ryu were practicing Shinto Priests ) !)

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