Published on 05/22/2014 in AIKIDO ONLINE
We publish the third and final installment of the series "Aiki Jujutsu: A Creation of Concepts", a contribution by Master Ricardo Sanz, National Director in Spain of the Nihon Aikido / Aikijutsu / Aikibudo Department of the Nippon Seibukan of Kyoto, and 6th Dan Renshi of Aikibudo by the Nippon Seibukan Academy. The first and second parts are also available in previous posts. This is a series of original articles by Master Sanz originally published in the magazine El Budoka.
Aiki Jujutsu: The Development of a Tradition (Part 1)
By Ricardo Sanz
INTRODUCTION
Aikijujutsu can be translated as the "technique of adapting by joining the opponent’s energy." It is a traditional Japanese martial art that teaches, at a first level, unarmed combat techniques, and at a second level, knowledge and use of the Japanese sword.
Its origin dates back to the 9th century, practiced by the highest-ranking samurai class. Thus, its practice, history, and traditional Japanese culture are inseparably intertwined. As a martial technique in the strict sense, its goal is practical, objective, and measurable. Through legitimate defense, it responds to aggression from all forms of attack, with or without weapons, from one or multiple opponents, aiming for proper control over the attacker(s).
The technical origin of Aikijujutsu lies in the martial techniques created and developed by Master Takeda Sokaku (1858–1943) of the Japanese Daito school, and since 1995, it has been temporarily developed, pedagogically structured, technically enriched, and constantly refined.
Continuously expanding, it has the technical and administrative support of the International Federation of Nihon Taijutsu / Jujutsu and Associated Disciplines, both in Europe and Japan, and nationally it is part of the Spanish Association of Nihon Jujutsu - Aikijujutsu [1].
Although the methodological development of this martial art in Spain began 10 years ago with the publication of the Examination Guidelines and Grade Program for Nihon Taijutsu, Nihon Jujutsu, and Nihon Kobudo: Aikijujutsu, the mission to preserve and develop this martial art has only just begun.
THE ROOTS OF AIKIJUJUTSU
The Past
To better understand the origin and evolution of Aikijujutsu through its key figures, we must go back over 1,000 years to the bloody battles between clans during Japan's Heian period (794–1185) and the Fujiwara regency.
Shinra Saburo Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (1057–1127), a military doctor and high-ranking samurai, was familiar with the warfare methods of Japan’s warrior class. These included the use of the spear (Sojutsu), sword (Toho), bow (Kyujutsu), and unarmed combat (Taijutsu or Jujutsu).
Warfare methods were constantly adapted based on experimentation, new weapons, and materials tested on prisoners. Survival demanded defeating the enemy at any cost, leading to the constant refinement of armed and unarmed techniques to meet practical needs. This led Yoshimitsu to create a weapons school called Daito (Great East) and to a specific way of using the body as a weapon, Taijutsu, based on the concept of using the attacker’s force against themselves with a strategic concept known as Aiki in-yo Ho.
The Minamoto clan sought settlement in the eastern regions, prompting Minamoto no Yoshikiyo (1086–1163), Yoshimitsu’s son, to found a branch of his clan called Kai Genji Takeda [2]. The Takeda branch in the province of Kai expanded their combat methods into a complex military system that developed over nearly 500 years, until winter 1582, when the clan was defeated and relocated to Aizu province, falling into obscurity.
With the unification of Japan and the advent of the Edo period, the country shut itself off from the outside world for over 250 years through a rigid policy of isolation. A period of peace and strict social class structure followed, as well as reconciliation with defeated clans, including the Takeda of Aizu [3], who were then able to openly teach their combat and military strategy around their school, Nishinkan.
Saigo Tanomo (1829–1905), military advisor to the Takeda clan, shared the technical secrets of the Daito school with clan members, especially Takeda Sokaku (1859–1943). Coming from a military family, Sokaku trained in many weapon schools and earned top certifications in Kenjutsu, Bojutsu, Jojutsu, Shurikenjutsu, Hankyu, Yarijutsu, and Taijutsu. In 1876, he received the highest teaching rank from the Daito school, learning from his family and other prominent martial masters.
A tireless traveler, Sokaku was paid to teach high-ranking students from all social classes—military, politicians, former daimyos, police—which allowed the Daito-ryu techniques to spread and survive, although this also led to functional diversification.
In 1898, Takeda Sokaku settled on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, where one of his students would be Morihei Ueshiba, the future founder of Aikido. While working in Hokkaido, Ueshiba encountered the legendary school’s techniques in 1915 and continued studying until receiving a teaching license in 1922. He later founded the Kobukan Dojo in Tokyo in 1931.
With varying names and orientations, Aikido has evolved since the Kobukan Dojo’s foundation—from an integrative view of body, technique, and spirit to a more creative, spiritual development inspired by Ueshiba’s personal struggles, religious beliefs, and historical context.
Aikido’s international development came after World War II (1945). Today’s practice often reflects the interpretations of various instructors more than the founder’s original conception. Prominent teachers such as Minoru Mochizuki, Gozo Shioda, Koichi Tohei, Kisshomaru Ueshiba, and Kenji Tomiki, each represent different periods and personal modifications. Thus we speak of "pre-war Aikido," "post-war Aikido," "Iwama retreat Aikido," "final years Aikido," and "popularized Aikido."
Among Ueshiba’s pre-WWII students was Minoru Mochizuki (1907–2003), a master of multiple martial arts. He studied a version of “pre-war Aikido” closely tied to Daito-ryu Jujutsu and other styles such as Judo, Karatedo, Iaijutsu, Kobudo, etc. In 1931, he founded his own martial school Yoseikan (Place of Truth) while continuing to learn from great 20th-century masters. In 1951, he introduced Aikido to France, teaching courses to Judo and Karate instructors with a technical orientation based on a functional self-defense method called Yoseikan Aikido or Yoseikan Aikido Jujutsu.
Yoseikan Aikido [4] integrates his personal experience and includes elements from various martial arts, ancient forms, and traditional combat techniques: throws, locks, chokes, and pins from Judo and traditional Jujutsu (Kitoryu, Gyokushinryu); strikes from Karate; and techniques from Aiki no jutsu, Aikido, and weapon systems such as Kenjutsu, Yari, Iaijutsu, from Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu, Shinto Muso Ryu, etc.
Among his European students was Jim Alcheik (1931–1962), a judoka who continued studying in Mochizuki’s dojo for 3 more years. Upon returning in 1957, he founded the French Federation of Aikido, Taijitsu, and Kendo. As its Technical Director, he trained many students in the Yoseikan system until his death in Algeria.
References:
[1] Currently recognized by the Spanish Wrestling Federation as Nihon Kobudo: Aikijujutsu and by the International Seibukan Budo Federation [SBIF].
[2] The Takeda clan of the Kai region, descendants of the Genji. This name emphasizes both their geographic origin (Kai) and their prestigious lineage (Genji), giving them social distinction in feudal Japan.
[3] The historical region of Aizu is in today’s Fukushima Prefecture, in northern Honshu. Aizu-Wakamatsu is the main city and historic center of the region. Nishinkan can be translated as “Western Pavilion” or “Western School.”
[4] Also known as Yoseikan Budo or Yoseikan Aiki.
To be continued in: Aiki Jujutsu: The Development of a Tradition (Part 2)
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