Aikiology – Ueshiba Morihei TELLS ALL!!

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During this summer’s European teaching tour (2022) I finished a blog which will be published in at least three segments.  This summer’s seminars focused upon creating In/Yo (Aiki) within one’s body.  The goal for participants is to be able to experience creating Aiki (even if only in a small way), identify when Aiki is present, and when it isn’t.  Demonstrate the ability to re-create In/Yo (Aiki.)  Help others do the same. And understand how to build and expand upon that experience such that one can begin to develop greater ability, reliability and apply Aiki where one desires.  Another goal is to introduce (via Ken) the ability and method of expressing Aiki enjoyably (fearlessly) in freeform practice where all participants can freely attack and respond (eventually the differentiation between attack and response disappears) without relying upon waza, kata, cooperation, timing, etc.  This experience and the knowledge gained therefrom is then applied to other weapons, or no-weapons in an equally free form manner.  My hope is that participants will, in time, come to understand that while outer appearance of context may change Aiki, and the study of Aiki (Aikido), remains the same.

Interesting aside:  This is not necessary to the understanding of my blog, but may be of interest to some.  ~ Once upon a time George Ledyard Shihan paid me the compliment of asking me to come give a seminar in his Dojo.  To put this in context, George and I met back when I first met Shirata sensei and he decided to open his first dojo.  Since that time I have had the pleasure of traveling to and training in George’s Aikido Eastside dojo when he hosted many Aikido and Daito Ryu notables.  At the time, I turned George’s offer down.  My concern was that participants might come and learn “pre-war Aikido” (Daito Ryu) and leave thinking that that is what Shirata sensei taught because that is what Allen taught.  To be honest, it was probably a good decision at the time, because that is probably what would have happened.  You see, once Howard Popkin (Daito Ryu Ginjukai), and I were staying at George Ledyard’s place.  George and Howard were talking and the subject of Dan Harden came up.  Neither had met him yet and they shared thoughts about Dan’s writings on the internet.  I listened quietly and after a while spoke up.  I explained that I had learned there was Jujutsu, Aikijujutsu and Aiki no Jutsu.  They both knew who my teacher was and I explained that I had experienced all of them BUT that while I could teach jujutsu, and aiki jujutsu (to a degree) the aiki no jutsu I didn’t really get or understand.  I knew what it should look like.  I knew what it should feel like.  But (being raised to be honest) I routinely explained to my students that I could teach part of what I had learned but that there was this last part I still didn’t get . . . and that maybe we could work on it together later.  (To his credit, Howard later told me he owed me a “Dallah” because of this conversation.) I told George and Howard that from what I read, I thought that Dan was probably a Daito Ryu guy AND that he was writing about aiki no jutsu.  It wasn’t long after that I had the great fortune of having Dan visit my house and begin to teach.  His input was invaluable in helping me to understand aiki no jutsu and enabled me to fill in the holes of my knowledge that remained after Shirata sensei’s death.  Yes, I am a little dense, I needed help from Ueshiba, Shirata, and Harden to “open my eyes to Budo.”  Now I feel better able to do service to what was taught.  [Btw, wherever I go I NEVER try to teach in Dan Harden’s place.  Sometimes people ask me what this or that means, etc.  Dan is alive and busy teaching.  I think it would be presumptuous of me to pretend to know what he is teaching equal to or better than he does.  How could I know what Dan Harden has to teach better than Dan Harden???  To these questions I answer, “Ask him!”  Similarly, I don’t claim to teach Shirata Rinjiro’s Aikido or Daito Ryu.  Nor would I presume to teach Ueshiba’s Aikido or Daito Ryu.  I can only teach Allen’s understanding of what Allen has learned at this point in time.  Hopefully, the scope of that learning deepens and broadens over time.  In other words, THANK YOU to all those who have supported and shared this wonderful path with me so far.  I wouldn’t be where I am today without you!

It has often been stated that, “When Ueshiba Morihei explained what Aikido is, no one could understand what he was talking about.”  In fact, it was common for people at these lectures to later admit that they just wanted to get on with physical practice.  Many of these same individuals went on to become well known Aikido teachers.  And so it came to be that successive Aikido teachers found themselves being asked what Aikido is while admittedly not really understanding the founder of Aikido’s own elucidation.

This being the case, explanations of what Aikido is other than the common outline expounded by the founder of Aikido became popularly known and even assumed to be that of the founder.  

Thus later generations of Aikido students read explanations, or translations of explanations, not sourced from the explanatory lectures of the founder, but rather sourced from different student’s experiences, interpretations, and/or intuitions.  Yes, these explanations were sometimes accompanied by quotes from the founder.  But disparate quotes, even a collection disparate quotes, is qualitatively different from a focused dialogue or lecture.  The current dizzyingly wide variety of explanations and interpretations of what Aikido actually is, should then, come as no surprise. Rather the present state is understandably the expected outcome of cause and effect.

Does this mean that what the founder of Aikido taught Aikido to be is completely lost to present day Aikido students?  Happily this is not the case.  

There are the published works with contents that were at least approved of by Ueshiba Morihei (Budo Renshu, Budo, Aikido Ichi no Maki.) Better still, there exist live recordings of Ueshiba Morihei’s explanations of what Aikido is, as well as extensive notes taken from his lectures.  These all vary slightly depending upon the given context of their delivery, but the repeated content happens to be very uniform.  In other words, much of Ueshiba Morihei’s focused explanation was predictably consistent. The majority of this context remains existent in Ueshiba’s native Japanese language, although they are not all widely available.

Still, present day Aikido student’s good fortune continues. There are the past pioneering efforts of the late researcher Stanley Pranin who published bits of historical information both in Japanese and in translation thereby empowering individuals to compare the two side by side.  Presently, further evidentiary discoveries are still being made and shared by researchers such as Scott Burke, and  by the professional translator Chris Li, who is freely sharing historical resources translated side by side with the Japanese originals.  

In addition to these persons, there are some in the modern Daito Ryu world that are actively researching, and sharing.  While some individuals may be motivated upon partisan lines, it appears that there are also those that value a direct and open airing of factual evidence, thereby benefiting both present and future researchers.

July 4th is celebrated in the U.S.A. as an Independence Day. I wish for all people freedom from the tyranny and oppression of ignorance, hatred, and greed and May Peace Prevail on Earth. Let it begin with me, here and now!

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