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View Full Version : Yoseikan Budo (Yoseikan Aikido) A precursor of modern MMA?



Benkei the Monk
16th September 2012, 10:14
Dear fellows
I don't write since long time, but never stop my practice. In the last few weeks I was lurking around the web when I came back at the site of Master Patrick Augè (International Yoseikan Budo Federation (http://www.budoyoseikan.com)). Master Augè is very well known in the martial field and one of the former disciples of Master Mochizuki Minoru and holds an important position in Yoseikan world

I was caught by this sentence stated in the website


Yōseikan Budō or Yōseikan Aikidō is the composite martial art developed by Minoru Mochizuki, who first taught it at his dōjō in Shizuoka in 1931. This style of Aikidō incorporates elements of the pre-war Aiki Budō of Morihei Ueshiba, as well as elements of many other martial arts: Jūdō, Aikijūjutsu, Karate, traditional Jūjutsu, Kenjutsu, Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, Gyōkushin-ryū Jūjutsu, Iaijutsu, Kendō, Yari, Kitō-ryū etc. The techniques are executed empty-handed or with weapons.

I was thinking about the very first Yoseikan. There are many anecdotes about the practice at Yoseikan dojo. Some said there are all the subjects stated that are practised separated one from each other, others said some curricula are the syntesis of different styles. I was asking myself if it happend after the European travel of Mochizuki sensei in which he compared the traditional teachings with western martial arts. Was it a change of method due to the western approach? Was a personal maturation?

And, last but not least, I was thinking about the modern MMA styles. The Gendai/traditional way often condemn this approach, but it seems there is not such a difference with the Yoseikan approach.

I'll be happy to know your point of view on this topic!

Simon Keegan
1st October 2012, 17:05
I quite admire Minoru Mochizuki's approach, but I don't really see how what he did is anything different from say:

EW Barton Wright: Combined Jujutsu, Savatte and French cane defences to form Bartitsu in the 1890s

Sokon Matsumura: Combined Okinawan Te, Japanese Jigen Ryu and at least two styles of Chinese Chuan Fa to form Shuri Te in circa 1850.

People also cite Bruce Lee as a forefather of MMA, but like Mochizuki, what he did was nothing new.

Benkei the Monk
2nd October 2012, 06:51
Dear Simon,
I think you got the point. At any time it seems that skilled experts sensed the need of complete their studies with different systems.

So the questions are:

- Can an art be integrated with other arts without changing its essence?
- If any technical principle can be improved (or corrected) with the knowledge of other arts, is accepted modify the "traditional" technique in order to make better or effective the technique?

Simon Keegan
4th October 2012, 14:03
To me, martial arts are like cooking. Do you want the most traditional recipe or the tastier recipe or maybe the healthiest recipe?

I like putting baked beans in chilli con carne. Apparently that stops it being authentic. At what point does it cease to be chilli con carne?

Which chef is better, the one who sticks to the recipe or the one that makes the tastier food?

If I add Filipino stickwork to Shotokan Karate is it still Shotokan Karate? Maybe I've made it more effective? (maybe not?)

Some might say Minoru Mochizuki made (for example) Aikido more "complete" by adding Karate strikes, while others might think that breaks the "flow". Whereas others might say those strikes were always in Aikido but got lost so by making it new he was making it old again.

Did Bruce Lee improve Wing Chun by adding wrestling and boxing (etc) to it to make Jeet Kune Do. Some say if he'd have just studied Wing Chun for longer he'd have gained those skills anyway.

As they say, there's many different paths up the mountain but the view from the top is the same!