Differences Between Aikido taught to Military and in Dojo?

[Brad Hoffner]

I have asked this question to a couple of people by e-mail but I felt it would be neat to see what responses I get to this question.

How did the Aikido that Morihei Ueshiba taught the military differ from the Aikido taught in his dojo back in the 1930's?

Thanks

[Joseph Svinth]

During the 1930s and early 1940s, Ueshiba taught at several different locations. For example, one of his major patrons in Tokyo was Admiral Isamu Takeshita, who is best remembered today in this country for having introduced Teddy Roosevelt to judo in 1904. For more on this, see the biographical sketch at http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsart_svinth7_1199.htm .

Ueshiba also taught at the Nakano school, which was geared toward spies and such, until 1942, at which time he was replaced by a Shotokan karate teacher. In English, the only detailed description of the Nakano school of which I am aware is Louis Allen, "The Nakano School," Japan Society Proceedings, 10, 1985, 9-15. For Japanese wartime karate training, see Graham Noble, “Master Funakoshi’s Karate, Part III,” Dragon Times, 1994, issue unknown. (I just saw a Xerox, but some of the earlier parts appear online. See, for example, http://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Dtimes/Pages/articled1.htm . And, as Graham and Harry are friends, there also might be details in Harry Cook's new book.)

Anyway, I'd guess that there were different focuses with different audiences. After all, if I were teaching a course, I'd teach a retired admiral with powerful political connections and a background in judo, kendo, and sumo differently than I would teach a group of enthusiastic young officers at a military academy.

[MarkF]

Wasn't there a fairly (in)famous split between the military academy(ies) where Ueshiba taught which was/is seen as a reason for his trip from DR to aikibudo to aikido?

Seems I read something like this somewhere.


Mark

[PRehse]

Hi Mark;

I heard that Ueshiba was essentially fired. At the very least the Aiki techniques were considered to take too long to efficiently train the neo-ninjas (as the spy school saw itself). This occurred suspiciously close to Ueshiba's disillusionment with the military and the transformation from DR to Aikido. It really is a question of who rejected who. The next big shift occurred with the defeat of the Japanese - which effected him as hard as it did most Japanese.



Originally posted by MarkF
Wasn't there a fairly (in)famous split between the military academy(ies) where Ueshiba taught which was/is seen as a reason for his trip from DR to aikibudo to aikido?

Seems I read something like this somewhere.


Mark

[Den]

Folks,
Didn't Ueshiba stop using the name Daito ryu for in 1939 when the Kobukan dojo was opened? At that point the art was referred to as Aiki-budo.

Also didn't Ueshiba teach at the Toyama military academy in the early 1930s?

-Anthony

[MarkF]

Hi, Peter,
Thanks for the info. As I understood it, he taught at several academies, and that the basis for the argument was as you say. Since what beliefs he had then were also changing, perhaps this too contributed.

Just a hunch on my part, but didn't he begin to "mellow out" around the time aikibudo became aikido?

Mark