Goju Ryu / Aikido Connection
Hello, all!
Recently, I found this question in another list :
"Subject: Takeda connection to Goju Ryu?
>
>An Aikido instructor, who also teaches Goju Ryu, said in class once that
>just about every technique in Aikido can be found in Goju Ryu kata.
>I was just read an entry on a web site that said Sokaku Takeda, Sensei to
>Aikido founder Ueshiba, traveled to Okinawa in the 1870's to study Okinawa
>Te. It does not say who he studied with.
>I would like to know if anyone knows of any connection between Kanryo
>Higaonna and Takeda, or has any other information on the Aikido/Goju
>connections."
Does anyone knows anything about that? :look:
Best
Aikido - Goju Ryu Connection
Greetins,
One of my "main" influential Aikido teachers also taught Okinawan Goju Ryu so the parallels were noted and comparisons were made quite often.
On page 11 of his book "Abundant Peace, the Biography of Morihei Uyeshiba, Founder of Aikido" John Stevens Sensei writes...
"In the meantime, the peripatetic Sokaku was off again making the rounds to sharpen his fighting skills. Around 1877, he was reportedly in Kyushu, perhaps hoping to see action in the revolt...
After running out of opponents in Kyushu, Sokaku made his way to Okinawa, home of 'empty handed combat' thus adding karate to his list of mastered martial arts."
This certainly preceded any interaction between Takeda and Uyeshiba which I believe began in 1915.
Furthermore, on page 29, Stevens recounts a time where...
"[Uyeshiba]...demonstrated his prowess as the King of Protectors by causing powerfully built Mongol warriors to collapse by merely touching them - the ignorant fighters were unaware that he attacked their vital pressure points - word spread that Morihei was a frightful sorcerer. Morihei gave formal instruction to selected military men and also learned a great deal about continental fighting fighting arts in the process."
So, if that counts as "studying Chinese martial arts" I guess it's true. I have also read (although my recollection of the exact source fails me at this time) that his Mongolian experience(s) diminished Uyeshiba's impressions of the Chinese martial arts.
Sometimes, I do remember something I read on these three+ shelves of books.
Cheers,