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Thread: Christian Aikido

  1. #1
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    Default Christian Aikido

    Just found an interesting video in Facebook



    In the comments it says:
    Yukiyoshi Sagawa student Yasue Kunio, who also studied Aikido under Seigo Yamaguchi and now teaches his own form of Christian Aikido (hence the robes)

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    I remember coming across one of his books on aiki several years ago. From what I recall he emphasized the Sagawa/Daito-ryu connection more than aikido at the time, but this was back around 2008 or 2009.
    Rennis Buchner

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    Is he a monk?
    Cady Goldfield

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cady Goldfield View Post
    Is he a monk?
    I don 't know Cady, I looked in internet, but the only thing I could find is that Aikido Sangenkai shared it in Facebook

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    Dear Carina,

    By following this link you might find more information about this Sensei.

    The blog is written in french but I assume that for someone speaking and reading spanish, the task is not that hard.


    http://www.budoshugyosha.com/yasue-k...-a-la-science/


    The owner of the blog, a very nice guy, lives in Japan and practices among other martial arts Aikido and Daito-ryu.

    As far as I know, Yasue Kunio used to be a member of the very famous Sagawa Dojo, I think he was introduced there through his connections with Kimura Tatsuo Sensei.

    The videos provided in the article are very interesting. I do not think Yasue Kunio is a monk but i remenber reading that he is working in a catholic university, hence the robe.

    Mit freundlichen Grüßen
    Deception is one of Kenpo´s best technique.

    Väck ej björnen som sover


    Raphael Deutsch

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    Danke Raff

    Yasue Kunio seems to be a very interesting Sensei, would like to meet him and to attend a seminar given by him.

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    Nichts zu danken!!

    I do not know if it easy to get in contact with him but it is worth trying.


    Good Keiko to you
    Deception is one of Kenpo´s best technique.

    Väck ej björnen som sover


    Raphael Deutsch

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    The wearing of a modified habit styled after those of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Capuchin seems odd in and of itself to me, unless he is a consecrated religious brother; and wearing the habit at all during keiko seems equally odd -- as odd as wearing a keikogi to Mass.

    However my opinions are those of an outsider looking in, and there may be reasons for doing so that are unknown to this outsider.
    Last edited by Brian Owens; 4th April 2014 at 09:41.
    Yours in Budo,
    ---Brian---

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    Yasue Kunio is a professor at Notre Dame Seishin University in Okayama. Information can be found about him on the university's website: http://www.ndsu.ac.jp/, including the courses he teaches. One of these is a course on self defence. The university is a women's university, run by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

    I knew a few of the nuns who taught at the women's college in Hiroshima, since closed. There is still a highly reputable high school, which complements the school for boys run by the Jesuits. The schools and university are not noted for training in the martial arts, unlike universities such as Takushoku-dai in Tokyo.

    I also doubt whether the wearing of a modified habit has any connection with his position as a professor and in a country where unusual costume is a kind of norm on TV shows, it would not be thought so odd.
    Peter Goldsbury,
    Forum Administrator,
    Hiroshima, Japan

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    I think Brian was very polite, and I have no wish to be rude but
    Poor body structure, he was almost pulled over several times by a very lightweight and extremely compliant uke. His manner was disdainful (at least to my eyes) and greatly at odds with his monastic robe, a symbol of humility I always thought. His technique looked like a poor imitation of Yamaguchi Sensei, but without the deep penetration and cutting edge.
    Again it may be my inexperience but I could see little DRAJ or the aiki of Sagawa.
    Oh dear!
    Consider fully , act decisively
    Alec Corper

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    I think what you see in a video is relative, I don't watch videos usually, I prefer find out the reality, my interest to meet or attend one day a seminar with Yasue Kunio comes from reading the the blog Raff shared.

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    Hello Carina,

    Since my earlier post, I have done some more research on the Internet and there is a great deal of information available about Yasue Kunio and his associates. Unfortunately it is all in Japanese.

    The blog in French that Raphael Deutsch posted contains excerpts from some TV programs and also some discussion (including a contribution possibly from Raphael himself). If you look back at your opening post, in the top left hand corner of the video shot there are some Japanese words. The words are 冠光寺眞法 (Kan-kou-ji-shin-pou) and they name a sub-branch of another, larger, organization named 冠光寺流柔術 (kan-kou-ji-ryu-ju-jutsu). What they do appears to be a blend of jujutsu (as they understand it) and the Russian systema. In their explanation there is a heavy use of puns (合気 and 愛魂) and also a heavy reliance on the confluence between neuroscience / brain science and the concepts used to describe mind - body interaction. I am reminded of the theories of the brain espoused by Tsunoda Tadanobu.

    Some vocabulary:

    冠光寺 = kan (冠 crown); kou (光 light) [= the halo that appears in many depictions of the Virgin Mary]; ji = 寺 temple [here meaning dojo].
    眞法 = shin (眞 pure, honest); you / pou (法 method, as in 少林寺拳法 shorinji kenpo).
    流柔術 = ryuu (流 branch art, or school); 柔術 = jujutsu.

    Yasue Kunio is a leading light (pun intended) of this organization and of another, aikido, dojo named 合気道星辰館道場, (Aikido Seishinkan Dojo) which is affiliated to the Aikikai.

    Yasue Kunio's Wikipedia page (in Japanese) gives a detailed explanation of his activities and he also has an Amazon page for his books.

    As for his art, I myself trained under Yamaguchi Seigo Sensei for many years and I think that what he is doing in the videos is quite different.

    Best wishes,
    Last edited by P Goldsbury; 5th April 2014 at 13:31. Reason: Corrected an important typing mistake.
    Peter Goldsbury,
    Forum Administrator,
    Hiroshima, Japan

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    Thank you Prof Goldsbury for your research and translation.
    Meanwhile I also found some intereting links about the work of Yasue Kunio Sensei, a scientific aikidoka


    http://cognet.mit.edu/posters/TUCSON3/Yasue.html

    http://www.scaruffi.com/mind/yasue.html

    http://www.timeshighereducation.co.u...163381.article

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    Just to keep a thread running, here is a contribution;

    The outfit he wears is clearly based on the European monk's cloak, yet somehow seems to fit over a dogi. This may be because he wears a short version of it, which makes it look similar to the Buddhist monk's costume that is not uncommon across Japan. See this example from a festival described here;
    DSC_0789.JPG

    The normal monk cloak (I believe it is called a hoi, or a karomo) is worn with the sleeves down, but these can be rolled up and tied in position at the back, as they have down in the picture above.

    It is also a look used by the seniors in Shorinji Kempo when giving demonstrations. Here's an example with one person (So Doshin, the Art's Founder) wearing the sleeves down, with another (Sonny Chiba, the movie actor, being coached on the set of the movie known in the West as "The Killing Machine", 1975) wearing the sleeves rolled up;
    Doshin-So_filminstruction.jpg
    David Noble
    Shorinji Kempo (1983 - 1988)
    I'll think of a proper sig when I get a minute...

    For now, I'm just waiting for the smack of the Bo against a hard wooden floor....

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