aikijujutsu:
aikijujutsu:
Last edited by Cady Goldfield; 15th June 2014 at 14:34.
Cady Goldfield
A very interesting demonstration, thanks for sharing!
Hi Cady et al.,
We have discussed Mr. Smith on E-budo in the past. I believe he even posted a reply or two. It seems he has a very poor reputation and many people have made some harsh accusations against his character. Maybe since he found his faith his integrity has improved as well? One can only hope. As for his "aikijujutsu"... I'll leave that for others to debate.
Cheers,
Chris
Christopher Covington
Daito-ryu aikijujutsu
Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryu heiho
All views expressed here are my own and don't necessarily represent the views of the arts I practice, the teachers and people I train with or any dojo I train in.
Hi Kit,
What he's doing in the video is legit, and that is why I posted the clip. I don't know the truth about his actual provenance, and there is some stuff that's hip-deep on the Internet, but what he's doing looks like aikijujutsu, walks like aikijujutsu and quacks like aikijujutsu, so...
I did see the archived thread he posted on. The guy has had a complex and complicated life and background, but that doesn't detract from what he demonstrates in this short tape. It is what it is, and what it is, is aikijujutsu.
Last edited by Cady Goldfield; 1st December 2013 at 02:35.
Cady Goldfield
My comment is to the ridiculous antics of the uke in this video - as you see in some others, and as were popular with some of the old school New York jujutsu schools.
It really detracts from what could be the interesting things going on, and the idea of "aiki" in general.
Having actually trained that way myself, and knowing what I'm looking at, I can say that he isn't faking or acting. That's exactly what this stuff does to your body. Some people describe it is as "shocky like electricity," but really, that's just the individual's perception. There is no "electric shock" involved, and uke's popping around is mechanical in nature, both to escape pain and because he is being propelled by force (that you can't see, but you can note the cues in nage).
A combination of joint angles and the way nage is connecting to uke's center of mass are doing several things: locking him up (controlling his alignment), stuffing him downward into his center (of mass) and into the ground being two of them. Nage can cause uke to jerk in different directions by subtly "pulsing" force through uke's center via the point(s) of contact and slightly moving his own direction... which then makes uke have move that way too, like he's stuck to the agitator of a top-loading washing machine.
Watch nage's waist area and you may be able to see a very slight jerking as uke gets moved to the side, and watch nage's lower abdomen and lower-to-mid-level of his back when uke is either popped up on his toes or "stuffed" downward. You might be able to see a very subtle rolling or contraction-expansion of the lower abdomen (tandan/dantian) and stretching or expansion of his back (meimon/mingmen).
When uke jerks back and forth, or flops like a ragdoll, his body is mirroring what nage is doing, in much smaller and more concise movements, inside his own body. Think of a whip making big, rolling snaps although the whip wielder is making only tiny movements of his own body and arm.
It can be done both with and without pain. In this clip, nage is using painful locks, and some of them are naturally painful, but most are not. Control is managed by manipulating uke's alignments and center of mass through the point(s) of contact by the manipulations of nage's own body.
Btw, this is not unique to aikijujutsu. A contemporary Chinese internal system I train in uses the same kind of control in their qin-na (jujutsu).
Last edited by Cady Goldfield; 1st December 2013 at 18:39.
Cady Goldfield
Aha, I think I see. Thanks for your explanation.
Kit,
Here is a Chinese version of what you're seeing, though without the qin-na/jujutsu. This is Liu Cheng-De, who is now in his mid-to-late 70s but was about 70 when this video was made. Liu, whose root art is Chen-style tai chi chuan, lived in Japan for 10 years, during which time he taught internal power and aiki to two of Sagawa Yukiyoshi's former students (who evidently were frustrated at not having been able to pick it up at Sagawa Dojo!).
It's harder to see movement in his abdomen, back and waist (though there are spots where he intentionally exaggerates his movements because he is teaching), as he is more refined in his skills than the person in the first video I posted. But he is doing essentially the same exploitation of alignment and the "pulsing" of force through his uke's center of mass. The reactions of uke's body are an expression of what Liu is doing inside his own body, just as the first video's uke's reactions are a reflection of that.
Another piece of the puzzle is the ground connection. In order to create the kind of torque needed to throw a person off to the side, without nage compromising his own center, nage is gripping and working the ground as well. This process can be used to create spiraling force up the legs and hips and around the back, and that in turn provides power that can be used for striking and kicking without having to use the torso muscles, moving an unbalanced person, and even for stepping in a way that rockets you across the ground with great force.
Note that people in the crowd, as well as uke, are mimicking what Liu is doing with his arms and outward pivoting; that's not where the focus of power is, though it's definitely part of the direction and expression of power. But the real root of the power is inside him.
Last edited by Cady Goldfield; 2nd December 2013 at 03:40.
Cady Goldfield
...And here's more Liu, this time with taichi qin-na applications. Stylistically, it looks different than aikijujutsu, but Liu is using the same internal principles. Listen to the expulsion of uke's breath from the force of some of those applications.
Cady Goldfield
And... yet more Liu Cheng De, doing his rendition of aiki-age, aiki-sage (upward and downward aiki), and a little bit of mild fajing (expulsion or "pulsing" of force).
This is a very recent video, and Liu must be at least 75 or 76.
Here is Horikawa Kodo, direct disciple of Takeda Sokaku (Daito-ryu), demonstrating some of the principles.
More Horikawa Kodo demos on this publicly available DVD on Amazon.jp:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-la...language=en_JP
Last edited by Cady Goldfield; 2nd March 2014 at 23:15.
Cady Goldfield
And... more of Salahuddin Mohammed's aikijujutsu, with martial applications. Note the differences he points out between conventional "external" responses to punches and grabs, and those using "internal" aiki.
In this kind of approach, while it looks like there are zillions of techniques, it's really the body method driving them and opening up the world of options. A basic knowledge of anatomy and human function and a general skill set of throws, punches/strikes, kicks, locks and pins, when coupled with the body method, establishes the foundation for infinite options.
Last edited by Cady Goldfield; 3rd December 2013 at 17:24.
Cady Goldfield
While musing more on this topic and these videos, I found this. Cross posting again, sorry, but Kevin Leavitt is my new hero:
http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23174
While semantic, I personally view "combatives" (i.e. "martial" applications) differently than I do self defense, and teach both.
Cady I think you make a fantastic point regarding the need for most people for self defense skills vs. martial applications/combative skills. Even those needing combatives will mostly make use of self defense skills (against groping, minor grabs, for police arrest and control etc. ) than the former.
I think there is a range of situations for which a range of energies and fighting skills apply. The above linked discussion covers pretty much the gamut on the topic, I think.
Hi Kit,
"Even those needing combatives will mostly make use of self defense skills (against groping, minor grabs, for police arrest and control etc. ) than the former."
You make mention of combatives vs. self defense and lump arrest and control into self defense. I personally feel like arrest and control is really a unique set of skills different from self defense. Maybe I am splitting hairs here or maybe it is my understanding of the terms and their use?
Cheers,
Chris
Christopher Covington
Daito-ryu aikijujutsu
Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryu heiho
All views expressed here are my own and don't necessarily represent the views of the arts I practice, the teachers and people I train with or any dojo I train in.
Chris
You are correct. I am equating them in terms of the overall level of force used in the majority of arrest situations, where locking and joint controls and postural kuzushi and off balancing pretty much handle it, against lower levels of non-cooperation/resistance. Sorry, I was really unclear.