Читать книгу Aikido Weapons Techniques. The Wooden Sword, Stick, and Knife of Aikido онлайн

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O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba also studied Yagyo ken-jutsu, Hozoin so-jutsu (spear), and especially Kashima Shinto-ryu ken-jutsu (which was an offshoot of Katori Shinto-ryu). It was to this later school of swordsmanship that O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba took a blood oath in 1937. His second son, Kisshomaru Ueshiba (1921–1999), who later became the first Doshu, also had extensive training in Kashima Shinto-ryu ken-jutsu. O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba would watch his son train in the technique and then adapt it to the aiki way.

Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba demonstrates proper execution and extension to throw an opponent using the jo.

Although aikido has these roots in weapons training, many highly skilled aikido practitioners spend little or no time training directly with the wooden weapons. Many feel that in a modern world, training with a wooden stick or sword is antiquated and useless. Aikido founder O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba did not encourage weapons training at his aikido school, known as the Hombu Dojo. Hombu Dojo means the “home,” “headquarters,” or “main school” of training. Currently the Hombu Dojo, established by O’Sensei in Tokyo, Japan, and dedicated in January 1968 for the Aikikai Foundation, perpetuates his techniques, training, and vision of aikido. Therefore, there is no “Hombu” style of wooden weapons fighting. Trainees, in the early days at the Hombu Dojo, would attend special classes or seminars, or take private lessons. Others would just naturally begin to experiment with the wooden weapons themselves. Many felt the wooden weapons to be secondary to empty-hand techniques. The goal was to use wooden weapons to illustrate principles and movements and to train aikido techniques against them, rather than actually to have a separate and specific style of weapons fighting. However, O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba did support the weapons training at the Iwama Dojo under Saito Sensei (1928–2002). It was here that aikido wooden weapons training became known as Iwama-ryu or aiki-ken and aiki-jo, as a somewhat distinct style.