Aikido

The last pillar in the development of budo was Ueshiba Morihei (1883-1969),
founder of aikido. Aikido (合気道) started from his experimentation in several
traditional bujutsu schools, and it was influenced by his mystical and esoteric
religious beliefs. Ueshiba remains truly remarkable, and, compared to
Funakoshu (karate-do) and Kano (judo), was the only one who had direct
contact with traditional bujutsu, combined with a sincere and deep religious
conviction.
This deep tie to spirituality and close association with religious practices often
went hand in hand with the practice of bujutsu with the majority of the warriors
of feudal Japan. The foundation of certain schools, such as Tenshin Shoden
Katori Shinto-ryu and Kashima Shin-ryu are examples where the practice of
combat and spirituality coexisted for the warrior class since the Kamakura
period (1192-1333).
Ueshiba studied the sword and spear techniques, and jujutsu of many
schools, including Yagyu Shingan-ryu, before meeting Master Takeda Sokaku
(1860-1969). Master Takeda, founder of Daito-ryu deeply affected Ueshiba in
his martial practice and in the future development of aikido. Ueshiba also
became the disciple of Onisaburo Deguchi (1871-1947), principal pillar of
Omoto-kyo. Aikido, created in 1942, is a synthesis between Ueshiba's martial
experiments and the precepts of Deguchi's Omoto-kyo.
To promote aikido, then called Ueshiba-ryu, Ueshiba approached the political
powers of the time and acquired many disciples who were highly ranked
Japanese naval officers. Ueshiba's incredible control of combat techniques
brought him many supporters from the military. He took on many challenges
and attracted numerous pupils, among whom one finds an envoy of Kano! But
do we really understand Ueshiba? To know him would be to know his style
and practice, particularly since he ‘lived aikido’. Nowadays, aikido is very
different from what was created by Ueshiba. Indeed, his late son, Kiss-
homaru, instituted a technical reorganisation of aikido. This reorganisation
came about because, even though his father was a martial teacher beyond
compare, Ueshiba belonged to the old generation of masters who
demonstrated their techniques rather than explaining them.
As in traditional bujutsu, the aikido disciples had to develop the mental
discipline to grasp the essence of the techniques based on their impressions
during the moment of technical exchange with the master. However, as aikido
attracted more and more followers and as Ueshiba began to dissociate from
Daito-ryu, it became apparent that a formal technical progression programme,
something suitable for aikido, was needed in order to be able to form and
develop the art. At present, the Aiki-kai of Tokyo, set up by the late
Kisshomaru, remains the only organisation where a great number of high-level
instructors had some direct contact with the founder. However, the nature of
this contact varied according to the individual in question. Some remained with
Ueshiba for only a short amount of time, others trained with him longer. Some
of Ueshiba’s students, such as Tomiki, Mochizuki, and Shioda, studied during
a time when the founder was still under the technical influence of Daito-ryu,
and others, such as Saito Morihiro, witnessed the transformation and the
technical foundation of aikido. Many charismatic figures teach and pass on the
message of Ueshiba. But in regard to the essence of the art and style created
by the founder himself, it seems that only a meticulous study of several
bujutsu, combined with a deep, intrinsic introspection would produce an
epiphany similar to Ueshibas.
Presently, the practice of aikido tends to alter the reality of combat, as there is
a tacital agreement between the partners during the confrontation. The
famous ‘aiki"’ (合気: union of energies, meetings of energies, merging into one
energy), is directed towards synchronization and mutual timing to the
detriment of interference, which is the foundation of combat in general. In the
meantime, a certain number of old schools of sword and combat technique
continue to pass down their techniques in traditional form, but only with an
extremely limited number of followers.
Today, in Japan, the meaning of the word budo has become more and more
vague, at the same time the disciplines that claim to have a part, for example,
iai-do, batto-do, jodo, tai-do, and so forth, have multiplied. The followers of
modern budo justify themselves with the assertion that the differences
between ‘sport combat’ and physical education were blurred because all
martial arts practice was confined by General Douglas Mac Arthur and the
Supreme Command of Allied Power (SCAP), during the occupation of Japan,
to only those activities not deemed ‘militaristic’ or ‘martial’.
Interestingly, in Japan, as in the rest of the world, there are martial art
philosophies that seem to have the form of budo. Many of these post-Meiji
efforts claim the authenticity of a budo tradition, but they appear incomplete as
they try to compensate for their lack of the bujutsu spirit that budo draws from.
One can find schools that insist on an austere, violent, and even bloody
attitude. The effort, even the physical suffering, are evident in their practice. In
fact, they often take pride on the amount of pain and suffering practitioners
have to bear. Other schools claim a spiritual, or even mystical, approach to
combat, with an attitude of going beyond aggressiveness, and they are critical
of the more austere schools, which they see as primitive and unworthy of the
tradition of budo. Among these modern expressions of budo are the vacillating
philosophies that blend in ‘sport’ speeches, coloured with various
‘enlightenments’, preaching well-being and health. Some of these schools
taught an approach to competition that focused only on tournament
presentation, style, and ‘flash’, while in others, research of the effectiveness of
their style is paramount, and they preach ‘the budo spirit’ or ‘the spirit of the
samurai’ combined with a Spartan and dangerous physical regime as they
struggle to understand the unspoken, undocumented intent of their founders.
In the final analysis, what benefit comes from these approaches? All that
remains is a pain-ravaged student with a body broken by the effects of a
practice regime too austere, who doesn't gain a form of spiritual enlightenment
as his body is forever damaged. Then there is the compulsion to pursue
medals and honors from a variety of tournaments and sport competitions. All
of this comes from a martial practice and history where the very essence
demands that one persevere in humble practice. Perhaps our Western
mindset, so prevalent in martial arts today, has simply discarded the
importance of pleasure and individual well-being.
A saint once said:.....there are as many ways [to salvation] as pilgrims. With
each school of thought in modern martial arts, one has to find what is most
appropriate and fulfilling, without forgetting to keep open ‘the eyes of the heart’
in order to avoid all missteps.