AIKIDO

(continued>>) People went their way as usual, doing the best they could in daily life and in battle, as history and art shows. It was only natural that such influences would overlap and carry over into the Heian Period, the so-called "safe and tranquil" era of classical Japanese history, (794 to 1185). But only the first part. Here Confucianism and other Chinese influences were at their height and the peak of the Japanese imperial court, noted for its art and literature, thrived.

That safety and tranquility of the early Heian period was not to last into its latter days however, where the Heian wars then reared their ugly heads. The ideals at the back of the group psyche were now having to face the reality of the ugliness of battle, atrocity, famine, disease and privation. Fighting to protect the value of their ideals from becoming obliterated.

No real fight is ever fair. They had to fight hard. They were fighting to survive.

In a time of ongoing warfare, Shinra Saburo Minamoto no Yoshimitsu, the son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was quite evidently a thinker with scientific bent. He wanted to understand beyond the surface of things and, it is said, went as far as dissecting the dead bodies of soldiers to understand human bone structure. He also derived inspiration of jujutsu from other attributes of nature. For example, noticing a spider making its web to catch prey that was bigger than the spider itself gave him the idea that the small could defeat the large. Constantly honing his skill, he and his brother Yoshiie, studied self-evident patterns in nature and thus semiotically aroused, they taught themselves to observed signs and predispositions. An instance was recorded where it is described that Yoshiie understood the presence of an imminent ambush after a flock of geese rose from a forest. His good sense led to victory. Their relationship with their horses also taught them how to move the body in the most efficient way in ground combat as well. In those days Bajutsu was held to be of greater importance for purposes of battle. Inspired and driven by necessity and their insatiable desire to find better ways, the brothers continued to refine skill, strategy and technique and to hone it in warfare. They incessantly debriefed and examined the contributions of their fighting men, and made notes of what worked best. And then they drilled these and refined them further.

The Minamoto brothers, Yoshimitsu and Yoshiie incessantly contemplated and studied these principles for many years. This was possibly the earliest glimmers of the Aiki Principles, an intuitive form of observing strategic efficiency and physics at work. The topology of hopology. Position being everything, as with balance, timing, spacing, intention and so on. Whatever the shape then, these strategic arts were passed from generation to generation. In time the second son of Yoshimitsu, Yoshikiyo moved to the mountainous Kai region of Japan (now in Yamanashi prefecture), and founded a clan with the name Takeda. The Takedas held Kai during the breakdown of imperial power and the centuries of war which followed. They were one of the few ruling families to survive the transition from the era of the Shugo, (overseers appointed by the Shogun to control a province), to the era of the Daimyo, (the independent feudal lords). During this uncertain, if not turbulent period, the developing martial system was passed on to the survivors of Takeda family who continued to refine the skills, strategies and techniques handed down from Yoshimitsu and Yoshiie. One such aspect is said to be Kogusoku: grappling while wearing a minimal amount of armour, leggings and gauntlets, and with a short sword. They conducted scenario based drills in preparation for worst case possibilities such as unarmed defence against armed attackers, the beginning of the Aikido way of moving.

In the second half of the sixteenth century, the Takeda Han (clan) faced the rising ambitions of Nobunaga Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa, (later to become the first Tokugawa Shogun.) In about 1572, Shingen Takeda scored a conclusive victory over the future Shogun, only to die soon afterward from wounds. Within a decade, the Takeda of Kai were decimated. However the secrets of Takeda military prowess was not entirely lost. Shortly after Shingen Takeda's death, Kunitsugu Takeda carried Shingen's last will and testament to their ally in the north, the then lord of Aizu who persuaded him to stay in Aizu as a master of swordsmanship granting him a mansion and considerable lands.

Here he took the name Hisansuke Daito and passed on the art to the Aizu Han and the regrouped members of the Takeda family. Now named Daito-ryu, it became a secret budo of the Aizu Han. Only high class Samurai were permitted to learn it. I will not add to the already voluminous speculation of the meaning of Oshikiuchi. Takeda sword masters continued to instruct the Samurai of the Aizu Han for many generations. During the Tokugawa (Edo) period, Aizu grew into a noted centre of martial arts where almost a hundred schools of fighting flourished in the region. Certain of the arts were only taught to high ranking Aizu retainers and were called Otome Ryu or secret techniques. One of these secret arts was the Takeda style of unarmed combat to complement their weapons skills which came to be known as the Daito-ryu or Daito school. The applied principle of aiki was by now firmly identified and still being developed, was considered a secret treasure. Quite naturally, of necessity, with no doubt the memory of lost battles being a driving motivator, the focus was on warfare, and destroying the enemy.

The known history forms the tip of a rather large and intricate iceberg. You would have had to have been there to have any real measure of depth of insight. As pieced together, it appears that the Minamoto family methodologies were handed down within the Takeda clan, through Shingen Takeda, Kunitsugu Takeda and eventually to members of the Aizu clan. In 1574, Kunitsugu Takeda moved to Aizu and the techniques were passed on to his descendents. These came to be known as Aizu-todome or Aizu-otome or Aizu-odome techniques. It formed part of warrior families' traditions to develop and refine techniques within the family group. The Takeda family was particularly vigilant in this regard. Within the clan, a slightly broader circle of secret techniques practice was generally known as Oshikiuchi or Otome Waza no Aizu-han, An alternate term: Otome or O-tome-bujutsu, inside-the-clan martial art, secret art of the Aizu clan. That this was revealed progressively to both genders has been cause for the suggestion that it may have been planned to hide the techniques in a dance form, Odori, to enable strategic continuance disguised as an open secret, in case of increased repression. This would be no cause for surprise as indeed many cultures have done just that with their martial arts.

Elders of the clan, who were ranked Samurai, members of the castle guard or other individuals whose rank or occupation required high skill, held the key techniques. Revealing these techniques was prohibited outside of the Takeda group. Oshikiuchi has been classified in some texts as Otome waza/jutsu/bujutsu, which may refers to an art kept secret within a certain clan. The reason for the great secrecy with which the training methods and techniques were guarded is understandable. Over many generations, often at great price, they had distilled a secret weapon which provided them a distinct edge in battle.

What was the essence of this secret weapon that existed in the minds, bodies and skill of its proponents but could not be readily copied or stolen? It goes back to Minamoto no Yoshimitsu and his brother Yoshiie whose pioneering realizations and unique training methodologies which focussed on taking into account how to capitalize from a worse case scenario.

Prior to that, possibly the whole history of the world, battle was pretty much considered a match, or a process of slugging it out, or a contests of some kind, whether skillful or otherwise. The Romans had formulated war pretty much pat, but their was a larhely mechanical process of invasion and they expended inordinate resources to back up their campaigns. This led to the eventual demise of Rome. Pax Romana now thoroughly extinct, except as reflected in its subsequent derivative empires, formal or otherwise, all who have followed the same self-defeating patterns.

Minamoto no Yoshimitsu's vision took into account the economy of nature. His subsequent descendants whether consciously or otherwise honoured this vision. Often by a thin thread, the distillation of this vision, passed on through generations, somehow managing to survive. It was almost as if the Shinto myths of the Yamato, combat methods of Tegoi and the Way of the Kami had a self-propelling life of its own and had inserted itself into this art which had repeatedly proven itself in survival, again and again, enabling victory when the odds were not favourable.

This treasure was continually passed on through the generations in some form or another.

Other influences such as Bajutsu, without any doubt whatsoever, served to confirm the validity of the principles back of aiki, but going deeper than mere use of recoil and reflex action further enables some of its proponents. Over time the subtleties of various aiki were not only incorporated into other arts but also, even if in part, into other areas, and as so often happens in life, even from a distance, inspired other minds. The origins then become hard to trace with the wished for thoroughness and even at best often became a speculative and futile pursuit.

More profitable it is to exercise the legacy as it is available today in active training than too much speculation or reliance on claims.

There are lists of names of notables who consciously recognised the immense value of the Aikijutsu of the Daito School and with an understandably fanatic like zeal, preserved this heritage of the Takeda clan. As many if not more, remain unknown and this gives rise to reluctance to name some whilst knowing full well I'll be leaving out the names of many others. However, scattered as the art and vestiges of it may be today, all progenitors should be honoured and thanked, whether known or unknown. And this we do daily when bowing before Kamiza. Like a vast root system of a great tree, the branches and connections are many, intricate and overlapping. Some others who held the treasure together were named Soemon Takeda, Tanomo Saigo and Sokaku Takeda. But there were a great many others as well. We who train owe them all a debt.

As can be seen, this evolution was no holiday. It required persistence and determination in the face of brutal odds, forming a crucible in space and time which served to distill a vital essence, an attitude that would face all adversities and survive. Often this happened by very thin threads of circumstance often determined by seconds of connection in the face of destiny's wheels rolling forward regardless.

But such is the nature of battle.

A pivotal and well known, more recent historical point of reference, of course, is that of Morihei Ueshiba, who additionally seemed to reach all the way back up to the Kami and link Heaven and Earth, the Divine essence within and the pressing, cutting edge of survival necessity and reconcile them all.

And now, over 900 years in the making, whether in its fullness, confused distortions, whether in its undiluted essence or other variables, the opportunity to somehow come to terms with, learn and develop this immense legacy, is to be found globally, whether known as Aikido, Aiki-jujitsu, Daito-ryu or by other names.

What we do with it will be up to us or future generations to further distill and develop or to lose altogether. Whether labelled Aikido, Aikibudo or Aikijujutsu, it is denoted in the practical application of the ideal of optimally efficient interaction which reflects the economy of Nature and the Universe, despite the worst case scenario, tapping the Source of existence to survive notwithstanding the odds.

There is merit in this, and also immense evolutionary potential in both matters of survival and the conscious awakening some call enlightenment.

The key principle being this: Instead of simply surrendering to the worst case scenario; or struggling futilely against it, the principle of Aiki actively finds, notices and takes charge in the best way to make it useful, take advantage of it and capitalize on such adversity. And this with integrity intact.

This is the eternal life giving principle of Nature and the Universe, as that which does not succeed to survive and thrive becomes extinct.

And this is where the Mystery of Ai-Ki takes place: the smallest dominates the larger, the weaker dominates the stronger, the most economical sustains over the wasteful, the creative sustains over the destructive, the most compassionate thrives as the cruel destroys itself alone, the kind dominates the callous, the gentle overcomes the strong and so on. All the very opposite of the crude and primitive reptilian tendencies.

There is an immutable principle at work here which for the want of a better word may just as well be called Divine, hence making it possible for Kami no Michi to express during life on earth. This true all-win essence serves to bring about human ascension from the quagmires of mediocrity towards a fuller, more creative, happier and longer lifespan, despite challenges.

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Aikido