Talk:Aiki-ken
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A little confused. Is Aikiken the name given to all sword techniques within aikido as implied in the first part or just what was developed by Saito, as implied in the second part. For instance I would hesitate calling the kumitachi practiced by Shodokan aikido - aiki-ken. In the latter case the idea is to give an introduction to the sword (since that is the base of many of the aikido techniques) with the techniques not modified with aikido principles in mind. That relationship is found in other styles (even within the Aikikai). At the very least you need to make clear what exactly makes something aiki-ken.
I suggest moving the entire first paragraph of "Iwamma Style Aiki-ken" as the second paragraph of the article. Peter Rehse 05:03, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
- Those are good questions, Peter, and I was hoping you would know the answer to some of them. I was under the impression that "aiki-ken" was a generic term that means what it is: aikido's sword curriculum. I.e., if one is learning sword techniques within the auspices of an aikido school (and specifically, those techniques descend from Ueshiba's teachings, rather than from some other school of swordsmanship) you are practicing aiki-ken. Iwama style aiki-ken would be specifically the codification, modification, and systemization of Ueshiba's teachings by Saito and his son. For example, I believe (although I could be mistaken), that the seven aiki-ken suburi that Saito taught, and published both in his book and on video, were a distillation of the five kumi-tachi (which are also on the video) originally taught by Ueshiba. Likewise with the twenty jo suburi being Saito's distillation of Ueshiba's thirty-one point kata (Sanjuichi no Jo). The head of our martial arts program had a rather close relationship with the late Saito Sensei, whom we have all held in very high regard, so our program has always incorporated a greater than average amount of weapons training, but I'm afraid that I know no more than this regarding the "official" meaning of aiki-ken.
- Now I believe that presently the article at least implies this relationship, but (assuming that what I have stated above is actually true) it certainly could be much clearer.Bradford44 14:59, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
I'm leaving the decisions and editing to you but from my point of view aiki-ken and aiki-jo are both related to Ueshiba through Saito and imply a modification or developement of weapons techniques with a view towards developing aikido technique. Sword and yari techniques were taught by Takeda, and practiced by Ueshiba and his students before Iwama. I know the Shodokan ones the best and they are not related at all to the aiki-ken. Several Aikikai teachers, such as Chiba, who do weapons work may also distance themselves from the term. Others may embrace it. I don't think the article needs to get complicated about it but I must say the term is not monolithic.Peter Rehse 01:16, 9 January 2007 (UTC)
