Yoseikan Aikido


Yoseikan symbol depicting Mount Fuji.
Yoseikan Aikidō
(養正館合気道 Yoseikan Aikidō)
Date founded November, 1931
Country of origin Japan Japan
Founder Minoru Mōchizuki
(望月 稔 Mōchizuki Minoru, 1907-04-07–2003-05-30)
Arts taught Aikido • Judo • Karate • kobudo • kenjutsu
Ancestor schools Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu • Kodokan Judo • Shotokan karate • Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū
Descendant schools Yoseikan Budo, Yoseikan aikijujutsu, Aïkibudo, Nihon Taijutsu

Yoseikan Aikido (養正館合気道 Yoseikan Aikidō) is the aikido taught at the Yoseikan Dojo in Shizuoka, Japan, under the direction of Minoru Mochizuki (望月 稔 Mōchizuki Minoru, 1907–2003).

Mochizuki was a direct student of aikido's founder, Morihei Ueshiba. He was an uchi deshi (live-in student) from around November 1930, to around August 1931. Mochizuki maintained contact with Ueshiba until the latter's death in 1969.

In the 1970s Yoseikan Aikido was formally organised into Yoseikan Budo along with the other arts Mochizuki had studied and mastered, including judo, karate, Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu, jujutsu, kobudo, iaido, kendo, jojutsu, and Mongolian kempo. However, some dojos still exist throughout the world that maintain their art as Aikido, and as such, still refer to it as Yoseikan Aikido, or Yoseikan Aikijujutsu/ Aikijutsu.

Summary

Traditionally Yoseikan Aikido contains all the aspects present in other aikido schools, for example ai (harmony), ki (energy), kokyu (breath), seika-no-itten (one point), irimi (entering), and tenkan (turning). Other important aspects from judo are also included, including kuzushi (unbalancing), tsukuri (positioning), jita kyoei (mutual welfare and prosperity), sei ryoku zen yo (maximum efficiency).

Due to Mochizuki’s fighting experiences when introducing martial arts in France in the 1950s[1] he felt that aikido needed a stronger technical basis to ‘meet all challengers.’ In essence all judo techniques can be thought of as Yoseikan Aikido techniques. In reality, this only adds several core judo techniques, such as hip throws, shoulder throws (which exist in other aikido schools), sacrifice throws, and foot sweeps. Many in the aikido community see the ideas of foot sweeps and sacrifice throws as contrary to the core principles of aikido, where balance and being centred are paramount. These techniques, however, do not result in a loss of centre or balance. Fundamentally, the foot sweeping techniques in Yoseikan Aikido are identical to otoshi waza (dropping techniques) in other aikido schools. The use of the foot ensures the technique is effective, even when the opponent is resisting. Less emphasis is then placed on timing, and more importantly, an overcommitted attack is not required. As for sacrifice throws, a fundamental principle used in Yoseikan Aikido is gyokushin, or the spirit of a ball. Even when a ball rolls it maintains its centre, and that is true of the Yoseikan Aikidoka when performing sacrifice throws. You do not need to be on your feet to move spherically, which is important in the application of aikido techniques.

Sincerity is another aspect which greatly influences Yoseikan Aikido. It is for this reason that Yoseikan Aikido includes basics, combinations and fundamental kata from karate Do. This makes sure that uke (the attacker) in Yoseikan is as effective and sincere in attack, as nage (the thrower) will become in defence. Before World War II, aikido students were required to have previously studied martial arts, and have a letter of reference from their instructor. This meant that all pre-war students already possessed basic skills of uke (the attacker), including falling and striking. Now, aikido may be taken as a first art. Therefore, in Yoseikan students are taught how to attack.

Put simply, the main difference between Yoseikan, and other schools is the way Mochizuki sensei structured his teachings, and hence the way aikido was taught at the Yoseikan. Yoseikan has a very logical structure, which can be seen as a fundamental influence of Jigoro Kano, who stressed the science of judo. More emphasis is placed on fundamentals, such as escaping from a grab. These techniques are typically mentioned in other aikido schools, and are the first part of a locking or throwing technique. However, in Yoseikan Aikido they are drilled and examined as basics. After its construction in 1931, Morihei Ueshiba visited, supervised, and taught at the Yoseikan, and Mochizuki was awarded his 8th Dan in the 1950s (10th Dan awarded later by the IMAF with the approval of Kisshomaru Ueshiba), as well as obtaining scrolls in Aikijujutsu from Ueshiba in the 1930s,[2] hence, his method was approved.

History

DVD Cover of Minoru Mochizuki's "Yoseikan Sogo Budo", performing Do Gaeshi

Japan

In October 1930 after witnessing a demonstration of Morihei Ueshiba, Jigoro Kano organised (in a formal letter to Ueshiba) for two students to study under him. These two men were, Jiro Takeda and Minoru Mochizuki.[3] With his previous knowledge in judo, jujutsu, kendo and kenjutsu, Mochizuki rapidly progressed under Ueshiba. He was appointed supervisor of the uchi deshi, and also served as a teaching assistant, Ueshiba even suggested that Mochizuki marry his daughter and hence become his successor. Mochizuki was an uchi deshi under Ueshiba for several months. In mid to late 1931, Mochizuki fell ill with pleurisy and pulmonary tuberculosis. During his 3 month hospital stay the Yoseikan dojo was constructed for Mochizuki. Ueshiba, who was at the official opening of the Yoseikan in November 1931, regularly taught seminars at the dojo.[4]

In June 1932, Ueshiba awarded Mochizuki with two Daito Ryu scrolls. The first (in Daito Ryu order) was the Hiden Ogi no Koto and the second was the Goshinyo no Te. In Daito Ryu, one learns the Hiden Mokuroku, then the Aiki no Jutsu, then the Hiden Ogi, and then the Goshinyo no Te. After attaining these four levels, the person is then qualified to teach the art. After these levels comes Kaishaku Soden and then finally Menkyo Kaiden. In terms of Daito Ryu, Mochizuki was qualified to teach all that he had learnt up the Goshinyo no Te. It is also worth noting that this is the technical level Ueshiba had achieved in Daito Ryu, although he held the official title Kyoju Dairi in Daito Ryu. This enabled Ueshiba to give instruction and travel to teach as a representative of the headmaster, Sokaku Takeda.[5]

Aikido at the Yoseikan continued to develop until 1972, when after returning from France, Mochizuki had decided to change the name to Yoseikan Budo. This also resulted in technical restructuring and the amalgamation of the once separate arts Mochizuki taught under a single term. The characteristics of Mochizuki's Yoseikan Budo was still in essence aikido, with the addition of more Judo techniques, specifically ground work, the development of more sacrifice throws, and the inclusion Katori Shinto Ryu in higher grades.

Today the Yoseikan in Japan is home to the Seifukai, an organisation headed by Mochizuki's son Tetsuma. They maintain a strong affinity to the primarily aikido based Budo of Minoru Mochizuki.

France

In 1951, Mochizuki travelled to France mainly to teach judo, but he also found time to give instruction in aikido and is therefore credited with being the first to disseminate aikido abroad. Europe's introduction to aikido and its association with judo came about directly due to the early activities of Mochizuki. He was to set a pattern that would be repeated in most European countries where aikido would cast its roots within the existing judo community. A large number of early European practitioners were judoka who were past their competitive years and found the graceful techniques of aikido to be a perfect alternative allowing them to continue active martial arts practice. Mochizuki spent a total of two-and-one-half years in France and his efforts sowed the seeds for the development of the world's largest aikido population outside Japan. It is said that today there are more than fifty thousand active practitioners in France![6]

Yoseikan Aikido from Yoseikan Ryu was represented by Jim Alcheik in France in the 50'. He founded the FFATKJ, with the agreement of Minoru Mochizuki, the "Fédération française d'Aikido, de Tai-jitsu et de Karaté - FFATK) when he came back from Japan with Hiroo Mochizuki. Jim Alcheik called this art "aikido yoseikan" or "aikido ju-jitsu" or "Tai-jitsu". Jim Alcheik died in 1962 in a bomb attack in Algeria. French and European Tai-jitsu is considered as a "cousin discipline" of martial arts taught in Yoseikan Ryu.[7]

United States

The legitimate start of Yoseikan Aikido in the US was through Capt. Sadayuki Demizu of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force. As Liaison Officer for Japanese students at the missile school at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, Demizu was a 4th dan in Yoseikan Aikido, mostly trained by Kyoichi Murai, but a direct student and son-in-law of Minoru Mochizuki. When Huntsville officers learned that Demizu was an aikido man, they asked him to begin teaching and he agreed. Among the first students was Thomas E. Bearden (then Captain, US Army—later retired as Lt.Col.). Glenn Pack, now the technical director of the United States Yoseikan Budo Association (USYBA) started training around this time. In February 1974, Pack began teaching Yoseikan Aikido at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Pack continued teaching at the University of Alabama until 1975, when he went to graduate work in Arkansas, leaving the Tuscaloosa class in the hands of Rick Moncrief.

In 1975, Bearden sent a letter to Mochizuki asking for a teacher to be sent to the US. In early 1976, Mochizuki sent Patrick Auge. Auge had lived in Japan for several years, with four years as an uchi deshi at the Yoseikan, and was at the time a 4th dan. Auge settled in Ottawa, Ontario in Canada. He oversaw the already established Yoseikan in the US and began teaching in Canada, with two clubs in Ottawa. Currently there are 8 schools listed under the International Yoseikan Budo Federation (IYBF) in Canada and the US, most have the word aikido in their title. The IYBF hombu is in Torrance California under the direction of Patrick Auge, with two other dojos in the US.[8]

The USYBA, while currently affiliated with the Yoseikan World Federation under Hiroo Mochizuki, still maintains its Yoseikan Aikido like syllabus. The USYBA list seven clubs on their website through the US, some include the term aikido in their title.[9] Another organisation in Canada is called the Canadian Association of Aikido Mochizuki. Although the term Yoseikan Aikido is not used, the origins of their aikido are with Mochizuki from the Yoseikan.

Australia

Yoseikan Aikido was the second school of aikido in Australia, and the first in the state of Western Australia. In 1968 a gentleman by the name of Phillipe Boiron began teaching Yoseikan Aikido for Jan de Jong in Perth, Western Australia. This lead Jan de Jong to travel to Japan in 1969 to train directly under Minoru Mochizuki. In 1974, on an official request from Jan de Jong, Mochizuki dispatched Yoshiaki Unno to Perth to teach Yoseikan Aikido. Unno also taught Iaido, Kobudo and Karate.

Almost half of the aikido schools in Perth had some relationship to this early introduction of Yoseikan Aikido in Perth. The Jan de Jong Martial Arts School continues to teach aikido. Hans de Jong, son of the late Jan de Jong and student of Unno, teaches Yoseikan Aikido and is a Shodan. The aikido branch of the UWA Martial Arts Club was started by Unno's student Brett Nener, 4th Dan in Yoseikan Aikido, with Fukimori Akira Shihan of Tanaka ha Butoku Ryu Aikijujutsu as its principal. Another of Unno's students, Ross Taylor, 4th Dan, heads the West Coast Aikido Academy. John Langley principle of the Institute of Aikido Australia, was also a student of Unno's and teaches with 2nd Dan in Yoseikan Aikido Steven Nener and Darren Edwards.

Vietnam

In 1960, Kazuo Ishikawa went to Saigon, Vietnam to start the Yoseikan programs. Kazuo Ishikawa and a Japanese resident in Saigon, Haruyoshi Watanabe, taught Aikido at the invitation of the Cercle Sportif Saigonnaise. Watanabe, a lieutenant in the Japanese Imperial Military Police, had refused to return to his homeland because Japan lost the War. Hi student Bui Huu Tac also spent years training martial arts in Japan during the Second World War. Tac was also the founder of Yamadakai Martial arts Institute; Ngac received second degree blackbelt in Aikido Yoseikan from Kazuo Ishikawa.

Techniques

Technically Yoseikan Aikido is very similar to other aikido styles. The fundamental technique, Ikkyo, is referred to as Robuse, or arm rowing. The majority of other aikido techniques are included in Yoseikan Aikido, although some have different names. The fundamental attack, however, is not shomen uchi, it is an opposite posture single hand grab. Below is a list of common attacks used in Yoseikan, excluding strikes and kicks which encompass all of the basics from karate. An equivalent Aikikai attack is given in parentheses after the translation.

Attacks

Japanese: English (Aikikai equivalent[10]):

The following is a list of Locks and then throws, again with Aikikai, Yoshinkan, and Shodokan equivalents in parentheses. Please note that these techniques are used as equivalents to Yoseikan techniques for the benefit of those who study a different school of aikido, and are not meant to equate the techniques of other schools.

Locks

Yoseikan: English (Aikikai, Yoshinkan,[11] Shodokan)

Throws

Yoseikan: English (Aikikai, Yoshinkan, Shodokan)

More techniques exist; the ones listed here have known equivalent techniques in other schools. The Aikikai and Yoshinkan refer to a lot of techniques as Kokyu Nage, a term which is not used in Yoseikan, all techniques have separate names. At higher levels the term Aiki Nage is used to describe throws utilising perfect timing, as Kokyu Nage implies, and it is also the term used in Morihei Ueshiba’s Budo Renshu.[12]

Structure

Below is a list of the technical elements which make up Yoseikan Aikido.

Kata

Below is a list of Yoseikan Aikido Kata, and the techniques in them.

Solo kata;

The Happo Ken no Kata contains the fundamental striking and blocking techniques. Originally, the kata was made up of the following movements; 1) soto yoko uke, 2) hiji ate, 3) gedan barai, 4) gedan tsuki, 5) soto barai, 6) chudan tsuki, 7) gedan tsuki uke, 8) jodan tsuki age.[13] The modern version of happo ken has two differences; 4) kubi uchi, 8) hiji ago tsuki age. The kata is said to have come from Shorinji Kempo, which Mochizuki studied while in Mongolia.
The Keri Yon Ho no Kata compliments the happo ken, in that it teaches the basic kicking techniques. The kata contains the following movements; 1) mae geri, 2) yoko geri, 3) ushiro geri, 4) mawashi geri. An older version of the kata, call San Bo Geri no Kata, contains only the first three kicks.[14] Another version of the kata, Keri Go Ho no Kata. also includes; 5) ushiro mawashi geri.

Paired kata (attacker and defender);

The Ken Tai Ichi no Kata illustrates the idea that aikido is based on Muto Ryu Kenjutsu.[15] The first part of the five techniques, sword verses sword, demonstrates the kenjutsu form. The second part, sword taking, shows what Mochizuki refers to as the jujutsu forms. Finally, the empty hand techniques are the aikido forms.
The Taisabaki no Kata demonstrates the use of body movement, with the judo principles of kuzushi (unbalancing), tsukuri (positioning), and gake (throwing). The kata shows how these principles relate to the aikido techniques performed.[16]
The Hyori no Kata (lit. Form of Front and Back) demonstrates counter techniques, which have been removed from some aikido schools. The rolls of attacker and defender are continuously being changed. The first attacker, performing eri dori yokomen uchi, escapes the second attack, ushiro kubi jime kata te dori, with yuki chigai. The switching of rolls continues through the kata until the final technique, were the initial defender escapes kata ha otoshi to finally throw the attacker with kata garuma.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Patrick Augé at Aiki Expo 2002 by Ikuko Kimura
  2. ↑ Morihei Ueshiba and Minoru Mochizuki by Stanley Pranin
  3. ↑ Founder of Aikido (30): Jigoro Kano Sensei (Part Two) by Kisshomaru Ueshiba, Aiki News #59 (December 1983)
  4. ↑ Morihei Ueshiba and Minoru Mochizuki by Stanley Pranin, Japanese Wushu Magazine
  5. ↑ Interview with Katsuyuki Kondo (2) by Stanley Pranin, Aiki News #92 (Summer 1992)
  6. ↑ Minoru Mochizuki (1907-2003) by Stanley Pranin
  7. ↑ Histoire critique du Tai-jitsu by David Prado, France 2010
  8. ↑ Interview with Patrick Augé by Stanley Pranin, Aiki News #91 (Spring 1992)
  9. ↑ United States Yoseikan Budo Association
  10. ↑ Aikikai terms taken from Aikido FAQ
  11. ↑ Yoshinkan terms taken from Gozo Shioda's Total Aikido
  12. ↑ Morihei Ueshiba Budo Renshu
  13. ↑ Minoru Mochizuki Nihon-den Jujutsu Kodansha 1978
  14. ↑ Minoru Mochizuki, Jim Alcheik Ma Methode D' Aikido Jiu-Jitsu c.1957
  15. ↑ Minoru Mochizuki "2nd Aikido Friendship Demonstration: Part Two" DVD, Aikido Journal, 2004
  16. ↑ The history and the spirit of the Tai Sabaki No Kata and the Hyori No Kata by Patrick Auge

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