Blog Archives

"No One Falls Like That" - A Discussion On Ukemi

1/18/2022

Author: Bret Gordon

Yesterday, my instructor Steven Hatfield and I put out a video together showcasing various aiki and jujutsu techniques taught in American Yoshinkan Aiki Jujutsu. It's nothing spectacular, just a one-minute highlight clip, but it's special because it's the first time we've put anything out together for public consumption regarding aiki. I'll include the video at the end of this article. True to form, our personal press corps took less than 2 hours to share the video and offer some constructive criticism.

One of the most consistent criticisms of demonstrations like this, in addition to the assumption that aiki is fake, is that the responses of the uke do not match the physical output of the tori. They are used to large, external movements being required to throw someone. The very foundation of internal martial arts, Aiki Jujutsu being one of them, is that power is generated in a subtle manner that is imperceptible to the untrained eye. There's nothing esoteric about it. It's not based on magic or anything mystical like chi. It's just a different way of transmitting force through the body (and into another person through physical touch) that is generated through cohesive body movement rather than segregating a limb from the rest of the core. I'll write more articles on the subject in greater detail, but here I'd like to focus on the uke.

How Okuden Killed The Martial Arts (Part 2)

1/13/2022

Author: Bret Gordon

In Part 1 (click here), I discussed how the secrecy of kata had led to the misconception that Karate is not viable for real violence. In this article, we're going to explore an even more esoteric art steeped in mysticism and tradition that most people discount as a fighting system - Aiki Jujutsu.

When most people think of the aiki arts, Aikido is what comes to mind. Unfortunately, the Ueshiba family has made it clear their vision for Aikido does not include fighting or contests of any kind. But the aiki arts as a whole are often subject to ridicule if not complete dismissal among the majority of the martial arts community. We get lumped in with the likes of George Dillman and his no-touch knockouts, which are nothing more than the power of suggestion over highly susceptible individuals.

Real aiki, on the other hand, is a set of biomechanical principles and processes. When you understand what you are looking at, everything is supported by sound principles of physics. The training methods, however, must be felt to understood. The better one is, the more fake it looks. My teacher once said "if you understand what just happened to you, it's not aiki." So again, we have another case of secrecy killing the art. But why?

How Okuden Killed The Martial Arts (Part 1)

1/12/2022

Author: Bret Gordon

In all martial arts, there are different levels of students. Some call them indoor and outdoor students. Some differentiate by saying they have both customers and students. Whatever the distinction, not all students are created equal, and they won't all reach the highest levels of a particular system. Some information is always held back. This information is called Okuden 奥伝 (secret teachings). It could be because the instructor is waiting until the student is ready, or maybe they want to keep something up their sleeve should the student get a little too cocky.

Some systems formally classify the material into various levels, and award certifications or licenses along the way. Others are informal about it, with the instructor being more selective (and usually subjective) with who they pass on certain information to. Some systems are more shrouded in secrecy than others, but the truth is that every art has secrets. But what happens when the refusal to share such secrets leads to the death of the style itself?

By now, everyone is familiar with MMA, and the culture shock that sent waves through the martial arts when BJJ became popular. If nothing else, it polarized everyone between those who suddenly believed the "old" styles were simple fantasy, and those who knew their validity (or at least knew there should be validity). In this article, I'm going to look at two arts specifically, Karate and Aiki Jujutsu, as that's what the majority of my experience has been in, but I am confident this will apply to others as well.

Aikido Is Just Jujutsu

1/10/2022

Author: Bret Gordon

As a follow-up to my last article, "Taekwondo Is Just Karate," let's explore another system that really should not be given it's own category as a new kind of martial art: Aikido. Founded by Ueshiba Morihei, Aikido has gained traction all over the world as a peaceful martial art based on the principles of mutual benefit and harmony. Essentially, the study of Aikido should lead to self-realization and personal growth while providing the practitioner with a set of techniques to defend themselves without causing undue injury or harm to their attacker.

Now, to understand what I mean when I say "Aikido is just Jujutsu," we have to look at what Jujutsu really is as well as the origins of Aikido itself.

By it's most simple definition, Jujutsu is a blanket term for all Japanese unarmed fighting styles with an emphasis on joint manipulation, throwing techniques and grappling instead of striking. This is due to its origins as a warrior art, meant to be used on the battlefield by Samurai who for one reason or another found themselves without a weapon. As in everything, context matters. When your opponent is wearing armor, developing a sophisticated striking repertoire like Karate isn't appropriate as they are not effective.

Striking in Jujutsu is meant to change the shape and position of the body, as well as create disruptions that allow you to more easily apply your finishing technique, whether that's breaking a joint, choking them out or throwing them on their head. Styles developed during the 250-year peaceful Edo period have a greater emphasis on striking than those developed during the Sengoku period, but still not to the level that we would classify them as striking arts.

Taekwondo Is Just Karate

1/9/2022

Author: Bret Gordon

Here come the pitchforks! A few days ago, I published an article on "Made Up Martial Arts" which discussed the very arbitrary method of categorizing and naming styles of Okinawan martial arts leading to the conclusion that really all styles are made up. Earlier today, I added the following to the end of the article:

"Another example of a 'made up' martial art is Taekwondo. In the 1950s following the Japanese occupation, nine kwans (schools) of Korean Karate were in existence. They all used either Tang Soo Do (Tode-Do 唐手道), Kong Soo Do (Karatedo 空手道) or Kwon Bup (Kempo 拳法) to describe their respective styles.

The Korean government, wanting to regulate martial arts, ordered the kwans to unify and come up with a new name for what they taught to remove the connection to Japanese and Okinawan martial arts, and so the name "Taekwondo" was coined and they formed the Korea Taekwondo Association. They created the Palgwe and KTA yudanja forms to separate themselves from their predecessors, and later replaced the Palgwe series with the Taegeuk forms simply because they still looked 'too Japanese.'"

Let's explore that a little more....

Writing Your Own Scrolls?

1/7/2022

Author: Bret Gordon

American Yoshinkan Makimono

About a year ago, I posted a picture of two scrolls (Hiden Mokuroku and Hiden Okugi) we use in American Yoshinkan Aiki Jujutsu that were carried over from our Daito Ryu origins. Admittedly, they are issued more for nostalgia and preservation than anything else as we do not teach from them, but they are still a cool reminder of our past and foundation.

Immediately, someone unfamiliar with the traditions of Daito Ryu jumped on to say that I wrote them and they're not authentic scrolls. They're absolutely right! But that's how it's supposed to be...

In Daito Ryu, the tradition of students writing their own scrolls goes all the way back to Takeda Sokaku, who first disseminated the art to the public (and many believe to be illiterate). An article from noted Daito Ryu practitioner and historian Guillaume Erard goes into detail on the subject (click here for full article):

Should Certifications Be Displayed Publicly?

1/6/2022

Author: Bret Gordon

In an old article of mine, "The Purpose Of Certification," I discussed the various types of certifications (rank, titles, and licenses) used in the martial arts. I broke down what each one meant and how they were generally earned. Essentially, certifications recognize progress while licenses grant authority. The question that comes up, however, is if these credentials we work so hard for should be displayed publicly. Some like to equate them to professional diplomas and licenses like doctors or lawyers display in their offices, and to a certain measure that's true. A martial arts school, like a doctor's office, will often display their various credentials on the wall. That's really the only place they belong, or maybe in a folder tucked away (where most of mine are).

Unlike professional licenses though, martial arts certificates are a private matter. They are for the recipient alone. They have no meaning outside the style or organization they were awarded in, and so there is no purpose in publicizing them for the world to see. If anything should be displayed at all, it is the Menkyo (teaching license) as that is really all that matters because that lets the reader know exactly what the instructor is authorized to teach. Even then, however, it should only be shared with students of the art because they are the only ones it matters to.

Made Up Martial Arts

1/5/2022

Author: Bret Gordon

Okinawan Newspaper Featuring Karate Day

Awhile back, Jesse Enkamp put out a video called "Why ALL Karate Styles Are Fake" detailing how the numerous styles of Okinawan and Japanese karate came to exist. To summarize, in 1927 when Kano Jigoro visited Okinawa and the local martial artists put on a demonstration, in order to hide any connection to China during this highly nationalistic era they decided not to say this was a demonstration of Tode 唐手 (Chinese Hand) and instead referred to their respective demonstrations by the region of Okinawa the individual practitioner was from (Naha, Tomari and Shuri).

However up until this point, it was considered all the same art with different flavors based on individual teachers. One can argue that's all a style is anyway, but is that enough to formalize it as an independent martial art? Unlike Japanese martial arts, which have been divided into formalized styles as early as the 15th century, Okinawan martial artists all traveled and cross-trained to pursue their personal growth as practitioners. Even today, there is a spirit of unity among karate practitioners, culminating in the annual Karate Day celebration (commemorating the 1936 meeting when prominent Okinawan masters came together and officially adopted the term Karate 空手 to describe their art, along with the adoption of the kyu/dan rank system, shogo titles and competition format to conform it into a Japanese martial art).

Fighting With Aiki

1/3/2022

Author: Bret Gordon

Internal martial arts have always enjoyed a state of prominence in combative efficiency. Historically, Aiki Jujutsu is derived from weapon retention methods taught to the Imperial Guards of Aizu Domain and the validity of these arts can easily be seen in the blade. However, that is not where their viability ends.

Last year, we launched a new video mini series entitled "Fighting With Aiki" to promote our method of adapting classical martial arts for modern fighting in American Yoshinkan Aiki Jujutsu. In this video series, we break down some of the classical techniques of Aiki Jujutsu to show how the biomechanics and principles can be applied for self protection. The goal of this series is to encourage the greater aiki community to evolve in order to meet the demands of the modern martial artist. Episode 1, Aiki Sage, is shown below. For all six episodes, please click here.

New IJF Rules Further Strip Down Judo

1/2/2022

Author: Bret Gordon

A few days ago, the IJF released a video (see below) explaining their new rules for this upcoming Olympic cycle. Yet again, they continue to strip down the complete art of Judo by banning another throw, the reverse seoi nage (also called Korean seoi nage). Even worse, not only will the technique not score an ippon but the competitor will receive a shido (penalty) if used. To quote Shintaro Higashi, "It’s really unfortunate that yet another dynamic judo technique has been banned and will therefore no longer be practiced in judo. The reverse seoi was one of the coolest techniques in modern competitive judo. It will be missed." Inevitably, judoka will stop practicing this technique along with the rest of the kinshi waza (banned techniques) simply because they cannot be scored with in competition, leading to yet more watering down of the art itself.

Decisions like this reaffirm why I am glad to belong to an organization outside of the Olympic NGB system, USA Traditional Kodokan Judo, which is dedicated to preserving the complete art of Kodokan Judo instead of what is currently allowed in competition, as well as the Seikan Judo & Jujutsu Association which is the new umbrella organization run by Steven Hatfield and I to oversee all of our Kontei Judo and Gojeon Yudo affiliate schools.