I think Tomiki Aikido is better than all the rest!

 

Sounds great!

 

From this thread it looks like I need to broaden my aiki-knowledge!

 

Tell me which club you practice at, and who the Sensei is (to contact for permission &c.) - if it's not too far I'd love to see your club style.

 

Best Regards in Aikido.

aikiman

(Will submit more details as and when needed.)

 

BTW I break easy, so maybe I have been an AikiBunny for a long time!

 

 

 

 

 

I also agree that there are some very good Yoshinkan groups in the UK although I am looking at this as an outsider, without any knowlegde of the political set up with Yoshinkan Aikido in the UK.

 

Looking at the structure of some of the groups they have very close links to the IYAF with many of the senior instructors having trained at the Hombu or taught by instructor like Sensei Yu in the early 1970's. Many Yoshinkan Aikidoka are very close to the source having been taught by Shioda Sensie or one of his Dechi directly. As my Sensie always said the futher away from the source the muddier the water.

 

There are many Traditional Aikido groups and Tomiki/Shodokan/Shidokan groups who follow the same type of structure. 

 

Aikido is practiced by all types of people and is a very personal thing some like to practice it as a form of self defence, some as a sport and some a way of keeping fit or a spiritual activity, there is more than one way to climb a mountain.

 

As someone with a Judo background the structured kata & randori system of Tomiki suited me. I was also very lucky to have an instructor who was taught by Tomiki sensei & Obha sensie or their Dechi directly.

 

Aikiman, the term Aikibunny is used for Aikidoka who just fall over for each other before correct Kuzushi is applied. I hope that this helps.

 

 

You cannot beat Yoshinkan everyone know were the best, that is all that needs to be said.

 

 

But I do agree that those who truly 'live and breathe aikido' are perhaps now few and far between. My Sensei is also 'old school' and comes from the days when to 'tap out' was to show weakness. His teacher got him out of bed at 5am on winter mornings to train on tatami covered in ice. He trained 7 days a week.  He taught and trained with broken bones, pretty much sacrificed his home life to the study and teaching of aikido and spent a small fortune travelling around the UK and abroad to further his studies.

 

Warm ups before training were unheard of. Teaching strategies and coaching skills were a mystery to his teacher. You just got on the mat and trained and trained and trained and if you couldn't put in the hours - or didn't want to put in the commitment - then you were 'out' (or the subject of much berating).

 

It was just a different way of teaching that perhaps enabled those who were dedicated and/or gifted (or both). But it certainly excluded those who couldn't step up to the level required.

 

But I know for sure that if we applied these same rigorous methods today then our classes would be tiny and our dojo would not exist.

 

 I love training in aikido - but I cannot do it regularly anymore. I like to interact and have fun on the mat - for me it is now about life balance. I get all the challenges I need at work - I don't need them in my 'hobby' too! Maybe I don't take it that seriously now - I don't look to grade. But it would be a sad day for me if I could never get on the mat again.

 

So we all look for different things in the aikido we do - and this may change over time too - and that seems just fine to me.

S

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Yoshi

 

I would like to reply to you saying, Then you have never met good quality Tomiki players, But I am not that rude.

 

Please remember that you will find good and bad artists in all Sports, Arts and even life, Never judge everyone by one encounter, You never know when you will find someone better than you.

 

This happened to me many years ago when I started Aikido, I walked into a club in London and asked to practise, They said yes so I got changed into my Judo Gi, Oh they said have you done Aikido before. No I said Judo.

 

On the mat they preceded to try and prove that Aikido was better than Judo. At first I just played the game and went with them, But as the evening progressed my pride over took me and in the end fought back using using the skills of my Judo.  

 

The outcome was a lot of Aikido Players who had learn how to breakfall properly. At the end of the evening the Sensei who had been very quite during the class decide to introduce me to the class because he had recognised me as a current European Judo champion. He told his class that he was very disappointed in how they had treated me and was surprised I had been so gentle with them.

 

As you may have guessed I decided that this particular club was not for me. But in my youth I did enjoy proving I was better than them, It was not Judo against Aikido, It was a very very fit 20 year old man who trained 7 days a week against a group of people who trained once a week.   My objection to them was attitude not their skill level........

 

I would like to hope that Aikido players of all styles would be more open to each other