Bill Gleason sensei is the chief instructor at Shobu Aikido of Boston and currently
holds a 6th dan. This article was first printed in the Shobu Aikido
Aiki News newsletter (May 2001, Vol 2, No. 2) and is reprinted with
permission.
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When the founder passed away in 1969, sword training at the Honbu dojo
in Japan ceased to exist as a part of the regular curriculum. At that
time sword training was only available for select high ranking
students and was conducted somewhat behind closed doors. Although the
taking away of an opponents weapons continued to be a part of the
testing process, teaching the use and handling of sword was, for all
practical purposes, suspended completely.
Since that time the controversy over whether or not the practice of
sword is really an integral part of, or even valuable to, aikido
training has continued to intensify. There is little doubt however
that Ueshiba Morihei O-sensei, the founder of aikido, considered it as
an essential part of his teaching as well as his own training. He
constantly used weapons, especially the sword, to show the principles
of aikido. Why is swordsmanship so valuable for understanding the
essence of aikido? If we view this question from an historical
perspective the answer becomes quite clear.
O-sensei, by his own declaration, was the founder of aikido, yet not
the creator of aiki principle itself. This principle was recognized in
the ancient sword traditions of Japan as well as in the philosophy of
Japanese Shinto. O-sensei was a devout student of Shinto and spent at
least several years studying Japanese sword. Among the styles of sword
that the founder studied was the ancient Kashima style which dates
from the fifteenth century. The foundation of that school is the
concept of Shinbu, "the divine martial way" in which one wins without
fighting. To accomplish this was to develop oneself, both physically
and spiritually, to the level of the gods.
Shin, in this case means "divine" and Bu refers to the creative force
of life, the power of musubi, or becoming one with your partner. This
was described as hoyo doka, an all-embracing acceptance of even the
negative feelings of others and the re-integration of that magnanimous
attitude back to those who would attack us. Practically speaking this
acceptance and re-absorption is the ability to receive your partners
energy and unify with it in such a way that his power is reduced to
zero. In aikido this is a good explanation of what we call the power
of kokyu. To master the spiritual and psychological aspects of this
ability was called aiki. The word aiki was also used to denote the
highest level of mastery in the Yagyu sword style in which O-sensei
also excelled.
The really incredible achievement of the founder was to apply these
principles to barehanded training in a new and unique manner. Why was
this not accomplished in those ancient times? Every sword style
contained its own interpretation of grappling or jutsu forms. This was
necessary on the battlefield in case a warrior lost his weapon in the
heat of battle. To be able to take away another mans sword when you
had no weapon was considered the highest achievement in the Yagyu
style.
It required the great spiritual vision of O-sensei to see barehanded
training not as grappling but rather as sword without a sword. Even
the great Kano sensei, the founder of Judo, declared aikido to be the
art he had been searching for all his life. O-sensei through his own
spiritual practices realized that we could use our hands, or even our
mind alone, like a sword, to cut through our partners attack or
defense. Combining his spiritual vision with actual sword training he
realized that it was possible to extend the influence of our ki, or
intention, beyond our fingers in the same way that our movement and
reach is extended when holding a sword. Ki extension is the essence of
muto or "sword without a sword" and that is no better exemplified than
in the practice of aikido.
In studying sword we learn to control the kensen, the line that the
kirisaki, the tip of the sword, draws in each cut. Eventually we are
able to draw that line with our minds eye alone. This ability is one
of the secrets of aikido practice. It enables us see the invisible
form within each technique and to send out energy precisely to the
correct place in our partners body. This ability takes many years to
realize; without sword training, the student is much less likely to
discover it.
Cutting with the Japanese sword is an expansive motion in which the
tip of the sword must be unified with ones center. The basic diagonal
cut, called kesa giri, may be equated with ikkyo in barehanded aikido
training. If one truly masters this one cut, he or she has already
realized shin shin toitsu or body-mind unification. Within kesa giri
is the secret of natural spiral movement. The sword falls by its
weight alone and the weight of the body comes to ride on top of its
free fall. The turning of the hips and the subtle connection between
your own center and the tip of the sword create effortless power and
speed. Just as in aikido, this basic way of cutting with the sword is
dependent on a continual expansion of our feeling; in fact, that is
the life of the movement itself.
In addition, the footwork and total overall movement of swordsmanship
match that of aikido exactly. Every move in aikido, correctly
understood, is a cutting motion. After all, the sword was created to
fit the natural movement of the body and not the other way
around. Herein lies one of the major differences between aikido and
any of the various schools of jujutsu. The nikkyo, sankyo, and yonkyo
of aikido, for example, are performed as expansive cutting motions
rather than as contracting wristlocks.
Aikido is an extremely subtle and difficult art. It requires a
lifetime of dedication in order to grasp its essence. Because of its
difficulty, aikido is quite often misinterpreted and practiced either
as a form of jujutsu or merely as aerobic exercise. Practicing in
either of these ways lacks both martial and spiritual content. Aikido
techniques are designed to be ineffective until one has grasped the
essence of expansive spiral motion and proper use of ki or internal
power. They cannot therefore be effectively used in the same manner as
jujutsu techniques, which depend largely on contracting motion for the
purpose of breaking the partners joints.
Combining the study of sword with barehanded techniques we are able to
discover the complementary antagonism of flexibility and relaxed power
together with sharpness and precision. In the words of the founder,
"In barehanded practice you should move as if you had a sword; when
holding a sword you should not depend on it but move as if you had
none." Studying this mental kamae, or stance, keeps us focused on the
reality of a martial situation and at the same time allows us to
remain flexible and relaxed. To unify these opposites is to discover
aikido principle: yin and yang as one, movement and rest as one,
irimi-tenkan as one, the unification of all opposites in a kind of
dynamic monism.
This article is, of course, a large overview, and the many
similarities between weapons and barehanded training can only come to
be appreciated through proper training with a qualified teacher. It
will not suffice merely to repeat sword kata as fixed forms without
discovering their strategy and content. Each student, under the
supervision of a qualified instructor, must take up the forms of both
sword and barehanded training as parts of a whole, and through
continual research and analysis, strive to refine his or her own
individual practice to higher and higher levels of expertis
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