Brief History of Our Community (Calgary Aikikai)

Kobayashi Yasuo (born September 20, 1936 and currently 8th dan) used to be with Tohei Koichi before he left Aikikai in 1974. Kobayashi was apparently top deshi and kaban-mochi (otomo) for Tohei for many years, but wanted to remain affiliated with Zaidanhojin Aikikai. However, being a loyal student of Tohei, and by his own admission in his personal blog, many of Tohei’s techniques are deeply ingrained in Kobayashi. Inaba Sensei, born 16 years after Kobayashi, studied under him then moved to Calgary and began teaching Aikido in 1980. This briefly explains how our community can be affiliated with world Aikikai, yet do some techniques (a little) differently than Aikikai, such as ikkyo and nikyo.

The word maai is part of Aikido.

Perhaps there is no defined distance for maai (it makes sense since it roughly means ‘safe distance’ in fighting), but at least one dojo (Totuka dojo, a Youshin-kan affiliate) specified this distance as ikken （一間） – an old unit for a length measuring 1.8m. This is the same length as the long side of a tatami mat.1

Out of the corner of my ear sometimes I hear someone say, “Watch your maai.” What does that mean? What does the speaker want it to mean? It is a multi-dimensional construct that cannot be measured with a single SI unit. Does the speaker want more speed? Closer distance? More distance? More compassion for aite?

Through multiple accounts in Japanese texts (thanks K!), maai has several meanings: one is distance (starting and through a waza), another is timing, and another can be about (human) relationships. In Aikido, I like to think it is all three.

For those who are curious, it is pronounced /ma?ai/, not /mawai/ just like CO-OP is pronounced /ko?ap/ not /kowap/ or “co-wap”.

1. http://www.seiseikai.org/totsuka/waza.html [↩]

A asked me, “Why is it called ‘Shihonage‘?”

Not wanting to BS because I was not sure, I said that I didn’t know and researched it this morning.

Aikiweb has a thread about it.1 A gentleman like myself uses video evidence to support theories, so I will re-post his answer here:

The late Saito Morihiro Sensei used to explain shihonage and kotegaeshi with the sword.  In the clip (0.00 – 0.40) you find his usual display of shihonage‘s principle of being able to throw someone in 4 directions (and therefore 8, 16, 32… ad infinitum). – J. Blomquist

四方 does mean ‘four directions’, but it was pointed out by K and others that it also means ‘all around’, or from every direction. For now, it could mean to be able to throw an attacker in any direction like the video of Saito Sensei above suggests.

1. See http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16630 [↩]

Just so I don’t get attacked by members in my own community for posting scary numbers, I will use Yamada Sensei’s test requirements as the source of my calculations.1

For New York Aikikai

The number of training days required to be eligible for the shodan test is 1140.2

Assuming smooth transitions and no breaks with 50 training weeks in a year,

• at 4 days a week shodan will take 5.7 years.
• at 2 days a week shodan will take 11.4 years.
• at 1 day a week shodan will take 22.8 years.

The number of training days required from beginner to 4th dan is 1140 (shodan) + 600 (nidan) + 700 (sandan) + 800 (yondan)3 = 3240.2 Again assuming smooth transitions and no breaks with 50 training weeks in a year,

• at 4 days a week yondan will take 16.2 years.
• at 2 days a week yondan will take 32.4 years.
• at 1 day a week yondan will take 64.8 years… fugeddaboutit!

How much in training fees will you spend on Aikido?

Pulling a number out of my head, say $10/class, it will cost 1140 classes x $10/class =
$11,400 to reach shodan (plus testing costs).

For yondan, that is more than $32,000.

*Smack* (hand slaps face). Now you are plainly aware of what you are getting into. If some kind organization offers you a lifetime membership for $10,000 or less, maybe consider it.

But come now, how can you assign metrics to something that will change your life forever like Aikido?

1. We do pretty much follow his knowledge test requirements though as of February, 2010 [↩]
2. http://nyaikikai.com/rankings.asp, as of May 24, 2010 [↩] [↩]
3. if the pattern of hours holds [↩]

Dojo layout

In Japan, the rule is that people of higher rank or honour sit farther from the entrance as the illustration above indicates. This is true of business meetings, dinners, driving and even in elevators! I had the good fortune to spend some time in an etiquette school in Japan where they showed high school students etiquette for business life (how to hand cards, how to bow, when to bow, etc). It is really nice to have so many rules because it does make life easier.

At hombu dojo in Tokyo, even if Doshu is teaching, people can sit in any order. Why? A superseding rule to the one above is to hurry and sit. Ask your dojo which they prefer.

However if you are really keen, sit in the middle (especially at seminars) so you can see what is going on better and you can be humble as well.

数年前未だ自分が三級の頃に、「先生、受け身って結構どうするか難しいですね。」と稲葉先生に訊きました。

以前僕は、稲葉先生の下４年間働いていましてランチタイムには、雑談や質問をよくしました。

先生は、普段あまり詳しい説明をしてくれませんでした。どちらかというと、そうだね、それもそうかも、とかそれは違うという位しか言わない感じでした。

其の上記の質問ときの先生は珍しくこう答えました、「そうだね、（基本）技の習得は五年くらいで覚えられるけど、受けの習得はそこから十年位掛かるね。」でした。

其のときの僕の感想は、『えっ!?　技の５年からまだ十年!?合計１５年!?!?』そんなに待てないから、願わくは、十五年も掛からない様に明日からの課題は、技の習得と受けの意味の探求と決めて色々と調べました。

あれから、数年の歳月が過ぎて、まだまだ完璧では無いですが、最近やっと人に説明できる様になってきました。

これから暇が出来たら此処に綴らせてもらいます。

よろしくお願いします。

Move big and throw softly.

Many beginners, and especially those from other arts who believe Aikido is all smoke and mirrors (read: magic), will want to master Aikido in the first few months by throwing hard, wrenching wrists, hip-checking on kokyu-nage and generally not blending in the slightest to prove to some unknown specter that they are superior. This is where the very real pressure point ‘hard love’ from senior students enters the scene. We don’t like doing this, of course.

Broken and unable to learn, some leave.

Those that stay realize that there is much more to learn. What there is to learn is this: move big and throw softly. If you can learn to keep an attacker off-balance through your particular waza without giving him any balance back, then a little shove or a twist of the hips or even touching one finger to his forehead will send him to the ground. If you can do this, then there is no need to throw hard or overuse muscles.

The beauty of Aikido is you learn to feel momentum and redirect it where you please. The longer you train this way the easier it becomes to feel this. Ultimately, when you can move big and throw softly, you can always move fast and throw hard for drama. The magic happens when you don’t even want to throw hard because throwing softly is more enjoyable and pleasant for the soul.

There is a category called Compliments that you can assign a journal entry. What is this? Well, when someone tells you that did something good, or that you have come along way, or that you are improving, you can journal that too. It’s totally private and hidden from everyone else. At times in your Aikido career you may feel like giving up or stalling. When that happens, it will feel great to look at your own personal list of past compliments to find strength from them. In the admin page when you log in, there is a link under Posts called Add Compliment. Click this and start journaling your happy moments along the Way.

Aikido requires you to spend about half the training time taking falls onto the soft mats when doing partner work. Since the mats are quite expensive, footwear of any kind is not permitted on them. Not only that, footwear is a hazard to other people in the dojo especially because limbs can easily flail when taking a breakfall and could catch someone in the face. For these reasons footwear of any kind is not permitted on the mats.

Socks are also not permitted because they pose a slipping or tripping hazard, especially if they come lose during training. If someone wearing socks had one partially off and it were stepped on while taking a strong throw, the tendons in that foot could be severely damaged as the foot could become pinned.

Jewelery of the feet and toes is strictly prohibited on the mats as well. Consider stubbing or breaking a toe that has a ring on it – it might swell to the point of constriction where the ring has to be cut off or else the toe risks amputation from prolonged lack of blood flow.

If you have damaged your ankle or foot and are using a brace or aircast, we kindly ask you to follow whatever rehabilitation plan you have off the mats until you have recuperated and can train barefoot again.

Please observe proper feet hygiene when training barefoot on the mats because no footwear or jewelery of any kind is permitted.

Otsukare-sama (お疲れ様) – roughly, “Good work, Everyone.”

Saki-ni-shitsurei-shimasu (先に失礼します) – roughly, “I’m leaving first.”  This is very polite and a good expression to know.

Both of these phrases are used in Hombu dojo in Tokyo, Japan, and by Japanese in their daily lives (work, school etc.)

Note: Do not say sayonara unless you do not expect to come back, or if you can not come back for an extended period of time. This is not a normal salutation in an Aikido dojo.