Brief History of Aikido

Daito Ryu Jujutsu and Aikido

Present day Aikido has its origins in Daito Ryu Jujutsu and is public mergence in the nineteenth century though the Sokaku Takeda who commenced public teaching circa 1898. Prior to this Daito Ryu was only taught in secrecy to selected individuals. Sokaku was born in 1860 in Aizu, Japan, where he received instruction in the traditional arts of shiki-uchi from Tanomo Saigo. Sokaku is considered the thiry fifth of the Daito Ryu tradition stemming from Kunitsugu Takeda.

Sokaku began teaching the Daito Ryu system to select groups of military officers and police officials. It is said that over 30,000 martial artists received instruction from Sokaku, and of this number twenty or so received formal teaching licences.

One of Sokaku Takeda’s most famous students was Morihei Ueshiba.

Morihei Ueshiba

Morihei Ueshiba  was one of Sokaku Takeda’s most famous students. Morihei Ueshiba first met and studied under Sokaku Takeda. Morihei Ueshiba modified and simplified  the Daito Ryu techniques that he learned and formed what we know recognise as Aikido.

• Aikido is a modern Japanese martial art that owes its form and inspiration to one man, Morihei Ueshiba, known to aikido students worldwide as O Sensei, or "great teacher". O Sensei was born in Wakayama prefecture, Japan. When quite young, he had become a devotee of the martial arts. He studied at numerous schools throughout the country, staying at each until he became proficient in its particular system.

• At some point, Ueshiba began to suspect that the martial arts were more than just a means of defeating another person or of knocking him down. Typically, he decided to pursue this philosophical aspect further by entering a temple and spending many hours each day in solitude and meditation. It is said that the true meaning of the martial arts came to him as he was bathing at a well. He realised that they should not be concerned solely with force but were a way to develop a unity of mind and body. Aiki-jujutsu, as it was practiced, did not propound this philosophy so he decided to create a new art which would fulfil the principle of spiritual and physical harmony that he envisaged. He named this art "Aikido".

• The Aikido's technical inheritance is derived from Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu which traces its back its roots over  800 years ago, and is one of the many schools of unarmed and lightly armed systems of self-defence known collectively as jujutsu. These self-defence arts share many common characteristics. They all involve unbalancing and controlling an opponent by an intelligent combination of timing, manoeuvre and the subtle manipulation of body and limbs. The techniques are broadly divided into joint-locks (wrist, elbow, shoulder) and striking at vital points of the body.

Yoshinkan Aikido

The founder of Yoshinkan, Master Gozo Shioda

Yoshinkan  means the place for cultivation of the spirit. Yoshinkan Aikido is characterized by spirited , physical training with rigor and a budo emphasis. Yoshinkan Aikido seeks to train always with a positive, respectful attitude and an honest heart.

The son of a noted pediatrician, Gozo Shioda enrolled in the Kobukan Dojo in May 1932, prior to entering Tokushoku University. He became an uchideshi while still a university student, and served as a teaching assistant to Morihei Ueshiba in the Tokyo and Osaka areas. Shioda trained under the Founder until he left Japan in 1941. During the war, he worked in a civilian capacity in China, Taiwan, Borneo, and the Celebes. After the war, Shioda spent a brief period training under Ueshiba in Iwama. Later, in 1952, Shioda began teaching aikido to employees of the Nihon Kokan Steel Company, and various police departments. In 1955, with the support of prominent businessmen, he established the Yoshinkan Aikido Dojo in Tsukudo Hachiman. In 1990, Shioda launched the International Yoshinkai Aikido Federation to further the worldwide spread of the Yoshinkan style of aikido.

• Gozo Shioda, the "little giant" of Aikido, named for his diminutive height and formidable technical ability, was one of the most outstanding teachers of Aikido, living or dead.

• Like so many other martial arts masters of aikido, Shioda began his budo training as a youth with judo and kendo, finally discovering aikido as a young university student. He entered the Kobukan Dojo in Tokyo in 1932, where he studied for eight years with Ueshiba Sensei, the Founder of Aikido, until World War 2 interrupted his training.

• When Shioda became a student of Ueshiba Sensei, aikido was still in its formative stages and was then called Aiki Budo. The character of the techniques and the manner of their execution still bore the marks of the Daito Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu curriculum, which O Sensei had learned. This was a forceful, martial style of aiki jujutsu, concerned primarily with the efficiency and effectiveness of technique in combat.

• Practice at that time reflected this spirit and was hard, fast and relentless. Shioda Sensei revelled in this form of practice and it undoubtedly influenced the nature of the training methods he put into place at his own school.

• In 1954, after giving a demonstration at an exhibition of martial arts, Shioda gained financial backing to found a dojo in Tokyo. He named it the Yoshinkan Dojo, which means "to cultivate mind and spirit". Yoshinkan Aikido has become one of the largest aikido organisations with branches throughout the world.

• Shioda's style of aikido is what he considered to be a faithful rendering of the pre-war Aiki Budo techniques which he learned first hand from Ueshiba, then at his technical peak. They are therefore much more combat oriented than some modern aikido styles, although the spiritual goals remain the same. Shioda Sensei, a man of unique personal spirit, lived the true budo life, until his death in 1997. Many noted him as Japan's last true budoka.

• The Yoshinkan remains true to the tradition of Ueshiba's famous Jigoku Dojo (Hell Dojo), and provides an aikido with dynamic realism well suited to the needs of self protection and the discipline of the spirit.

Yoshinkan Aikido  in Australia

Michiharu Mori Sensei

Qualification

1. 8th Dan Goshu-ryu Aiki Jujutsu and Aikido

2. Title of Shihan (expert instructor)

3. Advanced instructor’s certificate

4. Eligibility to grade up to 6th Dan

Background

• Uchi-deshi (full-time live-in disciple of Master) – the last direct student of Master Gozo Shioda (the legend of modern Japanese Budo world), intensively trained at Headquarters of Aikido Yoshinkan for nine years where he also taught. Prior to become an Aikido professional, he trained boxing for three years.

• Completed 22nd Riot Policeman and Professional Aikido Instructor’s Course in 1986.

• Achievement of Ranks: 5th Dan in 1993, 6th Dan in 2001, 7th Dan in 2007, 8th Dan in 2018

• After travelling Australia, USA and Canada to research where to start his own dojo in 1994, he established Aikido Yoshinkan Brisbane Dojo, now as Goshu-ryu Aiki Jujutsu,  here in Australia in 1995.

Teaching Experiences

• Mori Sensei is recognised worldwide by the international Yoshinkan Aikido Federation

• Qld and Victoria Police - Australia

• Tokyo Metropolitan Police - Tokyo

• Metropolitan Riot Police - Tokyo

• Foreign Instructors course - Tokyo

• Commando and Special Forces -Australia, India and Japan

• International Seminars and Clinics -Australia, India, USA, Canada, Malta, Poland, Ukraine and Japan

Practical Aiki Jujutsu – Goshu-ryu style Aiki Jujutsu (Australian style Aiki Jujutsu)

• Based on Yoshinkan style Aiki Mori Sensei developed The Practical Aiki Jujutsu; condensed into realistically usable techniques on the streets against all sorts of strikes, punches and kicks.

• By teaching rather big and strong Australians for nearly thirty years, he realised the necessity of modifying Yoshinkan style to fit with the requirements of his Australian students. There, he devised and has been instructing the realistic skills in today’s society while keeping the traditional methods as its foundation.

Spirituality

• While Aikido training is purely physical, Mori Sensei places a high value on learning respect, gratitude, discipline, propriety and harmony.

• The class is designed to rediscover oneself and learn how to overcome one’s weakness to improve oneself.

• Mori Sensei guides you, not only teaching Aiki Jujutsu skills, to have your life more contented.

Mori Sensei has also been featured in many magazine and newspaper articles. The Australian martial-arts magazine Blitz featured Sensei in two issues, which they entitled "Aikido's 9 Year Uchi Deshi". You can read Sensei's contribution here.

Murray Booth Sensei  

Yoshinkan Aikido Qualification

1. 4th Degree Black Belt  Aikido (A.Y.F)

2. Yoshinkan 4th Degree Black Belt instructor’s certificate (A.Y.F.)

3. Eligibility to grade up to 2nd Degree Black Belt in Yoshinkan Aikido. (A.Y.F)

Background

After moving to Brisbane from Wellington New Zealand in 2006, Murray Booth Sensei has trained and studied Yoshinkan Aikido,  as a direct student of Michiharu Mori Sensei for over 17 years at the Brisbane headquarters dojo.

Yoshinkan Aikido Achievement of rank

·        1st Dan Black Belt – 20/11/2011

·        2nd Dan Back Belt – 30/6/2015

·        3rd Dan Black Belt – 3/10/2018

·        4th Dan Black Belt – 4/10/2023

·        4th Degree instructor certification November 2023

As an experienced martial arts teacher and practitioner, Murray Sensei has over 43 years of practice and teaching in Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, and Aikido.

Tae Kwon Do achievement of rank  - 4th Dan New Zealand Tae Kwon Do Federation Kukkiwon Registered , awarded by GrandMaster Lee Jung Nam 9th Dan.

Bong Hwa Hapkido achievement of rank  - 6th Dan Bong Hwa Hapkido New Zealand awarded by GrandMaster Lee Jung Nam 9th Dan.

Teaching Experiences

·        New Zealand Tae Kwon Do Federation Master instructor 1985 - 1995

·        Bong Hwa New Zealand Hapkido Master Instructor 1995 – 2006

·        Yoshinkan Aikido Instructor – 2016 to present.