Category Archives: Essay

Essay

Masters of the Universe, the Aikikai and the Shihan Certification

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Masters of the Universe®, Mattel Inc.
"Shihan" – most often translated as "Master Instructor". Sound pretty important?The term wasn’t used much when I first started Aikido, but it seems to be the title to have nowadays.In Japanese, the Kanji for Shihan (師範) break down to "instruct" and "model"  – or "model instructor". This makes sense, especially considering normal Japanese methods of instruction – this would be the guy that everybody else copies, or hopes to copy.The usage of the word varies from art to art. Some arts issues Shihan certifications, some don’t. Some arts (like Shodokan "Tomiki" Aikido, which only has two, although it is also used as an organizational title) have a very limited number of Shihan, some have many. In Judo, Jigoro Kano is usually called "Kano Shihan", as Morihei Ueshiba is often called "O-Sensei" in Aikido.What does "Shihan" mean in the Aikikai (I’m only going to talk about the Aikikai here)?

Essay

Morihei Ueshiba – Profiles of the Founder

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Profiles of the Founder, BAB Japan 2009
開祖の横顔 (Profiles of the Founder) was published in Japanese in 2009 by the publisher of Gekkan Hiden ("Secret Teachings Monthly"), a well known martial arts magazine in Japan.
It contains 14 interviews with direct students of Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba. None of these, to my knowledge, have been translated into English, but some of them are quite interesting.I’m not going to translate any large portion of the interviews, but I’ll pick out a few interesting sections here (note: I haven’t included the Japanese because, unlike Morihei Ueshiba’s own explanations, the speech of his students in these interviews was very straightforward).

Essay

Aiki, Iki, Kokyu, Heng-Ha and Aun, Part 2

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Heng Ha Er Jiang (哼哈二将, the two Generals Heng and Ha), from Fengdu China
Above are two more Kongo-rikishi ("Guardian King") statues of the type that we talked about in Part 1 of "Aiki, Iki, Kokyu, Heng-Ha and Aun".This time the statues are from the ghost town of Fengdu China – which is an entire city modelled on the Chinese Hell of Taoist mythology, built more than 1800 years ago. The City of Ghosts was a place of worship before the flooding of the Three Gorges due to the Three Gorges Dam Project.  Today it mostly lies underwater – except for the sections that have been reconstructed (with some of the original structures used) for the tourist industry.In the picture above the General Heng stands on the right – 哼, for inhaling. Note that his mouth is closed and his abdomen is contracted (this is the Naraen Kongo in Japan, with his mouth closed in the "un" syllable of "Aun").The General Ha stands on the left – 哈, for exhaling. Note that his mouth is opened and his abdomen is expanded (this is the Misshaku Kongo in Japan, with his mouth open in the "A" syllable of "Aun").

Essay

Aiki, Iki, Kokyu, Heng-Ha and Aun – Part 1

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Kongo-rikishi statues at the gate of Horyuji Temple
The Kongo-rikishi statues that guard the gate to the inner sanctum of Horyuji Temple are the oldest in Japan. These "Guardian Kings" were said to have traveled with Shakyamuni Buddha, in order to act as his bodyguards. The one one the right (Misshaku Kongo) has his mouth open in the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet ("A"). The one on the left (Naraen Kongo) has his mouth closed, representing the last letter of the Sanskrit alphabet ("un"). "A-un" is generally used to represent the breadth of existence – the universe existing between the combined In-Yo opposites.In the west this is sometimes pronounced as the Indian "Om" or "Aum". In China this is associated with Heng-Ha breathing exercises in the practice of…martial arts. There the statues are called the Heng Ha Er Jiang (哼哈二将, the two generals Heng and Ha).Getting back to Aikido – here’s a short tidbit from Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba:
武産の武の阿吽の呼吸の理念力
The martial art of Takemusu is the power of the principle of A-un breathing (kokyu)

Essay

Aikido and the Floating Bridge of Heaven

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The Gods Izanagi and Izanami on the Floating Bridge of Heaven from the series "An Illustrated History of Japan" by Utagawa Hiroshige, circa 1847-1852Honolulu Academy of Arts
The "Floating Bridge of Heaven" ("Ame no Uki Hashi") is an important part of the Japanese creation myth. According to the Kojiki ("A Record of Ancient Affairs"), the first gods summoned two divine beings into existence – the male essence Izanagi ("The Male who Invites" /  伊邪那岐) and the female essence Izanami ("The Female who Invites" /  伊邪那美命). These two beings were given the task of creating the first land masses on earth.  Taking the jeweled spear they were given, the two divine beings stood on the Floating Bridge of Heaven and stirred the sea with the jeweled spear, creating a vortex. Drops of salty water falling from the spear formed the first island, whereupon the divine beings descended from the Bridge to the earth below.There’s a lot more (the Kojiki is a great tale, one of the world’s first soap operas), but for now let’s get back to how this relates to…Aikido.