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Shishida Shihan Aikido Seminar in
Sheffield, UK - March 2007
SEMINAR REPORT
by Fumiaki Shishida Shihan # Title:
The theory and methodology of aikido Kenji
Tomiki intended to teach:
Key contents
which we have been misunderstanding
# Instructor: Fumiaki Shishida
Ph.d., Shihan of Japan Aikido
Association (NPO)
# Assistants: Tako
Kobayashi - Three times Kanto champion
Masa
Abbe - Uke and translator
# Date: Friday 2nd, Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th of March, 2007
# Contact person: Mr Tony Russell-Ward
Table of the contents
Aims of my seminar?
1. What is the main current problem of Tomiki aikido?
2. What are the subjects that we should tackle?
3. Outline of the seminar
Contents
Aims of my seminar:
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1. What is the main current
problem of Tomiki aikido?
Circa 1979, I unexpectedly knew that Professor Tomiki was passing away by
cancer. I had interviewed Tomiki many times and had developed a new
training system for one year before his death. The system was hastily
developed by the author with Tomiki's consent by asking his opinions on
my preliminary thoughts. The core of the system was tsukuri or
breaking balance in both atemi-waza and kansetsu-waza. Shihan Nariyama
also supported the development of this new training system. I also
composed the Goshin-ho training system with him. These two training
systems were introduced in our book Aikido Kyoshitsu in 1985 and
adopted into the JAA grading syllabus in 1994. Although they were based on
suggestions by Professor Tomiki, I regret my hasty development and admit that
the training systems lost plenty of important elements of Tomiki's
aikido, because I did not know many of Tomiki's techniques and his
theory on aikido and judo. I also neglected Hideo Ohba's opinion because
I did not notice how closely the techniques of Ohba and Tomiki were in
essence. There were some differences between their techniques
superficially because they have different talents and figures. Therefore,
I almost ignored what Ohba taught about basics, such as
Tegatana-no-Kuzushi, and so on, as I developed the systems. By recent
study with Mr Tadayuki Sato, I have understood the real important essence
in Tomiki's aikido and what was missing in the system.
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2. What are the subjects that we
should tackle?
A. What is the Rikaku-taisei or the distance of Tegatana-awase
in judo? Tomiki Aikido is based on one of Tomiki's studies in 1940
about techniques in Rikaku-taisei or the distance in which practitioners can
not apply foot techniques (sweeping). Every technique would lose its
essence if it is not applied at the appropriate distance. Therefore the
basic techniques in the system should be reconsidered from this point of
view.
B. Why did Tomiki regard Tegatana-awase as an important training method?
This is because Tegatana-awase is related to the Six Tegatana-no-kuzushi. It seems that the Six Tegatana-no-kuzushi were
originally developed as an extension of Tegatana-awase by Tomiki and Ohba.
C. What is the breaking balance of a human body? Please see the monograph
by Tadayuki Sato and others. (See, T. Sato, Y. Kawakami and F. Shishida
(2006, in Japanese) Methodology of breaking balance in throwing
techniques in competition aikido focusing on sumiotoshi and hikiotoshi,
Journal of Sport Sciences, 3, 69-77, Waseda University, Japan)
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3. Outline of the seminar
Kenji Tomiki established the basic seventeen techniques not for
Tanto-randori, but for Toshu-randori. Toshu-randori is the randori
method in which practitioners apply techniques with bare hands. It was
developed not only as a randori method of aikido, but also as a new
randori method of judo to develop techniques in the Rikaku-taisei.
Rikaku
means keeping a distance of Tegatana-awase and Taisei means a
situation of fighting. Tomiki thought that aikido techniques should be
applied in the distance of Tegatana-awase. That is the point that I
neglected when I developed the training system and revised the 17
techniques with Shihan Nariyama to publish the book Aikido Kyoshitsu in 1985. Therefore we should apply techniques and balance
breaking whilst keeping distance to avoid aikido technique and basic
techniques should be reconsidered from this angle. I believe that the
true greatness of Tomiki aikido is in this point.
In the late fall of 2005, after I published my main work Educational
strength of Japanese martial arts, I started to reconsider the
training system from this point, with help from Mr Tadayuki Sato. He
was one of my students when I was the chief instructor in Waseda
University aikido club. Since around 1990, many strong practitioners
had already asked him for his instruction after they heard a rumour that he is a very talented judo and aikido practitioner. So I invited
him to Waseda University as a part time aikido instructor. After I
carefully watched his instruction as an auditor, I decided to
reconsider the problem with him. In 2006, he published a wonderful
paper about kuzushi in the online journal of Sport Sciences, published
by Waseda University. I started to revise the new training system with
Mr.Sato's help.
It is very easy to find several differences between Tomiki's
atemi-waza techniques and the current way revised by Nariyama and
Shishida, if you look at pictures of Tomiki and Oba's demonstration
on the poster of the 2005 Katsura International Festival. We changed
their way and believed that it was a progress. To tell the truth,
however, I did not verify the truth of our revised version or the
apparent faults of Tomiki and Oba's way at all. I regret that we
also did not understand enough the assumption in Toshu-randori of that
A should attack with bare hands against not B's belly but to the face
of B.
In particular, this seminar will introduce the real meanings and newly
developed methodologies of the following techniques.
A. Basic exercises
a. Unsoku (Syumoku-ashi 3 basics,
Chidori-ashi, Denden-daiko)
b. Quick posture change from natural posture
c. Tegatana-awase (including the principle of Japanese swordsmanship)
d. Shotei-awase (Skill to stop the partner. It was omitted)
e. Applications (Table Balance breaking with chidori-ashi, Relaxation
from a hand sword)
B. General Theory in balance breaking of a standing person
Six Tegatana-no-kuzushi
a. Jo-dan (Ai-gamae: breaking the uke's balance while bending an
elbow)
b. Jo-dan (Gyaku-gamae: breaking the uke's balance while bending an
elbow / Stopping the uke's attack)
c. Chu-dan (Ai-gamae: Stopping the uke's attack)
d. Chu-dan (Gyaku-gamae: Stopping the uke's attack)
e. Ge-dan (Ai-gamae. It was omitted.)
f. Ge-dan (Gyaku-gamae. It was omitted.)
g. Kakari-geiko with some kuzushi above (Learning the principle of
Tsuba-zeriai (close contest) in Japanese swordsmanship)
h. Ushiro-ryote dori (Core part of the technique. It was omitted)
C. Basic seventeen (Around ten techniques based on Tomiki theory were
introduced compared with his photos)
D. Tomiki's remarks
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Wakigatame - Side control
 The
main point was to grip Uke's wrist from below using the left hand first,
then the right hand joins to reinforce the rotation of the elbow joint.
The tegatana direction of Tori's right hand is directed towards his own
chest in the picture. However, this was suggested a variation to
directing the hand blade forward.
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- wmv format
