Aikido Weapons Training

Have you ever seen a Steven Seagal movie? Of course you have. Do you know what kind of martial arts Steven Seagal uses? It's called Aikido.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs.

Aikido is performed by blending with the motion of the attacker and redirecting the force of the attack rather than opposing it head-on. This requires very little physical strength, as the aikidōka (aikido practitioner) "leads" the attacker's momentum using entering and turning movements. The techniques are completed with various throws or joint locks. Aikido can be categorized under the general umbrella of grappling arts.

See this demonstration by Steven Seagal on the Merv Griffin show.

I really loved watching Steven Seagal when I was younger. Then I saw this movie where he was using a weapon.

I wanted to learn how to use a weapon like that. There was also this movie he made called Marked for Death where he was using a sword. That was awesome.

Unfortunately, there was hardly any school at that time that I can find that teaches that kind of Aikido. The closest I found was Combat Aikido that's now called Tapondo.

Anyway, it's really quite amazing to watch a full Aikido demonstration which I've seen several times thanks to Youtube. But it's very rare to see anyone use Aikido with a weapon. I've seen books that teaches how to use weapons in Aikido, but I've never seen a school in the Philippines that teaches Aikido weapons training.

I'm sure there are schools that teaches Budo or other weapons like Arnis. But I've seen someone use a weapon using Aikido and it was just a beautiful sight to see.

Last week I came upon a site that teaches traditional Aikido with weapons training. It's called Iwama ryu Aikido.

Iwama ryu is the style of aikido that was taught at Iwama dojo (in Iwama) by the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, and especially the lineage passed on through Morihiro Saito, a close disciple who was given responsibility over Iwama dojo by Ueshiba.

Iwama style includes the combined study (riai) of traditional Japanese weapons (bukiwaza), specifically Aiki-jō (staff) and Aiki-ken (sword), and of empty-handed aikido (taijutsu). Iwama practitioners often claim that their aikido is closest to that of the founder, as preserved by Morihiro Saito.

Look at this demonstration of Iwama Aikido and compare it to what Steven Seagal is doing. Watch until the middle to see the weapons demonstration.

Here's a report on Iwama Aikido in Japan with Morihiro Saito and his song Hitohira Saito. I don't understand Japanese so don't ask me what they're saying. I just like watching the weapons demonstration.

If you're interested in knowing more about Iwama Aikido. Check out the Iwama Aikido Philippines Facebook Page.

They post regular updates on the Iwama style Aikido techniques. Based on what I read, it's the closest form of Aikido to the original created by the founder O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba.