50th All Japan Yoshinkan Aikido Demo - Thambu Sensei

[PandaCatFTW]

I've for long wanted to do some sort of martial art, something I can strive to be better at, and something that'll give me a good reason to have a healthy and strong body. I think this art might be just the thing for me!

[DrSanchez666]

LoL , this aikido is for old farts.

stick to mma , bjj or kudo if u r young.

i don't think aikido works as self defense.

looks like dancing for old farts.

[chizling]

@DrSanchez666 hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

ahem..

so, what do you do?

[UmmOkay40]

@chizling he does nothing and his tag should be ..."dirty sanchez"

[Jahleim72Amaya]

@DrSanchez666 "You may train for a long time, but if you merely move your hands and feet and junp up and down like a puppet,

learning karate is not very different from learning a dance. You will never have reached the heart of the matter;

you will have failed to grasp the quintessence of karate_do." ( Gichin Funakoshi)

You can apply this statement to any Martial Art...And Aikido is not a dance for old farts...Just the throws alone without atemi would be enough to keep most attackers down.

[daijishin]

I always enjoy Joe sensei's demo...

[madeathome]

Very good!

Yoshinkan has a very good school.

[Varjaagi]

Oh and by the way, aikido demos look flashy and all the throws seem awesome because the one thrown takes the ukemi, and knows how to fall safely, thus making the throw look great. Otherwise it would be a very, very short demonstration. It hurts to be thrown if you don't know how to take an ukemi. It really does.

[meiers]

too true... lol

[meiers]

T__T I wish i can knee walk like Thambu sensei...

[watts18269]

From personal experience, and this is from someone who has practiced Shotokan Karate for a long time...Aikido is a hell of a lot harder than it looks, and after a class you're extremely tired and your whole body aches.

[25500]

in my opinion, after an standard aikido class you're not tired, you didnt even sweat , and if your hole body aches is because you've been treated as sparring material. see ye.

[watts18269]

Well in that case you've never been to an Aikido class and your opinion matters about as much to me as a dog shit in China.

[meiers]

oh really? in that case, try doing 20 ukemis n see if u can get up of bed nicely the next morning

[markaval]

The uke in this video is amazingly fit, and he's taking some serious ukemi. The only way you get to this standard is by taking ukemi regularly. If you're not sweating after an aikido class you're not doing aikido. Full stop. Whilst aikido does not involve fighting that doesn't mean it doesn't involve effort - and lots of it. If you're truly not tired my advice is to go and find a proper teacher as you're being sold short.

[23rdtry]

Oh, you lose sweat for sure. Especially as Uke. Running after Tori with stubborn overcomittment, getting up fast, attacking again, and again, and doing 4/5 of the whole work... . As Uke you show know sense for maai at all. So Tori doesn't really has to work on his either.

[UmmOkay40]

sounds like a practitioner of armchair aikido!!

[UmmOkay40]

@UmmOkay40 okay guys.. a year ago I commented on a post that was later removed , by some M.M.A. armchair quarterback.... I have the upmost respect for Thambu Sensei and I am a 25 year practitioner of Yoshinkan myself peace to you all and good training...

[lkmeg]

do not mess with this guy

[jackslash101]

I agree with you yevgeniypro, you are in no position to challenge/bag something you obviously don`t understand or care to understand. Your arrogance is only matched by your ignorance

[AikiTalk]

Yoshinkan Aikido is non competitive. That's the short answer for all the wannabe fighters on these posts. In Aikido you train to control your body and then to control someone else's. To use timing and technique and not pure simple strength and aggression. It has its practical applications and these are used by security forces world wide as controls and restraints. We don't want to modify it, cross train or dilute our art like so many others.

[simonchiplin]

i dont mean to pic out peoples points on here but where u say "We don't want to modify it, cross train or dilute our art like so many others" i think this basic point is wrong, my only evidence for this thinking is a saying that O sensei use's in a number of his phiosophical books about aikido stating that, "we all develop our own aikido, the akidokia takes from the art what ever he feels appropriat, aikido is a living developing art"

[simonchiplin]

there is another slight bit of evidence tho in the fact that the 31 jo movments that saito sensei taught wernt exatly the same as the 1 taught by O sensei, he modified it to better suit him

[jackslash101]

Simonchiplin, I applaud your way of thinking but I dare say that if Saito Sensei was alive he`d smack you one for saying he`d modified o`Sensei`s technique. He always said he`d "practised the same technique as O`Sensei"

[simonchiplin]

lol forgive me that was the wrong word to use,,,he did use the technique taught by o sensei, but then so did tohie an gozo shioda, yet there jo katas an various other things differ from each other, yet they are all difernt in some way, which i think points of the point i made on the last comment about ppl taking what they want from aikido

[pawelmagic]

świetnie skraca dystans w hanmi hantachi waza, perfect timing, co tu dużo mówić ...heh

[yevgeniypro]

Again, I'm not in the position to challenge in any way but would love to see a full contact spar against a boxer, for example, or a kick-boxer. If I would spar, full contact, with Aikido guy, I would never give out my hand upon engaging into exchange but would try some fake moves and would not keep running at you after each fall...

And sorry, but this suwariwaza thing is just doesn't make much sense. Do you have TRUE spars with real boxers, for example?

[nikaubro]

yevgeniypro:

ALSO you can full spar with a boxer or muay thai exponent BUT should NEVER EVER follow through with the full technique in my opinion ONLY practice entering the technique, UNLESS your training partner has experience in taking UKEMI. Else you'll have no one to train with pretty damn quickly.

[yevgeniypro]

That's interesting (I've looked up the meaning of these "ukemi" and "atemi"). Then, honestly, WHY do you think there are NOT even one akidoist competitor in UFC/PRIDE? All those other guys do know how to fall properly/respond to an attack (take ukemi).

Maybe because there's more philosophy to aikido than actual fighting skill????????????????

[nikaubro]

Ahhh .... lol .... this old chest nut :)

There's no small joint locks allowed in UFC or pride. Hence you'll never see a finger / wrist lock being used in these sports.

That's the majority of the aikidoka's repertoire gone right there.

I often wondered similar myself for a while. This has been pointed out to my many times in other posts.

[yevgeniypro]

yeaah, I know.. but this old chestnut is soooo huge and smelly that it's hard not to point out to it :)

Also, Aikido moves look quite effective/flashy - especially the part with philosophical rhetoric - but Plutarch said it best in this quote:

"When Demosthenes was asked what were the three most important aspects of oratory, he answered, Action, Action, Action." :-)))))

[nikaubro]

yevgeniypro:

touche.

best bet is to find an aikidoka who would like to cross train.

easy to see the weakness's and strengths then.

I know how effective it is because regularly cross-trained against an aikidoka 5-6years back.

He was extremely good and had the better of me using muay thai a lot of times.

Now i train both.

[nikaubro]

yevgeniypro :

ALSO a lot of the atemi (strikes) in aikdio aren't allowed either i.e. against the eyes, groin, throat.

[markaval]

No, that is not the reason at all. Think about the premise for UFC etc etc - attack, attack, attack. Aikido is not about fighting, it's about control. I can really understand why Aikido gets criticised the way it does but it's all about context.True, there is a philosophy to Aikido, but don't be fooled - it is as nails as they come in terms of effectiveness - but like any martial art its only as good as the person doing it. Train with Robert Mustard Sensei and you'll see what I mean.

[markaval]

In a fighting context suwari waza goes back to ancient Japan and time of Shogun. It's relavance now is not in fighting but in developing hip, leg and foot strength - if you can do a technique properly on your knees whilst remaining true to principles you'll do it standing so easy it's not true! Do thirty minutes of suwari waza training and you'll get the idea.

[yevgeniypro]

I've heard an explanation that it's solely COMBAT type of fighting art, but WHY then it's so difficult to modify it just a tiny bit and SHOW to the rest of us what you are worth -- in the pit??

[yevgeniypro]

Also, do you - Aikido guys - have full contact spars or some sorts of simplified version of Aikido technique modified specifically for the sports competition? Otherwise, it does look cool and everything, but it could be just another Karate-story, when these semi-contact Karate guys got their asses handed to them in the likes of UFC/Pride. The result -- Daido Juku version of Karate, the one that combines all the elements needed in TRUE FULL CONTACT fight/competition.

[nikaubro]

yevgeniypro:

i've only being doing aikido for little while, but i've been cross-training with a muay thai exponent of 20 years. Still works but you need to use atemi as a distraction a lot more. BUT then that could be because my technique is still rubbish.

[markaval]

O'Sensei is quoted as saying that in a real fight atemi makes up 70% of aikido. It is an aspect that gets seriously neglected nowadays because of the way we train. It is AMAZING how more effective aikido becomes when you start applying real atemi, especially when your attacker comes in with real intent. It can be literally devastating. I have spat out blood on more than one occasion! Don't forget the primary principle of aikido is to disturb balance - not to throw, funnily enough!

[yevgeniypro]

again, please, I don't mean to be disrespectful but what a bunch of bullsh..I've been doing boxing and some wrestling and I did compete -- these guys just LETTING themselves to be thrown around! I'm not a professional or a master of any discipline to run my mouth, especially in public like that, but I can CLEARLY see these guys just giving/extending their hand(s) for a throw.

[Varjaagi]

Why, yes. That's why these are called demonstrations.

[notubeatall]

aikido is not old enought to have traditional aikido established imo.

Yoshinkan is as traditional as any other aikido school developed from ueshiba's teachings.

[markaval]

But you forget Aikido's roots: daito ryu, jiu jitsu etc etc. As with most martial arts it has historic roots. Re the throwing comment by yevgeniypro - it's about self preservation and riding the wave. Trust me when I say you don't want to be resisting someone like Joe Thanbu doing wrist techniques - wrists snap VERY easily and ligaments tear when whole body hits joint, and this is probably about 60-70% of Joe Thanbu's natural speed. this Uke is good. Most people would end up in hospital

[23nycpss]

I didn't even resist a kotegaeshi and ended up tearing the scaphoid-lunate ligament of the wrist.

The tear was complete so surgery to repair it was done; four pins for four months in a cast and three months rehab is what it cost me.

To any one practicing be careful and never let your guard down. I was 'heavy' on my feet and didn't keep my body closer to the wrist. I will have to practice with a brace but will never have the flexibility I had before. Be careful all.

I practice in New York

[markaval]

Sorry to hear about the injury 23nycpss - questionable control by whoever did the technique on you but the point about potential damage with wrist techniques is clear. I remember a story I heard - not sure if it was Shioda (one of the smaller masters anyway). Big 6ft 5in hulk decided he'd be awkward when the master was demonstrating nikkyo by raising his arm above the masters head - master shrugged and dropped into seiza - snapped the guys wrist. Motto - whole body on wrist = hospital

[Elderberry2]

Why is Yoshinkan not traditional?

[thebishounen]

It was like he was hovering... That is some crazy suwariwaza. It's soooo bad for your knees and ankles after a while though...

[illumined1]

Yoshinkan is my favorite to watch. Much more aggressive than traditional Aikido, but still uses the same concept.

[kaixing25]

that suwariwaza was amazing it was like he was floating on the ground.

[madeathome]

This is beautiful.Great!

[kalijasin]

Great Video, but this stuff is not as easy as these guys make it look.

[superesonator]

Great Video. The most dynamic suwariwaza I've seen.