The Empty Mind - Aikido World Headquarters

[lilylessons]

want to learn Japanese with me online?

[jin54363]

@lilylessons

i have seen your comments about learning japanese online, i think finding a real life teacher is better, don't you think?

[LeCutter]

For me, Akido seems to be one of the few martial arts thats emminently practical outside of Krave Maga. The other have their beauty, as well as form and function, but just don't seem as practical by and large.

[ronin752]

@LeCutter

Its really not the art, its the teacher. You have teachers that seek the heart and depth of martial arts, and those that are content with the outer form.

"I try to dwell in the fruit and not the flower." At there heart all eastern martial arts are very, very similar.

[kenseisato1989]

i really think style of martial arts represents the peoples personality (or how they sparr/fight) depending on how long they practice it.

i have never seen a ikidoka who wans't humble, they all look calm and peaceful.

aikido is beutiful just like nature. aikidoka would never look forward to using his ikido.

that is a difference against a true self defence and a martial artist.

IMO

god ikido looks so beutifule!

thanks for the post

[dunnobutwayne]

is aikido effective in a more confined space than a training room?

[Dragonwing16]

@dunnobutwayne yes a friend of mine was showing me the moves she learned in a closet

[jackendy]

I think this is the best Martial art of all,you cant beat them,no matter how you attack they will use you energy to throw you off,am i right?

[GokiGandalf]

@jackendy you probably don't know a lot about martial arts the first part of your coment is nonesense because there is no such martial art as best,every martial art is good on it's own way,remember that about the second part of your coment you are totaly right.

[ggglllllll]

and THATS why I have always said, if your oponent is an old man who has practiced martial arts of any sort the best way to win is this.... turn around and RUN!!!!!! I have practiced and studied martial arts trough my life and after a couple of years this is the fruit of my research never fight old people that do martial arts unless you run away you will lose, you can never win.

[the26thhour]

Even if u have no faith in Aikido as a form of self defence, I don't see how u can rate this vid with a thumbs down? Its a well put together production & its topic matter is about the home of an as yet, unfractured Martial Art.

Its very humbling to me.

[blacksashman]

(Satanic) New Age Cult HQ.

[the26thhour]

@blacksashman

All Japanese Martial Arts have elements of Shinto Buddhist ingrained into their Philosophy

Its like when ppl of the West say they r not Christians, yet the fundamental structure of Western society's sense of morality & its legal structure, r a direct result of Christianity

& seeing as Buddhism started 500yrs b4 Christianity & is only a philosophy, that makes the later a Cult to the former (if one has to make such uninformed accusations), not the other way around.

[kickboxerk1]

this is bullshit..i do mma and thaiboxing and i m a better man ...not spirit exploration and shit...plain fighting

[Spartacus217]

@kickboxerk1 Your post shows you're not.

[karateni]

@kickboxerk1 If you truly understand what MARTIAL ARTS is, then you would not have written this comment of yours. And what do you mean that you're a better man? Is it because you always win in fighting? If this is the kind of attitude that MMA Fighters have, then I would NEVER involve myself in such an activity.

[mrmantis84]

@kickboxerk1  HAHA LOOSER! must practice to be a good person NOT LIKE YOU!

[roygbiv330]

aikido is good except the warming up exercise. it is kinda culty.

[NagoyaJoe2002]

junk /

[calito44]

I am a novice practicioner and I can tell you that aikido has a beauty: it teaches you not to confront but to flow with the force that is directed against you. This is the main word here flow, flow, flow and then control.... when I see practices I always think that at times resembles some kind of dance

[Quy4life]

i want to see 8th dan aikido vs UFC fighter!

[FinalKenny2]

There wouldn't be much to see there. :)

At least you wouldn't be able to see what happened.

[TheGooberment]

@Quy4life

well you should

[mikefox05]

if you want to see real aikido go to ibaraki ywama ryu thats the real aikido not aikikai.........ywama ryu ne

[sonsofdon]

great film. going to the site now.

[albcorason]

can someone tell me if they use to punch or to kick in aikido, how can that stuf work ageinst box, or thai box?

[DarthCowardus]

Aikido is largely derived from Aikijutsu. Aikido can be said to be Aikijujitsu without striking (although this is really not very accurate).

The Aikido way is to blend with incoming energy and strikes, gently redirecting them against an opponent. The techniques of Aikido are just as effective (arguably more effective) against striking as any striking art, but Aikido involves reacting with the strike, not against it.

[Frozenyak]

I think you misunderstand the concept.

[pwn4lifez]

its a submission martial art, pretty modern, very similar to jujutsu, no, there in so punching, only maybe a fake punch, but thats not really trained.

[sublimemadness]

Aikido is about harmonious resolution and the polishing of the spirit. As for working against boxing, pop along to your local Aikido dojo and find out how it works in person, you never know, you might like it. Peace brother. :)

[the26thhour]

@albcorason

There was a story going around in some dojo's that after many yrs of taunts from Japan's top Muay Thai fighters, the best of the best of each style secretly met up.

After the Muay Thai fighters got blocked, locked & thrown time & time again, the Aikido guys grew tired & then got the asses served to them.

Sounds like the Muay Thai guys won but really, the "end" moves in Aikido are either by braking bones or using a katana as an extension of the style, so...

That's the story anyway???

[gersian]

Oh boy, i love to disagree with you ltkpyroboys9395. Obviously you dont do research before posting. There are two main style of aikido, first would be aikido shinjukai(Soft style) and aikido Yoshinkan(hard style). The style you see that is not agressive belongs to shinjukai style. Also its not passive at all and does not need a counterpart. The techniques for aikido to destroy the opponent's vital points in one counter attack. Thus it does not need to be agressive.

[jgomezde]

Actually the style in this video is called Aikikai

[ltkpyroboys9395]

aikido is to passive it needs a counterpart it needs another martial art to help it...... i gauruntee more than 90 percent of all the aikido practicers wouldnt be able to hold their own against a martial artist trained in an aggresive style....... like hapkido or taekwondo

[GEOSTORM2K]

I cant say that i can purely agree or disagree w/ u on your comment cause alot of ppl that get into martial arts seem to "cross-train" in various martial arts. However, a true master of Aikido only needs their opponent to do one attack either by being "baited" into attacking or from the person just being aggressive and that is the end of the encounter. This is just my thoughts on the subject though, what do I know....lol.

[Tibokio]

Aikido uses the agressive attack against the attacker himself.

All you do is use his own power against him.

[KarolKyokushin]

The type of attack in Aikido is ridiculous ;/ I mean not real.

[tiagosolo]

Course! It`s a pracrice.

[KinnieMagic]

There are no formal attacking moves in Aikido; the attacks are redirected so they never 'hit' their target as such. It's quite a unique system in that respect.

[tenshinage77]

No of course there isnt. Only shoman ate, aigamiate, gyakugama iate, gaedan ate, ushiro ate. Of course there is attacking techniques

[fanfivera]

not in iwama ryu

[MrJesus666]

i love all these empty mind films i hope they do one on sumo.

[FinalParadise]

Force against force matters of course, but what matters even more, is where and how you use your force: which goals, which strategies, which way of putting it to practice.

If you are in conflict, you are stiff and less reactive. If you are with an open friendly mind, you are relaxed and so reactive and balanced that you are able to lead the attacker to a peaceful outcome.

[lezmos]

well said!

[kickmasta]

i myself a kung fu practitioner, finds beauty and efficiency in all martial arts.. but there are some people that neglect the importance of stretching.. so its good to see, that even a martial art like aikido that doesnt have so much low stances, high kicks etc, still stretch. cause no matter what style you train there is a saying that i myself believe to be very true in every word" flexibility, is the key to mobility" so awesome video, train with diligence and persistence. salute. :-)

[SilentStreak001]

lol thats so true im 16 soon to be 17 and i do shotokan karate and jiu jitsu and ever since i stretched my kicks are more strong and fast and what you said is SOOO TURE

[kickmasta]

osu. you're welcome, wish you the best of luck in your training :-) leave you with the humble but also true words of a martial artist that defined the arts in so many ways. " knowing is not enough, we must apply, willing is not enough, we must do" Bruce Lee.

[SilentStreak001]

thank you for you respect and words of wisdom

[ChaoticAnamnesis]

I practice kendo. At our dojo there is this girl who practices Iaido, Kendo, and Aikido. She once told me to picture Aikido as Kendo without the shinai. Its not exactly that but I get what she was talking about.

[mlerg]

I do Aikido.

My Sensei once told us that though kendo teaches the way of japanese sword the shinai is too light a weapon to be of realistic speed. Try the same techniques with a bokken, which ia about the same weight as a katana, and you will find that a shinai moves just a little too fast. Anyway, great vid

[ChaoticAnamnesis]

Well I wont argue with that as I know firsthand that it is completely different.

[Bduisenov]

have you touched shinai before? shinai is not ligther than real sword

[papageorgio123123]

a shinai is 1.49 pounds if not less(18+ male competition shinai)

a real katana weighs in at 2 lb 5 oz (standard paul chen practical katana, there are actually some heavier)

ur wrist will feel the difference after swinging them

[chineserapper]

欲练此功，挥刀自宫

[Aikidopoi]

Hey I'm from Victoria, Canada too! My Dojo might be making a trip to Hombu in 2010... coming up soon now...

[wweskater101]

i preacticed with Stephen Toyoda And Sensei Matsuda they are awesomee =]

[wallyworld8]

Beautifully done film.

[silkdagger]

wish i could just pick up and move there ans study all the art's it would be a worth while.

[BersekingKyuubi]

Im hoping i can finish my degree and do jet in japan, learn from there part time....hopefully

[karateni]

I like this documentary about Aikido. I am a karateka but I also love to explore other Japanese martial arts like Aikido. It's a very relaxed martial art. No more striking needed.

[noskatermag]

Striking is part of Aikido, it's called atemiwaza, usually for distraction, to create openings. Delivered with a kiai sometimes too.

[aguacun]

@karateni Have you practice Aikido? As Karateka, what do you think about Aikido as a defense for attackers... could by that effective as karate can be?

[karateni]

@aguacun Yes, my friend. I was able to participate in an Aikido seminar with the Nippon kan founder. I did not learn any techniques though but it was great. Aikido as self defense is really the most practical method of self defense for me. I have seen Steven Seagal's Aikido documentary here and his Aikido style is really very practical for street defense. Karate was made to be a self defense martial art and is also effective but for me, Aikido is the most practical style of all. :-)

[aguacun]

@karateni Thank you !!!!

[the26thhour]

@karateni

If u practice traditional katas in ur karate, then ur feet are already ready for it

[karateni]

@the26thhour Hehe, you think so? Thank you. I hope I can really get to try and practice Aikido. Better if I get to practice with you my friend and other guys here with good comments. Do you practice Aikido, by the way?

[the26thhour]

@karateni

Hi mate

I've only done a few mnths of Karate & Aikido (at different stages) & the Aikido I did with a friend,not at a Dojo

I've worked afternoon shifts for 5yrs & don't hav the willpower to get to the 6am classes (cause that's all that's on offer in my city,late afternoon's,early evenings or 6am)

In that time I've seen another friend start & is now a Black Belt & it only increased his easy going attitude while making the little fella not feel he has to 2nd guess "Head Rooster" types

B)

[abdjms]

@karateni Well said, but Aikido does have strikes. Used quite diferently from strike-focus arts though because generally the strikes are "soaked" into the techniques. Watch Ikeda Sensei's Iriminage technique to see what I mean. Granted, if you are skilled enough you can perfom the art with nearly 0 strikes.

I just wanted to point that out because it's a common misconception that Aikido is the "art without strikes".

[dougmac7]

Nice!

[KiltedAikidoka]

I mean this with the most respect possible but I have to point out an error. O-sensei is not the most famous martial artist in the world. As much as I would love him to be, he simply is not. Bruce Lee is far more known then O-sensei. Over all I love the clips I've seen. It's a beautiful look at Budo.

[BersekingKyuubi]

hes a very famous martial artist from china who was highly glorified through american films, posessing great physical ability and knowlege of kungfu amongst other form of combat styles including one he created himself....whats that got to do with aikido???

[sethdesade]

He's amongst Time's 100 most influencial people of the century along with Mao, Hitler, Einstein etc.

[rja777]

yes excellent footage. Good quality.

[Fabyr]

Excellent documentary!

[Peekingduck]

You have a really sober and 'simple ' style to the fotage.

My favorite of the clips on You tube is without a doubt

the Zen 'episode'. (Refinement seeks simplicity)

It's clean, crisp and sober...

Thanks