social, and spiritual development as well as to defeat an enemy and protect loved ones. Aikido techniques that use the wooden weapons illustrate basic and advanced aikido technical tactics as well as sequential and conceptual strategies and skills.
This book focuses on the wooden ken, jo, and tanto. These weapons are usually made of red (less expensive) or white oak because it will not crack, crush, or splinter on impact with other weapons. Your wooden weapon should have a straight tight grain, be properly seasoned, and be without warp.
The ken is traditionally forty-one inches in length and of varied weights, according to individual preference. The jo is traditionally between fifty and one-half inches and fifty-four inches in length, but can be as long as fiftysix inches. It is one-half inch to one inch in diameter and of varied weights, according to individual preference. The practical rule for jo length is from the ground to the armpit.
Wooden weapons should be stored by laying them horizontally flat on the floor or in a rack to prevent warping. They should be carried in a protective weapons case to prevent damage from moisture or sunlight, and for convenience. Periodic cleaning and maintenance of the wooden weapons require a light coating with tung or linseed oil, rubbed in with steel wool, following the grain of the wood.
This work does not present ken-jutsu or kendo, iai-jutsu or iai-do sword techniques. There are other, more authoritative books for that grand task. This work will not present the wooden weapons of aikido founder O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba, for only he can do that. This work will not present the aiki-jo or aiki-ken of Saito Sensei, of the Iwama Dojo, who has done a brilliant job of preserving the movements taught to him directly by O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba.
What this work presents, illustrates, demonstrates, and describes is some of the aikido concepts, training, and techniques expressed through wooden weapons in accordance with the understanding and interpretation of Sensei Phong Thong Dang. Phong Sensei is the founder of the International Tenshinkai Aikido Federation, a sixth dan in aikikai aikido, and a two-time inductee into the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame. The wooden weapons techniques included in this work are conceptually influenced by, and congruent with, the aikikai weapons practices of O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba and the aiki-ken and aiki-jo of Saito Sensei’s Iwama-ryu.
While one picture can communicate more than a thousand words, action will always communicate more than a thousand pictures. No words or pictures can express or replace action. No words or pictures in a book can teach someone how to effectively and efficiently utilize and apply the technical, sequential, and conceptual principles of aikido to the wooden weapon. Words and pictures can, however, be useful reminders and guides of what one learns under the competent instruction, observation, and supervision of a skilled and competent aikido sensei.
CHAPTER 1
Kihon: Basics and Fundamentals
Before we discuss the fundamentals of weapons practice, this chapter will provide an overview of concepts and theories basic to aikido. Although you should already be familiar with these ideas, it’s important to rethink them for practice with weapons.
REI: ETIQUETTE
Everything in aikido starts and ends with the bow. Showing respect to all beings, and toward everything one does, must become an attitude to life in general. Mutual respect, appreciation, and protection are the cornerstones of aikido training. Over time, the attribute of etiquette is generalized and applied effectively and efficiently in any conflict situation. It is surprising how many conflicts are prevented, managed, or resolved using a sense of humor, humility, and good manners.
O’Sensei Morihei Ueshiba trains in technical execution of the jo with his son, second Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba.
TECHNICAL EXECUTION
Nonresistance is an essential element of proper aikido technique execution. Intercepting, deflecting, and redirecting an attack—rather than blocking or resisting it—utilize the momentum and inertia of the attack. This is initially practiced by training to get off the line of attack, and by not attempting to stop an attack with force. Nonresistance does not mean being passively overpowered by the attack; that is a fear-based response that perpetuates a win-lose dynamic counter to the basic tenets of aikido Nonresistance is the positive and active entering, joining, and blending with an attack; the goal is a mutually beneficial win-win conclusion in which no one, including the attacker, gets hurt in any way. Rather than blocking an attack, an aikido practitioner with a weapon will simply avoid the strike, allowing it to follow its course without interruption, and then intercept the hands or body as the target. Just as the empty-hand techniques of aikido apply nonresistance, the same techniques can be executed with or against a weapon.
It is always important to maintain good posture and a relaxed body. Good posture increases a sense of power and self-esteem. Good posture maintains a structurally supportive skeletal system and allows for the proper functioning of the central nervous system. Good posture maintains a sense of balance, stability, and mobility. Keeping the body relaxed minimizes stress, anxiety, and fear responses, while preventing antagonistic muscles from working against fluid responsive movement. Proper posture maintains balance, which is vitally important when executing aikido techniques with or against a weapon, since the extended range and torque of a weapon require a stable base.
Like good posture, structural alignment is also very important. Structural alignment ensures that maximum support is provided horizontally and vertically by the skeletal and muscular systems of the body. Structural alignment extends into the attacker so that a simple movement of the wrist aligns and interlocks the structural system toward the attacker’s kuzushi (balance point) and causes a loss of balance. Many aikido techniques facilitate the loss of structural alignment in the attacker, resulting in a total loss of control and power. The physical structural alignment of the body must extend beyond the body and through the tip of the weapon to maintain stability and ki energy flow.
It is important to remain aware of the centerline—the imaginary line that runs directly down the body, dividing it equally into left and right. Keeping your hands on the centerline allows you to defend with more rapidity and efficiency. Maintaining your hands on the centerline also facilitates turning or pivoting from the hips or stepping with the feet, projecting full body power, momentum, and inertia into every movement. Maintaining visual awareness of the attacker’s centerline provides a larger field of vision and facilitates a greater use of peripheral vision to detect movement of both the upper and lower body. Alignment to both centerlines (yours and your attacker’s) provides a connection and positioning, which adds to the effectiveness and efficiency of the technique you execute. The path of the weapon must follow the centerline of the body, especially when executing an overhead shomen-uchi strike. The weapon is always held in front of the body centerline, and movement is initiated by turning the whole body.
Another important line to stay aware of is the line of attack—the imaginary line that demonstrates and denotes the direction of the incoming attack. The attack line usually follows the attacker’s centerline, directed through the feet, to the centerline of the defender’s body. The best rule to remember is to “get off the attack line” to ensure that you are not grabbed or hit. When you get off the attack line, you will not only avoid meeting the attack with the anticipated resistance, but you will also allow the natural momentum and inertia of the attack to become overextended. The attacker will then reach beyond his range of power and lose his balance. Even a large, well-trained attacker with a weapon is easier to control when he is off balance, and is harder to hit when he is off the
