Category: Video

  • Comparing Saito Sensei with Sugano Sensei – Weapons 1

    I remember when I first saw Larson Sensei teach this practice: I had practiced a similar exercise with Sugano Sensei for many years (note that I had hair in this video…): (go to 1:10) You really only see a little bit of this exercise, but it was very intensive once you built it up. Sugano…

  • Comparing Saito Sensei with Sugano Sensei – Freestyle 2

    This particular freestyle had a bit of spirit. With Sugano Sensei, you would see him move in freestyle similarly to a basketball player dribbling, moving and looking for an opportunity for a layup. Then he would suddenly turn as an attacker went after him. If someone grabbed him, you would see him unbalance them at the…

  • Comparing Saito Sensei with Sugano Sensei – Freestyle 1

    Nathalis is the star of this video: He was trained extensively by Sugano Sensei for many years. You can see in this video elements of the timing that Sugano Sensei taught. However, from time to time in the freestyle he found himself with two attackers grabbing him at the same time. These attackers, as was…

  • Comparing Saito Sensei with Sugano Sensei – Attacking

    It is interesting that Sugano Sensei did cover the material presented in this video, but from the perspective of flowing technique. Saito Sensei explained how to attack strongly in static technique so you could follow the process step by step. As Sugano Sensei did not really emphasize static technique, his explanation was related more to…

  • Comparing Saito Sensei with Sugano Sensei – Ki no Nagare 1

    Here we have a video of ki no nagare practice in Aikido: Let’s talk about how the training method of Sugano Sensei works here vis a vis Saito Sensei. Saito Sensei said that there are many great teachers in Aikido and you can learn a lot from them. This is certainly true of Sugano Sensei.…

  • Comparing Saito Sensei with Sugano Sensei – Flowing Slowly Example

    This is an interesting technique to compare. Sugano Sensei relied entirely upon timing to throw the attacker. He would turn 180 degrees and then step almost straight back to execute the technique. If you get there before the attacker, this works fine. But if the attacker catches up to you, he could turn and face…

  • Comparing Saito Sensei with Sugano Sensei – Flowing Slowly

    Again, here Sugano Sensei did not break out and specify this speed of training. The closest he may have come is when working with a beginner – right after they got the footwork, he might tell them to execute the technique without stopping. He did not go into how to lead the mind of the…

  • Comparing Saito Sensei with Sugano Sensei – Basics

    I will be going over our YouTube video series that provides a snapshot of the Iwama Aikido system’s curriculum. (Feel free to check our YouTube Channel for more information).   As I do so, I will comment here comparing the instructional methods from Sugano Sensei and Morihiro Saito Sensei. As I studied with Sugano Sensei…

  • Rumble on the Rock by Steve Kanney

    Another question on strategy…this time between Anderson Silva & Yushin Okami. First, note the movements Silva used to evade the double leg take downs. Then what strategies were they using. (Note the actual fight starts at time 2:26). Use the strategy articles on the blog from Musashi’s “Book of Five Rings.” Let’s discuss…  

  • Video…MMA fight between Anderson Silva & Chael Sonnen. What strategies were used? by Steve Kanney

    You can find the fight with this link. Watch at minimum the minute marks in bold below: You can get the background on the fight in the first 2 minutes. The fight is fairly long. You can get the feel of what was happening in the first 4 rounds of the fight with part of round…