Blogging at Aikido Westchester NY

Aikido – The Martial Art of Peace.

  • 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…

  • Application of Aikido Principles in Daily Life by Masato Tani

    I had started Aikido by chance, after my children had started taking class several years ago. My prior experience with martial arts was limited, few years of Shorinji Kempo when I had lived in Osaka. Aikido had started as exercise and stress reliever when I had recently changed career, it had been a very stressful…

  • THOUGHTS ON POST KYU TEST TRAINING by Jason Costanzo

    I had this thing… still have this thing where I feel like I’ve come to have experiences so much later in life than many others who found those things much earlier than I. And this causes me to want to reap all of the fruits of those experiences all at once or as fast as…

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