Two Swords of Aikido By Saotome Mitsugi
Salepage : Saotome Mitsugi – Two Swords of Aikido
Since my friend keeps buying Saotome’s tapes, I’ll offer some more of my uninformed opinions. This tape has a part showing basic moves, a part explanation by Saotome sensei (his English is a bit hard to follow, if I am misrepresenting his explanation, it is not deliberate), and a taped seminar.
On this tape, Saotome sensei explains the rationale behind his weapons training: it forces students to focus on technique since weapons preclude the use of physical force. The purpose of his two-sword techniques is to train both sides of the body. The actual techniques were based on a TV series about Miyamoto Musashi (!). They do not, however, resemble Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu two sword techniques.
I found the basics difficult to follow, because when Saotome demonstrates a stance, there is no indication of the opponent’s position (it seems to be on varying angles from the camera, but that could be me trying to map them on NIR nito kamae).
Like the other Saotome tapes I saw, this one seems to be of limited interest for people outside of the “Aikido School of Ueshiba.” A few peculiarities I noted: Saotome sensei is always in the “nage” role, never “uke.” Also, after each technique, “uke” keeps his ground while Saotome sensei steps back. Saotome sensei seems to like walking backwards a lot, I noticed the same in his randori section, it looks very strange.
What is Martial arts ?
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preservation of a nation’s intangible cultural heritage.
Two Swords of Aikido By Saotome Mitsugi
