THE
DEVELOPMENT OF A RANDORI SYSTEM FOR AIKIDO
In the early part of
this century Morihei Ueshiba (Founder if Aikido) practised AIKI
JUJUTSU and from this he derived his original form "AIKI
BUJUTSU". By 1942,
"AIKIDO", as it was then to be named, was officially
recognised and was know as the way of harmony.
Originally the AIKI
JUJUTSU form had no simple learning process and there were many hundreds
of techniques many of which were deadly and violent.
Morihei Ueshiba's AIKIDO reduced the number to some 2664
variations on 30 basic movements and using safer techniques.
Students could then repeatedly practice without the fear of
permanent injury, but still keeping in mind the origins of the
techniques. Kenji Tomiki, a
student of Morihei Ueshiba and like his master he too was an expert in
Judo. He took this a stage
further and devised a simpler and more systematic method of teaching
Aikido efficiently from the knowledge and correct application of far
fewer techniques. One of
his aims was to introduce the element of competition or free-play
(Randori), something not previously acknowledged by Aikidoka.
By the mid 1960's he had achieved this and several colleges took
part in a competition. The
analogy being similar to that of Judo, which was developed by Kano for
younger players with a competitive and sporting element in mind.
The “BUDO MAN” diagram shows the origins and
refinements of AIKIDO and how it relates to other disciplines.
It shows how the techniques are grouped and how they overlap with
Judo. Furthermore it
highlights the key elements for safe and effective application of
Randori.
SOFTNESS
/ MOVEMENT, BALANCE & POSTURE
(click on image to enlarge)
