Aiki-Jitsu?

[Ivan86]

So I'm going to check out a Dojo in town next week. I thought it was a Jiu-Jitsu Dojo, but my friend just told me today that it's Aiki-Jitsu. What exactly is Aiki-Jitsu compared to Jiu-Jitsu? Are they related in technique at all? To me it sounds like a cross between Aikido and Jiu-Jitsu, but that's for obvious reasons with no real research to back it up. I've never even heard of Aiki-Jitsu before, can someone give me a breakdown of what it's all about?

 

[SFC JeffJ]

Aiki Jutsu is the forerunner of Aikido. A lot of practitioners seem to feel a closer relationship to Ju Jutsu than Aikido. It's a lot less concerned with the "well being" of the attacker, and a little more linear the Aikido.

It's pretty cool stuff. Wish there was a dojo close to me that had it.

Jeff

 

[zDom]

Sokaku Minamoto Takeda (1860-1943) taught Daito Ryu Aiki Ju-Jutsu to both the founder of Aikido and the founder of modern hapkido, Choi, Yong-Sul.

 

[matt.m]

It is more dynamic in my opinion than jujutsu. Aiki - aikido, hapkido
ju - judo.

Think of it in these terms when making your decision

 

[Ivan86]

Ok, I like what I hear so far. My friend also says AikiJitsu has something to do with 5 animals or something??? Sounds like Ninjitsu's 4 elements to me. Is there such a system or does she have no idea what she's talking about?

It could happen, she's only a white belt herself.

 

[pgsmith]

Ivan86,
As I understand it, aikijutsu and jujutsu are very closely related. Aiki tends to lean more toward the principles of unbalancing the opponent before leveraging them, as opposed to jujutsu which is more concerned with the straight leverage action. Both can be very effective. Aiki tends to be more difficult to learn because it uses much less brute force and more subtlety. They are both old style Japanese arts. Please be aware that these are gross generalizations based upon my own knowledge. I am NOT an experienced practitioner of either discipline!

Another thing to be aware of is that there are a plethora of "Aikijutsu" and "Jujutsu" schools out there that are simply taking advantage of the popularity of the art. Right now it is aiki that is popular, so there are quite a number of bogus aiki schools around. In the 90s it was jujutsu, and in the 80s it was ninjutsu.

Just because someone says "we teach aikijutsu" doesn't necessarily make it so. Whenever you hear "aiki" these days, be sure and do lots of homework and ask lots of questions about the school and the instructor. If it's a legitimate school and a decent instructor, he'll welcome the fact that you are dedicated enough to the idea to research it, and will be happy to talk about his instructors. If he's bogus, he'll get upset when you ask about the history of the school and his qualifications to teach.

Good luck!

 

[BlackCatBonz]

do a search on youtube for "Don Angier"

thats Aiki in action.

 

[jujutsu_indonesia]

never heard of AIki-Jitsu, I only know of Aiki Jujutsu (mostly Daito-ryu stream) and Samurai Aikijutsu (of Obata Toshihiro stream).

Check out this website www.daito-ryu.org for more info about Aiki Jujutsu.

 

[Spencer Burns]

Aiki-jutsu (or aiki-jujutsu) is indeed a term used for very subtle traditional jujutsu to distinguish it from more rough and tumble jujutsu. It's a relatively new term that was popularized (or maybe coined) by Daito Ryu a century or so ago. However "aiki" is an old term for subtle strategies of misdirecting/manipulating an opponent, whether in jujutsu or weapons techniques.

As was said above, many schools claiming to be aiki-jutsu or aiki-ju-jutsu really aren't...if a school says they teach aikijutsu it usually means one of four things (in decending order of validity):

1. The school is related to (or part of) Daito-Ryu.
2. The school teaches an old and subtle style of jujutsu and uses the word aiki[ju]jutsu to distinguish itself from harder or more modern jujutsu styles.
3. The teacher has learned both Aikido and jujutsu and is combining them, possibly trying to resynthesize more traditional aikijujutsu.
4. The school teaches straight-up jujutsu with little aiki but is using the word to stand out from other schools.

Aiki is a funny thing that's hard to describe, but you know it when you feel it done to you. Or, more specifically, you know it when you don't feel it: if you find yourself on the ground after feeling a joint twisted or your body lifted, that's jujutsu, if you find your self on the ground and don't know how you got there, that's aiki.

A very good, but somewhat reactionary, long write up of the history and politically correct usage of the term aiki is at: http://www.swordforumbugei.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=8742#8742

Here's another good thread on what "aiki" means to different folks: http://www.e-budo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25597

 

[pgsmith]

Or, more specifically, you know it when you don't feel it: if you find yourself on the ground after feeling a joint twisted or your body lifted, that's jujutsu, if you find your self on the ground and don't know how you got there, that's aiki.

I like that! Very nicely said Mr. Burns!

 

[howard]

As I understand it, aikijutsu and jujutsu are very closely related. Aiki tends to lean more toward the principles of unbalancing the opponent before leveraging them, as opposed to jujutsu which is more concerned with the straight leverage action. Both can be very effective. Aiki tends to be more difficult to learn because it uses much less brute force and more subtlety.

Paul, I think that's a very good concise explanation.

Just to try to add to what you said... most techniques can be done as both jujutsu and aikijujutsu. As you say, the basic jujutsu versions use more direct force and physical leverage to apply the techniques. The aiki versions begin with the subtle tactics that you mention to disrupt the attacker's balance and, momentarily, his central nervous system, just enough to allow the defender to complete the technique. I think Spencer explained it very nicely.

You can also find aiki / hapki techniques in certain styles of Hapkido, especially the few that have stuck to what Choi Young Sool taught when he returned to Korea from Japan. We're currently unsure of the exact source of his teachings in Japan, even though he always maintanied that he learned Daito-ryu from Sokaku Takeda. The problem for many is that there is simply no known record of this.

My friend also says AikiJitsu has something to do with 5 animals or something???

No... at least not in Daito-ryu or any of its legitimate offshoots. Daito-ryu teahces six principles of training, but none of them has anything to do with animals.

 

[zDom]

do a search on youtube for "Don Angier"

thats Aiki in action.

I recently viewed a video of Angier and a partner working with a katana, knife and empty-handed.

An impressive martial artist ( <-- understatement!)

 

[howard]

I recently viewed a video of Angier and a partner working with a katana, knife and empty-handed.

An impressive martial artist ( <-- understatement!)

I have a feeling this is the clip...
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]

This clip contains excellent demonstrations of aiki. For anybody interested in Iaido, the sword defenses are remarkable.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvWiYcxTm2A[/FONT]

 

[arnisador]

Wow, great clip!

 

[Rich Parsons]

I liked the knife/dagger stuff as much or more so then the sword work and I liked the sword a lot.

 

[BlackCatBonz]

the tantojutsu in kosho ryu is very reminiscent of Angier sensei's knifework, which i thought was quite cool.

 

[kosho]

When you take the Natural law of kosho and add any weapon to the hand, the movements are the same. so by understanding balance from
in-balance and the understanding of how a person can and can not move than all things blend at that time. the folding arts and freezeing arts play a big part when dealing with weapons...
my 2 cents.
kosho

 

[Denoaikido]

aiki jitsu or aiki jujutsu are all aikido with out the total budo aspect jistu or justsu just means technique or the aspect of techniques but budo in a inner spiritual connecting harmony that is were the do comes from in any martial art i hope this clears the confusion even aikido came from diato ryu jujitsu and further taught as aikido by morihei uesheba

 

[Gerry Seymour]

aiki jitsu or aiki jujutsu are all aikido with out the total budo aspect jistu or justsu just means technique or the aspect of techniques but budo in a inner spiritual connecting harmony that is were the do comes from in any martial art i hope this clears the confusion even aikido came from diato ryu jujitsu and further taught as aikido by morihei uesheba

I don’t think most “do” arts have any specific development that isn’t found in most “Jutsu” arts. Ueshiba’s Aikido - in its later incarnation, with a deep focus on philosophy rather than combat ability - is a divergence from Daito-ryu, rather than an expansion on it.

 

[Denoaikido]

i can agree with that for the most part imho its back to the old saying many interpretations of the same foundations kinda thing