07/11/2024
Да се прочете, поне 10 пъти.....поне 10
"Step 1: Sh*te ("Nage") - take one step forward from the right foot and strike the enemy in the face with your hand blade, then strike them in the side with your left fist (figure 9)."
Morihei Ueshiba's instructions for Ikkyo above, and in this photo, specify that it is the Nage that moves first, the Nage that initiates the encounter - yet today many practitioners assert that it is always the attacker that initiates, even that there is no attacking in Aikido at all.
However, this is easily contradicted by an examination of Morihei Ueshiba's instructions, both in the pre-war manual "Budo", and in the post-war manual "Aikido Maki no Ichi", where he himself specifically instructs that one should take the initiative in the encounter.
Budo: https://www.aikidosangenkai.org/blog/budo-moritaka-ueshiba-1938-technical-manual/
Maki no Ichi: https://www.aikidosangenkai.org/blog/aikido-maki-no-ichi-osensei-first-book/
What did some of his closest students have to say about it?
Michio Hikitsuchi, 10th Dan, states:
"I am always going first. I am moving forward first every time. I initiate and let him take my hand. I initiate and let him grab me. It never happens that he grabs me first, after which I start to figure out what to do. I am always going first. I must not wait for the other person to act. "
https://aikidojournal.com/2016/02/01/go-no-sen-the-path-to-defeat-by-stanley-pranin/
Morihiro Saito, 9th Dan, states:
"The Budo in which one attacks first
Q: By the way, many people say “in the Budo called Aikido there are no attacking techniques.”?
A: No, that’s ridiculous, the basic principle of Aikido is just to attack. Rather than talking about striking, by “attack” we mean that the basic principle is to strike the opponent and draw them out. It’s not a crushing blow, one enters in flash and when the opponent moves to counter they must extend their hand. To trap that hand is a basic principle."
https://www.aikidosangenkai.org/blog/budoka-no-kotae-talking-morihiro-saito-sensei-part-2/
And here's some more discussion of the subject from Ellis Amdur:
"In Japanese, reactive counters are often called “go no sen,” which is a counter to the other’s initiative, but even this is not accurate. In fact, reactive counters are commemorated with tombstones."
https://aikidojournal.com/2016/05/06/irimi-by-ellis-amdur/
But wait! Sokaku Takeda's Daito-ryu, which is the art that Morihei Ueshiba learned and taught, was based upon Itto-ryu, which is often said to be "go no sen", doesn't that mean that Daito-ryu, and Morihei Ueshiba, also follow that practice?
Well, as the Itto-ryu Soke Takemi Sasamori explains, there's quite a bit of nuance here that can lead to misunderstanding when he discusses the core cutting method in Itto-ryu:
“The reality is that Kiriotoshi entails getting the opponent to strike. If you don’t do this, you will not be able to do Kiriotoshi effectively. Therefore, it is not a technique done with go no sen timing, but one done with sen sen no sen (先先の先) timing.”
https://budojapan.com/kenjutsu-iai/principles-of-budo-ono-ha-itto-ryu/
Sokaku Takeda's son, Tokimune Takeda, clarifies the issue himself with this Kuden (oral, or "secret" transmission):
"Aiki is moving first, Sen-sen-no-sen."
https://www.aikidosangenkai.org/blog/tokimune-takeda-aiki-kuden-hiden/
In short, if you haven't read all of that, Morihei Ueshiba virtually always initiated the encounter, something which is often missing in modern Aikido, but seizing the initiative really ought to be a no-brainer in any martial encounter. Movement before contact is a basic principle in Daito-ryu and in Morihei Ueshiba's practice.
