Monday, September 29, 2008

Art of Deception

In the May 2006 issue of Black Belt there was an interesting article and interview about Kondo Sensei. There's a box on p.88 with the following quote:

Art of Deception

Tokimune Takeda included in his lessons Aiki Kempo, the Kendo Kata, Ono Ha Itto Ryu and other techniques that had no relationship to Daito Ryu Jujutsu in order to avoid teaching Daito Ryu techniques. With something that is as basic as the Ikkajo series, he would modify the techniques so most students would never understand them. When he taught Ono Ha Itto Ryu —which involves cutting from a middle position to a high position and cutting through the person's entire body by putting all the power into the tip of the sword— he would explain it differently from Daito Ryu techniques. I had a question about this difference, and until that point, no one had asked him, I said, "Sensei, the things you are saying about the sword and Daito Ryu techniques are different."

He was waiting for someone to question him. Tokimune would teach each person based on the level of the questions he asked. I learned at a higher level because of the questions I always asked. As a result of questioning him, he awarded me a kyoju dairi teaching certification in 1974, when I was 29.

The Daitokan Dojo in Hokkaido would hold a yearly training event for all Daito Ryu Dojo in Japan. I would teach one group, and Tokimune would teach the other. The night before, I would ask him if I could teach the correct way of doing the techniques instead of not letting them know the right way. Tokimune would say, "No, teach it so they will not know or understand the right way of the techniques."

— Katsuyuki Kondo

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Toma ya, menudo tio el Tokimune. Supongo que será la manera de discenir quién tien verdadero interés y quién no. Mal método no es no. ¡¡Hala, a preguntar!!. Ya se sabe que sólo hay buenas respuestas cuando la pregunta es adecuada... .

Flintstone said...

No lo veo tan buen método cuando hay por hay miles de estudiantes estafados. Está bien reservarse las técnicas ura para los estudiantes avanzados, pero engañar así al personal...

Anonymous said...

Opa, lo acabo de releer y tienes razón, no es que deje las técnicas avanzadas para la gente que pregunte, sino que no enseña adecuadamente los principios deliberadamente. ¿Qué razones tendrás para ello?. Muy curioso la verdad. Y sorprendente... .

Flintstone said...

Más se sorprende Toby Threadgill —soke the la Takamura Ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu— tal como ha dejado patente en aikiweb. Menos mal que Ueshiba aprendió bien de Takeda padre, llegando a ser su alumno más aventajado; así que esa herencia se preserva en las escuelas preguerra de Aikido.