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OFFICIAL TECHNIQUES of SAIGO - HA Aiki-Budo / Aiki Jujutsu by Gunshi Williams

 

 

 

 

 PLEASE NOTE *

 

 

*These are not the "Official"techniques of the "Tanomo Saigo" -"Sokaku Takeda" -"Tokimune Takeda" lineage from the Takedakan-Hokkaido Hombu which is called "Daito-Ryu"

These are not the "Official techniques " from the "Tanomo Saigo" - "Shiro Saigo"-"Yamashita Houei"-"Sogawa Kazuoichi" lineage from the Shuukukai Hombu which is called Saigo-Ha AikiBudo !

 

They are the "Official" techniques" from the "Tanomo Saigo"- "Shiro Saigo " - "Nishio Takeda "-" Lin Po" Lineage from the Shintokai Hombu called Saigo-Ha Matsudaira-Ryu AikiBujutsu   . 

 

    *  Saigo-Ha Matsudaira-Ryu has more aikijujutsu techniques than the other styles of Daito-Ryu ( with well over 3400 different techniques)  and includes all the techniques taught in the other branches of Daito-Ryu with the exception of Onna Ha Itto-Ryu kenjutsu ( In that Saigo Ha teaches traditional Mugei-Ryu Kenjutsu/ Iaido  )

If anyone merely copies these words and claims to know Saigo-Ha  ( either Daito-Ryu or Takeda-Ryu) they are just fooling themselves ! " borrowing a few japanese names for techniques does not mean you created a new art " .

 

    If anyone reading this desires to know WHO is authorized to teach these specific wasa ( techniques) and issue certification , please contact the Hombu at metisjohn@gmail.com

* Note : only those with Kyoju Dairi Menjo ( assistant teacher's license or personal representitive of the Soke scrolls ) are authorized to teach any branch of Saigo-Ha ( Matsudaira  - Ryu or Daito-Ryu ) unless they are authorized to do so by the hombu ( headquarters ) .   

 

 

 

TECHNIQUES OF SAIGO-HA MATSUDAIRA - RYU ( Daito-Ryu )   AIKI-JUJUTSU/AIKIBUDO

 

 

 

 

Takeda-Ryu / Daito-Ryu is often described as the "Art of Royalty" because it is not based on crude ideas or vague concepts, but on the efforts of the greatest Japanese minds of the last 1200 years of history!   

 

Join with us into a rare glimps into what many consider to be the the most scientific fighting system in existance today.

 

 

By : Dr.John J.Williams- Menkyo-Kaiden (Gunshi)

Saigo-Ha Daito-Ryu/Matsudaira- Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu

President Zen Kokusei Saigo-Ha Shintokai

Priest of the Interi Sect of Shintoism.

 

 

 

The whole core or basis of all traditional Takeda-Ryu/Daito-Ryu is the 100 principles listed in this homepage ! Without these principles you have nothing but a crude sport or an unscientific assortment of physical holds or moves which have no scientific basis from which to fall back on. ( "  * if you don't know what makes a technique work, how can you teach it effectively to your students ? "  )

Some might say that the 100 principals are a modern-day addition to Daito-Ryu, but, records show that these are not new, but have merely been bettter explained through modern science. ( Tanomo Saigo taught these very same principles to Shiro Saigo under different names due to the era in which he lived as have other such leaders throughout Japanese recorded  history. )

 

 

PHYSICAL CONDITIONING

TAKEDA-RYU / DAITO-RYU is a physical activity !

It contains physical actions which require certain physical abilities born of physical conditioning . 

 

There are three aspects of physical training required :

1...FLEXIBILITY

2...CARDIO-VASCULAR

3...STRENGTH

* The idea of pot-bellied old men defeating full-grown youthful attackers is for the most part a myth born of the need to justify lack of physical abilities by some teachers to attract and maintain students in a quest for financial profits and ego fulfillment.( In Saigo-Ha Aikibujutsu, physical conditioning is paramount to the effective application of most of the techniques .  )  

 

* The great  Daito - Ryu fighters of the past were in good physical condition .

They had to be in order to survive ! (The main advantage they had over today's modern  Daito-Ryu teachers is that the general population of their era was not in good physical shape due to lack of good food, water and lifestyle, so, they just required slight physical conditioning to be successful in battle,.)

Today we have bigger stronger and steroid infested adversaries or cocaine stimulated freaks who are often over-aggressive which requires us to be physically and psychologically at peak-condition in order to effectively use our Takeda- Ryu / Daito-Ryu techniques to defend ourselves .

but make no mistake about it -

Daito- Ryu does work

and it works very-well indeed !

 

 

 

 

* To give you an example of the creation of unrealistic myths about the effectiveness of today's most popular martial arts, we have only to look at the recent evolution of the televised no-holds barred events like the U.F.C.

At the begining, you had representitives of the popular arts like judo, karate, kickboxing, savate, ninjutsu, kung fu, taekwondo, boxing, and a myriad of so-called "modern" arts created by people with minimal actual martial arts experiences competing , but you now have only two arts left competing successfully : JUJITSU and WRESTLING.
( all these other arts soon realised that they could not compete successfully in these events because they simply could not overcome the power, size and grappling ability possessed by these two disciplines without restrictive rules to protect them and give them an advantage. )

• The " UFC" is nothing new to the martial arts !

• * Isn't it strange how all of a sudden everyone is a "grappling expert " ?

•  

* I remember in 1975 when a team of top karateka from Japan took on the Thai kickboxers and were beaten to a pulp, and was followed the same year by a select team of Kung Fu masters from China who suffered the same faith.

And then , like now, everybody saw the weakness of the regular martial arts when actual blows were allowed, and soon everyone and their dog introduced "full contact" to ther training syllabus, and now, the same thing has happened, everyone suddenly introduces "grappling" to their martial art system. ( of course most of the new " grappling" being added to these arts is crude, untested, and made-up on the spot ! )   

 

* The problem with all this is we forget what a traditional martial art is all about ! It is not just some mickey-mouse ego-building course for a bunch of dreamers who want to get attention . It is not the ego satisfaction of "buying" a worthless piece of paper or fancy colored belt with lots of stripes to be worn over a gi or hakama to get attention.  

 

A true martial art should do three things for the student :

(a) teach them to defend themselves from physical attack and probable injuries to oneself or others if possible.

(b) increasc their levels of self esteem through progressive on-going preset and attainable goals.

(c) explore their own spirituality.

 

The first benefit :

 learning effective self defence abilities
requires the three aspect of physical conditioning listed here ! You have to be strong, flexible and possess endurence ( wind) if you hope to engage in and survive a physical confrontation ! ( don't fall for the hype about KI or CHI or secret pressure points and hope to survive a real physical attack by a determined adversary ! )

Once in good shape, the techniques taught in this system will greatly enhance your chances of successfully defending yourself on the streets. ( but, techniques alone, without good physical conditioning is no guarentee of success !)

 

*And I know from experience that there are some real tough people out there that will not be stopped by a simple kick or punch by the most seasoned martial artist. ( I know that one guy had been shot with a 357 magnum and still went-on to kill the police officer who fired these three shots into the guy's chect area before falling to the street dead himself ! )

 

In my experience as a police officer, I saw guys get up after being thrown full-force on the cement and continue to attack me as though nothing happened ! I saw guys get "maced" or "pepper-sprayed" and still fight like madmen once you made physical contact ! I saw guys possess what seemed like superhuman strength brought-on by drugs or fear .

 

I remember one guy that three big police officers tried unsucessfuly for what seemed like 20-minutes to place in the back of a police cruiser (until I intervened and put him out cold with a carotid control )  * although he did not weight much over 125 lbs. ( Had I not put him out as I did, he might have ended up injured or injuring someone else)

 

*So ! the first thing we have to realize in dealing with self defence is that we are not playing games with our cooperative fellow student who taps-out at the first sign of pain, but with people that will continue to attack after having bones broken, countless cuts and bruises and even fatal injuries ! And your techniques must be effective and in some cases downright brutal if you hope to survive !

 

* A final point to remember is that the real tough fighters are not in some kickboxing ring, taekwondo dojang, judo or karate dojo, but in our countries prisons ! And these guys don't always stay there forever, many do come back out ! ( so ! If we are to prepare anyone for self defence, we have to do so in a manner that we expect that the one they may have to defend against will be one of these kind of guys ! ) 

 

Herein lies a serious problem ! Today, we have a whole generation who think that wearing a fancy costume, belt with rows of tape, nice looking crests, room full of tropheys, roles in movies, videotapes sales, and most of the publicity from the magazines , means they can defend themselves. We have thousands of "world champs" who can't fight worth a pinch of salt ! We have instructors who bully their students and think that is normal behavior (rather than just as a way to express power and control ) and we have a whole new generation of people who are selling a dream to the gullible public.
 

• The idea or myth that learing a few techniques, then entering some type of contest makes one a fighter is wrong !

Defending oneself is sometimes nessesary in a world of chaos. But, that means one must understand the consequences of physical encounters.. ( We are all mortal ! No amount of training can change that ! We all have the same internal organs and physical bodies, which if the right amount of force is inficted against, can cause injury or death ! )
 

• If we decide to engage in physical confrontation, we must realise that we could easily die or kill our adversay ( it is not difficult to kill a person) and that all physical confrontation must be serious enough to willingly die or kill for before we comit ourselves ! 

 

*Which is why in SAIGO-HA DAITO-RYU we require that the students undergo a long-term physical fitness program that includes modern flexibility, cardio-vascular and strength training in conjunction with psychological training based on the correct philosophy to enable them to successfully use the Daito-Ryu techniques in a real physical attack situation only if nessesary .

 

( it's like owning one hundred guns but no bullets and try to fend-off a robber breaking into your house ! Daito-Ryu is the "GUN", but being in good physical condition and having the correct psychological attitude is the " BULLETS "! )

 

The second thing :
Increasing self esteem comes by learning new and difficult techniques. The more you learn, the better you feel about yourself. And the more difficult the technique mastered, the higher the level of self esteem achieved. SAIGO-HA has the most complicated and challenging techniques in the martial arts today and it's practitioners develop extremely high degrees of self esteem !

  Each student is encouraged to embark on a journey of tests of strength ( Shugyu ) where he/ she builds - up confidence and understanding that will serve them in society ..( This journey includes confrontation with  evil forces which are found in one's environment that must be faced and overcome .)

 

The third thing :
Seeking our SPIRITUALITY is the most neglected benefit of any martial art today ! This explores our relationship ,with the almighty creator of this universe. It answers our most basic questions about ourselves and our purpose on earth . We are all part of nature .

   Nature is the interplay between energy and matter in our universe which creates change to occure .( This is the soul of the Shinto Religion and of the Samurai spirit .)

 

 DAITO-RYU was greatly influenced by SHINTOISM !

Most of it's great leaders were SHINTO-PRIESTS ! Many were heavily into politics and social struggles of their times, yet, today, most of today's practitioners of Daito-Ryu know very little about SHINTOISM .

  To the SAMURAI, Shintoism was the heart of Takeda-Ryu/Daito-Ryu

 

. SAIGO-HA Takeda-Ryu has not forgotten it's SHINTO ties. Dr.John J.Williams is a devout follower of modern shintoism. ( and Saigo-Ha includes the teaching of basic Shintoism to anyone who is interested in it !)

 

note * SAIGO-HA is not interested in recruiting it's followers into Shintoism, but, anyone who studies the art of Daito-Ryu should be allowed to explore the religion which helped shape it without fears of being "brainwashed" or " religiously conditioned " ! ( if your religious "faith" is strong you have nothing to fear from being exposed to Shintoism )

 

  WHAT IS DAITO-RYU & TAKEDA RYU ?

 Note * Concerning the term/name DAITO-RYU : The most popular name for the martial art taught by Tanomo Saigo was Oshikiuchi or Goten , and his designated inheritor, Sokaku Takeda even called it YAMATO-RYU , until , at the urging of one of his senior students, Yoshida Kotaro, he began calling it Daito-Ryu in the early part of this century.

 

 

 

   As such ! The martial arts developed by the Minamoto Clan and introduced into the Aizu Clan can be called : " Saigo Ha, Shinto-Ryu, Daito-Ryu, Takeda-Ryu, Matsudaira-ryu. Yamate-Ryu, Goten, Oshiikiuchi, and about a dozen other titles  and still be correct  . ( The name is unimportant ! The lineage is what really matters as well as the faithful adherence to the culture, traditions, rituals, history and ryugi of the Minamoto and Matsudairi cland Aizu Clans .
 

 

 

 

FLEXIBILITY

FLEXIBILITY : This is the most neglected area of training in Jujitsu today ! Yet ! It is one of the most important to minimize serious muscle pull injuries . ( flexibility in muscle groups allows over-stretching to a greater degree during adrenelin-rush activities. )

 

* The biggest hurdles to attaining flexibility are a lack of patience and unwillingness to follow a stretching routine faithfully ! ( anyone who seeks greater flexibility can obtain it if they are determined to follow a stretching routine for an extended period of time .)

 

The two main types of flexibility training are known as static ( holding or remaining in a stetch position for at least 10-seconds) or ballistic ! ( bouncing in a stretch position) but, to be effective, one has to undergo a long-term progressive flexibility routine that incorporates various systems to determine which works for each person !

 

It took me 30-years to get my full splits ! (side-to-side and front & back position) although I tried hundreds of different routines and variations, stretching racks, pulley arrangements, sliding pads, ect..and underwent great amounts of intense pain until I finally found what worked-for-me !

 

BEST METHODS OF STRETCHING

* Note * The BEST WAY to attain maximum flexibility is to disguard the regular martial arts stretching routines and visit the local gymnastic school to see what routines they use ! ( because GYMNASTS have access to the most modern up-to-date flexibility training methods . )

 

  * what was good enough for martial artists a few decades ago is not worth a pinch of salt to anyone who seeks great flexibility today ! 

 

* There is NO WAY anyone can do the Saigo-Ha-Ryu kicks unless they have great flexibility ! And unless one trains with great kickers, they will NEVER master defences against kicking attacks ! It is not a matter of the value or effectiveness of kicks, but the need to train with great kickers so you can learn to defend against an attacker who has similar kicks ! ( Without this realism, your training with poor kickers no better prepares you to defend against kicks than trying to learn to defend against punches by training with a one-armed or limbless partner !)

 

Instead of detailing a stretching / flexibility routine, I urge all instructors to contact their Federal Gynmnastic Association to obtain the address of a local gymnastic club or school where they can learn the proper and the most up-to-date flexibility routines to pass on to their students. Anythng less is to do your students or yourself a dis-service .

 

 

 

CARDIO VASCULAR

• CARDIO VASCULAR :

Cardio-Vascular training is a method of increasing your lung capacity, effective heart pumping ability, recouperative rate, circulatory system and switching between the different energy systems of the human body ! There are very effective ways to train yourself to achieve these benefits and maximize your body ability to perform over a long period of time.

 

* My personal cardio vascular training method

( which I do every two or three days )

 

(* note this was written in 2006)

 

My cardio-vascular training routine is to visit the local university and use their indoor track , where I begin by  walking roughly 1/8 of a mile to get the kinks-out, then I do some brief calve muscle, hamstring muscle and quadracep muscle stretching,( 5 minutes ) followed by a fast - paced 1 1/2 mile run, then I walk 1/8 of a mile, take a quick drink of destilled water, followed by twenty - two to twenty-four 100 yard wind-sprints ( very fast runs ) with a one-hundred yard walk betwen each of them ( to get my breath) , after-which I walk another 1/8 mile, drink another gulp of destilled water, followed by a brisk one-mile jog to cool dowm finishing with another slow 1/8 mile walk. ( because of this I have a resting heart-rate of between 52 and 58 beats per minute and the normal 120 over 80 blood pressure ) * This is the routine I prefer, but, others work just as well ! ( If you think you are in shape, cardio vascularly, try this routine as a test ! )

 

This routine is always followed by a good flexibility routine followed by about an hour of weight training. 

 

LUNG CAPACITY : You can best increase your lung capacity by fast paced sprints ! ( the faster you run, the greater the oxegen requirements )

 

HEART RATE AND EFFECTIVENESS : according to studies, the only way you can work your heart effectively is by raising your heart rate to 200 beats per minute minus your age and maintaining it at that rate for three minutes or more ! ( say you are 25 years-old, you would raise your heart rate to 175 BPM and hold it at that rate for over three minutes )

 

* This is very important ! ( if you look at regular martial arts training sessions, few ever attain that goal ) but there is yet another important part of this equation : You have to give your heart muscles at least 72 hours to recouperate between these exercise sessions. Many don't realise that the heart is just a muscle and must be trained like any other muscle if progress is to be long-term. )

 

 Remember the longer the time-periods between beats, the more tine is available for the muscle to rest , so, the lower the heart rate, the better you can rest and recouperate the heart muscle after exercise.!

RECOUPERATIVE RATE : This is the time between physical exertion it takes to resume that physical activity ! Obviously, the quicker you can continue, the better it will be for you in a strenous physical encounter, and your training must include timed rest periods between activities so you can lower it and increase your recouperative rate.

 

*you will notice I do 22 to 24 one-hundreds yard wind-sprints, but only have the time it takes to walk 100 yards before I must run the next sprint ! ( That is an example of how you can improve your recouperative rate. )

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM : This is the hearts, lungs, arteries and veins which allow your muscles to recieve oxegen to burn the fuel which allows these muscles to effectively contract and relax as part of physical activities. ( The better the whole system, the better your physical activities will be. )

 

A combination of warm-ups,medium runs, sprints, cooling-down will increase every aspect of your circulatory system. but a balanced diet is important as well ! Too much chloresteral, the more chance of a clogging of the circulatiory system .( while being over-weight, increases the work load of your heart !)

 

 

 

ENERGY SYSTEMS :

The human body has three basic energy systems :

(1) The sugar stored in the muscle itself ( This last roughly 10 seconds ),

(2) the energy stored in the blood ( this system last about two and one-half minutes)

(3) the energy stored as fat (this system last for hours ! )

And the desire is to be able to use-up the first one and then switch over to the 2nd one smoothly and eventually to switch-over to the last one ! ( In boxing, they refer to this as "getting your second wind " ) so you can out-last your opponant in a physical confrontation.

* Brisk warm-ups can usually burn the stores energy in the muscles so you can start using the blood-stored system for training purposes , but you have to train your body to effectively access these energy systems for use in stressful physical confrontation, and a combination of fast, medium and slow running can accomplish this 

 

The three energy systems:

(1) ANAEROBIC ALACTIC:

The stored, start-up energy system of both types of muscle fibers which does not require oxygen and does not produce lactic acid ( a by-product which causes soreness )

(2) ANAEROBIC ALACTIC :

The fast-twitch muscle energy system, which does not rerquire oxygen but does produce lactic acide.

(3) AEROBIC

:

The slow twitch muscle energy system which does require oxygen and does not produce lactic acid.

Fast Twitch muscles does not need oxygen , creates heat and a byproduct or residue called lactic acid which must be extruded through the internal organs such as kidneys and liver ( it takes 72 hours to accomplish this ).and produces pain within the muscles .

 

Slow twitch muscles need oxygen and produces heat and a by-product (carbon dioxide) which is extruded through the lungs ( almost immediatly )

 

But in a real fight, a super-charged energy supply called adrenolin is pumped into the muscles and this should be both recognized and properly utalized since it gives you greater strength and speed !

 

* Adrenelin causes your to feel strange in the stomach ( since it shuts down digestion) and your heart pounds very hard ( this is a preparation for fight or flight) but this is a natural occurence which should not be confused with fear or fright. ( It is just your body's way of preparing you for an output of physical activity and includes stress as a by-product for those who do not recognise it !)

 

If you expect to achieve your maximum cardio vascular level, you have to research the subject and follow a properly-designed training regiment designed to meet your needs and expectation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

STRENGTH :

The ability for a muscle to cotract against resistance ! In other words: a muscle is composed of beads of round disk linked together in chains attatched to bones by tendons and ligaments, which when sugar contained within is exposed to oxegen, results in a reaction which causes these round disks (a muscle) to contract or shorten, resulting in the pulling on the ligaments which are contacted to bones seperated by joints to cause movement.

Here is how it works :

 

You have muscle fibers made up of many rounded balls linked together to form a string like arrangement and within these long fibers is stored sugar (energy supply) which causes a chemical reation when oxegen comes into contact with it, and this reaction makes each of these balls to contract or shrink, thus shortening the strand or fiber, which , being attatched to bones seperated by hindges or joints, results in flexation of that joint.( That is how all our muscles work and is how all physical movements occur )

 

Of course this is a simplification, and there are many other factors involved in movement such as the kinds or types of levers offered by the different joints, the types of muscle fibers ( fast-twitch or slow-twitch) ect...

Obviously, since there are two types of muscle fibers, you want to train the ones which will help you win a fight ! And since SPEED is important in such a confrontation, your exercises should be done fast rather than slowly. ( We call this explosive exercises in the weight training game !) The idea of building muscle mass or size has no use in the martial arts unless you are into MMA intimidation or a movie star .  

 

The best way to increase strength is by doing resistance training .

And WEIGHT TRAINING is the best type of resistance training . But, there are misconceptions about muscle size in relation to actual strength ! And contrary to popular opinion, muscle size is not a determining factor of actrual strength !( being a former weightlifting competitor , and having established many records, I can tell you that muscle size means nothing in relation to power or strength ! )

 

* In 1962, I competed in a weightlifting contests at Dorchester Prison near my hometown against inmates who outweighed me by over 100 pounds and had more muscles in their arms than I had in my legs, yet ! I walked-away the winner easily because I had trained for strength and not pretty looking muscles ! ( I might add, these guys were very surprised that a guy with little muscle mass could easily out-lift much bigger men )

 

• I have seem scrawny looking guys lift hundreds of pounds overhead, while steroid freaks had a hard time lifting the same or less weight ! in fact : bodybuilders are rarely very strong, because the secret to building strength is in the amount of repetitions of the exercises done ( A lot of guys & gals deny taking "STEROIDS" but, as a person who spent years in the gym, I can tell you firsthand that it takes years to get any kind of muscle mass, not the few months these people took !)

•  

• If you want to bodybuild and get veins, cuts and big muscles, you do between 8 and 20 repititions of each set of each exercise and the usual amount of "steroids" , while if you are looking for strength, you never do more than 6 or 7 repetitions of any set of exercise , usually working up to maximum weight for one or two repititions ! ( we used the pyramid system where you work you way up heavy until you can only do one or two reps, then repeat the steps in reverse order to the first weight you started with.) * I might add that you can be very strong without taking steroids but it takes longer to get there.

•  

In summation :

Don't confuse big muscles with being strong !

The greatest stronman ever produced in Canada weighed 154 pounds, yet, his feats of strength have never been equalled by anyone of any weight ( such as climbing up a telephone pole with a horse attatched to him with a special harness ) and while in weightlifting circles, the difference between the top weights lifted by the 132 pound competitors and the 300-plus pound competitors is very little indeed .

 

 

TAKEDA-RYU

 TECHNIQUES EXPLAINED

 

UKIMI

( Breakfalls )

UKIMI is the ability to allow someone to throw you to the mats without causing you any injury because of the way you fall. There is a very specific method to safely take any of the hundreds of different throws found in Daito-Ryu/Takeda-Ryu ! ( this allows the practitioners to execute these throws full-power without fear of injuring the assistant, but knowing full-well, that if the person being thrown was not trained in ukimi or breakfalling and it was not done on a padded mat, serious injury, possibly even death would occur !)

 

• The SAIGO-HA TAKEDA-RYU  system has developed ukimi to handle all the throws and take-downs in Daito-Ryu ! ( Unlike Aikido , Hapkido or Judo, which has some ukimi, the Saigo-Ha Takeda-Ryu system has more types of ukimi than are found in any other martial art system due to the very large and diversified throws found in the system )

• In fuedal Japan, the new student learned Ukimi by having senior students throw them repeatedly until it was a matter of survival ( this sometimes took several years ) but, today, Ukimi is taught in a more structured and safe manner over a period of several months until the person can take the throws in reletive safety ! ( The advent of better mats has contributed to the overal safety in Daito-Ryu training halls . )

•  

• Dr.Williams was taught to breakfall the old-fashioned way ! He was thrown and thrown until he mastered this part of the art well enough to survive. ( this method was used tp develope discipline and test loyalty and dedication )

NOTE * Regular Japanese TATAMI or straw mats, can cause serious kidney damage unless additional padding is added .( Some dojos create a floating floor with either springs or rubber auto tires under them to add more give when using Japanese tatami mats ! )

 

• Without proper UKIMI it is impossible to practice Daito-Ryu with a partner. And there are no substitutes for good UKIMI in the dojo. Most important, there are no shortcuts to the mastery of good UKIMI . To master UKIMI one must undergo a series of preparatory exercises which condition the inner ear, toughens the muscles and gives one confidence and a good sense of direction and timing .

•  

There are 26 basic UKIMI taught in the Saigo-Ha Daito-Ryu Aiki Jujutsu system ! ( They are referred to simply by number ; eg : #1, #2, ect..) but each is based on physics and anatomy.

• However ! There are a number (several hundred) of advanced throws in Saigo-Ha Takeda-Ryu which can only be taken on thick gymnastic "crash mats" because it is impossible to survive them on regulat judo or wrestling mats due to the dis-orientation involved and the force behind the throw.

•  

• ( These throws are only taught to chuden and okuden level students, never to untrusted students who might abuse them ! )

 

 

 

STANCES

KAMAE

• Saigo-Ha Takeda-Ryu has very few fixed stances because it is so diversified in scope and is based on the 100 principals of nature. The whole concept of SAIGO-HA TAKEDA-RYU is to meet your attacker's actions with natural blending movements to minimize hard contact and solid stances encourage hard physical contact.

• Since SAIGO-HA TAKEDA - RYU is practiced in what is known as EMBU fashion ( With a partner who acts as an attacker to enable you to master self defence techniques) it holds that to create a more stylised asthetic atmosphere in dojo practice the participants employ the following three basic stances :

• (1) kihon kamae (a normal relaxed stance)

• (2) kiba dachi ( high horse stance)

• (3) zenkatsu dachi ( forward leaning stance )

•  

Different schools might use different names for these stances. ( Although some systems of Daito-Ryu use the " T " stances found in Aikido or the sword systems, in the Saigo-Ha system we do not teach or use this stance except when practicing Iai or Kenjutsu ! )

 

• note * We only teach these three stances for practice pourposes of the attacker ! We use a natural relaxed stance from which to exceute all our techniques.

•  

DEEP ROOTED STANCES reduce reaction-time, hamper smooth movement and seriously reduce the speed in a defencive technique. For this reason, SAIGO-HA  does not employ any deep or fixed stance which would create an unstable situation .

 

 

 

BLOCKS

There are only three blocks used in SAIGO-HA TAKEDA-RYU AIKI-JUJUTSU ! They are used against strikes of all kinds . Known simply as the HIGH/LOW block , SLAP block and "X"- Block one being is a combination of the cross-block and the low block (used in some forms of kung-fu and karate.) and the others are the same as the regular cross-wrist block used in some Kung Fu systems .

 

• The HIGH/LOW , SLAP and "X" blocks are used because they are safe, easy to master and enables the defender to easily trap the attacking limb . ( Trapping is nessesary for the execution of many Daito-Ryu techniques )

• Saigo-Ha Takeda -Ryu Aiki Jujutsu does not use bone against bone blocks because the idea is to blend with your attacker not meet force with force. ( the only exception might be the elbow breaking block against a backfist type of strike )

Saigo-Ha Takeda-Ryu uses a lot of blending or fitting-in with the attackers

out you.