Daito-ryu aikijujutsu is best known as the technical foundation of modern aikido. It is a Japanese system of self-defense handed down by Japanese warriors through the ages and perfected in the nineteenth century by martial arts master Takeda Sokaku (a descendant of the famous Takeda warrior family). Primarily it is an empty-handed fighting system featuring a wide variety of escapes, throws, pins, controls, and other self-defense techniques. Practice of Daito-ryu’s well organized curriculum of formal techniques allows the practitioner to systematically build a “toolbox” of useful self-defense skills. Distinctive among these is an ability to apply “aiki,” an ancient Japanese way of using subtle body movements to gain and maintain combative advantage when attacked.
The Daito-ryu aikijujutsu technical curriculum is based on a group of 118 techniques referred to as the Hiden Mokuroku (List of "Secret" Teachings). This curriculum is further divided into five subsets, each with its own emphasis and “flavor,” and taken together these teach the core techniques, principles, and tactics of Daito-ryu aikijujutsu. Daily practice takes the form of partnered forms (kata), with one person attacking and the other defending in a controlled manner. Particularly dangerous techniques have been revised to allow them to be practiced safely by students with varying degrees of ability and physical fitness (although their more destructive original versions are also shown to provide a frame of reference). Unlike modern martial arts (karate, kendo, judo, etc.) sparring is not included in the general training regimen, since the inherent danger of the techniques contraindicates their free application in competitive matches.
Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu
A Way of Empty-Handed Self-Defense
Master teacher Kondo Katsuyuki, current leader of the Daito-ryu aikijujutsu tradition, performing dynamic throw
Takeda Tokimune, late headmaster of Daito-ryu aikijujutsu, performing a “hip-wheel” throw
Kondo Katsuyuki initiating Daito-ryu’s trademark ippondori control technique
A double leg pin
A painful arm lock
Using aiki body movement to break the balance of a much larger opponent
A dynamic throw
大 東 流 合 気 柔 術
