Taido/Blog

02/12/2005 In Check It Out by andy

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This is not the Ultimate Taido Links page. I don’t have the patience to link to every Taido website I can find - especially since very few of them have any useful information whatsoever. Though most of these are not explicitly about Taido, all of the links on this page will point you to information that has the potential to change the way you think about and practice Taido.

Taido-Related Links

Taido TV If you want to see some videos of high-level Taido, look no further than Yasuyuki Kato’s new Taido.tv. Though the selection is currently limited, the available content is very good. Every finals match from the 40th (2006) All-Japan Championships DVD is represented alongside two large demonstrations in France including several current and former world champions. Check this link to see some great performances of Taido technique.

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05/12/2005 In Check It Out by andy

Living in japan, I often find myself in the position of being singled out as “gaijin,” which is a word with some very heavy connotations. Though often translated as meaning “foreigner,” that word is actually gaikokujin. As much as the unconscious application of the G-word (which can be more-accurately translated as “outsider” or even “alien”) by most japanese people makes me feel uncomfortable at least and insulted at worst, this feeling doesn’t jibe with the positive impressions I get from living and working with japanese people everyday. For that reason, I tend to be the one defending the Japanese against charges of racism in many discussions with other ex-pats here.

Mark Groenewold (author of Karate The Japanese Way) has written an excellent article on the subject.

Mark’s an excellent guy, so if you’re around Edmonton, Alberta, and looking to practice some quality Shotokan, check him out.

Living in japan, I often find myself in the position of being singled out as “gaijin,” which is a word with some very heavy connotations. Though often translated as meaning “foreigner,” that word is actually gaikokujin. As much as the unconscious application of the G-word (which can be more-accurately translated as “outsider” or even “alien”) by most japanese people makes me feel uncomfortable at least and insulted at worst, this feeling doesn’t jibe with the positive impressions I get from living and working with japanese people everyday. For that reason, I tend to be the one defending the Japanese against charges of racism in many discussions with other ex-pats here.

Mark Groenewold (author of Karate The Japanese Way) has written an excellent article on the subject.

Mark’s an excellent guy, so if you’re around Edmonton, Alberta, and looking to practice some quality Shotokan, check him out.

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05/12/2005 In Experiments / Ideas by andy

I define Taido as a system of principles which prescribe creativity in movement and though. Taido takes “martial art” as its vehicle for sport play and organizational structure. I make this distinction in order to differentiate between Taido and martial styles that are based simply on fighting. Since I can’t condone physical (or other forms of) violence, martial systems founded on simple dominance don’t meet my ethics. In my practice of Taido, I focus on health, mobility, and personal development through the exploration of creative movement. And I also hit people.

The Taido I practice and teach does not comprise a laundry list of preset attacks and defenses such as many schools advertise. In fact, my Taido only has five techniques. To me, the word “technique” means something similar to “method or strategy.” Taido’s five core movements can be used in fluid combination with unique footwork as well as various hand or foot strikes, throws, and joint manipulations to create an infinite variety of possible techniques. In this respect, I take the fundamental principles of Taido to represent a meta-structure capable of encompassing all of martial art.

I define Taido as a system of principles which prescribe creativity in movement and though. Taido takes “martial art” as its vehicle for sport play and organizational structure. I make this distinction in order to differentiate between Taido and martial styles that are based simply on fighting. Since I can’t condone physical (or other forms of) violence, martial systems founded on simple dominance don’t meet my ethics. In my practice of Taido, I focus on health, mobility, and personal development through the exploration of creative movement. And I also hit people.

The Taido I practice and teach does not comprise a laundry list of preset attacks and defenses such as many schools advertise. In fact, my Taido only has five techniques. To me, the word “technique” means something similar to “method or strategy.” Taido’s five core movements can be used in fluid combination with unique footwork as well as various hand or foot strikes, throws, and joint manipulations to create an infinite variety of possible techniques. In this respect, I take the fundamental principles of Taido to represent a meta-structure capable of encompassing all of martial art.

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05/12/2005 In Miscellany by andy

Note to those practicing Taido outside the USA: American Taido students typically wear standard karategi for Taido practice.

I started practicing Taido in 1984, when I was seven years old. For those of you who don’t remember, the 80s in America were all about flash, and the martial arts were no exception. I remember looking through martial arts magazines as a kid and seeing guys in American flag satin gi (the word “uniform” hardly applies), pink and black tiger-stripe gi, and all kinds of crazy patterns with patches for just about everything all over them. At one point, Century was even marketing “rugged” stone-washed gi that looked as if they’d ought to have been worn by the likes of Motley Crue.

You may laugh at the idea of seeing a karate school full of hair band rejects, but it’s not such a silly deal. In all seriousness, one could easily say the traditional white pajamas are just as silly in this day and age. Especially here in the West.

Note to those practicing Taido outside the USA: American Taido students typically wear standard karategi for Taido practice.

I started practicing Taido in 1984, when I was seven years old. For those of you who don’t remember, the 80s in America were all about flash, and the martial arts were no exception. I remember looking through martial arts magazines as a kid and seeing guys in American flag satin gi (the word “uniform” hardly applies), pink and black tiger-stripe gi, and all kinds of crazy patterns with patches for just about everything all over them. At one point, Century was even marketing “rugged” stone-washed gi that looked as if they’d ought to have been worn by the likes of Motley Crue.

You may laugh at the idea of seeing a karate school full of hair band rejects, but it’s not such a silly deal. In all seriousness, one could easily say the traditional white pajamas are just as silly in this day and age. Especially here in the West.

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08/12/2005 In Check It Out by andy

One of my students at the Georgia Tech Taido Club wrote this article a few years ago. I had totally forgotten about the incident he describes until I chanced upon his archives this morning.

Incidentally, Dr. Anthony G. Francis is among the most intelligent people I’ve ever met, and I’ve learned a lot through exposure to his amazingly weird way of looking at life. It’s nice to have friends that are bigger geeks than you are, especially if they are aware of the fact and comfortable with it. Anthony is very comfortable with being a geek, otherwise he would not post his science fiction writings for all the world to see.

If you have some time to read abut an interesting person, check out Anthony’s website. By the way, I moved the sand with my ki energy.

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08/12/2005 In Knowledge Base by andy

The following is an update of the article that got the public area of the old taido.us site stripped of its content. Apparently one high-ranking American Taido black belt felt so threatened by the information and ideas contained herein that he was afraid someone with no Taido experience could read my article and be able steal his students. While I am flattered that he credits my writing abilities so highly as to suggest that those who read this will become better instructors than he is, I disagree that spreading knowledge of Taido’s theory is a dangerous thing. So I have decided to re-release my unsoku article here. I hope you enjoy it.

The following is an update of the article that got the public area of the old taido.us site stripped of its content. Apparently one high-ranking American Taido black belt felt so threatened by the information and ideas contained herein that he was afraid someone with no Taido experience could read my article and be able steal his students. While I am flattered that he credits my writing abilities so highly as to suggest that those who read this will become better instructors than he is, I disagree that spreading knowledge of Taido’s theory is a dangerous thing. So I have decided to re-release my unsoku article here. I hope you enjoy it.

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12/12/2005 In Experiments / Ideas, Practice / Training by andy

There are many ways to breathe. I feel that the exercises I will outline below can lead students to develop a better method of breathing for Taido. They lead to a very natural way of breathing while moving that is highly adaptable to Taido technique (adaptation being one of the five tenets of Taido’s philosophy). Because I want to encourage others to experiment with these exercises, I will first present my alternative method before attempting to write an analysis of other breathing methods.

I totally believe that experimentation with various methods leads to far greater mastery than blind acceptance of any established method. So please try the exercises below several times over the course of a couple of weeks. If, after giving them a shot, you can’t figure out how they may be applicable to your Taido practice, feel free to drop me a line.

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20/12/2005 In Experiments / Ideas, Knowledge Base by andy

The gojokun is the set of five statements that form the heart of Taido ’s philosophy. Through the years, several different English versions of these five statements have existed. I will present a few of them along with some analysis. With any luck, this article will get to the point of what can be a very frustrating mission statement.

The primary problem with the original 5jokun is typical of Japanese philosophy. It can’t be translated into English words that the western mind will readily “get” without taking a good deal of artistic license. Since English and Japanese operate on different operational principles, they convey different kinds of meaning in different ways. There have been three of four attempts to my knowledge at a literal translation of the 5jokun, but none of them have meant very much to people who weren’t already experts.

The gojokun is the set of five statements that form the heart of Taido ’s philosophy. Through the years, several different English versions of these five statements have existed. I will present a few of them along with some analysis. With any luck, this article will get to the point of what can be a very frustrating mission statement.

The primary problem with the original 5jokun is typical of Japanese philosophy. It can’t be translated into English words that the western mind will readily “get” without taking a good deal of artistic license. Since English and Japanese operate on different operational principles, they convey different kinds of meaning in different ways. There have been three of four attempts to my knowledge at a literal translation of the 5jokun, but none of them have meant very much to people who weren’t already experts.

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23/12/2005 In Knowledge Base by andy

hengi are the archetypal taido techniques, defending and countering simultaneously by changing the orientation of the body axis. here i have simply listed the defining characteristics and some examples of hentai technique.

doko 5 kai

1. hentai unpu - imagine clouds changing direction. feel your head being pushed toward the ground, pivoting about your hips.
2. kihatsu seiko - the back thigh or heel is your weak point. either one of these points can be used to misdirect or defeat a hentai technique.
3. ohen fubi - the body axis topples over. maintaining tension in your lower back, keep your body axis straight. as your head moves toward the floor, your leg must rise toward the target. pivot your body axis around your hips.
4. santei kyogo - both hands and the stationary foot should form an equilateral triangle. in order to push the kick towards the target, place your hands close to your foot.

hengi are the archetypal taido techniques, defending and countering simultaneously by changing the orientation of the body axis. here i have simply listed the defining characteristics and some examples of hentai technique.

doko 5 kai

1. hentai unpu - imagine clouds changing direction. feel your head being pushed toward the ground, pivoting about your hips.
2. kihatsu seiko - the back thigh or heel is your weak point. either one of these points can be used to misdirect or defeat a hentai technique.
3. ohen fubi - the body axis topples over. maintaining tension in your lower back, keep your body axis straight. as your head moves toward the floor, your leg must rise toward the target. pivot your body axis around your hips.
4. santei kyogo - both hands and the stationary foot should form an equilateral triangle. in order to push the kick towards the target, place your hands close to your foot.

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23/12/2005 In Knowledge Base by andy

nengi are twisting techniques, often executed against the oponent’s joints. the body axis is skewed against the direction of movement. these techniques flow best as combinations from other techniques and have a wide range of possible targets. here i have simply listed the defining characteristics and some examples of nentai technique.

doko go kai

1. nentai kasho - imagine being in a whirlpool. your body is twisted and turned in either direction. grip your opponent and twist him to the ground or use the twisting motion to kick from an unexpected direction.
2. kihatsu seihai - your back, chest, and hips are vulnerable. by grabbing any of these points to prevent you from spinning, your opponent can prevent you from executing any nengi.
3. kokan sokuhatsu - if you touch your hip to the opponent’s body before twisting, you can have create more leverage with which to force him to move.

nengi are twisting techniques, often executed against the oponent’s joints. the body axis is skewed against the direction of movement. these techniques flow best as combinations from other techniques and have a wide range of possible targets. here i have simply listed the defining characteristics and some examples of nentai technique.

doko go kai

1. nentai kasho - imagine being in a whirlpool. your body is twisted and turned in either direction. grip your opponent and twist him to the ground or use the twisting motion to kick from an unexpected direction.
2. kihatsu seihai - your back, chest, and hips are vulnerable. by grabbing any of these points to prevent you from spinning, your opponent can prevent you from executing any nengi.
3. kokan sokuhatsu - if you touch your hip to the opponent’s body before twisting, you can have create more leverage with which to force him to move.

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