The aikido technique ikkyo compared to sword, in slow motion. Many more aikido videos on my YouTube Channel.
The Peaceful Martial Art
The video above was recorded in 2017, at my present dojo Enighet in Malmö, Sweden. The photo to the right is from 1974, with an adolescent me as uke to Ichimura sensei, my aikido teacher at that time.
I started to practice aikido in 1972. Now, I have done it for over 50 years. That's half a century. How many hobbies will last for that long, and remain fascinating? Normally I am impatient, to say the least. Anything that I have to repeat over and over will very quickly lose its attraction.
Not so with aikido, the gentle martial art from Japan. I keep on doing those exercises, keep on struggling to refine the aikido techniques — and my fascination increases. This is an anomaly, a koan if you will, that can only be comprehended if aikido is seen neither as a sport nor a system of self defense, but as an art.
Of course aikido is an art. Endlessly intriguing, infinitely variable, never perfected — what else could it be?
Scroll down to check out the aikido material I have on this website. I hope you find it interesting.
Stefan Stenudd
My Aikido Books
Click the images to see the books at Amazon (paid link).
Aikiken Sword Exercises for Aikido. The aikibatto exercises, practical and spiritual aspects of the sword arts, advice on equipment for training. More about the book here.
See the aikido menu below for links to my web pages on several of the aikido techniques against grab and strike attacks, explained by videos and texts.
Tantodori, aikido defense against knife attacks — some techniques. This is focused on how to take the knife from the attacker at the end of the technique, something that many aikidoka do without enough care.
Texts and video clips on ikkyo against several different attacks. Ikkyo, the first technique of aikido, can be done in many ways and against many attack forms. Here are most of them.
The jo 31 kata in four directions. The traditional 31 kata practiced in aikido is in two directions — front and back — but that is odd for a kata with so many movements. At my dojo, we have allowed ourselves to modify it into a four directions kata. See how we do it, and see if you approve or not.
Aikido sword exercises with partner and bokken, or solo like iaido. There are some very complex systems of sword exercises in aikido, often demanding a high strain on one's memory at the cost of properly exercising the sword technique fundamentals. This is a simple exercise system we use at my dojo. I call it aikibatto, since it combines aspects of aikido with those of iaido (batto).
Video and text of aiki, the old budo concept of joining with the energy of the attacker. It is essential in aikido. Here are several applications of it in aikido practice.
Aikido is prominent in the season 6 episode 4 of the TV series The Walking Dead, which was released on November 1st, 2015. Click the header to read more about it.
There's much discussion about aikido as self-defense. Does it work, and if so — how to do it? This text tries to answer some such questions and explore what "realistic" really means.
I experimented with using the brush to express the movements and principles of aikido techniques, sort of in the fashion of Japanese calligraphy (shodo). Here are some of the results.
Several aikido video clips — both from seminars and from instructional recordings. In some of them I do rather improvised versions of basic and not so basic aikido techniques, in others I stick to basic forms for clarity.
About me
I'm a Swedish author of fiction and non-fiction books in both English and Swedish. I'm also an artist, a historian of ideas, and a 7 dan Aikikai Shihan aikido instructor. Click the header to read my full bio.
The video above was recorded in 2017, at my present dojo Enighet in Malmö, Sweden. The photo to the right is from 1974, with an adolescent me as uke to Ichimura sensei, my aikido teacher at that time.
Aikido Principles
Attacks in Aikido
Aikibatto
Aikido in The Walking Dead
