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Morihiro Saito: Guardian of Ueshiba’s Teachings
Morihiro Saito 斉藤 守弘, a prominent figure in the world of Aikido, was born on March 31, 1928, in Ibaraki Prefecture 茨城県, Japan. He dedicated his life to the study and practice of Aikido, becoming one of the most influential sensei in Aikido history. Saito’s contributions to the art, particularly in preserving the teachings of the founder, Morihei Ueshiba, have left a lasting impact on Aikido practitioners worldwide. Just like many other youngsters, Saito used to admire the great Japanese swordsmen and studied kendo in school. However, weapons were banned following the end of WWII. He then learned Karate and Judo, thinking he would have nothing to fear if he…
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Randori – The Art of “Taking Control in Chaos”
Randori 乱取り is a training exercise that is practiced in many Japanese martial arts, including Aikido. The first character, 乱, means “disorder” or “chaos,” and 取り means “taking” or “capturing.” Together, the term randori can be interpreted as “taking control in chaos”. Randori is a training exercise where a practitioner faces multiple attackers in a dynamic and unpredictable setting. This is different from a pre-set series of attack and defense techniques such as kumite 組手 in Karate or kumijo 組杖 in Aikido, which are normally performed for demonstration purposes. Randori can be further divided into hitori gake 一人掛け (one-person attack), futari gake 二人掛け (two-person attack), sannin gake 三人掛け (three-person attack),…
