Aikido

[Lucas]

Okay, first off I started a new thread because after a search I found all Aikido threads were just controversary threads and titles.

So i just took my first Aikido class. Lots of fun. I was able to work application right away after learning some footwork. One of the things I noticed was how similar the style was to my experience with Taiji, in some of the application we did.

Unfortunately I dont remember the name of the style of Aikido it is, I'll make sure and get notes later. But what I was told was that its a sport style of Aikido. The way the sport is played is one person has a rubber knife, and the other person has to defend. Points are awarded on both sides then they switch and the other guy gets the knife. Which sounds pretty fun, and a great outlet to later practice your Aikido in a resistant fashion against a deadly weapon.

Anyway, I think I'll be practicing this for a while.

I know a few of you here have to have studied Aikido, what were your experiences?

[Scott R. Brown]

Is it Tomiki-ryu?

[sanjuro_ronin]

Sounds like Tomiki like Scott said.
Never experienced that, I did some Yoshinkan, but it wasn't my bag of goodies, though I did take some stuff from it.

[taai gihk yahn]

yes, it's Tomiki - which always looks a lot "messier" than the other sub-systems...hmmm, wonder why?

[Lucas]

Honestly I'm not sure. I should see the teacher today so I'll make sure and ask. From what I was told the guy who developed this style of aikido spent 5 or so years in prison and formulated the close quarters foot work there, or adapted it, im not really sure.. Also it seems providing emphasis on knife attacks. I need to memorize the names of the techniques. i like the connection to kenjutsu.

I got really lucky though because the classes are out of a local gym, who banks with me so i know the gym owner. basically for 30 bucks a month i get to train the aikido and use all the gym facilities. pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

he also teaches this style of warrior yoga. i forget the indian name but it translates to warrior. developed by those guys who were killing the japanese in ww2 with knives. i forget that too. there are 4 lvls beginning with sticks, then rope, then two person, then solo.

ya i forget a lot but it was my first day. i'll get it all down.

at least i already know how to fall. that helped a lot.

[sanjuro_ronin]

he also teaches this style of warrior yoga. i forget the indian name but it translates to warrior. developed by those guys who were killing the japanese in ww2 with knives. i forget that too. there are 4 lvls beginning with sticks, then rope, then two person, then solo.

:rolleyes:

[Lucas]

ya of course i forget the name. it starts with a D.... its some burmese yoga...i was shown photos of many of the stretches along with the founder of the system and its 'higher ranking' practitioners.

the teacher has a huge emphasis on achieving your bodies maximum potential in sport related activities, and maximizing your recovery time from injury, and maintaining health. which i think is great for me where im at in my life.


here is the instructor.
http://www.drtoddturnbull.com/Bio/Bio.html

[dirtyrat]

Learning tai chi definitely helped me when I dabbled in aikido & hapkido. When it came to learning the joint locks, most beginners and even quite a few intermediate students seem to think its all in the arms. Strength should come from the legs; at least that's what I find works for me.

[Lucas]

yes, it's Tomiki - which always looks a lot "messier" than the other sub-systems...hmmm, wonder why?

i have to say what i experience isnt like what you see on average from aikido in demonstrations and such. it felt more 'real' than what ive visually experienced from youtube and such. i was able to choose a technique for the class to work with, Gedan something or other. actually a pretty brutal technique. the variation we worked was a sweeping throw.

[Lucas]

ok i was confused about its origination with its devistation and revival periods...

the yoga is:

Dhanda Yoga (http://deepcreeklakeyoga.com/dhandahis.html)

i was confused with this:

Around 1935, Ba Than Gyi, who later became the director of Health and Physical Education, and Sports and Athletics in the Ministry of Education in Burma, became one of the many disciples of Anant Krishna Vaidya. Some of Vaidyas’s yoga exercises and training methods for sports and athletics were incorporated into the curriculum for physical education programs.

During World War II Burma was devastated. Many pre-war programs were phased out including the teaching of Anant Krishna Vaidya. Only a handful of people in Burma continued to practice and teach exercises and drills taught by Vaidya.

After World War II, Ba Than Gyi established the Bando Meditation Center in December 1945 in the city of Maymo in northern Burma. Ba Than Gyi also attempted to integrate some of the teachings of Anant Krishna Vaidya and the ancient pyu monk’s system, which were still practiced by a handful of Brahmin clans in remote towns such as Homalin, Halin,Tamu, Kalamyo, and Amarapura. With his dedicated staff members, he succeeded in organizing, classifying, and categorizing various yoga postures, exercises and drills. Ba Than Gyi’s son Dr. Maung Gyi "pictured below" later brought these systems as well as other systems to America

Nine Dhanda Yoga forms were formulated by the leaders of the National Bando Association from 1948-1950. Form is defined as a prearranged sequential set of yoga postures which flow from one posture to another. Each posture is designed to stretch, strengthen, condition, and tone the muscles and joints. These postures also massage and stimulate the internal organs and allow proper circulation of prana and oxygenation of the body.

[sanjuro_ronin]

The yoga seems cool, Buremese Bando is a bad ass MA, very brutal from what I recall, though they prefer to attack the legs first, then the body and finally the head, sort of a progression of pain type of thing.


Gedan something or other. actually a pretty brutal technique. the variation we worked was a sweeping throw.
Gedan means, typcially, low or lower or low section...was it a leg sweep or an arm sweep?

[Lucas]

The yoga seems cool, Buremese Bando is a bad ass MA, very brutal from what I recall, though they prefer to attack the legs first, then the body and finally the head, sort of a progression of pain type of thing.


Gedan means, typcially, low or lower or low section...was it a leg sweep or an arm sweep?

ya it was a hip/thigh sweep assisted by the arm . i wish i knew the name ill find out tonight. basically you move to the outside, break their stance by stepping behind and locking your hip lower than theirs and sweeping them over your thigh with your arm to their chest. depending on execution it can result in a nice slam, which can be followed to side mount quickly.

this one really reminded me of my taiji experiences.

[sanjuro_ronin]

ya it was a hip/thigh sweep assisted by the arm . i wish i knew the name ill find out tonight. basically you move to the outside, break their stance by stepping behind and locking your hip lower than theirs and sweeping them over your thigh with your arm to their chest. depending on execution it can result in a nice slam, which can be followed to side mount quickly.

this one really reminded me of my taiji experiences.

Sounds like one of the breath throw attacks...

[Lucas]

was a lot of fun. several different sized people from 5 ft to 6.5 ft. so having a nice low horse stance sure came in handy there.

[Dale Dugas]

I did Iwama Ha Aikido in Iwate Ken when I lived in NE Japan.

Always had fun sticking a chicken fist into people before locking and on and throwing them.

Iwama Ha is a little harder than some of the other softer subsects.

[SnowDog]

i have to say what i experience isnt like what you see on average from aikido in demonstrations and such. it felt more 'real' than what ive visually experienced from youtube and such. i was able to choose a technique for the class to work with, Gedan something or other. actually a pretty brutal technique. the variation we worked was a sweeping throw.

That's good to know, I've always stayed away from the Aikido schools here because of the fake looking videos I've seen and too many of the Hippyish non-fighters I met that were taking classes. I wonder if there are other more "real" branches around.

[Dale Dugas]

Find yourself an Iwama Ha Aikido school.

More real than most.

[Scott R. Brown]

ya it was a hip/thigh sweep assisted by the arm . i wish i knew the name ill find out tonight. basically you move to the outside, break their stance by stepping behind and locking your hip lower than theirs and sweeping them over your thigh with your arm to their chest. depending on execution it can result in a nice slam, which can be followed to side mount quickly.

this one really reminded me of my taiji experiences.

If you performed the throw using the back/side of your arm as you pivot in an opening motion, it was probably Kokyu Nage. Typically the arm should move up from underneath the chin to move the head up and back. Where the head goes the body goes.

If you performed the throw using the front of your arm moving in more of a closing movement, it was probably Irimi Nage. Irimi Nage can work with the arm across the chest with some modifications, but it is more effective when the arm moves up and under the chin as well.

Both can be very devastating when performed properly.

[pazman]

Lucas,
I did Shodokan Aikido (Tomiki method Aikido) in Japan for about six years. I found it very worthwhile and I'm really happy somebody else on the KFM forums has experienced it.

The technique you described is Gendan Ate, a basic, "bread-and-butter" technique that you'll be enjoying for a long time to come. In fact, the five Atemi practiced in Shodokan could be considered an in-depth martial art unto itself. Shodokan doesn't use the typical Aikikai naming system with regards to technique names (ie Ikkyo, Nikyo, Irimi Nage, etc). Instead, the naming has more to do with Judo naming conventions.

Tomiki did indeed spend some time in a Russian prison camp at the close of WWII. He was a PE teacher in Manchuria during the Japanese occupation. This is where he developed the basic exercises "Unsoku" and "Tegatana Dosa". In addition to developing this style of Aikido, Tomiki also played a large role in developing various kata for the Kodokan (he also held master rankings in Judo and Kendo).

[Scott R. Brown]

Thank you for your comments pazman, they are very interesting. I read about Tomiki years and years ago, but I remember very little about him.

Can you remember when he trained in Aikido and with whom?

Also any other interesting details would be appreciated!

What is Gendan Ate comparable to according to the common Aikido naming conventions?

[pazman]

Scott,
I'm really not so acquainted with the common aikido naming, but no matter....here's the honbu's website with animated gifs of the technique in question:

http://homepage2.nifty.com/shodokan/en/kyogi10a.html

That website has loads of interesting information.

Tomiki trained Aikido directly under Ueshiba from 1925 until 1936. He was the first to receive menkyo kaidan under Ueshiba. His fame in Judo training primarily comes from his time in the Waseda University Judo club. He later became the Judo instructor there after his return to Japan. After Judo lessons he would teach interested students a little Aikido. This interest resulted in the formation of the Waseda Aikido Club in 1858, and the beginnings of formal competitions, utilizing Tomiki's randori concepts.

I recommend the book "Aikido: Tradition and the Competitive Edge" by Shishida and Nariyama. There is some interesting information about both Tomiki and Ueshiba. :)

[Scott R. Brown]

Hi pazman,

Thank you for the info. Cool website!

Gyakugamae ate is one closest to Kokyu Nage.

Aigamae ate the closest to Irimi Nage.

As I recall Tomiki was either asked to use different names or chose to do it. Either way his purpose was to avoid problems with, or disrespect to, the Home School.

[pazman]

As I recall Tomiki was either asked to use different names or chose to do it. Either way his purpose was to avoid problems with, or disrespect to, the Home School.

That's interesting. There's not a lot of info concerning the apparent split between Tomiki and the Aikikai. Like a lot of things in Japan, "in the family" sort of issues are typically resovled, erm, "in the family." ;) However, the feeling on the "street" is that we are one big Aikido family (which is part of the even bigger jiujutsu family:)) One of my most memorable training experiences was partaking in a class that had an Aikikai master, the Shodokan deshi, and a handful of Yoshinkan blackbelts. Very cool experience. There's really not as big of division between the styles as many people would believe.

I find the naming quite handy. My Judo teacher became quite interested in Aikido after he had me demonstrate it in class one day. The naming system allowed me, with my pitiful Japanese, to explain the techniques clearly.

@Lucas,
I'd like to hear more of your thoughts concerning taiji and aikido. I've had a lot of thoughts about the subject, too but haven't had to chance to bounce them off of people.

[Lucas]

okay i just typed a huge response and when i hit submit there was an error, dont have time at work to retype the huge ass book i just lost.

gedan ate is the technique.

ill try and reformulate my post this weekend.....

[Scott R. Brown]

okay i just typed a huge response and when i hit submit there was an error, dont have time at work to retype the huge ass book i just lost.

gedan ate is the technique.

ill try and reformulate my post this weekend.....

I learned a loooooong time ago....if you are going to write a long post ALWAYS write it in WORD first! I hate it when you spend a long time on something only to lose it all in the end!:(

[Scott R. Brown]

I am on vacation this week and for the first time in about 12 years I had the chance to go to my old Aikido school with my boys.

Interestingly enough, they were working on counters too.

We did:

1) Nikyo-to-Sankyo

and

2) Nikyo-to-Irimi Nage

I did well. I would say I really haven't lost anything. I did just as well as my friend who has been going non-stop for almost 20 years.

[Lucas]

Some neat development for me. Ive been wanting to study shuai jiao or judo for quite some time. The only judo school ive been able to locate in my city is on the other side. Basically I cant make it on time. I mentioned this to my aikido instructor and he said judo was his first art, and that he would be happy to work some judo with me. Also he has experience in brazillian jujitsu.

One of the great things is aside from being a martial art instructor is that hes a coach. He has coached not only martial artists but snow boarders, runners, and hockey players with great results. Essentially he knows how to impart knowledge and physical skill to people with in depth methods and coaching strategies. Training with him you can see that he is able to read how people learn and how to approach people, and at what pace. Pretty good sign to me.

I really enjoy the method that this aikido uses in regards to the structure of its material. 5 base techniques are taught, then expanded upon with the multitudes of variations of each technique.

I’m sure a lot of what I see as similarities are just cross overs that both arts have from the grappling aspect. Also my lack of experience in either art would leave a more of a blured line I would think in my perception of similarities.

However aside from technique of course (the first technique variation (reverse clothesline) I learned in aikido is the same thing as parting the horse's mane in taiji. done slightly differently of course), one of the first similarities i noticed is the footwork. Not the patterns of stepping, but the method of stepping and weight distribution. The glide.

Also just the way my instructor moves during application strikes me as very similar to the way my taiji friends move. The coiling and expanding and explosive power at the pinnacle of the technique is what ive experienced with chen taiji. I feel that my experience in both arts is far to limited and narrow though.

I do plan to continue to share with my good taiji friend and bounce my material off of him and share thoughts, ideas, applications and so forth. Even though he ribs me for ‘moving away from Chinese arts’. But I don’t think im moving away so much as im bringing them with me.

Anyhow, a bit of small similarities noticed by an unexperienced eye that could just very well be blind and seeing shadows.

I’ll be sure to post more thoughts as they come up or are given to me.

[Scott R. Brown]

All good stuff there Lucas. Most of what I understand about TaiChi I learned in Aikido first!

To me Aikido is an excellent second or third art. There is too much impractical stuff in it to be a persons only art.

[sanjuro_ronin]

When you are moving in a "circular" fashion, as is done in Aikido ( and Bagua, hint), the only way to get powerful strikes is to do "coiling and expanding" like in Taiji, ) or bagua).

[Lucas]

okay that makes some sense to me.

[Lucas]

"Tomiki Sensei died an 8th Dan in Judo, as well as an 8th Dan in Aikikai. He had been in his lifetime a student of both Ueshiba Sensei, the founder of Aikido, as well as of Kano Sensei, the founder of Judo."

"Tomiki Sensei's first borrowing from Judo was the idea of a compact, logically developed curricula. Compared to traditional Aikido styles, relatively few techniques are practiced in Tomiki Aikido. Whereas other styles attempt to guide students to the true principle of a given basic technique by showing them dozens upon dozens of variations, Tomiki Sensei thought it better to repeat and practice a few techniques many times, looking to work each day upon improving speed, timing, and kuzushi."

"Tomiki Sensei's second major borrowing from Judo, and one which has unfortunately been misunderstood, was randori and shiai. Randori is sparring practice against someone who is resisting."

found this cool site on Tomiki Aikido (http://www.tomiki.org/tomikiaikido.html)

Competition Rules (http://www.tomiki.org/rules.html)

Have any of you guys competed in any of these comps before?

[sanjuro_ronin]

"Tomiki Sensei died an 8th Dan in Judo, as well as an 8th Dan in Aikikai. He had been in his lifetime a student of both Ueshiba Sensei, the founder of Aikido, as well as of Kano Sensei, the founder of Judo."

"Tomiki Sensei's first borrowing from Judo was the idea of a compact, logically developed curricula. Compared to traditional Aikido styles, relatively few techniques are practiced in Tomiki Aikido. Whereas other styles attempt to guide students to the true principle of a given basic technique by showing them dozens upon dozens of variations, Tomiki Sensei thought it better to repeat and practice a few techniques many times, looking to work each day upon improving speed, timing, and kuzushi."

"Tomiki Sensei's second major borrowing from Judo, and one which has unfortunately been misunderstood, was randori and shiai. Randori is sparring practice against someone who is resisting."

found this cool site on Tomiki Aikido (http://www.tomiki.org/tomikiaikido.html)

Competition Rules (http://www.tomiki.org/rules.html)

Have any of you guys competed in any of these comps before?

My time in Aikido was Yoshinkan and while it was fun and I picked up some stuff, it wasn't competitive.

[Lucas]

im hoping i can find some vids this weekend on some competitions. i'd like to see how its played out.

[sanjuro_ronin]

im hoping i can find some vids this weekend on some competitions. i'd like to see how its played out.

Youtube has a bunch of them I think

[Lucas]

saawweeeett!

[pazman]

Lucas,
Looks like you are really going to enjoy your training.:)

I competed several times during my stay in Japan. Fun times! I think it takes longer to become competition-ready than other arts, but the attention to distance and timing will certainly prove valuable to your overall martial ability. If you have any questions about competition, fire away!

Like Sanjuro Ronin said, there are bunch of vids on youtube. I don't have access to youtube so I can't give specific links, but they are there.

I liked your insights into the connections between Aikido and Taiji. I wouldn't worry about your Taiji friend complaining about your moving away from Chinese arts. If you practice both Judo and Aikido, you are actually practicing the majority of the skills also found in Chinese arts. Just wear some silk pajamas on the weekend to remember your roots;).

[blackjesus]

I do Hung Gar and wanted to do Aki Jujutsu as my 2nd style.
It is partly becos' I read too many mangas like Baki II and Shamo
They guy in Baki II:
http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/6631/shibukawagoukiqv0.jpg
I went to my local Daito Ryu Dojo 12 months ago to check it out.

I was going to sit and watch but the instructor said you won't know what happen unless you try it yourself.
He ask me if I know how to break fall. I shown him what I know.
He shown me few different things and asked me to punch him in the head.
I punched to the space next to his head, not very fast.
He sorta redirected the attack and said, now, punch with full speed and power.
I punched, again, to the space next to his head, faster.
Next thing I know, I was on the mat and has pins-and-needles all over my body, especially on my arms.

My doctor said I have damaged some nerves. It became bearable after few sleepless nights and heavy painkillers.
Few months later I felt something on my glute and legs so I went back to my doctor. After a XRAY, C/T Scan, MRI and many appointment with doctor and neurosurgeon, they said one of my disc is pinching on my spinal cord. I finally had a surgery last month. To replace a disc on my neck. I can't do MA and weight for at least 6 months.

I am still interested to learn more about aiki jujutsu or Yoshinkan Akido but I don't feel comfortable with being thrown anymore.

[Scott R. Brown]

Wow, I am sorry you had such a poor experience. it appears that instructor was trying to impress you, but over did it.

I have also taken Aiki-jujutsu. It is much harder than Aikido with a much greater chance for injury as well.

It could have been a fluke accident or inappropriate actions from a poor instructor.

Yoshinkan is harder than the Home style of Aikido. It used to be the art Tokyo Police were trained in. I don't know if this still happens. I like it very much. It is closer to Aiki-jujutsu.

High falls are done regularly in Yoshinkan and Aiki-jujutsu. You may need to take a gentler form of Aikido. It is all about the quality of the instructor though.

My Aikido instructor tries to avoid high falls because students will last longer due to the avoidance of serious injuries. Most of the techniques can be performed without the necessity of high falls.

[blackjesus]

Hi Scott,

I picked Daito Ryu cos I heard they are hardcore. And it is real hardcore to my neck :(

[Scott R. Brown]

Hi Scott,

I picked Daito Ryu cos I heard they are hardcore. And it is real hardcore to my neck :(

Hi blackjesus,

That it is....very hardcore.

One of the reasons I quit was because it is so hardcore one is likely to kill their attacker accidentally, or severely injure them by dislocating their joints. Many of the throws do land the opponent on their head!

Here in California that will get you arrested and jailed, even if you were attacked.

We are only allowed to hurt bad guys to the level they tried to hurt us! Breaking necks is frowned upon!

[sanjuro_ronin]

He probably dropped you hard because you didn't try to punch him for real.

[Scott R. Brown]

Regardless.....it sure looks like irresponsible behavior and one that invites a lawsuit! It would be a little bit different if he were a regular student. Injuring a guest, even if it is an accident, is irresponsible and dangerous to your school!

[sanjuro_ronin]

Regardless.....it sure looks like irresponsible behavior and one that invites a lawsuit! It would be a little bit different if he were a regular student. Injuring a guest, even if it is an accident, is irresponsible and dangerous to your school!

One wonders what goes though people's minds when they do stuff like that.
Of course if I wore a dress I'd be throwing people on their heads too.
:p

[Scott R. Brown]

One wonders what goes though people's minds when they do stuff like that.
Of course if I wore a dress I'd be throwing people on their heads too.
:p

Ahhhhh Yessssss........of course........a clear case of over-compensation!!!:eek:

[blackjesus]

Imagine if WWE is real. :D

In other news, I'm still working on the case with my lawyer.

[Scott R. Brown]

Imagine if WWE is real. :D

What do you mean, "IF WWE is real"?:eek:

Of course it's real.....who told you it wasn't real?:mad:

[sanjuro_ronin]

I met ore than a few Koryu guys, including a few top level masters.
They're all *******s, much like all the old school TCMA guys, LOL !

[Scott R. Brown]

I met ore than a few Koryu guys, including a few top level masters.
They're all *******s, much like all the old school TCMA guys, LOL !

Yeah! In their minds THEY are the only REAL men on the planet!!!

Until they get old and decrepit from all their injuries playing tough guy!:rolleyes:

[Lucas]

Of course if I wore a dress I'd be throwing people on their heads too.
:p

this was an easy transition for me, my instructor doesnt wear or have us wear the aikido uniform. i actually just show up in my kungfu pants because thats all i ever work out in and a tshirt. which is cool so far the focus has been entirely on material. while learning the cultural aspects would be neat, the coach isnt japanese and isnt putting up that aspect of the study, it may also be that he is teaching out of someone else gym. Its all just the martial material only, which im cool with.

i havnt been using the internet outside of work yet so i still need to look up some of those comps. on youtube.

Pazman: what did you enjoy most about the competitions you attended? Did it seem like a good outlet for applying your material? what were your overall impressions from your experiences with the competitions?

Thanks!

Lucas

[pazman]

Lucas,
I apologize for not replying sooner.

Regarding the competitions, I had very good experiences with them. I might be a little strange in that I regard competitions as more of social event than anything. The regular practice of the randori within the club was the most beneficial to my training, but the competitions allowed me to see the whole range of variation in technique that can develop in Aikido. I saw a lot of awesome variations to techniques used in randori, which I think generated some new ideas for me.

My only wishes concerning competitions would be that they would be more widespread and that the judging would be more consistent. In Japan, I could compete with any number of university athletes or other practitioners from the other side of the country but I'm not sure if that would reflect the state of affairs in your neck of the woods. The judging aspect is difficult...imagine being proficient at judging a kendo match and a judo match....at the same time:eek:, but I think this will work itself out over time.:)

[KC Elbows]

Premise 1:



...if I wore a dress I'd be throwing people on their heads...
:p

Premise 2:

Sanjuro Ronin has thrown people on their heads.

Conclusion...

[GeneChing]

An artist's video reenacts every nuclear explosion in history as deadly martial arts moves. The film takes hours to watch. (https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-blast-explosions-video-aikido-2019-8)
Dave Mosher Aug. 16, 2019, 9:02 AM

https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/5b3e57f01335b832008b48d6-1136-852.jpg
A 37-kiloton blast known as "Priscilla" explodes during an Operation Plumbbob nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site on June 24, 1957. The device was detonated from a balloon. Nevada National Security Site/Wikipedia (public domain)

A video installation called "Center-Surround" reenacts every nuclear-weapon explosion in history as hand-to-hand combat moves.

Eric LoPresti, the project's creator, worked with his Aikido martial arts dojo to create the film.

In the video, it takes about two hours to act out 2,427 atomic blasts— about one every 3 seconds.

LoPresti exhibited the film as part of the Reinventing Civil Defense project, which aims to "restore a broad, cultural understanding of nuclear risk."

Nuclear weapons take less than a millionth of a second to detonate. Meanwhile, the resulting fireball from a thermonuclear or hydrogen bomb can swallow and incinerate a 1-mile area in about a second.

Such rapid and raw power can seem as abstract as it is terrifying. But humanity has triggered and observed more than 2,420 nuclear blasts since the first one in July 1945, according to a recent tally by Alex Wellerstein, an historian of physics and nuclear weapons at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

To make the legacy of nuclear blasts more accessible to the average person, Brooklyn-based artist Eric LoPresti tried something unusual and symbolic: He filmed his Aikido dojo members reenacting every known nuclear blast as hand-to-hand combat moves.

"I wanted to make it visceral," LoPresti said. "Every time someone's thrown, there's this slight slapping noise on the ground. That's a way of taking a fall — a potentially lethal fall — in a non-lethal and a safer way. It's called a breakfall, and that sound reminded me of the sound of a sped-up nuclear explosion."

LoPresti presented his video installation, called " Center-Surround (http://www.ericlopresti.com/2018-centersurround)" at a public expo of Reinventing Civil Defense, a project that aims to "restore a broad, cultural understanding of nuclear risk."

The art exhibit plays three different videos on three screens in sync. One displays a colored tile with the name and date of a nuclear explosion, while a second screen displays a supercut of the Aikido sparring that's coordinated to mirror those detonations. A third screen displays a grid-style visualization of all the test names and dates.

There have been so many nuclear explosions — most of them test blasts by the US and Russia — that the film takes roughly two hours to complete one loop, despite the lightning-fast attacks. (There's one Aikido attack roughly every 3 seconds.)

The trailer below shows a couple minutes of an earlier version of the video.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqnf7xe3NmE

'It's painful, it's effortful'

In an ideal setting, the music-less installation plays in a darkened corner lined with martial arts mats, which exhibit-goers can sit on.

LoPresti wants those who see "Center-Surround" to feel the effort that his dojo members (the artist is also in the film) put into working through thousands of nuclear blasts.

"We did survive without injury, but it's painful, it's effortful. I wanted that cathartic experience, almost like an endurance piece," LoPresti said.

In full, the visual experience is meant "to humanize this vast subject" of nuclear weapons and their history, he added.

https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/5d5474a6cd978426de5d1543-750-493.jpg
A rendering of the "Center-Surround" art installation, which acts out every nuclear explosion in history as Aikido hand-to-hand combat moves.Eric LoPresti

LoPresti said his choice of Aikido was deliberate, since it's a martial art that "grew up around post-World War II Japan," which is where the US unleashed the first two wartime nuclear attacks.

"Before the war, the founder of Aikido described it as sort of the most lethal martial art. It's the most sophisticated. It was a combination of all that had come before it — one strike Aikido could kill. After the war, it became the 'way of harmony,'" LoPresti said.

He added that the modernized form of the martial art is built around movements to protect both the defender and attacker.

"It's premised on the idea that you should endeavor to engage in conflict resolution without defeating your enemy, right? Because if you defeat your enemy, they're just going to come back for another round," he said.

LoPresti's exhibit debuted in late 2018, but it's being updated with a grant from Reinventing Civil Defense, a project organized by the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Artist from a nuclear residence

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Eric LoPresti presents his "Center-Surround" video installation at the Reinventing Civil Defense expo at the Stevens Institute of Technology on August 9, 2019.Dave Mosher/Business Insider

LoPresti grew up in Richland, Washington, one of several communities that housed workers from the Hanford Site: a nuclear reservation where plutonium-239 was manufactured and refined for tens of thousands of US warheads.

LoPresti said nuclear weapons were a fixture of the town and, for his dad, a subtext for making a living. Hanford Site employed LoPresti's father, a statistician, who worked on projects to clean up environmental damage left over from the decades-long Cold War nuclear arms race.

That childhood in what he called a "nuclear town" guided his future relationship with atomic weapons. Today, LoPresti said, his art strives to take nukes out of the realm of what philosopher Timothy Morton called a "hyperobject" — something so large a person can't think about it, yet without it the world wouldn't make sense — and into one that's comprehensible.

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A 2016 watercolor painting by artist Eric LoPresti titled "Yucca Flat with Blood Red Brushstrokes." The work shows a field of Cold War-era craters at the Nevada National Security Site left by subterranean detonations of nuclear weapons.Courtesy Eric LoPresti

"Center-Surround" is LoPresti's first video installation; most of his other works are paintings. His prior exhibits almost all focus on nuclear weapons, too, and several lean on his obsessive visual studies of the Nevada National Security Site, which sits about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Previously called the Nevada Test Site, the 1,350-square-mile desert laboratory is where the US set off more than 1,000 nuclear weapons, some 921 of them in underground chambers. This left behind a pockmarked landscape of hundreds of roughly 800-foot-wide craters.

These radioactive scars show up in many of LoPresti's paintings.

"I would submit this is a better way to think about nuclear weapons than a mushroom cloud," he said. "Nuclear weapons are one of those very strange things, which is both omnipresent, everywhere, and also sort of impossible to visualize in a concrete way. Because most of it happens invisibly."

With "Center-Surround," LoPresti hopes to make nuclear weapons something anyone can understand as part of US history. He said he's watched people go into his exhibit and relax, only to shudder as they learn about what the numbers and their Aikido representations mean.

"But there wasn't that fear, an amnesia of terror," he said — and quashing that fear is what he believes is a vital step to doing something about nukes.


This story has been updated.
I'm always impressed when martial arts transcends itself to fine art.

[Jimbo]

I have NEVER heard Aikido described as a "one strike could kill" art. "One strike, one kill" (Ikken Hissatsu) was a concept from Japanese swordsmanship that the Japanese later inappropriately applied to karate, when they adapted it from the Okinawans. I've never heard the concept applied to Aikido or to Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu. Although I am aware that Ueshiba's Daito-ryu teacher, Takeda Sokaku, had killed many opponents during his lifetime, and supposedly lived in fear of the ghosts of the men he'd killed. Takeda was also a Kenjutsu master (swordsman), which likely accounted for most of his actual kills.