MITSUGI SAOTOME: TAKEMUSU AIKI

Direct student of the founder of Aikido, Saotome Sensei urges Aikido Students to go beyond basic technical practice (as demonstrated in his first video, The Principles of Aikido) to a more advanced level — where the study focuses on the “risk points” of “martial situations.”

a direct student of Aikido’s legendary founder — explains the use of the staff (jo) as a training tool for Aikido. After discussing basic jo movements and exercises, Saotome Sensei offers a sequence of six kumijo (complex two person kata), each with several variations. The video also includes ten of Saotome Sensei’s “patrol kata” (paired forms with the long staff), a brief interview on weapons training, and several spontaneous demonstrations.