The aim of this article is to provide a case study to hopefully inform the readers on how they can support the authors whose work they appreciate, and avoid providing undeserved exposure to content farms. Some time ago, one of my readers shared with me a post from a Facebook page that, he said, looked like it was reposting my articles without credit. I went to look at the page called “Aikido and Budo” and indeed, I found out that they were basically posting a large amount of Aikido content that was already available online, most of the time without giving any credit or context.

Many of us aikidoka are eager to read about the lives of the various pioneers of our art. From the direct pupils of Ueshiba Morihei who first went abroad, to the early Westerners who gave up everything to meet with the founder, there is no shortage of colorful and inspiring stories. Some, however, seem to be conspicuously missing from the record, even though their lives are nothing less than incredible, even worthy of a book in themselves. One of such people is early American aikido practitioner Virginia Mayhew. Though her name is mentioned at times by better known instructors, few resources are actually available about her life. Today I would like to look back into her incredible life and highlight her influence on the development of our art.

In this series, I try to bring to the attention of the Japanese public a number of foreign practitioners without whom Aikido would not be as widely practiced as it is today. Few people deserve the title of pioneer as much as the individual I would like to present today, for he not only introduced the practice of Aikido in his country, Ireland, but also that of Karatedo.

I have previously written about Hisa Takuma and Nakatsu Heizaburo, who were both the students of Ueshiba Morihei, and then Takeda Sokaku, at the dojo of the Asahi newspaper in Osaka between 1934 and 1939. This period is particularly interesting for me since besides aikido, I also practice Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu in Hisa's line within the Takumakai, and in that of Nakatsu within the Shikoku Hombu. Although I have had the opportunity to talk with many senior teachers from these two lines, there is still much to be clarified about this period, in particular the circumstances surrounding the arrival of Takeda in Osaka in June 1936, and the subsequent departure of Ueshiba.

I have been searching through old issues of the defunct Shin Budo magazine for the past year or so and thanks to the help of Baptiste Tavernier, I was able to lay my eyes on this interesting presentation of Ueshiba Morihei entitled "New budo, that is, Divine budo" (新武道即ち神武道), which was published in the June 1941 issue.

Shin Budo (新武道, lit. new budo) is a now defunct magazine that ran through from April 1941 through most of World War II. It argued that budo could bear some worthwhile teachings that could, often literally, be applied within the greater scope of the Pacific War. Indeed, the journal's editorial line was clearly pro-Japanese expansionism and it played its role as a propaganda medium, using such tactics as the glorification of the Japanese identity through its martial techniques, and drawing on a sense of tradition. In its short life, the journal had as contributors a number of people from the military, but also some of the most proficient budo practitioners of that time. Ueshiba himself contributed this technical article, showing both empty-handed and with weapons.

Most history books about Aikido mention at one point or another the famous first public demonstration held for five days on the rooftop of Takashimaya Department Store in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district. Its significance is indeed great since it constitutes one of the most important breaks between the secretive nature of Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu transmission and the universal ambitions of Aikido. While this event was truly a cornerstone for Aikido’s development in Japan and beyond, I have come to realize through my years of research that the information that was given about it was very inconsistent, which has always bothered me since I always try to make sure that the information add in my articles is accurate. I started to look more carefully into it, and found out that indeed, most sources available contained some inaccuracies of some sort, from the date at which the event itself took place, to the images used to accompany the text.

Some might find this an essay on a trivial subject—a one-hundred-year old personal debt. How this debt is interpreted, however, defines the nature of the relationship of two men: Takeda Sokaku and Ueshiba Morihei. It is remarkable how an assertion, however small, can create—or at least confirm—a myth. In this case, the myth is the domineering relationship of Takeda Sokaku towards his student, Ueshiba Morihei, and that, even further, Sokaku was grasping, even greedy. The account of this allegedly unfair debt is used to buttress the claim that Takeda Sokaku intrusively, inescapably controlled Ueshiba’s life. For partisans of Ueshiba, he is perceived to be somewhat of a victim, bound by honor and loyalty to a teacher who made surpassingly unreasonable demands upon him.

Ueshiba Morihei (植芝 盛平, 1883 - 1969), the founder of Aikido never made any particular effort to teach what he was doing. Indeed, he did not seem to give technical explanations, and when he did speak, his words were essentially centered on philosophy rather than technique. There are also very few direct sources of information describing his techniques except for some videos and photos (including those of the 1938 book entitled Budo, but the various editions available are quite incomplete and/or poorly organized), but no true pedagogic manual. The closest thing to that is to be found in the book Aiki-jujutsu Densho (合気柔術伝書, lit.: textbook of aiki-jujutsu) published in 1934 and better known as Budo Renshu (武道練習, lit.: Budo practice). In this article, I would like go back to the origin of this book, explain why it is so important, and offer suggestions on what its content can bring in the context of an aikido that keeps evolving.

I was recently invited on Aikido Journal's podcast to talk about Aikido practice in Japan. Since Josh Gold has taken up upon himself to pursue Stanley Pranin's work, he has been very active in terms of producing new content, and a number of people from the younger generation of Aikidoka have been given the chance to express their views.

The japanese word budo is omnipresent in popular culture and yet, it is one of the most misunderstood, including by budoka themselves. I would like to briefly explain the origin of this term and describe its fundamental intrinsic contradictions. Those are mostly due to the fact that budo consists in the study of ancient warfare techniques, but less for the purpose of fighting than to provide a means of education and personal development. I do not intent to resolve these contradictions, but instead, I would like to propose some ways to understand them, and more importantly, to learn how to embrace them, so that one can make the most of budo.

I previously wrote about a number of foreign aikido pioneers, including my teacher and good friend Alan Ruddock, who used to talk at length to me about the small group of foreigners who studied at the old Aikikai Hombu Dojo during the mid-60’s under Ueshiba Morihei Sensei. Alan had wonderful things to say about every one of them but I always felt that he became especially lively when talking about Ken Cottier. Alan being Irish and Ken English, they perhaps related culturally in an environment that was so foreign to them. Today I would like to tell the story of Ken Cottier, based on what Alan told me, on some of Cottier’s own writings, which Alan compiled in a book before passing away, and on the recollections of a few people who kindly accepted to talk to me.