Tokyobling's Blog

Aikido – Meiji Jingu

Posted in Japanese Traditions, People, Places by tokyobling on November 6, 2014

I totally missed this year’s martial arts festival at the grand Meiji Shrine but I had lots of fun at last year’s festival. Aikido was well represented with dozens of practitioners from several countries. When we think of Aikido we don’t imagine the use of deadly blades but sword art is also a central part of Aikido.

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  1. hanna said, on November 6, 2014 at 11:59 am

    When is the martial arts festival usually? I have never heard about it, but it looks pretty interesting ^^

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    • tokyobling said, on November 25, 2014 at 12:59 am

      It is usually held in early November every year. I will try to go again next year as I missed it this year. (^-^)

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  2. rudyhou said, on November 21, 2014 at 5:09 am

    i had no idea. aikido with sword. wow, this looks awesome. wish i was there to watch it in person. i mean, just LOOK at the seriousness on their faces.

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    • tokyobling said, on November 25, 2014 at 2:13 am

      They were super serious indeed. (^-^)

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    • Edohiguma said, on February 12, 2015 at 12:12 am

      Well, those seem to be live weapons. If you’re not fully focused when handling one you will injure yourself and those injuries can be nasty. A fellow student of mine in iaido once almost severed his thumb when sheathing, just because he was tired and not fully focused. Those blades are sharp and designed to kill.

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      • tokyobling said, on February 12, 2015 at 4:09 am

        Ouch, I can totally imagine that happening. I am not so sure about why you would need a fully sharpened blade for Iaido, unless you are into “the genuine experience” or if your blade does double duty in some sport where sharpness is required (see other posts from this even by using the tags). These blades in these pictures are real but not sharpened so the thumb accident would probably not happen here.

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        • Edohiguma said, on February 12, 2015 at 11:07 am

          We’re also cutting with them, so they need to be the real deal.

          But even a blunt blade, if you’re not focused, it’s heavy and solid, it can get you or somebody else hurt.

          I forgot who said this, but I remember “If you don’t realize you can kill someone with a bokken, I don’t want you in my dojo.” And a steel blade is more solid than hard wood.

          Swords, firearms, it’s always the same principle really. There are rules for handling them. If you’re not focused enough to follow the rules, maybe you shouldn’t handle the tool.

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          • tokyobling said, on February 13, 2015 at 2:28 am

            This reminds me of Miyamoto Musashi and the time he fought a duel with an oar…

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          • Edohiguma said, on February 13, 2015 at 11:57 pm

            Yep. He was a very unusual character. He also came too late to duels, Or was already there, sitting under a tree, dozing. He was really good at psychological warfare.

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