Taikyoku Aikido 太曲合気道 with Ellis Amdur

Taikyoku Aikido is based on Ellis Amdur's observation that all of aikido can be ‘mapped’ on one of five vectors, which conform rather closely to the ikkyo through gokyo aikido techniques. Because we are focusing on over-arching principles, we use the term Taikyoku (太曲 - “great themes”). Taikyoku is a subject of a larger study, being carried out by training brothers such as Budd Yuhasz, who has been focusing on these vectors as a media to explore both internal training and body-to-body grappling/striking, and Robert Van Valkenburgh, who, in addition to these same concerns has been applying taikyoku within a context of traditional hapkido. The video that follows is extracted from a several day seminar on taikyoku aikido. It is not an exhaustive exposition on this subject, and we are releasing it just to give interested people an opportunity to view what we believe is an intriguing perspective on aikido training. We had not planned on making a video, so we’ve done the best we can extracting salient points from the record of a stationary video camera. Technically, you will observe elements of the aikido techniques of Kuroiwa Yoshio, Nishio Shoji and Terry Dobson, Ellis Amdur's three main influences. This is not, however, intended as another aikido ‘style.’ Rather, we regard it as an open-source system, one that should prove useful to any practitioner. Our goal is to create a training methodology that will enable practitioners to become more powerful and adaptable, particularly in freestyle conditions, without having to abandon or alter the aikido form that they already practice. This can prove invaluable in learning kaeshiwaza (countering techniques) and atemijutsu (“hitting body,” – in other words, training your entire body to give your opponent forceful impact upon contact). Finally, although this is not a system of ‘internal training,’ a subject of considerable interest to some, those interested in this type of study can easily use these movement vectors to ‘contain’ one’s internal training so that it is applicable within an aikido context. For more information on Taikyoku Budo (太曲武道), contact: Ellis Amdur: http://edgeworkbooks.com/ or http://kogenbudo.org/ Budd Yuhasz: http://www.taikyokubudo.com/ Robert Van Valkenburgh: http://holisticbudo.com/ or http://kogendojo.com/ Jevin Orcutt: Contact Info Coming Soon