Simone Chierchini's Blog
February 13, 2022
How to discover the matrices of Aikidō
"In my opinion, those who practice in different Aikidō styles have the potential opportunity to discover the matrices of Aikidō as a whole, and, again potentially, to reach the level of Takemusu Aiki, why not, in which the techniques do not occur as a consequence of prior study. They simply happen.
“Having said that, the above is in no way within everyone’s grasp, it goes without saying. It could only occur if the practitioner’s commitment and related martial experiences were somewhat similar to those of O-sensei’s direct disciples. It would be necessary to practice as much as the various Shioda, Mochizuki, Nishio, Saito did in their time, getting exposed with the same continuity and intensity to the best contemporary representatives of all the Aikidō styles. At the same time, one should strive to practice and understand at least at a fair level a number of related martial disciplines - including those developed after the war and in more recent times, from boxing to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Don’t misunderstand me, this is not to mix different disciplines in an impractical soup, but to build a body and a martial awareness to some extent comparable to that of Morihei Ueshiba’s direct deshi.
“Whether the above is necessary or of any interest to the ordinary practitioner I have very serious doubts." (S. Chierchini)
The Parent - Interview with Simone Chierchini
The Aiki Dialogues #9 - by Marco Rubatto
https://aikidoitalianetworkpublishing...
Find “The Parent” in your Amazon Marketplace:
US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QF9K4VV
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09QF9K4VV
FRA – https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09QF9K4VV
DE – https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09QF9K4VV
AU – https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09QF9K4VV
JP – https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B09QF9K4VV
ITA – https://www.amazon.it/dp/B09NR9NZJM/ (versione italiana)
Full Catalogue:
https://aikidoitalianetworkpublishing...
“Having said that, the above is in no way within everyone’s grasp, it goes without saying. It could only occur if the practitioner’s commitment and related martial experiences were somewhat similar to those of O-sensei’s direct disciples. It would be necessary to practice as much as the various Shioda, Mochizuki, Nishio, Saito did in their time, getting exposed with the same continuity and intensity to the best contemporary representatives of all the Aikidō styles. At the same time, one should strive to practice and understand at least at a fair level a number of related martial disciplines - including those developed after the war and in more recent times, from boxing to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Don’t misunderstand me, this is not to mix different disciplines in an impractical soup, but to build a body and a martial awareness to some extent comparable to that of Morihei Ueshiba’s direct deshi.
“Whether the above is necessary or of any interest to the ordinary practitioner I have very serious doubts." (S. Chierchini)
The Parent - Interview with Simone Chierchini
The Aiki Dialogues #9 - by Marco Rubatto
https://aikidoitalianetworkpublishing...
Find “The Parent” in your Amazon Marketplace:
US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QF9K4VV
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09QF9K4VV
FRA – https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09QF9K4VV
DE – https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09QF9K4VV
AU – https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09QF9K4VV
JP – https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B09QF9K4VV
ITA – https://www.amazon.it/dp/B09NR9NZJM/ (versione italiana)
Full Catalogue:
https://aikidoitalianetworkpublishing...
The Translator - Interview with Christopher Li
"This passion of yours for researching, where does it come from?”
“[...] When I started, we didn’t know anything. Nobody knew anything about anything, really. I think Stan Pranin had a couple of those Aiki News magazines out and they looked like they were from a copy machine [...] and there was some very basic information coming out. There were a couple of books that weren’t very good, John Stevens came out with his book about Shirata sensei and that had a short biography of Morihei Ueshiba in the beginning. At that time we called it ‘The Biography of Morihei Ueshiba’, [...] because there really were no good biographies, no detailed biographies. [...] I really started getting into it more heavily when my Japanese got better. [...] and I started reading a lot of things that I hadn't been able to access before. I was able to read a lot of original sources and books on Aikidō and other things that I hadn’t been able to read before, and that weren't available in English. [...] In combination with online discussions, I guess that really got things moving. Also Stan Pranin, of course, was providing a huge wealth of material by that point, so there was just more information, more things to dig into." (Chris Li)
The Translator - Interview with Christopher Li
The Aiki Dialogues #2 - by Simone Chierchini, Christopher Li
https://aikidoitalianetworkpublishing...
Find “The Translator” in your Amazon Marketplace:
US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095GQGBRK/
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B095GQGBRK/
ITA – https://www.amazon.it/dp/B095GQGBRK/
FRA – https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B095GQGBRK/
DE – https://www.amazon.de/dp/B095GQGBRK/
AU – https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B095GQGBRK/
JP – https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B095GQGBRK/
IN – https://www.amazon.in/dp/B095GQGBRK/
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B095GQGBRK/
Full Catalogue:
https://aikidoitalianetworkpublishing...
“[...] When I started, we didn’t know anything. Nobody knew anything about anything, really. I think Stan Pranin had a couple of those Aiki News magazines out and they looked like they were from a copy machine [...] and there was some very basic information coming out. There were a couple of books that weren’t very good, John Stevens came out with his book about Shirata sensei and that had a short biography of Morihei Ueshiba in the beginning. At that time we called it ‘The Biography of Morihei Ueshiba’, [...] because there really were no good biographies, no detailed biographies. [...] I really started getting into it more heavily when my Japanese got better. [...] and I started reading a lot of things that I hadn't been able to access before. I was able to read a lot of original sources and books on Aikidō and other things that I hadn’t been able to read before, and that weren't available in English. [...] In combination with online discussions, I guess that really got things moving. Also Stan Pranin, of course, was providing a huge wealth of material by that point, so there was just more information, more things to dig into." (Chris Li)
The Translator - Interview with Christopher Li
The Aiki Dialogues #2 - by Simone Chierchini, Christopher Li
https://aikidoitalianetworkpublishing...
Find “The Translator” in your Amazon Marketplace:
US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095GQGBRK/
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B095GQGBRK/
ITA – https://www.amazon.it/dp/B095GQGBRK/
FRA – https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B095GQGBRK/
DE – https://www.amazon.de/dp/B095GQGBRK/
AU – https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B095GQGBRK/
JP – https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B095GQGBRK/
IN – https://www.amazon.in/dp/B095GQGBRK/
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B095GQGBRK/
Full Catalogue:
https://aikidoitalianetworkpublishing...
