Friday, October 9, 2009

Taido - A Unique Budo

By Bill Williams

Taido was thought up Seiken Shukumine. He founded this Japanese budo school in the early 1960s. The meaning of Taido karate is "way of the body, and it is based on a classical Okinawan fighting method known as Te. Taido was not the only time that Shukumine had founded a unique martial arts style. When he was not yet 30 years old, he created a new kind of karate he called Gensei-Ryu.

Karate and other fighting styles have been widely practiced in the West for a number of years. In those years, prior to the founding of Taido, most training was rudimentary and the original techniques for this "empty handed" style of fighting remained essentially unchanged. yet, peoples perception of martial arts was changing and Shukumine was a student of philosophy and noticed what would have to be rethought as far as how traditional martial arts styles of training were concerned.

Shukumine thought that there were some issues with karate that limited the way it could be applied and learned. There wasnt enough creativity and independence and the repetitions of the essential punches and kicks would quickly cease to challenge most trainees.

Older martial arts techniques involved set and uninspired movements. Karate didn't change over the years with new methods and instructions that were given to the students.

Shukumine saw that the martial arts would be accepted as a defensive art form if he could conceive a way to generate more movements and innovations. He wanted to allow students the opportunity to be inspired by their training and for this to happen the work and teacher had to inspire them. These thoughts became the driving force that would help him to create Taido karate. Before he founded Taido, Seiken Shukumine launched a martial arts form that was called Genseiryu karate. This was quite popular, but still he knew it wasnt enough.

He felt that he would have to update traditional karate movements and training methods, and finally in 1965 his new Taido karate form opened. Taido was a modern, unique form of martial arts that includes many aerial moves. It requires a student to make use of twists, spins, speed and changing angles of the body. Shukumine's hope was to use Taido karate to promote the study and training of karate and other martial arts.

The purpose of Taido is to improve the awareness of the students who practice this martial arts form. Shukumine had one ultimate goal as far as the study of Taido karate was concerned. He wanted to be able to help all Taido practitioners reach their highest potential in all aspects of their lives.

Taido Principles

Taido practitioners must make sure that their mind is calm and relaxed. The mind needs to be as reflective as a polished mirror. Then they can understand the very heart of any situation. If the mind is kept calm and clear it will keep a student from being confused.

Taido teaches students that the mind and body must be united in their purpose. They must work together as a single entity. When a person acts in the correct manner, any type of threats will not bother him.

Taido students are encouraged to learn to call upon the deepest power that is at the center of their being. Once a Taido karate practitioner has achieved this level, they will not experience any anxiety of confrontation or battle.

If a Taido student follows these actions, he will always manage to conduct themselves in an honorable and correct manner.

Taido teaches free thought, adaptability and flexibility in both techniques and thought. When a person has appropriate moves, their challenges cannot best them.

Basic Taido Body Movements

Sen- Taido movements that involve vertical spinning. Un - movements making use of wave like motion that ascends and descends. Hen - kicks that involve a toppling motion resulting in changes to the axis of the body. Nen - movements with horizontal spinning. Ten - tumbling or flipping motions.

Besides the punches and kicks, there are two different methods that are used to prepare to deliver the strikes. Unsoku - fast and wide footwork for adjusting space and angle to the opponent. Unshin - locomotion movements that are acrobatic in nature and dont involve actual stepping on the floor.

Taido Tournament Events

There are a few special types of Taido Karate competitions that students can engage in. Jissen is the act of sparring, Taido style. Taido forms are called Hokei - closely related to kata in Karate. Tenkai- these are bouts that are acted out by teams of Taido members in which the central hero must stand against five of his "opponents" and demonstrate challenging or unique techniques.

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