Gozo Shioda was born in Tokyo in 1915, and became on of the best students of Morihei Ueshiba, who is the founder of Modern Aikido.
Gozo Shioda was holder of the 9th Rank Belt. He is the founder of The school of
Aikido Named
Yoshinkan.
He was Chief Instructor for the Police of Tokyo, the air self defense force, the japanes National Railways, and some universities like Sophia University and Maiji Gakuin.
The Aikido Style of Yoshinkan is really well adapted to "Surprise Street Attack" SSA, as I call them.
You are able to deal not only with frontal attacks, but also with attacks from the rear, or any attack coming from any side.
The ease of the movements is uncomparable. The Yoshinkan Style is also caracterised by a hard and dynamic style concerned with the practicality of its techniques, however, it has the essence of the Aikido instructed by Morihei Ueshiba.
Gozo founded Yoshinkan on the Aiki Budo (the first name of Aikido when Morihei was training at the Kobukan dojo) principle: the hard Aikido.
I really like his "aikido enlightenment" principle: After an incident with some members of a Chinese Gang in Shangai, he said that you could only truly appreciate what aikido was about once you had used it in a life-or-death situation such as this.
It is true for every arts. You can't understand how it's powerful until the test: "Die or Survive"...
Read more about
Gozo Shioda and his nights excursions against Gangs on Wiki I like that... Morihei didn't like that though.
My really first contact about Aikido was a night(years ago) while I was working at an event in Paris as a Security Guard with Baffalo Protection. (What a team of fighter... A real team of Bushis) Each of us was doing an art, everyday.
For instance, I had two or three seances of training per day, and the last from 9 to 10 pm(just the time to change, eat something, and go back to work ). Each time I was going to work, I was someone else, a warrior; I knew this day could be the last. If you are working in this field, you know what I am talking about.
So that day, I noticed one of our mate, which was always alone, never talking to anyone. I knew all the others, in my team, My superior was a master of Chinese Boxing, that was in Taekwendo, this one Boxing, myself in Silat.
However I didn't know anything about that man and we was working together for months!
So I went to him, and asked: "what is your art". He answered: "Aikido". I said: : Show me what you can do", he replied: "come". Immediately, I attacked him (I am not a fan of attack, I prefer to defend), and he put me on the floor with one wrist technique.
It was amazing, I asked him to show me the technique in details, and I knew from that time that Aikido was something I need to practice and master at a later stage.
It was like the "Scientific Martial Art". Everything was calculated, I like that. No need to be stronger than your opponent, a complete "Scientific and highly optimized system of techniques".
We had that technique in Silat, but I saw at the first glance that it was more elaborated in Aikido...
I am now practicing Aikido, and I want to master the art.
Yo = cultivating
Shin = spirit,mind
Kan = house
Yoshinkan = The house for the cultivation of mind
Take Care...
Self Defense Techniques,
aikido,
Morihei Ueshiba,
Gozo Shioda,
Yoshinkan,
aiki budo
