Interview with Kenji Tomiki
Links to the Aikido Journal articles Part 1 and 2.
a few excerpts from the above extensive article:
“The arts were divided into specific fields based on the type of technique. An old time practitioner of Ninjutsu, the Art of Stealth, thought only of the real life application. He would do anything he had to do in order to win. This was, of course, because they used technique for the purpose of war, and from that point of view you had to be able to cope with a long engagement distance or a short one, you could jump, do anything necessary. But if we move up to the present we don’t think about such realistic applications. Through our training we forge our spirits (kokoro) and bodies, and so doing we concern ourselves with being useful in more peaceful pursuits. This is the modern way of thinking, and it is so precisely because it is not warlike.”
“Here, again, I can point out this problem as an example. If I take a hand, I can twist it this way or I can reverse it this way. There are only these two possibilities, right? But in the classical arts one teacher would call the reverse movement the “Konoha gaeshi” (tree-leaf reverse) while some other teacher might say “kotegaeshi.” Even though the technical content is the same, the name is completely different. On top of it all, they would hide this fact and we end up being unable to understand any of it.”
“The idea that if he cuts me I’ll cut him is a very animal-like way of thinking, isn’t it? But the way of doing it that is the most human, and human with a good conscience, it is the way which controls violence but doesn’t cause injury. I personally think that the fact O-Sensei had opened to him such an enlightenment is a thing of great meaningfulness.”
”Therefore, in viewing our present peaceful society and looking forward to a peaceful future, I think that “sportification” (kyogika), the conversion to competitive sport, is the best way to spread the outstanding points and the benefits of budo to the world.”
Read the entire article via the above links.