The Origins of Yoshinkan Aikido
Modern Aikido evolved from Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu, which is said to have originated around 900 AD. It was passed down through the generations, though only to direct descendants of the Japanese royal family until Sokaku Takeda began teaching art outside the family in the mid-19th century.
Takeda’s most outstanding student was a small man named Morihei Ueshiba. Ueshiba augmented Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu with the essentials of other traditional martial arts he had mastered and with techniques of his own, thereby founding ‘Aikido’ in the early 20th century.
One of Ueshiba’s most talented students was Gozo Shioda, who went on to begin the Yoshinkan style of Aikido. Gozo Shioda, born in 1915, studied and earned a 3rd Dan in Judo while still a teenager. He then discovered Morihei Ueshiba’s school and immersed himself in an eight-year, full-time, intense study of this new martial art. He readily mastered Ueshiba’s teachings and was eventually awarded Aikido’s first 9th Dan.
The tremendous popularity of Aikido in Japan probably dates back to 1954 when an exhibition of Japanese martial arts was organized in Tokyo. Masters of many Japanese martial arts participated, but Shioda’s astonishing demonstration made him easily attain the top award. As a result of his exhibition, many sponsors offered support, so Gozo Shioda’s now-famous Yoshinkan (‘House for Cultivating the Spirit’) Dojo was firmly established.
Yoshinkan Aikido is now taught nationally in Japanese schools and the Tokyo Police Department, as well as to the general public. Yoshinkan Aikido has also spread worldwide. In 1990, Gozo Shioda established the International Yoshinkan Aikido Federation (IYAF) to unite and organize virtually all global Yoshinkan Aikido dojos and instructors.
On the 17th of July, 1994, Gozo Shioda passed away at age 78. His gift to all was the dynamic power of Yoshinkan Aikido coupled with a clear and effective teaching method, which will ensure the continued development of powerful Aikido techniques well into the future.
