Yes, bikini season is over, no more trips to the beach for a while.  But now is the perfect season for outdoor exercise. Autumn weather in Tokyo gives us a great chance to get out and be active, not too hot, not too cold, and sculpt our body into shape before heading back inside for winter hibernation. Where to go? There are more parks to Tokyo than Yoyogi and more places to go to get fit than your local gym. (more…)

Having trained in a myriad of other martial arts before starting up in Capoeira, I had often heard people say that it’s ‘useless’. As a martial art that integrates elements of music, dance, and gymnastics, I could see why those who come from a hard-hitting, strictly-for-self-defense background would think so. When you see people performing it on television or in a live show, there’s no contact. Yes, they are doing high speed kicks, but they are also really far away from each other. There also seems to be no punching, blocks or any other hand techniques for that matter. Lastly, people are singing, clapping, doing backflips, and spinning around on their heads. Hardly an environment condusive to training for the realities of defending oneself. (more…)

As a martial artist for over 16 years, a lot of people have come to me asking me what martial system is best for them, and invariably, my answer has always been the same. “It depends. ”

By and large, asking which martial art is the best is like asking, which car is the best: the answer depends on your tastes and needs.

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While training in Capoeira recently, I’d been trying to master a technique called ‘ Queda de Rins ‘ or in English, “Kidney-drop”. To execute the movement one must let their bodyweight ‘drop’ onto their elbow (which in turn braces against the kidneys) while balancing on the hands. In doing it as well as in practicing the myriad of techniques that stem from it, (such as the Meia Lua Queda de Rins ) I couldn’t help, but be reminded of a break-dancing movement called a ‘turtle‘ and had to ponder just how intertwined the history of these two movement systems actually are.

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Christian Tissier Shihan is an Aikido instructor who holds the rank of 7th dan Aikikai. He spent over 7 years training daily at the Aikido World Headquarters in the 70’s and was the very first foreigner to have reached such a distinction (Shihan rank were reserved, until then, to Japanese instructors). He is now heading the French Aikido federation (FFAAA) which counts more than 30,000 practitioners. I had been trying to conduct an interview with Tissier Shihan for quite some time now and eventually, thanks to his good will and his kindness, things became possible and we managed to meet for a few hours after a coruse he gave in Belgium. There are very few interviews of him published in English so I thought that this would be a great way to introduce him to the English-speaking martial arts community.

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As a scientist, I have often encountered teachers who considered the epistemological approach as an aberration in the study of a Budo, sometimes even like an insult directed towards their work or their own persona. Today, I would like to discuss the benefits there are in studying a Japanese martial art (taking my own speciality, Aikido as example) while keeping in mind what the Enlightened have brought to us.

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Not too long ago, I started shootboxing training. Even though it’s a relatively unfamiliar arena with a different rule system than what I am used to, it’s interesting to see how I can adapt what I know to this particular combat situation, and I can still fight with a fair degree of confidence.

The funny thing about it though, is that this confidence and adaptability didn’t come from from my record of competition wins- it came from overcoming a major loss. Several years ago, I was asked to do a kickboxing match here in Tokyo. As I was the “big mean foreigner” against a local Japanese opponent, the fight’s promoters, (and seemingly everyone else involved) thought it necessary to make sure that I didn’t win. (more…)

The more I spend time in Tokyo practicing at the Aikikai, the more I realize that the world of Aikido is indeed very small. The beauty of this is that it is during random encounters and acquaintances that we make the most crucial experiences for our personal development. Such an acquaintance happened once again on the tatami of the Aikikai Hombu Dojo. Today, I would like to take you for a journey through time, to the discovery of a discipline which is the ancestor of Aikido. Those of you a bit more erudite on the subject know of course that I am talking about the Daito-ryu Aiki- jujutsu.

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Please accept my apologizes for the voluntarily provocative title but I think it sums up well what a little research on the word Budo can teach you. The word Budo is now ubiquitous in the popular culture and it is safe to say that along with sushi, karaoke, bonsai and manga, it figures amongst the most successful exports of the Japanese culture. It is however one of the most misunderstood of all. Today I would like to provide some clues on what Budo is really about. I will first try to explain the origins of the word and then, discuss their implications on nowadays practice.

As an Aikido instructor and lifelong martial arts practitioner, I often had to explain what this discipline was about; in particular, what made it different from other arts such as Judo, Karatedo or Kendo. (more…)