Our lineage

It all starts with Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu, a form of traditional Jujutsu that emphasizes the concept of early neutralization of an attack. Daito-ryu employs throwing techniques and joint manipulations to subdue and injure an attacker and is characterized by ample use of atemi, or the striking of vital areas, to set up joint locking, breakings, or submissions from deceptive angles. This brilliant martial art was created by Shinra Saburo Minamoto Yoshimitsu, a military commander in the Heian period (794-1185) and later handed down to the Takeda family. Sokaku Takeda spread it all over Japan, and, as a result, he became known as the founder of Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu.

Aikido was born from Daito-ryu. The new art, tranlated as “the path of Aiki,” is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai budo) developed by Morihei Ueshiba who derived it from the teachings of Sokaku Takeda. Nevertheless, it began to diverge from Takeda’s style in the late 1920s due to Ueshiba’s commitment to resolving conflict without injuring the opponent. For this reason, many of its techniques are rooted in the aiki-no-jutsu portions of the Daito-ryu curriculum rather than the more direct and devastating system of joint-locking and breaking techniques. Today Aikido can be found worldwide and comes in many styles and flavors, with broad ranges of interpretation and emphasis. However, they all share techniques transmitted from Takeda and Ueshiba, and most styles share Ueshiba's deep concern for the attacker’s well-being. At OC Aiki Club, we study classical Aikido, as our curriculum aligns with the requirements of the Aikikai Foundation but incorporates original elements streaming from the work of one of Ueshiba's best students, Hirokazu Kobayashi and transmitted through the Osaka Buikukai, an organization based in the Kansai region of Japan.