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A COMPARISON OF TWO

TRADITIONAL, YET
SEEMINGLY DIFFERENT,
JAPANESE STYLES.
Karate-do and Aikido
by Tom Muzila.

(excerpts)
Aikido and shotokan karate are popularly viewed as vastly
different styles. Their approaches to the martial arts appear to
come from opposite ends of the hardness/softness spectrum.
Aikido is considered a soft style, while shotokan is viewed as a
hard system. Yet, they share many similarities.
Although many people interpret aikido as a passive style, highranking aikido instructor Steven Seagal disagrees. "Aikido's
fundamental goal comes from the original martial arts concept:
to kill your opponent," notes Seagal, who lived in Japan for 15
years and studied at aikido's headquarters dojo (training hall)
in Tokyo. "All of the mental and abstract spiritual benefits are
acquired from this base. You must have the capacity to kill and
be able to cut off all attachments to life in your mind to be able
to give life."
Seagal also emphasizes that real aikido is extremely
dangerous. An untrained individual does not know how to fall
or go with the throws. In actual combat, the untrained would
surely break their joints, back or neck.
Conversely, most people view shotokan karate as a hard style.
Yet, at various mental and technical levels, shotokan takes on
a much softer appearance.
Let's take a look at the processes by which karate and aikido
practitioners evolve. The beginning karate student usually

executes a basic punch with solely muscular strength. He


tightens his muscles all the way through the technique. The
muscles contract and work against each other. After an
individual trains for a few months or a year, however, he
learns to relax through the punch and tense only at the end.
At the next level, he doesn't even tense at the end of the
punch, but rather aligns and connects his body as the
technique is completed. An individual has to have executed
thousands of repetitions to achieve this level. The final level
finds the student executing the technique totally relaxed
physically, but superbly connected to his body all the way
through the
technique and possessing tremendous internal spirit. This
type of punch looks the softest, but is actually the most
penetrating of the four stages.
A very small percentage of karate practitioners attain this
advanced level of technique. The karateka (karate stylist)
must let his body find the most efficient and economical way
to punch through diligent, rigorous training and thousands of
repetitions with the appropriate state of mind.
This concept is very similar to aikido. The majority of aikido
techniques, Seagal says, are based either on a square, triangle
or circle. When a person first starts practicing, he will execute
techniques formed on a square. After six months or a year of
diligent practice, he will graduate to the triangle. Eventually,
between one and two years of training, he will be introduced to
the circle. At this level, all techniques are taught efficiently and
economically with the least amount of power. The circle
evolves to a flowing, continuous spiral.
So, while the first few years of aikido and karate training are
interpreted differently, the evolution of the techniques is quite
similar. In its own way, each style graduates from a more
structured, hard and rigid state to a more relaxed, efficient
and economical state.
Aikido and karate have somewhat different ranking systems,
but each adheres to the dan (black belt) concept, which
indicates similar technical, mental and spiritual states. Both
systems are based on a lifetime of practice and self-evolution.

Morihei Uyeshiba (often called O-Sensei), the founder of


aikido, was very mystically and spiritually oriented. Seagal
believes O-Sensei formed his ranking system based on the
concept of an ancient Shinto crest. He said the nine circles
around the outside of the crest all represented planets. The
middle circle represented divine heaven on earth.
Levels in Shintoism
Shotokan karate founder Gichin Funakoshi's ranking system is
based on five dan. The five levels are spread out over a
lifetime of practice similar to the ten dan in aikido. Funakoshi
used the already established ranking systems of judo and
kendo as a model. Noted Los Angeles karate instructor
Tsutomu Ohshima, BLACK BELT's 1987 Man of the Year,
believes Funakoshi fashioned the five dan ranks after the five
consciousness levels an individual evolves through in Zen,
Buddhism, and Shintoism.
It is interesting to note how Funakoshi's ranks relate closely to
Eastern religions. Shodan (first-degree black belt) indicates
that one has acquired a strong foundation of basics and
physical senses. In Eastern religions, it is referred to as
learning to control your physical senses: sight, feel, touch,
hearing and taste. To acquire the nidan rank (second-degree
black belt), one has to achieve an understanding of
combinations and how to strategically apply them. Eastern
religions' second level represents the control of intelligence
and strategy and applying them to life. Sandan (third-degree
black belt) requires one to achieve a calm, strong mind in
conjunction with a presence of relaxation in the shoulders. The
third level's goal in Eastern religions is to master a calm
meditative mind. Yodan (fourth-degree black belt) emphasizes
a oneness of mind and body as related to techniques.
Humanitarian deeds are focused on throughout this rank. The
fourth level of Eastern religions stresses mind-body connection
and focuses on compassion. Godan (fifth-degree black bel
emphasizes impeccable execution in technique an moral
character. It involves channeling spiritual consciousness
through your personally disciplined character. Spirituality and

oneness with God are also the highest levels in Eastern


religions.
Levels in Budism
Levels in Karate
Levels in Shintoism
Although aikido is modeled on a ten-dan system, the process
one goes through is very similar to that in karate. The levels of
evolution are also incredibly similar to Eastern religions. The
first two aikido degrees emphasize strong basics and
combinations, as well as an understanding of strategy. The
third and fourth degrees focus on a confident, calm mind which
can generate strong ki (internal energy). Practitioners at these
levels exude a humble, calm mentality. The fifth level stresses
spirituality and channeling the universe within. The remaining
five degrees continue to amplify the mystical and spiritual
essence of the teachings. An individual's ability to focus ki and
healing abilities are also enhanced at these levels. According to
Seagal, only a few individuals exist within the aikido system
who exemplify these abilities.
Even the various levels of strategy and fighting ability are
exceptionally similar between aikido and karate. The first level
of control over your opponent is through combinations. On the
next level, when your opponent moves, you already have
beaten or hit him. At the next level, you are so overpowering,
your opponent cannot move. A person then learns how to
completely take the fight out of an opponent, then to use his
momentum against him. The highest level is absolute
prevention of a confrontation in essence, harmonizing the
situation.
Uyeshiba and Funakoshi were very different in character, yet
very similar in their expression of concepts and principles of
martial arts as they relate to life. Compare, for example, the
following quotes by the two famous budoka (martial warriors):
Uyeshiba: "Through aiki, extend all your power to
achieve peaceful harmony with the world."
Funakoshi:"Remember the contrast within these three

elements strength and weakness in power; extension and


contraction in body; quickness and slow ness in
techniques."
Uyeshiba:"Winning means winning over the mind of
discord in yourself. It is to accomplish your own bestowed
mission."
Funakoshi: "Know the enemy and know yourself; in a
hundred battles you will never be in peril."
Uyeshiba: "To compete in techniques, winning and losing
is not true budo (warrior way). True budo knows no
defeat. Never defeated means never fighting."
Funakoshi: "To win 100 victories in 100 battles is not
the highest skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is
the highest skill "
Uyeshiba: "The inner state must be like a great calm
sea."
Funakoshi: "A truly great man is not disturbed even
when suddenly confronted with an unexpected event or
crisis."
Uyeshiba: "The essence of aikido does not lie in fighting
with others."
Funakoshi: "One who truly trains in this do (way) and
actually understands karate-do is never easily drawn into
a fight."
As evidenced by their statements, both Funakoshi and
Uyeshiba exemplified the importance of not only making your
body and mind one, but of making your practice and life one.
The paths of aikido and karate are very opposite in specific
elements, but very similar in other ways.
There are many paradoxes in the process. Although each path
is different, one can achieve a similar mental and technical
state in karate or aikido. Even advanced maneuvers such as
throws off of attacks and irimi (entering) techniques possess
numerous elements of a similar nature. Even though there are
subtle differences in the way the arms or feet move, the basic

foundation and principles of execution are the same.


The similarities between the two arts fall into these categories:
mentality, alignment, connection, timing, distance, hips, and
the state of the body. The mentality in which a technique is
executed is similar because a practitioner must give up his life
mentally before he is attacked. He must obtain this state so he
is able to feel and become one with the opponent. It is the
state of not consciously thinking, the Japanese call
it mushin (no mind).
Aikido and karate principles are employed within very similar
parameters. In both styles, an individual must be able to move
in the most efficient and economical way without any external
power or resistance. The mind, body and hips all move as one
unit, driven by incredible internal feeling and spirit. Uyeshiba
had a saying to describe this experience: "My opponent cannot
take my power away because I do not use any."The person
who can acquire this "no power" state will achieve more speed.
He may train for many years to become a split second faster,
but in martial arts, a split second can mean the difference
between life or death.
What happens when one faces an opponent of equal physical
and technical ability? What will be the deciding factor at this
level of combat? The answer is the mind - the most important
factor of all. One who has polished his mind and made it like a
brilliant illuminating crystal, with no mental blocks, will have
the edge. To achieve this state, the individual must pass
through any influencing barriers of pain, emotion, fear, and
insecurity. His training will have been some of the most
rigorous and disciplined of its kind. He must experience hell in
his training so he can appreciate heaven. The individual with
the mental edge knows and senses in his mind that he has
beaten his opponent even before the engagement has begun.
Why is it so difficult for the majority of martial artists to
integrate and harmonize various principles? An individual must
have the mental capacity to filter out unrealistic concepts and
theories in his training. He must have good senior students
and instructors to guide him. But most of all he must rely on
himself to see the truth in his technical and mental
applications of technique and life.

About the Author: Tom Muzila is a high-ranking black belt


under Tsutomu Ohshima in Shotokan Karate of America.
This article appeared in Black Belt Magazine, April 1988.

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