Yoshinkan Aikido and Variation 1, 2,3...Reconstructing Omote and Ura

This is an ongoing reconstruction of a popular article I wrote years ago on the Aikikai's use of Omote and Ura examined from a historical and political perspective.  I found much to respect out of the different schools I researched.  

Gozo Shioda started with Morihei Ueshiba in 1932, the year after the Manchurian Incident.  Kenji Tomiki had been a student of Ueshiba for about six years, and didn't leave to open a school in occupied China for about four years to come.  Morihei Ueshiba would continue to be a Daito Ryu student in good standing until 1937.  Prior to this, Shioda's father had been a Kendo and Judo instructor in his own right and Gozo Shioda studied these arts too.

After Shioda's time serving during the war, he returned to Japan in 1946 and spent months searching for his family in Kyushu.  He did return to study with Ueshiba in Iwama for a month, but he needed to earn a living in post war Japan.  He started to teach Aikido in 1950, and worked for a shipping company in Yokohama.  In 1954, he won the prize for Most Outstanding Demonstration in the All Japan Kobudo Competition.  He was able to take this opportunity to get sponsorship to open a dojo and founded the Yoshinkan Aikido style in 1955.  He adopted the name of his father's Judo dojo for his own school.  Two years later he developed an intensive training course for the Tokyo Metro police department called the Senshusei. 

From a young man during the war, to running a post war security firm, to working as a law enforcement trainer; Shioda Sensei had views on Aikido that do not resonate with many Aikikai westerners.  From Wikipedia:  Shioda viewed Aikido as being "not a sport but a budo. Either you defeat your opponent or he defeats you. You cannot complain that he did not follow the rules. You have to overcome your opponent in a way appropriate to each situation."

For all the machismo described in Angry White Pygamas (written by a British man who took the one year long Senshusei course) and the focus on combat effectiveness, Shioda achieved something that far too few other Aikido teachers achieved - he went his own way, AND stayed on good terms with the Ueshiba family.  He continued to credit Daito Ryu and Takeda Sensei as the primary source of Aikido techniques as he became a famous teacher in his own right.  Able to give amazing demos and demonstrate breathtaking skills, he never claimed magical powers or advanced spiritual growth.  He openly stated all of his skills were attainable, and that they were the result of dedicated hard work.  Unquestioned as an authority on Aikido and as a martial artist, the development of his association was cordial and not associated with the competitive acrimony that too many other organizations would see come to pass.  In this, he achieved something that other "more harmonious" organizations failed to do.  Nevertheless, this system was not developed to be all things to all people nor a spiritual path.

The language of Yoshinkan is different than the language of Daito Ryu.  Ikkajo is no longer a catalogue of 30 techniques but instead refers to one technique.  Also, while a Daito Ryu kata apparently refers to both an attack and a response (ie Karaminage refers to a technique I learned as Mune Dori Menuchi Jujigarame, both Uke's and Nage's roles are determined by the Daito Ryu name), Shioda would name a technique in a fashion more familiar to Aikikai people - the attack, then the response, and then the variation ie Shomenuchi Ikkajo Osae Ichi.

I have not seen anywhere that Shioda referred to Omote and Ura.  He did use Ichi and Ni (1 and 2) for variations.  Calling different variations "1" and "2" is a very simple approach, but this also leaves the possibility of other variations.  Or, fewer.  I first started this bit of research over the USAF adding Jujinage Omote and Ura, Kotegaeshi Omote and Ura, Tenchinage Omote and Ura, and Kaitenage Omote and Ura to the test requirements.  While I know there are multiple variations of some techniques, I couldn't tell what variation was being called Omote or Ura, nor could I see why.  I found groups like Yoshinkan did not insist that there was a Variation 1 or Variation 2 for every technique.  Some techniques are 1 to 5, some just have one.

This is in keeping with other older generation non-Yoshinkan teachers like Shirata Rinjiro who had three categories of Iriminage (in addition to Omote and Ura) or five types of Shihonage (including Omote and Ura).  I see Aikikai teachers are aware of the different movements, but they either don't name the variation, or the variation in question just gets arbitrarily assigned to one of our two categories.  Some get associated with the teacher, "Today we're doing it Bill's way."  While Ikkajo (1) and (2) bear some resemblance to Ikkyo Omote and Ura, this is not true across the board for all techniques.  Aikikai does not have a way to communicate these extra variations, nor do we categorize them that I am aware of.  So, 1, 2, 3...not only is more specific but also lends itself to greater numbers of possibilities than Omote and Ura.

No particular definition is required of variation 1 or 2 in Yoshinkan.  The response is not necessarily linear for variation 1, nor necessarily turning for variation 2.  The different variations are not always intended to mirror each other.  

The defining difference seems to be how Uke is attacking.  While Katate Dori Ai Hamni is a specific attack for Aikikai, the Yoshinkan system will divide up variations based on if Uke (Tori) is pushing, pulling, opening, closing, stiffy sitting in one spot, lifting up, sinking down, etc.  This becomes an Uke-centric approach to training - throughout training, the student is learning to respond to very specific attacks from Uke.  Uke helps a very clear reflex.

The language of Shodokan Aikido: Reconstructing Omote and Ura

This is an ongoing reconstruction of a popular article I wrote years ago on the Aikikai's use of Omote and Ura examined from a historical and political perspective.  Tomiki Sensei is someone I have developed a profound respect for as I took the opportunity to correct far too many misconceptions of my own.

I mistakenly thought early on that Yoshinkan Aikido was the original Aikido.  And, in many ways it is. However, Kenji Tomiki was training with Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei before Shioda Sensei and was the first 8th Dan in Aikibudo in 1940.  Tomiki Sensei was teaching in Manchuria in 1936.  Yoshinkan, Shioda Sensei’s organization, did not open until the 1950’s.  The foundations for Shodokan Aikido are slightly older.  

The language is completely different than other Aikido systems.  Tomiki's physical distance from Ueshiba?  While a long time direct student, he was in Mongolia while Ueshiba was in Japan. 

Influences from other arts and Kano Jigoro?  Tomiki was as much if not more a student of Jigoro Kano as Morihei Ueshiba.  He was a product of two masters, and a student of Kano first chronologically.  He arrived at O Sensei's dojo already a 5th Dan.  His work to develop Aikido Kata mirrors the kata that Kano developed for Judo, as does his system of competition.  Like the other Judo students later deployed by Kano Jigoro Sensei, he had a Judo mindset and a Judo approach to things - like consistent training methods and specific, consistent language. 

While his Aikido looks very different for the beginning student, ultimately the differences start to fall away. I like the comment from Patrick Parker:  “I believe this is how Kano would have taught Ueshiba’s art.”  One possible example of Kano's influence is the use of the name Wakigatame - I learned this movement as Higikime and the USAF calls this technique Rokkyo.  This is a Judo name, and it is used in other arts but I don't see mention of this name in Daito Ryu nor is it used in other Aikido schools.

Ultimately, there was a schism and Shodokan Aikido became a separate organization.  This system of Aikido developed a system of competition, which led to Tomiki Sensei leaving/removed from the Hombu umbrella. Things did not end there. Aikido people who will talk about the importance of martial competence and pre-war Aikido often do not mention Tomiki Sensei, nor would most Aikikai students recognize a demonstration of Shodokan Aikido as Aikido (most would see the similarities in some kata, but the overall performance would have someone wondering if they were watching a performance of another art.) Shomen Ate is not a name most Aikikai students would recognize, but I use it now myself. I find this a much better approach than calling this movement (and a billion other unrelated movements) “Kokyunage.”

Aikiweb had a great thread going of research into the various correlations.  I am not here to repeat this excellent research.  I am doing something far more rudimentary.

Ikkyo Omote and Ura as I learned them would be referred to as Oshi-Taoshi and Tentai Oshi-Taoshi according to one student, Dr Lee Ah Loi (I see other Tomiki students using the spelling I am more familiar with - Tenkai).  This sounded much like Koichi Tohei's approach on first glance:  Omote and Ura are referred to usually as Irimi and Tenkan in Tohei's system.  I am used to see the variation of a technique denoted at the end of a name ie) Ikkyo Ura or Ikkyo Tenkan. Tentai Oshi Taoshi is the same technique with the opposite grammar. 

This isn't true for all Shodokan techniques when compared with Aikikai variations.  Take another basic technique like Sankyo.  Tomiki referred to Kote Hineri and Tenkai Kote Hineri for two techniques that I would recognize as Sankyo.  Variations that could still be called Sankyo Omote or Ura (or Sankyo Irimi and Sankyo Tenkan) are present in either version, and the Irimi, Tenkan or Uchitenkan initial movement seems optional outside of kata practice.  The defining feature seems to be which hand is predominantly applying the lock(?). (I learned Sankyo first as a two handed technique, and then learned one-handed variations in the CAF.)  The usage of the prefix does not imply a heads-or-tails approach.  Kote Hineri and Tenkai Kote Hineri are two ideas that are presented to stand alone.  Oshi-Taoshi and Tenkai Oshi-Taoshi are not given the same treatment, only Oshi-Taoshi is part of the basic 17.  The same applies to Shihonage and Kotegaeshi.

In transitioning from Daito Ryu sets, Ippon Dori is first technique found in Ikkajo and resembles Ikkyo closely, Kote Zumi is the first technique in Nikajo and resembles Nikyo the most closely, Ura Gote is the first technique in the Yonkajo set and most resembles Yonkyo. The Daito Ryu Hiden Mokuroku Sankajo technique Kobushigaeshi becomes the kata most Aikikai people now associate with Sankyo. I had mistakenly thought Kote Hineri was the oldest name for this movement. The actual first technique of the Sankajo series, Tsuriotoshi, is something I remember calling Dai Sankyo in the CAF, Tomiki calls Udegarami, and I now often hear called "the Nikyo pin" in the USAF. 

A glance back at our more recent Daito Ryu roots in Aikido: Omote andUra Reconstruction

Most people now agree that Daito Ryu was the primary technical influence on Morihei Ueshiba and Aikido. The language has some similarities, but a large number of disparities. Check out Daito Ryu Aikijujutsu's Hiden Mokuroku Ikkajo and Nikajo to get a sense of what I am talking about. Fair warning - there seems to be four or five main schools (all from the last century and all descended from Sokaku Takeda like Morihei Ueshiba's Aikido), and they do not agree completely on how many techniques make up Ikkajo or Nikajo (some say 30, some say 31). The list was acquired on one site, the video from another and they might not match up properly.  

There are differences between the different schools, so quite apart from Aikido’s inconsistency with our roots, our root art is not homogenous. It is much easier to find a list of the Omote technique list; there are few mentions of the Ura set and I am not sure if this applies to all versions of Daito Ryu. Wikipedia does hint at several Daito Ryu Ura kata now, but I believe a few years ago when I was reading up on Omote and Ura in Aikido, it did not.  In any event, I am not an expert on this subject.

Shihonage is referred to as Omote and Ura in Kondo Sensei’s book on the Hiden Mokuroku Ikkajo, but no other techniques are. With me knowing no one in Daito Ryu personally, I am wondering if the several prominent Aikido practitioners who assisted with the publishing of this one book might have influenced the headings.

 

Ikkajo

Idori techniques

Ippondori

Gyakuudedori

Hijikaeshi

Kurumadaoshi

Shimekaeshi

Dakijime

Karaminage

Kotegaeshi

Nukitedori

Hizajime

 

Hanzahandachi techniques

Hanminage

Uraotoshi

Izori

Kataotoshi

Iriminage

 

Tachiai techniques

Ippondori

Kurumadaoshi

Gyakuudedori

Koshiguruma

Karaminage

Oraotoshi

Obiotoshi

Kirikaeshi

Kotegaeshi

Shihonage

 

Ushirodori techniques

Tachieridori

Ryoukatahineri

Ryouhijigaeshi

Dakijimedori

Kataotoshi

Nikajo

 

Idori techniques

Kotezume

Gyakudasuki

Hijikujiki

Konohagaeshi

Syutouzume

Kubihineri

Kotegaeshi

Katahadori

Kamatezume

Gyakugote

 

Hanzahandachi techniques

Shotozume

Kotegaeshi

Susodori

Hijikujiki

Rimizume

 

Tachiai techniques

Gyakudasuki

Hikiotoshi

Kubinage

Susobarai

Seoinage

Shutouzume

Kotegaeshi

Kataguruma

Koshiguruma

Sekujiki

 

Ushirodori techniques

Tsukitaoshi

Sukuinage

Gyakugote

Kubinage

Hijikujiki

 

 

As you can see from the list, Ikkajo in Daito Ryu is not the same as Ikkyo in Aikikai, nor is it the Ikkajo in Yoshikan.  Ikkajo is the name of a collection of 30 very specific kata (sometimes 31 kata) containing several techniques including Shihonage and Kotegaeshi (a variation of Kotegaeshi that I call Gyaku Kotegaeshi.)  Only two techniques in Ikkajo, Ippondori and Gyakuudedori, even resemble what I learned as Ikkyo (and the second was often called Nikyo Omote– I was never clear on the distinction). Ikkajo also includes what I learned to call suwari waza and hanmi handachi waza. What I have seen as Hamni Handachi Katate Dori Shihonage Ura is called Hanminage. Kotegaeshi appears in both the Ikkajo and Nikajo set. Iriminage in the Ikkajo set resembles something I learned as the Back Stretch or a Ryote dori Shihonage exercise. Ikkajo Iriminage is a Ryotedori Uchitenkan movement that bears no resemblance to the Aikikai Iriminage.

There are five sets: Ikkajo, Nikajo, Yonkajo and Gokajo (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5).  They all contain a number of specific kata that Aikido people would not associate with the name of the set.  All five of these sets together contain the 115 kata that make up the basic syllabus.  There are apparently several other sets of kata, but they do not have numbers assigned to them.

I recently heard of an Ikkajo Ura set.  I cannot find a clip of the Ura set to compare to Omote. I assume the name denotes another set of movements, not an attempt to artificially create two distinct variations of one movement. 

Some of the techniques in Ikkajo Omote are linear, some are more circular.  This use of Omote and Ura does not appear to imply linear movement versus circular movement.  Some techniques like Karaminage (what I learned as Jujigarami and what the USAF calls Jujinage) step straight back and pull Uke down into a pin in the Ikkajo Omote.  So, this use of Omote and Ura probably doesn't imply a step-forward-front-to-front versus turn-back-to-back common to Aikikai schools.

So, Omote and Ura in Daito Ryu appear to apply to an entire set, like in the the Koshiki no Kata.  The terms also seem to apply to information that could be freely disseminated to the public (Omote) and information that was kept hidden and only for certain students (Ura).  

A person who only studied the Ikkajo Omote could be effective against a variety of attacks in a variety of circumstances.  The Daito Ryu Ikkajo Omote can stand alone and be the only techniques a retainer would need.  This is something that Aikikai's Ikkyo Omote is definitely not intended to do.

 

Reconstructing Omote and Ura: Going Old School.

One of my longest standing essays was exploring the history in Aikikai of the use of the terms, "Omote" and "Ura."  These are the terms used to distinguish between the two basic variations of most techniques.  

The essay kept growing and getting more complicated as I discovered new information or realized I was just plain wrong on some points.  Then, Blogger had the essay revert to it's original uncorrected format after years of edits leaving the essay in all it's original crappiness.

 Language should be a tool for communication between teachers, students and systems.  Language should be a platform for growth.  Instead, language in Aikido appears to be more about loyalty to a specific teacher.

I was taught to use the terms Omote and Ura to distinguish variations of techniques - Omote being in front and more linear while Ura was behind and more circular.  The ways Omote and Ura are used elsewhere are things I did not associate with Aikido usage.  Omote and Ura are very old terms.  They are broadly applied in many varied ways in Japanese culture and Japanese martial arts.

Omote is the explicit, the public, the obvious.  Ura is the implied, the hidden, the secret.  This level of understanding can be very esoteric.  At times the words seem to be used as an equivalent of Yin and Yang ("Everything has an Omote and an Ura, even Omote and Ura have an Omote and an Ura.").  Other times it is politics:  official channels versus behind the scenes.  In some groups, these two words are used to differentiate types of techniques. 

The Karate Nerd has a good article on Omote and Ura being used to interpret the Bunkai in kata.  Omote is "What You See is What You Get."  For Ura, he says, "Although a kata might look very simplistic in its nature, it could actually have some very advanced application(s) hidden inside it."  

 

So, in Heian Shodan (probably the very first kata a new Shotokan Karate student learns) you walk forward, repeatedly blocking with a rising block and then turn away.  The Omote is a series of blocks; the Ura can be a collection of strikes, locks, and throws.  The implication is that this information is deliberately hidden, and only the worthy students can find it for themselves or are given the "truth."

In Judo's Kito Ryu/Koshinki no Kata these two words are used to differentiate between sets of techniques with Omote having 14 techniques and Ura having 7.  

 

In Aikikai practice, the Omote is not considered "face value" while the Ura is the "real deal."  We don't consider Omote to be more basic with Ura being more advanced.  We don't associate Omote and Ura with personal interactions though of course we always operate on multiple levels in any human interaction.  Ura is not reserved "for the special indoor students."  There is no Omote catalogue, nor is there an Ura set.  Both versions are expected to be learned around same time.

As beginners, Aikido students will gravitate to one type of movement over the other, with big powerful students colliding face to face while smaller less confident students tend to run and hide behind their partner.  Developing a preference or a sense that one type of movement is somehow "superior" or "inferior" to the other is ultimately a disservice to the Aikido student - the whole point is that different relationships and different types of movement are equally correct (circumstances aside.)

In Budo Training In Aikido, there is a line from one of O Sensei's dokka saying that "The Secrets are in the Omote."  The translator goes on to say that this is best translated as, "The Secrets are in the Basics."  So, while I never associated this particular use of the word "Omote" with Aikido as I learned it, it appears O Sensei did use Omote in this fashion.

Eventually I was able to ask a student who arrived in Tokyo Hombu Dojo to train a few months after O Sensei's death.  He stated that the major variations were being distinguished with the terms Irimi and Tenkan at that time.  Possibly dividing Aikido techniques up into catagories of Omote and Ura did not actually happen during O Sensei's lifetime?  Koichi Tohei would continue to teach at the Aikikai Hombu until 1974, and his lineage continues to use Irimi and Tenkan.