This blog features all things budo – aikido, judo, and jodo tips as well as general martial arts philosophy and advice. Writings from some of Kaze Uta Budo Kai’s finest teachers, students, and friends.
Posts from the budo blog
Aikido Koan
by Nick Lowry Simple ink on paper, three figures in a line. Circle. Square. Triangle. Terry Dobson once asked O Sensei to tell him what the circle, square, and triangle meant in…
Teaching: Dependence and Empowerment
by Nick Lowry I have known teachers who over teach – they are helpful and giving — serve everything up on silver platters but who consequently have built very dependent students. Such…
Shobu and Shiai: Winning and Losing in Ultimate Fights
by Nick Lowry Head to head in a competition-a real “technician” will probably get beat by a real “champion”- and a real champion will probably be able to repeat that amazing feat…
Pre-Emptive Aiki: No-Touch Throws
by Nick Lowry Sugino sensei once said that if you are seeing aiki for the first time and you can understand what you are seeing, then you are not seeing aiki. It’s…
What is the Best Martial Art?
by Nick Lowry There is no such thing as a superior martial art—only superior artists. It is meaningless to say aikido is better than judo or krav maga is better that aikido…
What is Rank About?
by Nick Lowry As an institutional device we can say that there is no such thing as rank in an absolute term– institutionally Rank is always based on a relative scale –…