The Northwest times. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1947-1955, 1955-02-26

TOKYO-One day during tn e
early months of the occupation, a
short, middle-aged japanese in
formal kimono was walking on the
road along the moat of the old
Shizuoka castle Behind him came
us. jeep wi h three soldiers
| aboard
AS Is the case with many Japa-
nese city streets, the road had no
sidewalk. And somehow the SOL
diers thought the man was pur-
posely flocking their way.
One of them leaped to the street
and swung his fist at the pedes-
trian. At the next instant the
quick tempered CT found himself
sailing in the air and into the
| moat.
His buddies jumped out of the
vehicle. likewise belabored their
arms and fists. but the only thing
they hit was the water below.
AS the drenched CTS clambered
to the wall the Japanese who had
not laid even a finger on his would
be assailants, quietly walked away.
No One Hurt
The unscheduled ablution for the
trio was the result of their pick
ing on the wrong man. On the
other hand, if they had to pick on
someone at all, they could not
have made a better choice.
Because the man happened to
be Minoru Hirai, the Superman-
like master of the art of self-de-
Tense called "aikido," none was
hurt. If he had been anyone else,
at least one of the four men might
have been a casualty.
The brief affair was a superb
demonstration of the very qrIin-
tessence of "aikido" the art of
defending ones self with minimum
effort of his own but using the
opponents momentum.
"Aikido" however, can be very
deadly if required by circumstances
to be So
From Long Practice
To the uninitiated. the feats of
an 'aiki" expert are marvel. But
this is possible only as the result
of years of practice, as is true with
any art at all.
| At Mr.. Hirai's studio, the novices
are first given lessons on seven ba-
sic body movements, which, Great
ed by Mr.. Hirai. are designed to
develop the pupils ability to turn
around in one quick motion either
100 or 800 degrees without losing
balance.
This basic requirement enables
an "aiki" man to upset his oppon-
ent's balance without losing his at
the instant of contact.
Also essential is the training on
the art of falling Unlike in judo
an aiki man does not fall flat on
his back; instead he somersaults
gracefully on one hand. lbow and
shoulder.
When an aiki man falls, he does
not actually fall, but he merely
rolls once to get on his feet again.
Weapons Also Used
Although aikido appears to be
most remarkable when demon
strated by a bare-handed expert,
he can also employ any of the
weapons-sword, spear, etc. - &C
cording to the same basic princi-
piles.
AS in the cases of jiujitsu and
karate, the origin of aikido can
not be traced to any particular
master in any particular period.
One theory has it, however, that
it was a secret art handed down
through generations of the Nina
motos, one of the two major mill
tary clans of medieval Japan. Like
secret weapon of the modern age.
the closely guarded art was taught
only to members of the clan-a
fact that accounts for its relative
obscurity.
Even after the Meiji Restoration
when feudalism was abolished,
aikido remained little known pub
licly. During the war, the japanese
Army made 1t compulsory training
program for the much feared mill
tary police. And Mr.. Hirai was
made aikido instructor.
Until the end Of the war, Mr.