Budo, Kobudo & Japanese Artisanry - The Seido Blog

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  • An Interview with Kimura Jiro Shihan

    Kimura Jiro Shihan is a Japanese Aikido teacher, the successor of Kobayashi Hirokazu Shihan in Japan, and director of the Buikukai. In 2018, Guillaume Erard, a Daito Ryu practitioner and Aikido historian, and Jordy Delage - who started Aikido in a group affiliated to Kobayashi Hirokazu - teamed up for a joint interview held at the master’s Dojo in Osaka. This is the story of this encounter!
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  • Choosing a Bokken - Size, thickness, weight, wood, etc.

    If choosing one’s Bokken is an easy task for a beginner, it is a much harder endeavor for veterans in need of a tool able to support the focus of their work. The weight, length, species of wood but also the curvature and thickness of the Bokken play a determining role in the weapon’s behavior during practice. Let’s review all those components.
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  • The choice of a specific Bokken for Aikido

    A few months ago, I wrote a post about weapons from the perspective of traditional craftsmanship. Today, I would like to continue talking about those weapons, but with a different perspective: what consequences the choice of a Bokken can have on your training.
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  • Aikido Quiz May 2019

    May 2019, in collaboration with Aikido Journal, Seido crafted an Aikido quiz for the community. We didn’t make it extra-hard or tricky, but we wanted it to be hard enough so people can actually enjoy searching for the results on Google and learn more about Aikido History. Such quizzes have two goals: First goal is gathering email addresses for our newsletter (yes, let’s be honest, that’s one of the reasons) and consolidate Aikido Journal and Seido’s shared audience.
    The second goal is to extract data from the quiz to improve our editorial line and provide relevant information to Aikidoists around the world.
    The goal of this article is to present those results and discuss what actions could be taken for the community from those results.

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  • An Interview with Saito Hitohira Sensei

    We’ve been going around interviewing experienced martial art teachers for a while now. Mr. Saitō Hitohira, who actually knew Morihei Ueshiba when he was a kid and devoted to Aikido from an early age, is still living in Iwama, right next to the Aiki Jinja. When we had the opportunity to get an interview with him, we did not hesitate, and here is how it all happened.

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  • Our partnership with Aikido Journal

    Yes, we’ve jumped in, we’re now working with Aikido Journal. It’s really great news for us, for Aikido Journal, and for the whole Aikido community. We’re going to do lots of things together, but it also involves money, so, as usual: full transparency from us!

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  • Comparison: How to choose your Hakama

    Choosing ones Hakama is often a complex decision. Is this your first Hakama or do you have some experience already? Which fabric corresponds best? What kind of finish? What quality at what price? We will try to answer these questions in this article by presenting the different types of fabric, the different finishes, how to choose your size and discussing the price range for each model.

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  • How to choose your Aikido belt

    Many practitioners choose their Aikido belt by chance, one takes what one finds. This may work out, at least for a certain time. However, white belts usually start falling apart after one or two years of practice, black belts are often too thick and uncomfortable under a Hakama. So how to choose one's belt? Here is the answer to this question.

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  • Traditional manufacturing: The Sashiko fabric

    The Sashiko fabric, also called "rice grain" fabric in the west is the core of the Keikogi (Kimono) manufacturing and is worn in Aikido, Judo and also Kendo. Although there are many prestigious designers worldwide, there are only a few artisans who are capable of weaving a high quality Sashiko fabric. In this article we will open the doors to Seido's partner workshops, the only two workshops in the world to master the entire production line from weaving to sewing, to show you how your Keikogi is made.

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  • Comparative: How to choose your Aikidogi (Kimono)

    Choosing a Dogi is not a simple task, especially if you are a beginner. Light-, standard-, heavy-weight, traditional cut, modern cut, original cut: There are many models and choosing the one that best suits you does not only depend on the thickness of the fabric! Here we will discuss the different Seido models, fully representative of all the existing "Made in Japan" Aikidogi. However, low-end Dogi made outside of Japan are not to be part of the topic.

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