Training in the Martial Art of Senso-Ryu Aikijutsu

I have been in the martial arts for many years. I have studied probably 15 different art forms. They were all very good. But there is something that I have learned; It is not about which martial art you train in, It is about how you train in that martial art. Any martial art can be taught as a sport and any can be taught as self defense. But you cannot have both. There was one that made a difference.

I trained in a martial art called Senso-Ryu Aikijutsu back in the mid 1990’s in Florida. Aikijutsu is where Aikido came from and focuses on self-defense. It was some of the roughest training I had ever experienced. On top of the rough training, there was the meditation. We meditated for 40 min after each class. This was unheard of. Most schools they tell you to empty your mind for a minute or so and that is it. Meditation was not easy though. It was perhaps the hardest part of the training. Another interesting requirement was that you had to attend all the classes. If there were 4 classes a week, for example, you had to attend all of them. There were no exceptions. This was something completely foreign to me. I was used to going to martial art schools were they didn’t even know my name. This dojo kept track of my attendance.

As far as the physical training went, the students actually made contact with one another. This might sound strange since I am talking about martial arts training but in most schools nobody touches each other! We would practice different real scenarios that one might find themselves in. But when your partner attacked you, he really attacked. There was no fooling around. You knew if you could handle yourself after that.

I trained in the art for 2 years before my job dragged me away. I never felt more alive than during this time I trained in Senso-Ryu.