Watch a video of training at the Iwama dojo from the 1990's.
From Wikipedia:
Aikido is a modern martial art developed primarily during the late 1920s through the 1930s by Morihei Ueshiba from the system of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu. Ueshiba was an accomplished student of Takeda Sokaku with aikido being a systemic refinement of defensive techniques from Aiki-Jujutsu
Morihiro Saito Shihan trained under Morihei Ueshiba for over 23 years in Iwama, Japan. Saito Shihan developed open-hand and weapons systems based on what he learned during that time.
The following is from the article, “Who Were the Shapers of Postwar Aikido,” by Stanley Pranin:
The following is from the article, “Who Were the Shapers of Postwar Aikido,” by Stanley Pranin:
The most significant of Morihei’s students from that [post war] era was Morihiro Saito. Saito assisted Morihei in his daily life and received a great deal of private instruction from the Founder for more than 20 years. He was also the person most knowledgeable of Ueshiba’s Aiki Ken and Aiki Jo training methods. It was Saito who organized Morihei’s Iwama curriculum, including both empty-handed and weapons techniques, and presented this vast body of material in published form starting in the mid-1970s.Pat Hendricks Shihan, 7th dan Aikikai, started Aikido in 1974 with Stan Pranin and Mary Heiny. In 1976 she moved to Iwama, Japan, to study with Morihiro Saito Shihan. For the next 30 years, she returned to Japan over 25 times of which 6 years were uchi-deshi. She holds a menkyo kaiden in weapons certification and was certified to test for the U.S. She served as Saito Sensei's representative for the U.S. and runs the Iwama division in the California Aikido Association (CAA). Her own dojo, Aikido of San Leandro, attracts students from all over the world, including Japan.
