Podcast

Aikido Heresies. The dark side of Aikido.

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Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido

Just remembered I didn’t post about the last Heretics podcast we did. This one was about the history of Aikido. I thought it would be quite a light-hearted one, but as Damon explains, it turns out the history of Aikido, and its parent art Daito Ryo, is largely unknown to the average martial artists (i.e. me) and also pretty dark and nasty. Very nasty.

War crimes, extreme nationalism, invasion, torture, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and so on.

So, if you’d like to have your illusions about “the way of harmonious spirit” shattered, then listen on, otherwise, as they say, ignorance is bliss.

 

The Origins of Jiu Jitsu and Kempo (part 5)

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The final part of our podcast series on Jiu Jitsu and Kempo is live. In this episode we spend a long time trying not to talk about Aikido, then agree to talk about it more next time. Apart from that, we follow the developments in Japan through to modern times, with particular attention paid to the history of the yakuza.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/5-the-origins-of-jiu-jitsu-and-kempo-par

 

The history of Jiujitsu and Kempo. Part 4

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The latest episode of the Heretics podcast is out!

https://www.spreaker.com/user/9404101/episode4final

In part 4 we examine the time period between 1960 and 1980 in Japan, and discuss topics such as martial arts marketing and the different ways in which the Japanese created and promoted a wide range of new martial arts.

Here are a few links to videos of the things we talk about this time:

Gracie vs. Kimura – October 23, 1951 (Maracanã Stadium – Rio de Janeiro, Brasil)

Gracies vs bullies on beach:

Rikidozan vs Masahiko Kimura (1954 – Part 2/2)

PRIDE 25: Kazushi Sakuraba vs Antonio “Elvis” Schembri

Muhammed Ali vs Antonio Inoki Boxer vs MMA Fighter 1976

 

Mas Oyama vs “bull”:

TV show about Iwama and Aikido, Ibaraki Prefecture (茨城県, Ibaraki-ken) Japan featuring the late Morihiro Saito Sensei.

Taido:

Kodo:

Heretics podcast episode 2

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Episode 2 of the history of Kempo and Jiujitsu is out!

Starts in 1850. Extensive discussion of Kano Jigoro, the evolution of Judo and beyond. Plus a lot on the political-cultural situation of Japan at the time. Plenty of martial arts Heresy as always 😉

If you found the first episode too history-heavy this one, while still having a bucket-load of history in it, is more conversational and has some lighter-weight elements, talking about BJJ, Chuck Lidell and other things. We take a slightly controversial listener question at the end.

iTunes link:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/heretics-by-woven-energy/id1442072590?mt=2#

Spreaker link:

Let the Heresy begin…

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So, the new podcast is out! Check it out here.

Now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/heretics-by-woven-energy/id1442072590?mt=2

In the first episode we explore the development of the concept of heresy by two early christian teachers, Valentinus and Irenaeus. We then begin a multi-part series on the origins of Jiu Jitsu and Kempo, addressing some of the myths surrounding the samurai class in the process, as well as talking about some of the other, less famous, inhabitants of feudal Japan.

Coming soon: The Heretics Podcast

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Just wanted to give my readers a quick heads-up. I’m starting a new podcast!

Since I appeared on Ken Gullette’s Internal Fighting Arts podcast a couple of weeks ago I’ve been contacted by various people about different things and one of them was my old XingYi teacher Damon Smith who runs the Woven Energy podcast. He wanted to see if I’d like to help him out with his new Heretics Podcast.

The Woven Energy podcast is about Shamanism and contains frequent calls to action, so they give ideas you might like to try out and techniques. In contrast, the Heretics podcast is going to be a place where subjects that don’t fall under the banner of Shamanism can be discussed, like, say, martial arts. There will also be no call to action.

The name is in reference to the origins of the concept of heresy, back in Gnostic Christianity, and the fact that we will probably be talking about things that are against society’s commonly held beliefs. Starting with martial arts.

In the first episode, I make the mistake of asking Damon, ‘what is the history of Jiujitsu?’

Covers: Kempo, Jiujitsu, Japan-China trade, Yakuza, Samurai, Shoguns and much more….

Anyway, expect the first episode…. soon…

Podcast: Byron Jacobs on what martial arts in China are really like

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byron_jacobs

I’ve blogged about my friend Byron Jacobs before – he’s a Westerner deeply immersed in Chinese culture and martial arts and living in China at an interesting time.

We’re currently in the era where Chinese martial arts are opening up to the West in a way they’ve been prevented for doing for a long time. MMA and Jiujitsu (BJJ) is finally making an impact and people are starting to realise that modern training methods offer something that traditional methods are lacking. It will be interesting to see how the future plays out for Chinese martial arts, and what happens to traditional arts and skills.

Byron has just recorded an episode of the Real Fake Swords podcast where he addresses these issue and tells you what it’s actually like in China when it comes to martial arts. It’s fascinating (and probably different to the way you think it is) and well worth a listen. (If you are pushed for time start listening at around 15 minutes in.)

I hadn’t heard of Real Fake Swords before, but it looks like a good podcast series. I notice they’ve got episodes with other interesting martial arts personalities.