WELCOME
AIKIDO WAKIMACHI AIKIDO TEAM
Wakimachi Culture-Center Aikido-Team
AIKIDO...
The entire system of the martial art of Aikido is dedicated to resolving a seemingly insoluble problem: "How best to protect oneself from any aggression, without seeking to defeat one's opponent?" A vast undertaking indeed!
The concept of DEFEAT is therefore not used in Aikido, since this art teaches us that it is far more constructive to DETACH/GUIDE or even DISPOSE of aggressive energy through COORDINANCE, from its origin or in its consequences, rendering it futile.
But if there is no "VICTORY," this implies that there is also no DEFEAT in Aikido. This "constructive and dynamic neutrality" is thus the essence of this practice: starting with appropriate training of the body and mind to preserve the integrity of oneself and the world in all circumstances.
A whole range of movements then emerges, technically speaking, which effectively resolves this problem of conflict. Practicing aikido thus consists of training regularly, doing and redoing these exercises better and better, and through the work of the body in action: integrating the method, the concept, and the philosophy.
THE TEACHER
The instructor for the Wakimachi Aikido Team at the dojo of the Culture Center in the Japanese city of Wakimachi is named Olivier Gaurin. He began practicing aikido in France in 1974 and has lived in Japan since 1986. He remained in Tokyo for 34 years, but Olivier now practices and teaches aikido and aikijujutsu in the heart of the large island of Shikoku. He also owns a French restaurant there. In aikido, the youngest French 3rd dan of his time, he was a student of French masters (including André Nocquet, Noboyushi Tamura, and very early on, a student of Christian Tissier [during the latter's return to Japan in 1976...]). In Japan, from the moment he arrived, he was primarily a student of the Aikikai masters of the so-called "post-war" era: these leading figures who taught in Tokyo at that time under the tutelage of Kisshomaru Ueshiba, son of the founder of Aikido. They had all been direct students of the founder. He trained daily at the Aikikai Honbu Dojo in Tokyo for over thirty years.
Nearly fifty years of Aiki knowledge thus accumulated within him without interruption. Indeed, after practicing fencing from a very young age, he began Aikido at fifteen. This was in Paris. And since then, he has never ceased to deepen his passion for Aiki.
In addition to teaching Shihan and practicing Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu, he has also happily practiced, or still occasionally practices, kendo (two-sword style: Nito-ryu), iaido, muay thai boxing, and tai chi. In his opinion, these disciplines offer diverse levels of skill that are valuable for aikido.
THE STORY OF THE WAKIMACHI AIKIDO TEAM
<The Wakimachi Aikido team trains at the Culture Center dojo, which was built in the Japanese spirit of Bubun-Ryodo, which aims to teach martial arts alongside the study of literature and culture. Master Onishi established this dojo to perpetuate the teaching of Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu. This dojo was ennobled with the title of "Shikoku Honbu Dojo" by Takeda Tokimune himself (with the authorization to officially use the Takeda seal), son of Takeda Sokaku. Olivier, who was living in Tokyo at the time, came every month for a weekend to learn Daito-Ryu at this dojo for twenty years. When he retired from his job in Tokyo, he naturally decided to settle in Wakimachi. Under the tutelage of Master Sato in Daito-ryu, whose assistant and later Shihan he became, he opened an Aikido section within the dojo. This section was recognized by the Aikikai and is now part of that organization. However, it is open to everyone and strives to be simple and welcoming.
A Brief History of Aikido
Aikido is a synthetic martial art founded by the Japanese master Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969). He proposed an art dedicated to the practical study of conflicts with the aim of neutralizing all aggression. In this way, he created a true school of humanism intended for world peace and understanding between peoples. Both personally and as a community, it can be described as "an active discipline of peace and security in motion."
The name "aikido" was registered in 1942 with the Japanese Ministry of Education. It is therefore a "modern" martial art (belonging to the Gendai-budo family in Japanese), unlike its ancestor, aikijujutsu, which belongs to the traditional and ancient martial arts of pre-20th-century Japan (known as koryu).
Master Ueshiba died in 1969 after a life spent developing and refining his art. Upon his death, his son Kisshomaru Ueshiba took up the mantle at the Aikikai, the family dojo, which has since become a major international foundation.
However, long before the Pacific War, many of Master Ueshiba's disciples had broken away and were teaching his art in their own schools under different names. Aikido thus spread from Japan and throughout the world from this trail of fire lit by Master Morihei Ueshiba, thanks also to the many experts in his concepts and repertoire.
TECHNICAL PROGRESSION
AIKIDO WAKIMACHI TEAM:
IN ENGLISH SOME OF THE BOOKS PUBLISHED BY OLIVIER GAURIN
SOME OF THE BOOKS PUBLISHED BY OLIVIER GAURIN (FRENCH EDITION)
SOME BOOKS PUBLISHED IN FRANCE BY OLIVIER GAURIN
SOME IMAGES
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