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Takemusu Aikido Intercontinental

Transmitting an authentic knowledge of Traditional Aikido as founded by Morihei UESHIBA

Kajo #5
As I begin this fifth article, I realize I have been using the name "Kajo" since the beginning without
mentionning why.

It is still early for a definitive explanation of that notion which will become clear once we achieve a
more global understanding of what is at stake here. But the time has come for some clarifications.

Between 1952 and 1960, France was lucky to welcome a man who can be considered as the
pioneer of Aikido in Europe: Tadashi Abe. A former student of O sensei, he wrote with his student
Jean Zin, before going back to Japan, a technical book divided in two parts. As far as I know, it is
the only book in which techniques are studied through the concept "kajo". I use the word "concept"
for some books exist where techniques are called kajo (for instance Dynamic Aikido by Gozo
Shioda) but kajo is not more than a word. One says ikkajo instead of ikkyo and that's it.

Tadashi Abe's book is divided in 5 parts: ikkajo, nikajo, sankajo, yonkajo, gokajo. These five words
are close to ikkyo, nikyo, sankyo, yonkyo, gokyo. They are so close that soon, the latter were used
rather than the former. When I began Aikido in the seventies, the only answers I could get to my
questions on kajo were: "these are the old names of the techniques !" " they got no interest
anymore!" "Now we say ikkyo, nikyo, etc". I kept satisfied with those dubious simplifications for
more than thirty years. Mea culpa. Maybe the time has come to catch up on these years and pay
tribute to Tadashi Abe through the point of view I will follow with these articles.

In Tadashi Abe's books, if one reads them carefully, it clearly appears that kajo are not techniques
but categories. The first category does not only comprise ikkyo as it is commonly thought after a
quick reading, it actually gathers two technical principles: ikkyo and shiho nage. The question is:
why are they linked?

Ikkyo sets uke's arm in rotation from high to low (ue kara shita made) and shiho nage in the
symmetric direction, from low to high (shita kara ue made). Therefore, uke's elbow is used in
strictly symmetrical ways. It becomes obvious on O sensei's pictures below (please notice the
symmetry in uke's reaction):

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That relation is already quite remarkable but is it enough to found a category on these sole two
techniques?

There is more to it. it is the angle of entry in the technique: ikkyo and shiho nage respect the same
angle as a careful observation reveals. O sensei's front foot is opened in hito e mi, with a 60 angle
for shiho nage and ikkyo as already analyzed in kajo # 4. Let's now study shiho nage in its whole
flow and let's read what O sensei tell us in Budo after picture 1:

() Step forward with the left foot (picture 2). Then turn 180 (picture 3) ().

One can clearly see on pictures 2 and 3 below that O sensei indeed rotates 180.

1 2 3

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So what can be concluded from these precisions on geometry given by the Founder himself?
Since the angle of entry is identical in both cases with a 180 for shiho nage, the logical
consequence is that shiho nage's direction is at the complete opposite of ikkyo: at the two ends of
the same line where tori stands at the center

Let's represent on our figure O sensei's position as in picture 3 (the red arrow being the start of
uke's fall):

At the end of shiho nage, O sensei's feet are in hito e mi (60) and their direction is perfectly
symmetrical compared to their position during ikkyo. Ikkyo and shiho nage are therefore opposed
(or united) on the same line in the same way that their rotations directions are opposed on the
same axis (contrary but complementary). Here is the deep reason why ikkyo and shiho nage
belong to the same category: ikkajo. We can now confidently add shiho nage on our figure:

Philippe Voarino next seminar: Sunday, 21 April, 2013, Aikido Gasshuku 2013, Antibes, France

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