Original subtitles

A split second, and it's over.

The other person may not even realize what has happened, but fate can change...

in an instant.

Even after losing a sword in battle, not all is lost.

This survival technique is one of many secretly preserved since the samurai era.

Now, it's incorporated in Aikido.

The goal is to avoid fighting.

Can a martial art be built around that?

Aikido may not seek a fight, but it doesn't fear one.

Our samurai spirit navigator, Nicholas Pettis, looked a bit out of sports when he

found out that the next episode would be on Aikido.

Even among martial artists, Aikido has an era of the exotic.

Graceful, even elegant techniques, sand opponents flying.

Some Aikido is closer to magic than a martial art.

Nicholas has been involved with combat sports for many years.

He's among the skeptics.

Right there!

There's no way he can do that.

There's no way that this is real.

Whoa, look at that.

He's going to fly all over the place.

I guess I'm going to go and try and find out

if this is really going to happen or not.

Watching a video clip on Aikido only strengthened his doubts.

He decided to dispatch his students on an intelligence gathering mission.

Though they've been practicing martial arts for many

years, neither of them had any experience with Aikido.

One is a black belt in Karate.

The other is a professional mixed martial artist.

The only limitation placed on their expedition is avoid injury.

Other than that, anything goes.

They too harbor suspicions that Aikido isn't all it appears to be.

A man with 25 years of Aikido experience may dispel their doubts.

First test, a conventional attack.

A

collar grab and an attempted push, but the 80

kilogram adversary is pinned in two seconds.

Next, the professional martial artist takes the offensive.

He was about to deliver a kick while pretending himself with punches.

But the Aikido expert quickly read his move and avoided the leg.

In a flash, he sent the adversary flying.

Maybe two against one will fare better.

Or maybe not.

The Aikido man captures the martial artist who launched a punching attack.

Then he used that man's body to shield himself against a simultaneous attack.

One by one, the challengers are defeated.

In fact, they tried several times, but still ended up on the losing end.

The Aikido team is not able to do this.

They are not able to do this.

They are not able to do this.

It doesn't seem real, so people suspect it isn't.

In 1962, United States Senator Robert F.

Kennedy visited Aikido Dojo during a trip to Japan.

Kennedy began to have suspicions over a diminutive Aikido team.

Aikido man throwing big students around left and right.

Out of the blue, he told his bodyguard to take the challenge.

The bodyguard tried to hold the man down with all of his might.

But things didn't go as he expected.

Later, the big guy tried to soften the blow to his

pride, claiming he'd missed breakfast that day.

Some were eye-fighting techniques often survived only

by person-to-person transmission within families.

The 19th century martial artist Soka Kutakita organized some

of these secret strategies into one practical martial art.

A student of Soka Kut, Morihei Ueshiba, harmonized Japanese philosophy from old

times with the fighting techniques Soka Kutakita had collected.

Thus was born a new martial art, Aikido.

Ueshiba was 73 years old when this news film was taken.

His philosophy was totally different from the conventional

fighting emphasis on hurting and even killing.

Punches and kicks, swords and arrows, all such things were weapons of warfare.

Ueshiba's approach was to redirect the attacker's force to use it against him,

breaking his spirit.

Since 1965, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has

incorporated Aikido in its training program for riot police.

The spirit of avoiding harm to the attackers matches the responsibility of the job.

Somewhat later, the force began requiring all

female police officers to take Aikido lessons.

In that way, they learned techniques to take on much

larger men, making efficient use of their own capabilities.

Aikido has come to be known as one of Japan's signature martial arts.

More than a million people practice it in Japan.

Many styles with various approaches coexist.

Despite their differences, they share an essential outlook.

Avoid conflict and never attack first.

That philosophy is what sets Aikido apart.

Nicholas Pettis, the professional fighter known as the Blue-eyed Samurai,

is intent on dispelling the image of Aikido or assimilating its secrets.

It was 18 when he came to Japan to enter the Kukushin School of Calate.

He went on to win the European Championship and numerous other titles.

Overwelling power and highly developed skill have served him well so far.

This time though, he's faced with a fight in

which the opponent doesn't really fight back.

Nicholas knows that two students of his were

thrown around, and yet he's still not convinced.

He paid a visit to an experienced Aikido practitioner to find out for himself.

Apparently, the inside that building is a place where

the teacher was chucking around my students' teaching.

And I am going to go and find out if he can do the same thing to me.

Let's go check it out.

Have you seen these plans in action?

That's unreal!

I see the sense over there.

I'm just going to go and pay my respects.

If this man looks familiar, you're right.

He's the one that pennants of students couldn't beat.

His name is Yuchi Omuri.

He teaches Aikido at a university, and is an instructor of Shodokan.

Since I've seen the footage of you throwing my students around, and I'm kind

of a little bit nervous about what's going to happen today.

I've never tried Aikido before, and I'm very excited about it with you.

Maybe you could show me a few things about it today.

Hold my right hand with your right hand tightly, and don't let go.

How does Aikido make you feel?

That hurt.

Let me explain it.

You can create a multiplicity of force by

concentrating that force into one focal point.

I asked you to hold my right hand with your right

hand, now try to hold as tightly as you can.

You can't?

Putting my opponent off balance, I can use the concentrated power to my advantage.

Let's test it again.

That is not even funny.

Let's see what happens when you grab my hand.

I have no feeling in my wrist right now.

Creative use of force is Aikido's claim to fame.

The techniques concentrate on manipulating the energy.

Let me demonstrate one method of concentrating force.

Push me back straight.

I'll only resist with one finger.

May I show you another one?

Push me one more time, and I'll stand on one leg.

Well, concentrating power into one point makes this possible.

Now I'm going to push.

Ready?

You moved.

That's because the power is dispersed.

Concentrate your power on one focal point.

Your techniques will have more impact.

If you can focus your energy properly.

Aikido experts know how to manipulate the force given off by an attacker.

Sometimes they redirect it.

Other times, they just blend in.

Either way, they instantly gain control over the opponent's movement.

If you pull too strong, it'll separate.

Do it gently like a wave.

Thank you very much for today.

It was a wonderful experience to try Aikido for the first time in my life.

I'll tell you what, I was really impressed.

The first technique, when you got me on, I was like... I never saw that one coming.

So it was just really interesting.

Today, I felt that everyone is really calm and relaxed

and kind of anticipating of the opponent's attacking.

Why is that?

One Aikido technique involves breaking the opponent's

balance and putting yourself in a position to throw.

The flow is to make the attacker collapse.

Then you can get into position and finish the job.

Aikido techniques are mostly and mainly for self-defense only.

Therefore, making the initial attack is considered morally wrong.

The most important point is this.

Aikido is not a martial art that aims to fight.

The martial arts I have done until now has always been based on brute force.

But Aikido is totally different.

By using the opponent's strength, a mysterious force is created.

Aikido may appear mysterious, but it's backed by physiology and science.

His specialty is training theory and biomechanics in movement.

We asked him to analyze Nicholas' newly acquired throwing technique.

At first glance, the movement seems similar, but closer inspection reveals

that the instructor adjusted his center of gravity as he executed the technique.

Here's the comparative data of the two men in motion.

First, the expert.

He slides his center of balance backwards and slightly

downwards at the very moment his arm is grabbed.

That causes the opponent to lean forward and lose equilibrium.

Then an upward lift distributing the alignment of the

opponent's upper and lower body completes the throw.

As for Nicholas, his center of balance hardly moves.

He just stands there and from that fixed position tries to

propel himself forward to basically muscle the opponent around.

At first I thought people were simply tossed dramatically around, but now I

start to understand the dynamics of the

technique and realize it all happens in a flesh.

Hello, my name is Nicholas Bess, nice to be with you today.

Another man who has some insight into why this all works is Hideo Takauka.

He's been involved with many different kinds of martial arts

and is known as someone who can explain their mechanism.

So with my experience with Aikido this time, I understand that there was a lot of

power going on there and I thought it was through all the experience I've had with

martial arts until now that it was about power.

Maybe you could explain to me a little bit

more exactly where the strength of Aikido is.

Sure, let me show you two aspects of Aikido's secret.

Massive energy is required in the midst of combat.

You might have the urge to overcome an opponent or pin him down.

That's emotional energy.

The other type is physical, like the force your body generates and speed and momentum.

Aikido turns this energy to its advantage.

When you take it in your hand and blend the emotional and physical aspects,

well, then you've got it.

First, let's see Omori's technique.

The opponent tries to grab.

He leads this movement well.

It's really fast.

That's why the opponent looks as if he's dashing.

With such an enormous amount of energy, just

a lift of an arm makes the opponent flip.

Speed is the key.

Instead of cringing from the opponent's aggression, he takes advantage of it rapidly.

Next, your technique.

You stay still when the opponent tries to grab, so the movement stops.

You then try to take the lead.

But at that point, you have to pull with your own

strength, and the two of you can only move slowly.

You're just walking.

That's why you ended up pushing him down with your strength.

That was all you had going for you.

Of course.

It was my first time to try, but when you see

it like that, you really see the difference.

It was very important to use the energy and the

moment from the opponent that he comes coming in.

Yes, that's right.

That's what's working for Omori, his last use of the hand.

Push me down and see what it's like.

We have very different levels of strength.

I can't lift.

We're just competing with power.

But... Now try to push me like this.

Now, your power is in my control, and I can make you collapse.

So you can pull me to you.

You can push me away.

You can pull me to the side.

That's right.

I just want to hold on.

Reading the opponent's force and redirecting it throws the other person off balance.

This is a basic Aikido move.

That's exactly what happened when Robert Kennedy's bodyguard fell to the floor.

The bodyguard tried to push down from above.

Force from below can never beat force from above.

But by redirecting the force from above as soon as it's

felt, the person below can turn the tables on the opponent.

Once the energy gets stuck, the guy on top is likely to come tumbling down.

So how much power is needed to redirect to that kind of force?

We studied the electrical impulses of muscle movement to get a measurement.

We attached sensors to four muscles that are used when lifting things.

Here are the results of the EMGE when lifting by force.

The biceps and pectoralis major react.

That's typical when you try hard to lift things.

Now let's repeat the experiment this time with

the Aikido expert when directing the force.

The biceps and pectoralis major show a reaction for a split second.

But after that, hardly even a blend.

The image makes clear that muscle strength has nothing to do with the Aikido approach.

The secret of Aikido is manipulation of power.

The experiment supports the theory.

Let's demonstrate with this tool here.

You held me down from above, right?

Now push.

You're directing your force this way, aren't you?

If you push this way, it doesn't move, right?

But with a turn like this... Let's do it.

For me, that was really easy to understand.

So if you use just one stick and you push, well, the force is

generated and it's just one force going towards the other force.

So nothing really happens.

But by breaking up the rhythm for this force and the force coming in,

when I push strongly, my energy is generated in a different direction.

And by being able to do that, he's actually able to use my strength against myself.

Well, that wasn't really easy.

It was funny.

Yeah, wow.

That was wonderful.

Very interesting, wasn't it?

I would like to thank you very much for teaching Aikido today.

Thank you very much.

To understand my opponent's actions and anticipate what comes next is what I'm doing.

But how I use that to my advantage and the way Aikido seizes the

moment to manipulate the opponent's force is totally different.

Gozo Shioda has a secure place in Aikido history.

He was one of the students of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder.

This is video of Shioda when he was 47.

He was called Godlike.

But that's not the only reason he's remembered.

Is Dojo is one that Senator Kennedy's entourage visited.

Shioda established Aikido Yoshinkan.

It now has about 120,000 members worldwide.

Many practitioners come to Japan from overseas

to learn the Yoshinkan approach to Aikido.

Too such people are living in the headquarters now.

Malik Tahid from England and Graham Stewart from Canada.

Their commitment to the practice led to the decision to reside in the facility.

In that way, even when they're not training, they're absorbing the spirit of Aikido.

Hello, my name is Nicholas Perez, nice to meet you.

Hi Graham Stewart, nice to meet you.

What is in very simple terms, what is Aikido for you?

So Aikido for me is about becoming stronger, it's about suffering and getting

over the problems I get through that I face every day.

I would say the main thing is maybe using Aikido to help me fit into life.

To help me find what I should be doing at what time correctly.

Like walking into a situation, understanding the

situation, understanding my duty within that situation.

I really like the idea that Aikido doesn't work until the opponent attacks you.

If I may say so, it doesn't work, but you want him to come.

Not that you want him to come, but when he does come, you're able to react.

There is also an element of Satoi inviting the attack.

You have a situation, so if you saw it two-somer eyes, they're facing each other.

In Aikido, there's this drawing in the attack, knowing that the attack is coming.

Or you know of a certain attack you want to bring in.

So you give the feeling that creates that attack, then you can use that attack.

I think in an everyday life situation, Aikido is not just a defence.

You try and control the situation before the attack, before the sword comes out.

Let's talk, that's the idea.

Or from a hand rather than a fist.

That's I think the idea of Aikido.

And inside Aikido, evasion is a key point of Aikido.

So if you go into a situation which is a

unfriendly situation, you remove yourself from it.

Before the situation happens.

Self-preservation.

Even when you see its effectiveness, the paradox of a martial art that avoids

confrontation is hard to come to terms with.

The chief instructor showed us how to work through the contradiction.

A little sense saying my name is Nicholas Perez.

Hi!

Hi!

Aikido is practiced in numerous styles.

The nuances vary, but overall they share a repertoire of more than 3,000 techniques.

We're starting with four that Yoshin Khan considers fundamental.

First technique.

The stance.

Place your balance slightly low and forward,

and stand with both feet on one straight line.

Toes should face outward.

Hips should be straight, facing forward.

Place the right hand at chest height and the left hand at the stomach.

Relax your body.

This is the most basic position of all.

Please!

Aikido!

Hey!

Okay, about okay, about okay.

Wait a little bit.

A little bit.

Straight, but straight.

Again, straight, straight.

This important west power, west power.

And this tendon power important.

West, training, grow up.

Okay.

Understand?

Yes.

So if I focus on the lower back section, this will become stronger eventually.

Okay.

Good power.

This power.

This power.

This through.

Through.

Through.

This through is important.

Second technique.

Use falling techniques to weaken the opponent's attack.

Third technique.

Throw the opponent to the ground to seize the momentum.

And the fourth technique.

Pin the attacker to the ground to immobilize him.

Those are the four fundamentals.

Countless other moves emanate from them.

Of course, I'm being a fighter.

I would like to understand that some technique is going towards the face.

If you could maybe show him something like that, it would be wonderful.

Okay, I see.

Here's a commonly used technique.

Side of the head strike.

This is the way to go when the opponent approaches as if he has a sword in his hands.

You see, it works like this.

If you try to push this hand back by force, it's impossible.

But if you slide your hip...

Now try to push me.

If I slide, see what happens?

Pushing back with force just turns into a contest of strength.

With an expert, all the energy flows in the direction that

will knock the opponent over right at the moment of impact.

So, if you lift your arm in that situation, like this...

You know exactly what's going on here.

That's hand power.

If I use my hip...

Well, honestly, right now, it's not painful what's happening at the moment,

but he's got me controlled.

Like, the small motions of not just using the hand versus the hand, but his whole

body is centered on the focus on controlling the hand.

That I'm grabbing with.

And for some reason, you don't want to let go.

When you're in there, you're fighting him.

Is that you?

You're fighting it.

Why is that?

That's amazing.

You see, it happens because you attract your opponent's energy.

It's like when a wonderful singer performs on stage.

The people in the audience get excited.

And the singer commands their energy.

If you were able to get your opponent's power

to come to you, you can control his movements.

Aikido has this technique called wrist throw.

It shifts the opponent off balance.

If you pull his hand this way, he could just let go.

So instead of pulling, you just press down lightly.

Using your hip, press down.

Then your opponent won't feel the need to let go.

You see?

Give it a try.

Now, pull that hand.

If you pull to make an attack, he would just get away.

He'd resist, wouldn't he?

Your opponent wouldn't like that.

Lower your head.

Open your hand.

Don't make a fist.

Just lay it there.

Try squatting down.

Your opponent will follow.

It's because I'm not using any powers at all.

You have to follow.

That's amazing.

It's just there.

Let me show you what just happened.

If I pull your hand like this, your hand gets away.

If I lower my hip and get in this stance, your hand follows.

You just have to laugh, right?

That's what's important.

I still understand, you know, because you're not grabbing me,

you're not pulling me, you're just moving my balance point.

And the reason what happens, I think, is when you pull the

balance point up and you're not standing good, you fight it.

Because if you don't fight it, you'll fall on your face yourself.

Please, make good use of this experience.

Sunayo Ando is now 52.

It's been 34 years since he started Aikido.

As long as he's living, his training will never end.

The head of Yoshinkan is Yasuhisa Shioda.

He is the son of the legendary Aikido master, Gozo Shioda.

We asked him if he would distill the elements of Aikido for us into its essence.

Aikido is all about concentration and timing.

It's all about how well you handle those two elements.

My father and master, Morihei Yoshiba used to say that Aikido is a match in a flash.

For instance, when you're fighting with a sword, you never know whether your

opponent will wield it straight or some other way.

But when he does, that's the instant when the result is decided.

In order to know the opponent's next move, you have to read his mind.

For example, in baseball.

You don't know the speed or the impact when you hit a home run.

It's intuition, right?

That's why players practice to enhance concentration and timing in their swing,

for instance.

But it's done in a flash.

Aikido is also done in a flash.

And that's why enhancing concentration and timing is so very important.

In older times, a samurai might have to face ten enemies outside his home.

Some would be armed with daggers, others with swords.

In that situation, he couldn't afford to let

his concentration lapse even a little bit.

In modern times, that samurai spirit is flagging, unfortunately.

Winning, just for the sake of winning, has pushed the spirit off to the side.

It's just a survival of the fittest mentality now.

Once or maybe twice in a lifetime, we're faced with a real life or death situation.

Dealing with those moments with spirit is what Buddha, or Japanese martial arts,

is all about.

So, Kancho, through the program that I've been able to do this time, I was very

fortunate to learn a lot of techniques and experience of many things.

And I understand that Aikido was a form based on

protecting oneself through the way of the world.

The samurai warriors used to fight, and they always had swords and big sticks.

Well, I've got this little thing here, and if it's not an inconvenience to do,

maybe I would like to try and attack you a

little bit and see what happens if it's okay.

Be my guest.

Come and get me.

How was that?

What just happened there?

See?

Wow!

That was fast.

I thought that was the one attacking him.

But as you can see, I'm the one who ended up on the floor.

And this had no effect whatsoever.

I'm just going to check that away.

Kancho, I just have one more thing I'd like to try.

Doing all this time, experiencing Aikido, I have not seen one kick yet.

And towards the kicks, I would like to see if you got some

kind of special defense that maybe I could use for myself.

Would it be okay to try one kick again soon?

Okay.

Nicholas's kick is strong enough to break three wooden bats.

No question it packs power and speed.

Shake!

Go!

Shake!

Shake!

And that's Aikido for you.

Thank you very much.

It was a very learning experience for me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

An ultimate combat approach, based on avoiding conflict.

One that was carried from person to person within the circle of samurai for centuries.

At the outset, Aikido wasn't known by that name.

But its effectiveness as a means of survival was respected and revered.

Today, it has earned a place in the pamfy of Japanese martial arts.

And a reputation as a profound approach to the art of living.

Aikido, a true martial arts based on the way

of the ancient weight of the samurai warrior.

Among the samurai, it is believed that the one to

draw a blade first is also the one to fall first.

Now Aikido has foundations of deep concentration.

Being able to focus your whole body and being and

mind into one small point where timing is everything.

It comes alive at the moment where the attacker

comes in with brute force and energy and momentum.

Although Aikido is not a style of attacking, it is a style of self-preservation.

Through the studies of Aikido and through this program,

I've been able to meet a lot of masters and students.

And everyone seems to have a very special kind of aura around them.

Aikido is not just a martial arts or a sport or

a boxing or a kickboxing or something like that.

No, no, no.

For me, Aikido obviously is a way of living.

And through the study of Aikido, everyone gets to learn more about

themselves and becoming in contact with who they really are.

Through those experiences, they create an environment

around themselves which they are able to control.

And this ends up in peace and harmony.

That's what I would call the true samurai spirit.

Now, join me next time as we keep on searching for that true samurai spirit.