About This Book

Aikido is a truly wonderful martial way.

I still vividly remember going up to Seoul to learn aikido for the first time, twenty-five years ago. Without any introduction, I simply walked into the Seoul headquarters dojo (the Sinchon Hombu Dojo) and asked to be taught. At the time I never imagined I would practice aikido for the rest of my life. To be honest, I thought six months or so of training would be enough.

But the more I learned, the more I was drawn into aikido’s subtle depth. While I was being taught, I heard countless times, “You have to keep at it,” and “You have to repeat it over and over.” Only now, twenty-five years later, am I slowly beginning to understand why.

The aikido I began in my early thirties has carried on into my mid-fifties. Building up my training day by day, I was awarded first dan, then second dan, and in time I reached fifth dan.

In most martial arts, people say they “earn” a dan. In aikido, however, we say a dan is “awarded.” No matter how long you have trained or how skilled you are, you cannot be promoted without your teacher’s permission.

It has now been more than twenty years since I opened a dojo in Jeju and dan holders began to appear, first one, then two. In that time several students have reached fourth dan and above. I felt it was time to put in order the curriculum we teach at Jeju Oseung Dojo.

I belong to the Korea Aikido Federation ((사)대한합기도회) and study aikido under Yoon Dae-hyun Sensei. Yet when you teach in a dojo yourself, there are many moments when you cannot simply teach exactly as you were taught, because every student differs in build, in age, and in how quickly they learn. This book gathers the teaching that has been refined in that setting.

To Those Stepping Onto the Mat for the First Time

When you first start, you will often feel embarrassed that you cannot properly do even movements that look easy. You may also shrink back, wondering whether you are causing trouble for the people you train with.

But everyone was a beginner once, and the people who came through that time are the dan holders you see today. No dan holder thinks of a beginner’s clumsy movements as a nuisance. If you keep practicing, before long you too will join the ranks of the dan holders.

Acknowledgments

This book did not come about through my efforts alone. It took shape through the advice and opinions of many people.

My limited knowledge of foreign languages was a particular worry. To everyone who helped with the translations, I would like to express my gratitude here in these pages.