合氣体操
AIKITAISO

Yoshigasaki Sensei

Since the passing of Yoshigasaki Sensei, many dojo leaders feel more free than before to try out and teach their own ideas. In my opinion, this is encouraging. But sometimes simple standards get lost. Yoshigasaki Sensei probably had good reasons for doing some things exactly the way he showed them. You may call these rituals or liturgy, but there are also pedagogical reasons for always repeating some forms in the same way. Sports teachers or trainers learn to arrange their lessons always a bit differently so that they remain interesting for the participants. However, Aikido is from another planet. Especially in Aikitaiso Yoshigasaki Sensei paid great attention to the correct counting in the 4th Dan exams.
There are at least two reasons for that. The first is that teachers should really be able to execute the form like it has been taught, i.e. they should show that they have understood the thing. The second reason is that you shouldn't molest your students too much with your own likings.
In the following, the complete AIKITAISO is shown as a video and in screenshots. The explanatory parts in the video are highlighted in color. Exercise No. 7 is also called ZEN-GO, i.e. "forward-backward". In this case the counting 1-2 1-2 etc. is ok. However, then it is very similar to exercise number 5, ikkyo normal. The form that Yoshigasaki Sensei shows in the video is better called IKKYO IRIMI. Then the counting 1 2 3 4 etc. fits better.

Aikitaiso

01 kotegaeshi 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4
02 sankyo 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4
03 nikyo 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4
04 funakogi 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-4; 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-4
05 ikkyo 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-4; 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-4
06 ikkyo tenshin 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4
07 ikkyo irimi 1 2 3 4; 1 2 3 4
08 happo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
09 kaho tekubi kosa 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4
10 joho tekubi kosa 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4
11 sayu 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4
12 sayu choyaku 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4
13 udefuri 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-4
14 udefuri choyaku 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-4; 1-2 1-2 1-2 3-4
15 hanmi gyaku hanmi 1 2 3 4; 1 2 3 4
16 hanmi gyaku hanmi choyaku 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4; 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
17 ushirotori 1-2 3-4; 1-2 3-4; 1-2 3-4; 1-2 3-4
18 ushirotekubitori zenshin 1-2 3-4; 1-2 3-4
19 ushirotekubitori koshin 1-2 3-4; 1-2 3-4

Notation

The hyphen "-" is intended to indicate that the rhythms are connected. If there is no hyphen, there are more likely single emphasized rhythms.
Sometimes people do only two 4-packs instead of four 4-packs. This is especially the case for 6, 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17. That would then be the "economy version" of the Aikitaiso.
Only in happo undo we count up to 8, otherwise always up to 4, but in two variants.
The exercises in Aikitaiso were previously called "waza" (技), i.e. "techniques". Yoshigasaki Sensei chose the name "undō" (運動). In physics, biology, medicine, politics, this means "movement" in Japanese, and in the context of gymnastics it is often translated as "exercise".

Sequence in screenshots

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