Bujutsu shugyo (武術修行), Kenji Tomiki’s inner journey through Japanese martial arts, was an attempt to understand whether it was possible to move from bujutsu (武術) to budō (武道) without losing the ideal of bujutsu, without losing Shinken Shōbu.
The 270° turn is absolutely essential for the correct execution of shiho nage. It is therefore necessary to know the method that allows one to turn 270° without lifting one’s feet off the ground.
Tai no henka is not a 180° backward rotation around uke by means of a large step. Tai no henka is a 270° pivot without any step. The step comes afterwards, as an effect of tai no henka, as the consequence of the pivot.
Budō was written in 1938, at the end of an exceptional decade for Aikido, which decided its future. This was the golden age of the Kobukan, the dojo in Ushigome, Tokyo. The entire future development of Aikido was shaped there, in the decade leading up to the war.
Suwari waza kokyu ho is an exercise well known to all Aikido practitioners. It is often misunderstood. Like any Aiki movement, it must respect the vertical axis.
In the shiho nage technique, uke is kept off-balance towards the rear from the start to the end of the movement; at no point is he pulled forwards. This is the teaching given by O Sensei in Budō, with the utmost care and precision.
In Budō, O Sensei provides a particularly precise description of shiho nage, which states that the energy must be developed vertically, and which does not correspond to the way the technique is practised in the method.
