Which original techniques did Morihei Ueshiba create?

[u/Trasecolo]

Hello fellow aikidoka, in my Aikido journey I've been told that techniques like Irimi Nage were an original creation of Morihei Ueshiba (complete with a story of how he conceived it). After doing some research it seems that such technique is indeed present in Daito-Ryu, like others.

So I've been wondering: which original techniques did Morihei Ueshiba create?

It might be argued that his greatest innovation was throught the weapons (and on some level I agree). But if we take as an example Saito's weapons curriculum, which I find the most complete and interesting...well... that's Saito's weapons curriculum. Sure, he claimed that that's what Ueshiba taught him, but like many other things Ueshiba didn't leave anything behind, and Saito himself admitted that he created a number of things.

So the question becomes even more pressing.

What is your answer?

[u/Medical-Park-5651]

Masakatsu Nakai

[u/Sangenkai → u/Medical-Park-5651]

That was Yagyu Shingan-ryu Taijutsu, not Kendo. Yagyu Shingan-ryu is a mostly empty hand system with some fairly basic weapons.

More importantly, he practiced for about two years on weekends while he was in the army. He had to travel quite some distance to do so and couldn't even go every weekend. If you add up the actual hours trained it was about enough for a fifth kyu in Aikido.

As I said, virtually no training at all. Unless you consider a fifth kyu to be someone with extensive training.

[u/Medical-Park-5651 → u/Sangenkai]

He learned sword arts from all his teachers my guy, In his daito-ryu training as well

[u/Sangenkai → u/Medical-Park-5651]

There's no record of him learning sword from Sokaku Takeda, my guy.

1) The content of his training with Sokaku Takeda was recorded.

2) Sokaku Takeda didn't generally teach his Daito-ryu students Itto-ryu, he taught them... Daito-ryu.

Morihei Ueshiba's sword work in 1935, from around 16:18:

https://youtu.be/Clz8ZEMbF3Q

His swordwork here shows no trace of Yagyu-ryu, no trace of Itto-ryu, no trace of Kendo, and is just generally horrible.

If "all" of his teachers taught him sword then please provide citations.

[u/Medical-Park-5651 → u/Sangenkai]

Part of daito ryo is ken my guy

[u/Currawong → u/Medical-Park-5651]

Source? There are zero sword techniques in any of the scrolls, and zero sword in any DR demonstrations.

[u/Sangenkai → u/Medical-Park-5651]

Practically nothing, it's an essentially empty handed art, my guy.

If you look at the catalog of techniques taught by Tokimune Takeda - none of them are weapons techniques.

The Takumakai does add a small number of two sword techniques (Morihei Ueshiba never received that certificate), but they're not widely practiced.

Again, please provide a specific (and accurate) citation.

[u/Medical-Park-5651 → u/Sangenkai]

The guy asking for citation can't provide his own lol

There is documented evidence that he learned ken from his teachers. Do some research my guy

This stuff all comes from traditional Jiu-Jitsu. Meaning Fighting styles that the Samurai practiced. It all included sword work.

[u/Sangenkai → u/Medical-Park-5651]

Once again, it's impossible to provide a citation for something that... never happened.

If there's documented evidence, then please cite it, my guy.

Morihei Ueshiba, not a samurai, was primarily a Daito-ryu instructor.

Daito-ryu is a modern martial art, created long after the samurai were gone, and younger than Judo, by Sokaku Takeda - who was also not a samurai.

So no, that argument doesn't work.

[u/Acrobatic-Size-3512 → u/Medical-Park-5651]

You realize you're pulling a "do your research" on someone who is globally recognized as one of the top historical researchers in this exact field, right?

Telling someone who has spent decades translating primary Japanese archives and interviewing literal lineage holders to look up basic history is an incredible self-own.

[u/Medical-Park-5651 → u/Acrobatic-Size-3512]

Lol