Did Ueshiba Sensei give names to techniques when he was teaching before the war?
He used the term irimi. He said that sokumen irimi and shomen irimi were also kinds of irimi. He would also say things like, “Irimi is the essence of aiki.” Certainly other martial arts such as judo do not have iriminage. Maybe he used the names of techniques he was taught by Sokaku Takeda. Aikido vs. Karate Karate has become a commonly practiced art since the end of the war. What do you think are the best aikido techniques for handling karate punches and kicks? Well, I think it’s a question of the maai [combative distance]. You have to close the maai. You have to blend with the kick when your opponent attacks you and fly in. That’s important. It’s a matter of timing. Advanced karateka punch and kick very quickly?… Yes, they do. Do you think that aikido practice should include techniques for handling karate attacks such as punches and kicks? That’s quite a difficult problem. Both karate and aikido have marked out territories for themselves. One of them would be ruined if they were to
